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Articles 391 - 420 of 544

Full-Text Articles in Organizational Behavior and Theory

An Inquiry Into Factors Of Leadership And Cohesion In Complex Teams, Jeffrey White Jan 2017

An Inquiry Into Factors Of Leadership And Cohesion In Complex Teams, Jeffrey White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The external competitive environments and internal group dynamics of organizations are increasing in complexity resulting in new challenges for organizational leaders to improve performance in underperforming teams. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address what factors led to high-innovation outcomes in complex adaptive systems using a framework constructed from elements of complexity leadership theory and group dynamics research. An in-depth interviewing approach was used to collect data on the lived experience and meaning the participants attributed to their experiences regarding improved team performance. A total of 21 participants were selected from multiple business settings where their team experienced …


The Influence Of Attachment Styles On Employee Engagement, Ian Briggs Jan 2017

The Influence Of Attachment Styles On Employee Engagement, Ian Briggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the influence of adult attachment styles on the engagement of employees in an attempt to address increasing losses in U.S. work productivity. Researchers have documented that organizations able to maintain better manager-employee relationships demonstrated positive employee engagement and improved productivity. However, a distinct gap in the literature remains as to how organizational leaders can stimulate healthier manager-employee relationships. Adult attachment theory was used as the foundation to explore how employees' relationships with their immediate manager affect their work engagement. To address this question, a purposeful sample of 16 full time mid …


Enterprise Risk Management In Responsible Financial Reporting, Robin B. Ewers Jan 2017

Enterprise Risk Management In Responsible Financial Reporting, Robin B. Ewers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite regulatory guidelines, unreliable financial reporting exists in organizations, creating undue financial risk-harm for their stakeholders. Normal accident theory (NAT) identifies factors in highly complex integrated systems that can have unexpected, undetected, and uncorrected system failures. High-reliability organization (HRO) theory constructs promote reliability in complex, integrated systems prone to NAT factors. Enterprise risk management (ERM) integrates NAT factors and HRO constructs under a holistic framework to achieve organizational goals and mitigate the potential for stakeholder risk-harm. Literature on how HRO constructs promote ERM in responsible integrated financial systems has been limited. The purpose of this qualitative, grounded theory study was …


Strategies Small Business Owners Use For Long-Term Existence, Sherman Eldridge Humphrey Jr Jan 2017

Strategies Small Business Owners Use For Long-Term Existence, Sherman Eldridge Humphrey Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 90 of every 100 new businesses fail within 5 years. The need to explore ongoing strategies that provide low-cost alternatives can prove invaluable to cash-strapped new business owners. Exploration of relationships among a group of stakeholders essential to business success provided data in this case study. Those stakeholders include the owner, the customer service personnel and the consumer. Without the consumer, all other business activities would cease to be necessary. Five business owners and five employees from Redding, California participated in 2 separate focus group interviews. The conceptual framework for this case study was to explore the specific …


Engagement Strategies To Reduce Registered Nurse Turnover In Hospitals, Robert Neeley Jan 2017

Engagement Strategies To Reduce Registered Nurse Turnover In Hospitals, Robert Neeley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Skilled and experienced registered nurse employees are critical to the organizational success and stability of hospitals, but an annual average registered nurse turnover rate of 14% can result in financial losses of millions of dollars annually for the typical hospital in the United States. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the engagement strategies hospital nurse managers use to retain registered nurses. The study population included 8 nurse managers employed by hospitals in West Central Florida who have successfully implemented engagement strategies to retain registered nurses. The conceptual framework for the study was based on systems theory …


How Improved Training Strategies Can Benefit Taxpayers Using Vita Programs, Jaclyn Marie Barkow Jan 2017

How Improved Training Strategies Can Benefit Taxpayers Using Vita Programs, Jaclyn Marie Barkow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites experience inaccuracy in the taxes prepared according to audits conducted by the treasury inspector general for tax administration (TIGTA). Effective training strategies may influence the accuracy rates of tax returns prepared at VITA sites. Following the conceptual framework of the human capital theory, this multiple case study described the training strategies used by 4 VITA site coordinators in northwest Indiana. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) representative overseeing the VITA sites identified the 4 site coordinators as achieving an exceptional accuracy rating. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, the annual VITA site coordinator's manual …


