Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

Perceived Self-Efficacy And Dispositional Optimism In Leaders' Behavioral Escalation Of Commitment, Adebimpe Yetunde Babatunde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Escalation of commitment is an individual's persistent behavior at sustaining commitment to an original decision or course of action. Although researchers have found that personality impacts escalation of commitment behavior, this study addressed a gap in escalation of commitment behavior regarding personality in higher education, which has consistently been ignored. Building on the self-justification theory, this study was an investigation of (a) whether perceived self-efficacy and dispositional optimism individually predicted escalation of commitment behavior; and (b) whether perceived self-efficacy and dispositional optimism jointly predicted escalation of commitment behavior after controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and tenure. Hierarchical regression …

Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory With Organizational Activity Systems' Workflow Dynamics, Dana Forrest Ladd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2005 and 2010 and across 48 countries, including the United States, an increasing positive correlation emerged between national intellectual capital and gross domestic product per capita. The problem remains organizations operating with increasingly complex knowledge networks often lose intellectual capital resulting from ineffective knowledge management practices. The purpose of this study was to provide management opportunities to reduce intellectual capital loss. The first research question addressed how an enhanced intelligent, complex, and adaptive system (ICAS) model could clarify management's understanding of organizational knowledge transfer. The second research question addressed how interdisciplinary theory could become more meaningfully infused to enhance …

The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective: An Ongoing Experiment In Musical Self-Governance, Julian D. Bryson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective and Triad: Boston’s Choral Collective are the first choirs to explore collectivity as a method of ensemble organization. While more traditional ensembles have a single artistic director, C4 and Triad share and rotate leadership responsibilities among the full membership. Artistic and logistical decisions develop through conversation, consensus, and/or voting.

This monograph draws primarily on interviews with thirteen current and former members of the two ensembles as well as the author’s personal experiences with Triad’s inaugural concert cycle to present a narrative description of member characteristics, governance, and operational processes. Interview responses are compared to relevant …

Battle Of The Beds: The Economic Impact Of Airbnb On The Hotel Industry In Chicago And San Francisco, Katherine Goree

Scripps Senior Theses

The sharing economy is the private redistribution of goods via peer-to-peer sharing. Since internet use has saturated the U.S., the sharing economy has become widely internet-based. Airbnb, a website and app that facilitates the short-term rental of space to stay in another person’s home, has become a major component of the sharing economy.

This study includes an empirical analysis of the hotel occupancy rates in two major markets, San Francisco and Chicago, and how they have or have not changed, from the 2008 launch of Airbnb through the end of 2014. The study hypothesizes that Airbnb has had a statistically …

Organizational Learning: The Path To Growth, Rachael M. Huang

Scripps Senior Theses

Organizational learning is a topic that has been widely studied under a number of different approaches. The common, essential themes that are present in any theory of organizational leaning reflect the necessity of balancing explorative and exploitative tendencies within organizations. Organizational learning is the key to organizational effectiveness and development, and involves a collective action and mindset that allows for the reflection of current processes and the reevaluation of the efficiency of these processes within organizational structures. In this way, knowledge is embedded into organizational systems so that continuous learning can be implemented on an organizational scale. As a result, …

Needs Assessment As A Process For Change Management: Aligning Organizational Performance And Human Capital Investment With Strategic Planning And Change Creation, Abdulaziz Alshgeri

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research suggests that 70% of change management (CM) initiatives are considered unsuccessful. The most important reason for the dismal success rate of change initiatives is that they are driven by poor and invalid strategic decisions. Frameworks that businesses implement to secure sustainable long-term competitive advantages in the marketplace are often not effective. Therefore, decision-making related to improving results is critical, and must be based on an organization’s preset criteria. Creating and prioritizing key performance indicators direct leaders’ attention to effective change decisions. Prior research addresses several approaches to decide whether change is needed, such as statistical evidence, gut feelings, or …

Implementation Of Operational Excellence: Challenges Related To Employee Perception And Organizational Culture, Ruben Fontes

Dissertations

Industries that are traditionally technical and hierarchical present a variety of challenges for today’s leaders, particularly given the rapidly evolving, technology-driven global business environment. In addition, the movement toward more collaborative and horizontal work environments encourages a uniquely collective perspective comprised of individuals who are expected to continually shift between innovation and conformance. Success in the contemporary business environment largely depends on a firm’s speed and efficiency in relation to its competitors, which challenges leaders to not only remain on the cutting edge of their respective industries, but also stay “in tune” with the inner workings of their organizations in …

Developing Strategies Of Organizational Sustainability For Solo And Small Business Medical Practices, Gerald Lloyd Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recent trends point toward a decline in solo and small business medical practices, yet, the need and demand still exists for this model of health care. The purpose of this case study was to explore effective approaches to help physicians in solo practice and small medical group primary care practitioners (PCPs) retain their small business medical practices. The study included purposive sampling and face-to-face interviews: 11 physicians, predominately primary care practitioners, in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region, were interviewed until data saturation was reached. A component of systems theory (strategic thinking) and the dynamic capabilities concept were used to frame the …

