Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

Analytic Tradecraft In The U.S. Intelligence Community, John Joseph Borek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 addressed the belief that weak analytic tradecraft had been an underlying cause of intelligence failures in the U.S. by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to establish and enforce tradecraft standards throughout the U.S. intelligence community (IC). However, analytic tradecraft-the innate abilities and learned skills of intelligence analysts, combined with the tools and technology needed to conduct analysis-is an understudied and poorly understood concept and a decade later, the frequency of intelligence failures has not improved. Using actor-network theory (ANT) as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative narrative study was …

Effects Of Change Valence And Informational Assessments On Organizational Readiness For Change, James Edward Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly two-thirds of organizational change initiatives are unsuccessful due to a lack of high levels of change readiness prior to implementation of the change. A review of the literature supported the importance of establishing organizational readiness for change (ORC), but a gap remained in the empirical data and extant literature about whether presumed antecedents identified in ORC theory contribute to increased levels of ORC. The purpose of this study was to gather empirical data to address this question of whether change valence and informational assessment scores are associated with increased levels of organizational readiness for implementing change. The research design …

Minimizing Nepotistic Practices In Family Owned And Operated Businesses: The Private Sector, Darlene Thomas Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Owners of family businesses in the private sector must be cognizant of nepotism to reduce skilled employee turnover. Guided by Herzberg two-factor theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by family owned and operated business leaders to minimize nepotistic practices that reduce skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. The population for this study included 3 family owned and operated funeral establishments in the Midwest region of St. Louis, Missouri. These participants had sustained their family businesses longer than 5 years while minimizing skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. Data were collected from …

Exploring Customer Service Through Hospital Management Strategies, Delores Leonard Leonard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patient demand for a better quality of healthcare and services has increased as insurance companies have decreased payments to hospitals. The purpose of this qualitative single exploratory case study was to explore hospital managers' strategies to improve customer service. Data were gathered from semistructured interviews with 5 hospital managers who implemented customer service strategies in their hospital systems, hospital policy and procedure documents, and qualitative data from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Hospital Compare website. Expectation-confirmation theory served as the conceptual framework that grounded the study. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation, and 3 themes emerged: the …

Strategies To Improve Millennial Employee Engagement In The Luxury Resort Industry, Kei-Lin Cerf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millennials are estimated to compose half of the workforce by 2020. Many hospitality researchers have studied Millennial employee engagement, but less is known about how to apply strategies that are authentically engaging for Millennials. The purpose of this study was to explore Millennial employee engagement strategies. The research questions for this study were used to examine the engagement strategies of luxury resort leaders and how Millennial employees perceived engagement. A single case study design was used to gather interview, questionnaire, and company document data from employees of a luxury resort in Hawai`i. Kahn's employee engagement theory served as the basis …

The Effect Of Volunteer Demographics On Nonprofit Volunteer Retention, Keri Vanoverschelde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations rely upon volunteers to assist in achieving their mission and reaching strategic operational goals. As the volunteer population in the United States has decreased, nonprofit organizations are challenged to recruit and retain volunteers. To improve operational efficiencies in nonprofit volunteer management, organizations need to implement more effective strategies to assign roles to volunteers and develop a better understanding of how those roles fit into volunteers' lives and the value systems of individual volunteers. The functional theory of volunteer behavior characterizes the values, understanding, social, career, protective, and enhancement functions as they relate to an individual's motivation for volunteering. …

Leadership Style And Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Community-Based Mental Health Facilities, Paula Ann Lucey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A dramatic and historic evolution has occurred as mental health care has shifted from institutional-based care to community-based care. Framed by the social exchange theory, the purpose of this study was to identify the correlation of the leadership style of supervisors in residential care facilities with the organizational citizenship behavior of the residential care workers. The research questions focused on the correlation between the leadership styles and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with a secondary focus specifically on transformational leadership. Residential care workers in 3 states working in 65 facilities within a single organization completed 2 surveys: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire …

Engaging A Multigenerational Workforce, Schnarda R. Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management reported the productivity levels of the American multigenerational workforce decreasing as leaders strive to actively engage employees to improve organizational output. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore what leadership strategies federal government managers use to engage a multigenerational workforce. The conceptual framework consisted of Kahn's employee engagement theory and Strauss and Howe's generational cohort theory. The sample consisted of 3 federal government managers within metro Atlanta, Georgia who had successfully managed a multigenerational workforce, demonstrated through the feedback they received from their employees. Data were collected using face-to-face semistructured …

Correlations Between Management Behaviors And Financial Indicators With Fda Compliance Leading To Medicine Shortages, Francisco Gutierrez-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the first 3 years of the Obama Administration, 2009-2011, the number of warning letters issued to pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and quality issues increased by 81% to 49 letters. Only 9 letters were issued in the last 3 years of the George W. Bush Administration. Shortfalls in compliance and product quality led to medicine shortages that affected patients' treatment and health. This quantitative study sought to learn to what extent, if any, the independent variables, management behaviors and financial indicators at pharmaceutical firms in the United States, correlated with, or predicted, the dependent variable, compliance with the FDA regulations. …

The Effect Of Secondary Teacher Personality On Educational Empowerment, Latoya Sharee Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has shown a relationship between teachers' personalities and their ability to motivate students to perform, suggesting that teacher behaviors are the most important catalysts for student empowerment. This descriptive quantitative research bridged a knowledge gap by assessing the statistical significance of the relationship between secondary teacher personality types, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment, and their ability to academically empower their students, as measured by EDUCATEAlabama. A convenience sample of 334 secondary educators completed the MBTI assessment and reported EDUCATEAlabama empowerment scores. A comparison of Title 1 high school and non-Title 1 high school data, …

Exploring Mission Drift And Tension In A Nonprofit Work Integration Social Enterprise, Teresa M. Jeter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nonprofit sector is increasingly engaged in social enterprise, which involves a

combination and balancing of social mission and business goals which can cause mission

drift or mission tension. A work integrated social enterprise (WISE) is a specific type of

social enterprise that focuses on integrating hard-to-employ individuals, such as ex

offenders, back into the workforce, usually through producing goods or offering services.

Little is known about how WISE organizations manage mission drift, particularly given

the unique characteristics of this type of organization. Using institutional values theory

and resource dependence theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study …

Exploring The Impact Of Collective Bargaining Agreements On Employee Performance Management, Nana Gyesie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2014, union density in the United States had dropped compared to union density during the 1950s. Collective bargaining agreements are the foundational agreement for all issues related to salary, benefits, and working conditions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how collective bargaining agreements hindered or enabled managers from creating and sustaining high performance work practices. The conceptual framework included Walton and McKersie's work on behavioral theories for labor negotiations, human capital, and collective bargaining, and Huselid's work on high performance work practices. Fifteen respondents across 5 labor unions in Washington DC were selected through …

Impact Of Change Management On Employee Behavior In A University Administrative Office, Kendra M. Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study focused on the effect of a system implementation upgrade on employees' job performance within a central administration department of a major research university in the Southern United States. Review of literature revealed a lack of a specific model or process for system implementation upgrades and its impact on employees' performance in a university administrative office. Guided by Kotter's research on change management models, the research questions examined the attitudes and behaviors of employees involved with the business process project. Data collection was through purposeful sampling and face-to-face interviews with 11 employees. Data were analyzed through pattern-matching …

The Sustainability Management Control System: Factors To Consider In Metric Conceptualization, Corne Mouton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The performance metrics embedded in sustainability management control systems (SMCS) provide organizational leaders the ability to affect the implementation and continual improvement of sustainability strategies. Leaders in oil sands companies lacking adequate information on the efficacy of the sustainability performance metrics and their use to enhance their SMCS could be at a competitive disadvantage. Guided by stakeholder theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies Alberta-based oil sands company leaders use for critical planning, developing, and implementing SMCS performance metrics. The target population comprised of 20 oil sands company leaders from an Alberta, Canada, organization who …