The Relationship Between Athletic Development Personality Factors And Decision Making, Herbert Degraffe Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Athletic Development Personality Factors And Decision Making, Herbert Degraffe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective leadership that results from personality defects, ineffective core executive functions, and emotional decision making can lead to destructive actions and executive failures that affect organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if athletic development personality factors correlate with decision making at the executive leadership level. The research questions focused on determining if there was a relationship between athletic development personality factors and decision making. Social exchange theory, social representations theory, and leadership theories comprised the theoretical framework. Participants included 124 executive decision-makers from the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, and Singapore who …


New Teacher Mentees' Perceptions Of Mentorship As An Assimilation Strategy, Konstance Laverne Grimble Jan 2017

New Teacher Mentees' Perceptions Of Mentorship As An Assimilation Strategy, Konstance Laverne Grimble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition among new teachers with fewer than 5 years of experience was high in an urban high school in Texas. The high attrition rate is a problem for students, because high teacher turnover can result in teachers with low expertise. In this study, the conceptual framework used was Hord's professional learning community (PLC) model, which emphasizes trust and a utilization of a cycle of inquiry among colleagues to prepare lessons and assessments that affect student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine new high school teachers' perceptions of assimilation techniques used by their mentors in the new teacher …


Sexual Harassment Experience, Psychological Climate, And Sex Effect On Perception Of Safety, Kenneth C. Barker Jan 2017

Sexual Harassment Experience, Psychological Climate, And Sex Effect On Perception Of Safety, Kenneth C. Barker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual harassment has significant adverse psychological and physical effects on employees and can negatively impact the workplace, and overall business operations. A gap in current research was identified concerning whether the employee's sex affects employee's perceived workplace sexual harassment climate, sexual harassment experience, and perceived safety from sexual harassment. This study examined the effects of employee workplace sexual harassment experience and perception of workplace sexual harassment psychological climate on employee's perceived safety from sexual harassment moderated by sex. Results showed that perceived workplace sexual harassment climate and employee workplace sexual harassment experience were both significant predictors of perceived safety from …


Personality Factors That Influence Administrative Assistants' Participation In Continuing Education And Training, Rose Friend Schmitt Jan 2017

Personality Factors That Influence Administrative Assistants' Participation In Continuing Education And Training, Rose Friend Schmitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrative assistants (AAs) provide critical office support for modern businesses, yet many do not participate in the continuing education and training (CE&T) required for rapidly changing technologies and new office procedures. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative correlational study was to investigate whether a significant predictive relationship exists between AAs' general self-efficacy (GSE), locus of control (LOC), and their participation in CE&T activities. The primary research question examined whether a significant predictive relationship existed among these variables, factoring in generation cohort and education level. Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Rotter's LOC theory provided the theoretical foundations. Volunteer AAs (n = 125) …


Acquisition And Retention Of Skilled Employees For Industries In Giles County, Tennessee, James Irvine Greene Jr. Jan 2017

Acquisition And Retention Of Skilled Employees For Industries In Giles County, Tennessee, James Irvine Greene Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. manufacturing industry produces products that ship all over the world. Because of the shortage of skilled labor, some manufacturing human resource professionals lack the strategies and processes necessary to acquire and retain skilled employees. Guided by Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the strategies and processes that manufacturing human resource professionals use to acquire and retain skilled employees. Data were gathered from a population of manufacturing human resource professionals in Giles County, Tennessee from individual interviews; focus group; and participants' internal documents, public documents, and …


Retaining Employees After Downsizing, Chizoba C. Nwoye Jan 2017

Retaining Employees After Downsizing, Chizoba C. Nwoye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Oil and gas industry business leaders who fail to implement adequate talent retention strategies experience reduced profits and sustainability challenges. During the first 2 years following downsizing, 67% of organizations using excuse-based downsizing reflected reduced sales and profitability, and 11% of such organizations experienced financial losses. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that successful Calgary medium size oil and gas businesses implemented to retain talented employees after downsizing. The population for the study included business leaders of 3 medium oil and gas businesses in Calgary, Canada, who had successfully implemented talented employee retention strategies. …