Examining Employee Motivation, Environmental Systems, And Corporate Social Responsibility In Proenvironmental Behavior, Brian Warrick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The World Health Organization has pointed to climate change as the most significant issue in the 21st century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Organizations are leaning toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental management systems (EMS) to reverse the current trend; however, these efforts are often ineffective or pooly implemented. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the extent to which employees' proenvironmental behavior relates to their protection motivation and organizational identification, as well as their perception and knowledge of the organization's CSR and EMS, respectively. Using social identity as the theoretical framework, …

Exploring The Influence Of Context On Resistance To Organizational Change Within A Virtual Faculty Workforce, David Starnes Starnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers must know how to operationalize change, as well as manage the attitudes and emotions associated with transforming the organization. Managing the culture involved with organizational change is a challenge in any environment, and perhaps even more so when managing a virtual workforce. The problem addressed in this study was that while there is considerable research on organizational change, there is little research concerning the influence of trust in leadership, frequency of change, and history of change on virtual faculty resistance to change in higher education. As a result, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding regarding how context …

A Multiple Case Study Of The Influence Of Positive Organizational Behavior On Human Resources, Michelle Geiman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations are looking for ways to have higher employee engagement and productive employees. A way that this may be accomplished is through Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) practices. There is a lack of knowledge surrounding the successes and failures of implementing a POB culture by human resource departments (HRDs). The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study design was to explore the influence POB practices have on HRDs. Specifically, the research helped to gain an understanding of how a POB strategy operates and affects HRDs. Items examined in the conceptual framework include a foundation in positive psychology theories and human resource …

The Effect Of Target Demographics And Emotional Intelligence On Workplace Bullying, Richard P. Himmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying has escalated among U.S. workers, and aside from its mental and physical toll, it can affect productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. Researchers have identified the primary causes of workplace bullying as envy, leadership disregard, a permissive climate, organizational culture, and personality traits. This non experimental, quantitative study investigated the predictors of workplace bullying at the target level, and specifically examined if target EI, age, gender, and/or race/ethnicity predicts experienced workplace bullying. Participants (N = 151) 18 years or older with one year of work experience were recruited from the WBI database, a newspaper column, public presentations, and a blog. …

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Servant Leadership In Banking, Curtis J. Gregory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S.-based financial institutions have experienced significant failure rates since the mid-1980s. The problem within the U.S.-based banking industry is that the focus of leadership development has been primarily on cognitive abilities, whereas interpersonal skills, such as emotional intelligence, have been neglected. Research has focused on U.S. bank failures from a risk mitigation, economic, or legislative perspective, creating a gap in research on leadership behavior. The purpose of this correlation study was to determine whether a significant relationship exists between emotional intelligence and servant leadership among leaders in the U.S. small business banking industry. The theoretical framework compared intelligence types to …

Successful Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation: A Higher Education Managerial Perspective, Elizabeth A. Arthur

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overall success rate of implementing enterprise resource planning systems is about 30%. Guided by systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies used to ensure a successful implementation by information technology managers working in higher education settings. The data were derived from semistructured interviews of 6 managers and documentation from a higher education institution in the northeastern United States that successfully implemented an ERP system. Data analysis consisted of reviewing interview transcripts, from which themes and patterns were identified and coded. Three recurring factors arose throughout the analysis involved commitment, communication, and …

Exploring Generation Y Leaders' Motivation And Retention Within The Service Industry, Jason Earl Wiggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retention of millennial leaders continues to be a concern for executive leadership. The problem addressed in this study was the gap in research regarding how the motivation of Generation Y leaders affects employee satisfaction and retention factors. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the retention rate for 20 Generation Y service leaders in the southwestern United States to illuminate patterns of satisfied millennial leaders by drawing from employers' role in motivating and retaining millennial leaders in the service industry. Herzberg's 2-factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams's equity theory, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs comprised the conceptual …

Perceived Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Emergency Preparedness, Tanya Marie Scherr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

National healthcare as executed through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced in 2010, but was discussed for several decades prior to its enactment. Section 5210 of the ACA established funding for a Regular and Ready Reserve Corps (RRRC) to provide support to local healthcare entities with emergency preparedness. It is unknown what impact Section 5210 of the ACA has had on local emergency preparedness, as well as what obstacles are encountered with implementing this piece of legislation at the local level. The purpose of this case study was to understand the obstacles encountered at a local …

Supply Chain Organizational Infrastructure For Promoting Entrepreneurial Emphasis And Innovativeness: The Role Of Trust And Learning., Divesh Ojha, Jeff Shockley, Chandan Acharya

Publications and Research

Research has argued that inter-organizational trust and learning are critical factors associated with successful supply chain innovation and long-term competitiveness. In this paper, we develop and test a proposed model of supply chain organizational design using survey data collected from 128 decision-makers across diverse sample of supply chain decision-makers across many industries. Our analysis provides evidence that both trust and supply chain learning play important, but distinctive roles in developing an entrepreneurial and innovative supply chains. Moreover, our research findings add critical insight into existing resource-based perspectives of supply chain innovation by illuminating the roles and progression of the different …

