Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

How Are Nasa Engineers Motivated? An Analysis Of Factors That Influence Nasa Goddard Engineers’ Level Of Motivation, Howard Eric Kea

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

NASA is an organization known for pushing the envelope of engineering and scientific achievement. It can be argued that engineers working for NASA are intrinsically highly motivated due to the nature of the work and the mission of NASA. This study explores how supervisor behaviors, both intrinsic and extrinsic and demographic factors influence motivation of NASA Goddard engineers in their current environment. Recent Congressional and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies, such as full cost accounting, levy strict oversight of project spending. As a result of these policies, NASA engineers must now focus their attention on getting assigned work …

Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As evidence of the earth’s limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions: What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher …

On Being A Nonprofit Executive Director, Janet Elizabeth Rechtman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In describing the course of change in a dynamic field such as the nonprofit sector, neo-institutional theorists argue that isomorphic forces such as replication of best practices tend to increase the homogeneity of actors. This interplay of structure and agency creates what is known as the structuration of an institutional field. These theorists have little to say about the people who influence and are influenced by these dynamics. This study explores this personal experience at the micro level of the nonprofit field executive leadership. It focuses on their challenges related to the isomorphic pressures resulting from: (1) socio-economic roles, (2) …

Small School Leadership: A Q Method Study Of Elements Of Leadership Specific To A Small School Setting, Charis Eirene Sharp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Smaller schools have become an extremely popular school reform model. Research that connects them to student achievement is being used to support and create autonomous small schools as well as schools-within-schools. While it would seem to be a logical application, the schools-within-schools model is not performing at the levels expected as indicated by the small schools research. Research on these two different school settings needs to be separated, examined, and applied independently. Areas lacking research include questions about which aspects of schools support the functioning of the school, such as leadership. This study used Q-methodology to study leadership in a …

Developing Collaborative Leadership: A Study Of Organizational Change Toward Greater Collaboration And Shared Leadership, Jonathan Tyler Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Implicit in leadership behavior is the ability to work with others, to be in relationship, and to collaborate. Contemporary theories about leadership have shifted from a focus on the individual “leader” toward the collective act of “leadership.” A concrete understanding of collaborative leadership remains somewhat underdeveloped in the literature and theoretically. This dissertation is a case study of organization's efforts to change from autocratic organizational leadership to a more collaborative working environment. Taking the form of a literary portrait, the study analyzes an example of action learning about collaborative leadership. The portrait will be of the agency's change, with special …

Rethinking The Organisational: From ‘Form’ To ‘Forming’, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

The organisational theory literature has identified the emergence and evolution of organisational forms as a critical issue to be addressed, yet new ways of looking at organisational form have yet to be addressed and there are concerns about the largely ahistorical and aprocessual character of much organisational theorising. Most “new” theories that have been put forward continue to view form as something already formed, as an essence, with the attention focused on what constitutes form. Further, extant organisational theories, from the original Weberian ideal type through all other theories, be they in appearance ahistorical (i.e., contingency) or historical (i.e., ecological) …

Organizational Forming: Re(Dis)Covering Hybridization, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

The topic of organizational form has gained increased attention in the scholarly literature over the past couple of decades or so. Scholars have identified the emergence and evolution of new organizational forms as a critical issue to be addressed. The increased interest and relevance of this topic is often portrayed as ‘new times’ driving the need for new forms, however, what is more evident in the literature is that the need for new ways of looking at organizational form has yet to be addressed. In general, it is my argument that the problem of “organizational form” cannot be addressed by …

When You Have To Dump It, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

It makes sense to cut further losses and such containment efforts are routine events in most establishments.