Emotional Intelligence In Leadership And Project Success Within Virtual Teams, Betsy Ferronato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous literature has focused on the traits of various leadership styles. Due to the lack of research on leadership styles, the focus of this study was to identify which emotional intelligence characteristics of a leader are significant to the success of virtual team projects. Supported by emotional intelligence and transformational leadership theories, the research questions addressed (a) whether, among virtual teams, a relationship exists between overall emotional intelligence scores and the success of virtual project teams, and (b) to what extent virtual team leaders' abilities to express and use their emotions predict the success of virtual team projects. The target …

Primary Care Nurse Practitioners And Organizational Culture, Leanne Christine Rowand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse practitioners (NPs) were introduced to the British Columbia healthcare system 12 years ago. Integration challenges related to infrastructure and relationships between administrators and physicians continue. The purpose of this project was to understand how nurse practitioners, working in primary care roles, experience the organizational climate within their healthcare agency. Kanter's empowerment theory guided this project. Data were collected using the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Organizational Climate Questionnaire. A total of 64 NPs relayed their degree of perceived organizational support. NPs scored highest on Autonomy and Independent Practice (Mean [M] = 3.54, Standard Deviation [SD] = 0.59). Organizational Support and …

Exploration Of Leadership Skills For Organizational Strategy Execution, Regina L. Banks-Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multinational corporate leaders acknowledge that a lack of business direction by senior leadership results in a 68% failure in the execution of organizational strategies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what best practice solutions automotive manufacturing senior leaders created to help front-line managers execute organizational strategies. The population consisted of 20 automotive manufacturing senior leaders located in Michigan with significant years of automotive experience and at least a year of experience employed as an automotive manufacturing senior leader. Vroom's expectancy theory served as the conceptual framework for the study describing the enhancement of employee performance related to …

Leadership Strategies And Employee Performance Within Small Business, Letica Carla Sellers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The survival of the small business industry is important to the United Sates workforce and economy. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore leadership strategies of 2 small business managers in a manufacturing setting who had a demonstrable record of improving employee performance to meet organizational goals. The conceptual framework for this study was Burns and Bass's transformational leadership theory. The small business managers were from 2 small manufacturing plants in the coastal plains region of South Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, archival documents, and observations of the managers during their daily activities. Data analysis …

Examining The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In The Work And Life Balance Of Foster Care Workers, Pamela Applewhite Applewhite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foster care workers are an important part of the social service system, as they are the first line of support for children without families or who have been subjected to tragic events leading to their need for foster care. Foster care workers often experience work-life boundary issues due to the emotional nature of their work. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between (a) emotional intelligence and absenteeism and (b) emotional intelligence and work-life balance with foster care workers. Data was collected from foster care workers in the state of South Carolina employed with the Department …

Human Resource Strategies For Improving Organizational Performance To Reduce Medical Errors, Dr. Mary Ellen Taylor-Hyde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Healthcare leaders must consistently promote the delivery of quality and safe care of patients to reduce unnecessary errors and prevent harm. The purpose of this case study was to explore human resource strategies for improving organizational performance to reduce medical errors. The study included face-to-face interviews with 5 healthcare clinical managers who work within a multifaceted health system in the Midwestern region of the United States. Complex adaptive systems theory was used to frame this study. Interview notes, publicly available documents, and audio recordings were transcribed …

Building Consensus Among General Counsel To Address Managerial Legal Strategy Perspectives, Evan Andrew Peterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem for this study focused on organizations' inability to derive strategic value from the law due to the lack of integration between legal strategy and business strategy. The purpose of this study was to build consensus among in-house general counsel working across business industries in the United States with regard to techniques that will alter unreceptive managerial viewpoints toward the strategic value of law within the corporate setting. The research question centered on assessing the level of consensus among general counsel relative to those techniques. This 3-round qualitative Delphi study began with open-ended questions in Round 1 and …

The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity And Leadership Style, Kim Renee Haney-Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported workforce disparities in the representation of minority ethnic groups in leadership positions for more than 5 decades. In 2011, Executive Order 13583 initiated the Government-wide Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, directing federal agencies to recruit a diverse workforce, cultivate inclusion across occupations, and develop strategies to enable leading a diverse workforce. This plan is important considering other research studies show various approaches to understanding leadership behaviors; however, empirical studies have yet to explore if there is a relationship between ethnic identity and leadership style to inform diversity and inclusion efforts. The …