Challenges Facing Organizational Leaders: A Phenomenological Study Of Nigerian Organizational Leaders, Adesina Olufemi Adegunle Jan 2017

Challenges Facing Organizational Leaders: A Phenomenological Study Of Nigerian Organizational Leaders, Adesina Olufemi Adegunle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the first decade of the 21st century, the number of functioning business organizations in Nigeria decreased by 45%. The high rate of business failures in Nigeria has left many questions about what is needed for creating business success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the influence of internal and external dynamics on leaders in Nigerian microfinance organizations. Twenty leaders from microfinance institutions participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. The data analysis process involved the use of Moustakas's modified van Kaam method, which resulted in the emergence of 12 themes. The themes that emerged included: (a) staff …


Employee Perceptions Of Emotional Intelligence Among Managers, Afraa Al-Bahrani Jan 2017

Employee Perceptions Of Emotional Intelligence Among Managers, Afraa Al-Bahrani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Efficient managers influence the success and performance of organizations, in contrast to inefficient managers who may negatively affect employee motivation, productivity, stress levels, job satisfaction, and performance. Managers' ability to recognize emotions can positively affect employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance, which is likely to decrease employee turnover. The purpose of this phenomenological research was to explore the perceptions among employees regarding their managers' EI in relation to employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance in the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area. The presence of managers' EI skills was explored based on the emotional abilities to facilitate, understand, perceive, and manage emotions. …


Engagement Strategies For Catalyzing It Sales Team Performance In Asia, Jeb Stephen Hurley Jan 2017

Engagement Strategies For Catalyzing It Sales Team Performance In Asia, Jeb Stephen Hurley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sales leaders who can foster sales team engagement drive an organization's sales performance. Some information technology sales leaders lack team engagement strategies that support revenue results above market growth rates. The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study was to explore the team engagement strategies of 6 sales leaders, in various offices in the Asia-Pacific region of a single, public information technology company, who demonstrated the ability to support year-on-year revenue results above market growth rates. Participants demonstrated the ability to foster team engagement and consistently deliver year-on-year revenue results above market growth rates. The conceptual framework for this study was …


Relationship Between Budget And Project Success Factors In The Ghanaian Building Construction Sector, Kenneth Kwame Aggor Jan 2017

Relationship Between Budget And Project Success Factors In The Ghanaian Building Construction Sector, Kenneth Kwame Aggor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In developing countries, 60% of project management professionals appear to lack knowledge that timely completion, budget fidelity, and high quality are critical success factors for completion of construction initiatives. Based on the theories of iron triangle, accident causation, scientific management, and strategic management, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project budget and the independent variables of time, quality, safety, environmental impact, and site disputes in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One hundred and sixteen project managers, randomly selected from the population of construction professionals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, completed the …


Influence Of Psychological Empowerment, Leadership, And Climate On Safety Outcomes, Christine Healy Jan 2017

Influence Of Psychological Empowerment, Leadership, And Climate On Safety Outcomes, Christine Healy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has demonstrated that safety outcomes are impacted by workplace risk factors, but also supervisory practices and employee actions. An area that has not been explored is the impact of employee cognitions on safety outcomes defined as work-related injuries. Based on the conceptual framework of psychological empowerment (PE), the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of employee cognitions as measured by PE as related to leadership and safety climate and the occurrence of work-related injury. The research examined the mediating effect of (PE) on the factors of leadership and safety climate and their relationship to work-related injury. …


Driving Strategies In Performance Excellence, Nathan Lawrence Jan 2017

Driving Strategies In Performance Excellence, Nathan Lawrence

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Only a small number of U.S. businesses have implemented the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to improve their performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that executive business leaders use to implement the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The study population consisted of 6 business executives and 2 organizations in the U.S. state of Texas, all with experience in implementing the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The theory of high performance work systems provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were gathered from interviews and record reviews that were conducted within the organizations. Inductive …


Essential Executive Coaching Competencies For Enhancing Executive On-The-Job Performance: A Modified Delphi Study, Arturo Small Maxwell Jan 2017