Last Issue Of Omj Before The Transition To Palgrave Macmillan!, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Teaching & Learning Section, Steven Meisel

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Jane's Decision: Her Experience As A Plebe: Instructor's Manual, Andra Gumbus, Jill Woodilla, Christopher C. York

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Eam Presidential Address Can We Create Sustainable Organizations?, Shanthi Gopalakrishnan

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

The Potential Of Erin Brokovitch To Introduce Organizaitonal Behavior Topics, J. Benjamin Forbes, Jonathan E. Smith

Organization Management Journal

Real organizational behavior is rich, and messy, and emotional, and at times painful, but at other times immensely rewarding. The movie, Erin Brockovich, captures this richness and provides an exciting means to introduce a variety of individual or micro- organizational behavior concepts (such as perception, personality, and motivation) typically covered at the beginning of the Organizational Behavior course. In this paper, we describe the use of the film, including a takehome viewing assignment, an in-class assignment, a description of clips and comments for in-class use, and suggestions for the types of issues to discuss in relation to the major topics …

Jane's Decision: Her Experience As A Plebe, Andra Gumbus, Jill Woodilla, Christopher C. York

Organization Management Journal

Jane (a pseudonym) describes her experience as a first year student at one of the military service academies sometime during the period 2000-2005. She portrays the rigors of training to be an officer in the US military service and the special burdens of being a good-looking, high-achieving woman in this environment. She provides an insider's perspective on the academy culture, including the importance of the honor code, and spoken and unspoken rules against fraternization and for protecting ―one's own. At the end of the case Jane must make a decision that could change the course of her life. The case …

"Where There Is A Will…": A New Exercise To Explore Distributive And Integrative Conflict Management, Joseph Seltzer, James W. Smither

Organization Management Journal

An exercise was developed to provide a quick and comprehensive exploration of conflict management styles and integrative versus distributive bargaining. Two brothers meet to divide nine items and cash from their father‘s estate. Some items are wanted by one brother more than the other, often because of information known to only one. One item requires an integrative solution to fully gain its value. A variation of the exercise is suggested that incorporates the relationship between the brothers as another variable in managing conflict. Teaching notes and examples of classroom use and student responses are provided.

Experiential Learning Association Special Issue Best Experiential Exercises From The Eastern Academy Of Management, 2007, N/A N/A

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Teaching A New Generation: The Differences Are Not Trivial, Steven I. Meisel, David S. Fearon

Organization Management Journal

As organizational behavior learners apply managerial knowledge in classroom exercises or in the field, the hidden knowledge they hold of the cultural context of these applications works spontaneously to create meaning. This contextual knowledge is developed profoundly in our formative years; thus tacit experiential knowledge differs by generation. Today’s college-aged Millennials see organizational life and OB theory differently than yesterday’s Gen X, or Baby Boomer cohorts. These differences are revealed in an exercise using the vintage (1982) and current editions of the board game Trivial Pursuit. This activity asks learners to find the presence of generationally-cultivated knowledge in their daily …

The Effects Of Entrepreneurial Growth Orientation On Organizational Change And Firm Growth, Wee Liang Tan, Thomas Menkhoff, Yue Wah Chay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Managing growth in an enterprise as it grows beyond the startup phase is a challenge for many entrepreneurs. One key element that can help or hinder growth is the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial growth has been linked to micro variables (motivations and psychological attributes of the entrepreneur) and macro variables. However, few studies have examined the role of the growth aspirations of the entrepreneur on the necessary elements of organization change related to growth.

This paper reports a study employing a typology of entrepreneurs based on their growth aspirations using an established dichotomous scale devised by Smith to differentiate between what he …

The Validity Of Assessment Centres For The Prediction Of Supervisory Performance Ratings: A Meta-Analysis, Eran Hermelin, Filip Lievens, Ivan T. Robertson

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The current meta-analysis of the selection validity of assessment centres aims to update an earlier meta-analysis of assessment centre validity. To this end, we retrieved 26 studies and 27 validity coefficients (N=5850) relating the Overall Assessment Rating (OAR) to supervisory performance ratings. The current study obtained a corrected correlation of .28 between the OAR and supervisory job performance ratings (95% confidence interval .24 < =rho < =.32). It is further suggested that this validity estimate is likely to be conservative given that assessment centre validities tend to be affected by indirect range restriction.