Perceptions Of Leadership And Employee Performance In Child Welfare Agencies, Deatrice Haney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child welfare leaders reflect their organizations' mission and vision and are entrusted to provide support to employees, who in turn provide services to one of the most vulnerable populations, children. Little, however is known about how leaders perceive their roles and responsibilities in terms of providing sufficient supervisory and guidance to child welfare workers in order to support organizational goals. Guided by Houses' path-goal theory, this phenomenological study examined the perceptions of child welfare leaders related to leadership behaviors, strategies to improve administration, work performance, communication, and fostering an inclusive work environment. A sample of 16 participants working as administrators, …

Motives Why Employees At Fort Mcpherson Accepted Or Rejected Their Relocation, Tashan Renea Whitsett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Base closures and relocations reduce costs to the Department of Defense but necessitate the relocation of personnel, organizations, and functions. When Fort McPherson closed, Fort Bragg received the organization's personnel and equipment. The problem in this study was the lack of knowledge and understanding within the U.S. military, especially among civil service and contractor employees affected by realignments and closures, regarding (a) the decision process to accept or reject offers to relocate, (b) the potential health effects related to relocating, and (c) the effect that personnel relocations and losses have on the military mission. This study is essential because no …

A Phenomenological Study Of Cross Gender Mentoring Among U.S. Army Officers, Scott Randolph Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leader mentoring in the military has not been well researched, especially that involving cross-gender pairings. A phenomenological study was conducted to gain insight into the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of military officers regarding their decision to engage in mentoring, to include with members of the opposite gender. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 male and 20 female U.S. Army senior commissioned officers to collect information regarding mentoring selection perspectives and decisions and to examine emerging themes, concepts, and patterns, using NVivo 11 Pro Plus. Negative themes that emerged among both male and female participants concerned adverse perceptions of members within …

Humanitarian Aid Workers' Perceptions Of Stress Management Services, Annette Hearns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humanitarian aid workers live and work in harsh circumstances far from loved ones and support mechanisms. The problem is that international aid must continue to work effectively despite stress levels. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how aid workers perceive their work-related stressors, examine their subsequent experiences of in-house stress management services, and describe the factors that influence aid workers' decisions to access in-house stress management services. The conservation of resources theory was used to understand aid workers experience of stress. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 12 aid workers with a minimum of 5 …

Testing A Psychological Readiness Training Intervention On Ptsd, Depression, Anxiety, & Stress In First Responders, Renee Kosor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Exposure to traumatic events is rare for the general public but common for first responders. However, there is little proactive emotional health care occurring inside the first responder community. No preventive treatment for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD exists. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a psychological readiness training intervention on 361 police officers and firefighters in a medium-size Midwestern city. A combined positive psychological capital and cognitive behavior therapy approach was used to frame the study. This study used a pretest, posttest quasi-experimental design. The participants were a convenience sample of 119 volunteers from …

Assessing The Implementation Of Internal Branding Training In The Hotel Industry, Peter Juskiw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Internal branding (IB) evolved from marketing to engage employees in a company's strategic planning. IB has been studied extensively in the hospitality industry, but not with human resource (HR) departments. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to assess the effectiveness of corporate training designs in instilling IB corporate values in global employees of a multinational hotel chain to determine whether European core values could be transferred across different cultural backgrounds. Structured interviews on IB were conducted with 22 HR practitioners of a luxury hotel chain to capture essential information through the lived experiences of the participants, all of whom …

Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ingratiation is a deceptive, psychological tactic subordinates use to convince their supervisors to treat them better than other subordinates. Subordinate ingratiation is relatively well-known, but the concept of a manager promoting and encouraging ingratiative behaviors to subordinates is less common and seen as uncommonly deceptive. Little is known about how managers feel about ingratiation why any manager would encourage it. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in management positions percieve manager-encouraged ingratiation. Research questions addressed how people in management positions might respond to a scenario wherein a manager encouraged a subordinate employee to act out ingratiation. …

Trust In Union Leaders And Decline In Union Membership, Seth Ellery Francois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results …