Essential Executive Coaching Competencies For Enhancing Executive On-The-Job Performance: A Modified Delphi Study, Arturo Small Maxwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 93% of Fortune 1000 companies in the United States rely upon executive coaching to accelerate executive performance. However, there is a lack of empirical research identifying effective executive coaching competencies. In this modified Delphi study, a panel of 17 executive coaching experts was purposefully selected from the International Coach Federation and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Participant selection criteria included training in executive coaching, executive coaching credentialing, and -?¥3 years practicing executive coaching or purchasing executive coaching services. Participants used a 5 point Likert-type questionnaire to provide their expert opinion regarding essential executive coaching competencies for enhancing …


Perceptions Of Leader Emotional Intelligence And Subordinate Turnover Intentions In Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Suzanne L. Jafferian Jan 2016

Perceptions Of Leader Emotional Intelligence And Subordinate Turnover Intentions In Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Suzanne L. Jafferian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance abuse is a persistent social problem contributing to family disruption; domestic abuse; school failure; and financial costs relating to criminal prosecution, incarceration, treatment, and lost productivity and wages. Substance abuse is amenable to treatment, including psychotherapy. A client-therapist relationship is broken if the therapist leaves the organization; therefore, employee retention is especially important in treatment centers. Employee retention has been studied, but how it is affected by supervisees' perceptions of their managers' emotional intelligence has been a neglected area. The purpose of this nonexperimental, correlational study was to determine the relationship between employee turnover intention and perceived emotional intelligence …


Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, And British Nurses' Intention To Leave Employment, Brendan Edward Williams Jan 2016

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, And British Nurses' Intention To Leave Employment, Brendan Edward Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In spite of decades of research, concerning nurse's intention to leave their employer (ITL), in 2011, 31.2% of the British nurses surveyed indicated they had formed an ITL. Grounded in reasoned action theory as developed by Ajzen and Fishbein, the purpose of the correlational study was to provide hospital managers with information regarding the relationship among nurse's job satisfaction (JS), organizational culture (OC), and ITL. The archival data from the 2011 NHS Staff Survey included responses from nurses (n = 21,257) across the British National Health Service. The Spearman's rho correlates rs (21,257) indicated relationships among nurse's job satisfaction, organizational …


Meaningfulness Of Work As Perceived By Women From Diverse Social Classes: A Grounded Theory Exploration, Jennifer L. Hutmire Jan 2016

Meaningfulness Of Work As Perceived By Women From Diverse Social Classes: A Grounded Theory Exploration, Jennifer L. Hutmire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite research connecting the meaningfulness of work with positive organizational outcomes, such as increased employee well-being, job satisfaction, engagement, and retention, there remains a lack of adequate, inclusive research explaining differences in women's perceptions of the meaningfulness of work. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to address this gap in the literature by developing a theory about the formation of perceptions of the meaningfulness of work and about the impact of those perceptions. Research questions explored perceptions that women from diverse social classes have of the meaningfulness of work, what influenced those perceptions, the impact of those …


Strategies To Improve Employee Performance In The U.S. Aerospace Industry, Nicole Therese Balderrama Jan 2016

Strategies To Improve Employee Performance In The U.S. Aerospace Industry, Nicole Therese Balderrama

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Outsourcing is a sought out practice within business and, in particular, the U.S. aerospace industry; however, some outsourced firms cannot meet client expectations. The purpose of this single case study was to explore what strategies outsourced firm company leaders use to improve the performance of employees. The sample comprised 4 senior managers employed with a firm that has been producing parts for 109 years for a major aerospace company in Southern California. The conceptual framework for this study built upon systems thinking to identify the structure of the outsourcing and supplier relationship and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory to understand work motivation …


Generational Differences Among Social Security Administration Employees And Their Perception Of Value, Joyce Moses Jones Jan 2016

Generational Differences Among Social Security Administration Employees And Their Perception Of Value, Joyce Moses Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social Security Administration (SSA) managers and leaders are facing an unprecedented challenge to understand 3 to 5 generations of employees, and value the diversity of each group (Glass, 2007). Perceived lack of recognition has resulted in low morale and job satisfaction, leaving employees not feeling valued. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore, identify, and examine the lived experiences and perceptions of SSA employees to determine how managers and leaders can contribute to employee valuation. The central question and subquestions were designed to determine whether generational theory accurately described the lived experiences and perceptions of the …