Creating Alternate In-Basket Forms Through Cloning: Some Preliminary Results, Filip Lievens, Frederik Anseel

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Research on constructing alternate forms of assessment center exercises is very scarce. This study examines the effectiveness of a cloning procedure (incident isomorphic approach) for developing alternate forms of a computerized in-basket. In this approach, original and alternate items are essentially similar (they are based on the same critical incident), while being superficially different (they are situated in a different context). Results showed there was no significant difference between the overall in-basket score across the alternate forms. In addition, these overall scores correlated .66, with projected estimates for the full in-basket approaching .80. Implications and limitations of the use of …

Knowledge Narratives And Heterogeneity In Management Consultancy And Business Services, Robin Fincham, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Karen Handley, Andrew Sturdy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In the professional services, diversification into various types of business advice has implications for knowledge boundaries. This is a sector of changing jurisdictional patterns and periodic reconstruction. Firms like large law practices that feed services into corporate clients have been merging to provide global coverage (Suddaby and Greenwood, 2001; Suddaby et al., 2004). But new specialisms in areas like consulting and IT are even more dynamic. Patterns such as the growth in outsourcing and movement into management consulting accounted for stupendous growth of the global accounting firms. These changes have themselves been overtaken, as the IT and systems giants muscled …

Managing Through Strategic Agendas, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The author discusses the development of the Balanced Scorecard and strategic agendas on solving social and economic problems by the government. She stated reasons why organizations or countries choose to establish strategic agendas, such as it helps develop a vision, serves as a framework for monitoring government and nonprofit performance, and develops political platform. She concluded that its establishment is vital to success in developing countries and in the federal system of government.

Ua3/9/5 Hardoptimism Deep Strengths Survey, Wku Institutional Research, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Results of HardOptimism Deep Strengths Survey conducted by WKU's Office of Institutional Research used by WKU president Gary Ransdell in his fall 2008 convocation speech. It compares 2006 and 2007 results regarding organizational resilience, confidence, energy, creativity, innovation, attitudes and ambition.

Essays On Risk And Incentives, Russell Engel

WCBT Faculty Publications

I use economic experiments to investigate individual behavior under uncertainty. The first essay examines the consistency of risk preferences over two institutions. The two institutions I use are the first price sealed bid auction and a Holt-Laury lottery. There is some controversy as to whether or not observed overbidding in first price auction is actually caused by risk aversion or simply consistent with it. Behavior in the Holt-Laury lottery being caused by risk aversion is not in dispute. By having the same subjects participate in both institutions, I show that subjects.risk preferences in the lottery are consistent with subjects' risk …

The Office Killjoy, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

If you think stress makes you more productive, then you need to change. HOW can we manage stress, given that it is unavoidable in our corporate existence?

When The Rumour Strikes..., M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Managers should make use of the underground rumour mill to understand employee concerns. EMPLOYEES seek insights into where their organisation is heading. And they should, because what their organisation does has a direct impact on their well- being.

Editors' Introduction To First Person Section, Michael Elmes, Sally Riad

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction To Teaching & Learning Section, Steve Meisel

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

A Research-Based Approach To Continuous Improvement In Business Education, Peter W. Hess, Julie Siciliano

Organization Management Journal

The growing emphasis on improving performance in business school programs relies on a continuous improvement model designed for manufacturing and business service organizations. However, the complexity of learning assessment and the lack of expertise in learning processes suggests that change is needed to adapt this model for application in higher education. We propose integrating a research basis into the current continuous improvement model that will result in educational and instructional processes shaped by scientific research. Issues associated with implementation are discussed.

Encountering One Another: Feminist Relationships In Organizational Research, Kristina A. Bourne

Organization Management Journal

As a graduate student attempting to integrate feminist principles into my academic endeavors, I eagerly entered the research field to examine how women business owners who feel a conflict between feminism and capitalism enact their everyday lives. I chose participant observation, a common methodology in feminist research, with the aim of getting “inside” these women’s lives to better understand their experiences. However, as the fieldwork proceeded, my focus shifted to examining the space in which the realities of the feminist organizational researcher and of the feminist business owner encounter one another. This paper reflects upon how we made sense of …