An Exploration Of Baby Boomer Mass Retirement Effects On Information Systems Organizations, Nithyanandam Mathiyazhagan Mathiyazhagan Jan 2016

An Exploration Of Baby Boomer Mass Retirement Effects On Information Systems Organizations, Nithyanandam Mathiyazhagan Mathiyazhagan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The potential knowledge loss from Baby Boomer generation employee retirements can negatively affect information systems organizations. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore the lived experiences of the leaders and managers of information systems organizations as they tried to maintain operational continuity after Baby Boomer worker retirements. The impact of this issue was the operational continuity after the Baby Boomer worker retirement. The social impact of this issue was the knowledge loss events that might result in business loss or even bankruptcy. McElroy's knowledge life cycle model was the conceptual framework for this study that included knowledge …


Labor Relations At A Major Airline: Exploring Employee Performance Strategies, Christian Popp Jan 2016

Labor Relations At A Major Airline: Exploring Employee Performance Strategies, Christian Popp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globally, the aviation industry supports 58.1 million jobs in related industries and U.S. airlines alone generated 11.8 million jobs. Airline performance, productivity, and profitability depend on employees. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that U.S. airline leaders use to improve employee performance. The study was grounded with the Harvard model of human resource management. A stratified purposeful sample of 14 managers and 10 frontline staff from a Florida airline participated in semistructured individual interviews and a focus group, respectively. The data from these interviews were analyzed using Moustakas's modified van Kaam method. The themes …


Strategies For Increasing Employee Engagement In The Service Industry, Tonia Ann Walker Jan 2016

Strategies For Increasing Employee Engagement In The Service Industry, Tonia Ann Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The annual loss to U.S. organizations consequential to a lack of employee engagement was approximately $300 billion in 2013. Employee engagement is vital to the business sustainability of an organization. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore successful strategies that business leaders of a service organization used to increase employee engagement. The conceptual framework guiding this study was the behavior engineering model theory developed by Gilbert. A purposeful sample of 6 engineering managers was selected based on their success in creating strategies resulting in increased employee workplace engagement in a monopoly service organization in Connecticut. Semistructured …


The Effect Of Workspace Layout On Individual Perceptions Of Creativity Across Generational Cohorts, Leslie Estelle Barrett Jan 2016

The Effect Of Workspace Layout On Individual Perceptions Of Creativity Across Generational Cohorts, Leslie Estelle Barrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations strategically design the physical work environment to enhance employees' creativity. Understanding the impact of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts can be vital to sustaining organizational competitiveness. Researchers have theorized that workspace layout affects employees' perceptions of creativity; however, few studies have looked at the effect of generational cohort on this relationship. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the effect of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts. A sample of 162 participants completed an online demographics questionnaire as well as aKEYS, a modified version of the KEYS to Creativity and …


Employee Turnover In Frontline Hospital Staff, Jeanne Lynn Wilson Jan 2016

Employee Turnover In Frontline Hospital Staff, Jeanne Lynn Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is costly in service-intensive organizations where employee-customer interactions directly affect the organization's success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies community hospital leaders use to reduce frontline support employee turnover. The study population consisted of leaders of a community hospital in southeast Louisiana. The conceptual framework for this study is Kahn's model of employee engagement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight hospital leaders in southeast Louisiana who were selected through census sampling. Interview transcripts were analyzed and coded following Yin's case study analysis process. Methodological triangulation allowed for a comparison of the findings of …


Mutuality, Inter Organizational Cultural Understanding, And The Efficacy Of Humanitarian Response, Elizabeth Anne Yeomans Jan 2016

Mutuality, Inter Organizational Cultural Understanding, And The Efficacy Of Humanitarian Response, Elizabeth Anne Yeomans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations responding to humanitarian crises often have different organizational cultures and observational lenses, presenting barriers to collaborative efforts at the outset of a crisis. The inherently chaotic nature of these crises exacerbates this problem, slowing the speed of response and the degree of efficacy of the response effort. Researchers have examined these organizational differences but have not defined barriers to mutuality and possible ways to overcome those barriers presenting a gap in knowledge. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by offering areas to focus on to improve cultural awareness between disparate organizations. The central research question …