Work Breaks, Employee Morale, And Satisfaction In The Restaurant Industry, Laura A. Oliver

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work breaks during an individual's shift can be a powerful motivational tool for management; however, not all individuals receive breaks during their shifts. The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how work breaks affect employee morale and satisfaction in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. The questions explored in this study were related to the breaks effect employee satisfaction and morale in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. Thirteen participants with a minimum of 5 years' experience as wait staff who worked more than 6 hours per day were interviewed using semi structured interviews. The …

Strategies Functional Managers Use To Control Cyberloafing Behaviors, Emilsen Salazar Holguin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Computer technologies have increased the opportunities for employees to engage in cyberloafing by using the Internet at work for personal purposes. Uncontrolled cyberloafing is a threat to organizational effectiveness because it affects organizational productivity. The purpose of this single case study was to explore successful strategies functional managers use to control cyberloafing behaviors of their employees at an e-learning organization located in the northeastern United States. The theory of planned behavior, which emphasized behavioral, normative, and control beliefs as key elements to predict individuals' intentions to behave was the conceptual framework. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 11 functional …

Transforming Christian Schools Using Sustainable Model Of Organizational Change And Performance Improvement, Abraham Adhanom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational failure in Christian schools is a common phenomenon affecting millions of families in the United States. In the past 2 decades alone, more than 200 Christian schools closed each year; and many continued to struggle for survival. This trend presented significant challenge for the sustainability of faith-based schools that serve over 10% of grade-level students in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine internal and external factors impacting the performance of Christian schools and analyze existing theories of institutional effectiveness leading to the development of a sustainable framework. The research question addressed what type of organizational …

Examining Alignment Between Canadian Municipal Police Performance Evaluation Policies And Officer Perceptions, Birdella Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of alignment between police performance evaluation policy purposes and officer performance evaluation perceptions has implications for the organizations' resource management, officer morale, and public safety. A literature review points towards a gap existing between policy purpose statements and employee perceptions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the policy purposes of police performance evaluations and the officers' perceptions of those evaluation experiences in 4 Ontario municipal police services. DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) Institutional theory was the foundation for this study. Data for this study were collected from 4 police services in Ontario, Canada. The …

Absenteeism In An International Custom Software Engineering Company, Jennifer M. Mudek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Absenteeism has a negative impact on organizational output in the form of lost productivity and profit reduction for software engineering companies. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the strategies that software engineering managers utilize for reducing absenteeism. The theory of planned behavior formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 11 managers at an international custom software engineering company. Data collection also included organizational data on employee absences for the past 5 years (2011-2015), e-mail memos, newsletters, employee handbook, and employee performance reviews. Based on …

The Impact Of Organizational Culture On Corporate Performance, Tewodros Bayeh Tedla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of effective organizational culture and poor cultural integration in the corporate group affect organizational performance and decrease shareholders return. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore successful strategies that one corporate group used to establish an effective organizational culture to improve performance. The Denison organizational culture model served as the conceptual framework for the study. A purposive sample of 20 senior managers from a corporate group in Ethiopia participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews. The selected participant met the criteria of a minimum 5 years of experience with successful strategies in establishing an effective organizational culture in …

The Effects Of Participative Leadership Practices On Job Satisfaction For Highly Skilled Virtual Teams, Funda Sinani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Virtual-team professionals have reported experiencing low job satisfaction due to lack of face-to-face interaction leading to stress, miscommunication, and role-confusion. Dissatisfaction among virtual teams has increased turnover and management costs for organizations. Despite these known associations, there was a gap in the literature investigating efficient leadership practices to improve job satisfaction for highly skilled virtual teams. Participative leadership offers an effective approach to increase job satisfaction among face-to-face teams and innovative teams. This study explored the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction among highly skilled virtual teams within the global software industry. A quantitative study with a correlational design …

An Exploration Of Leadership Styles And Motivation In Egyptian Business Organizations, Nady Ahmed El-Zayaty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership styles can have a profound impact on employee motivation and performance. The changing global business landscape has drawn much attention to transformational leadership as an approach that addresses the demands of organizations in this complex environment. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to understand the nature of employee motivation with regard to leadership styles and the role of transformational leadership in Egyptian business organizations. Seventeen Egyptian professionals were recruited through a combination of e-mail and telephone procedures and were interviewed regarding their experiences with organizational leaders; their perception of the ideal organizational leader; their feelings about …

Predictive Ability Of Emotional Intelligence Scores On Employee Self-Reported Perception Of Comprehensive Organizational Credibility Inventory, Leif Allen Ford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is positively related to beneficial outcomes in organizations. Research has also found that negative perceptions of organizational credibility (OC) can result in adverse economic and social costs for organizations and communities. To date, the existing research has failed to examine whether employee EQ might affect employee perceptions of OC. A quantitative, non-experimental study was conducted using a sample of employees in large health and medical organizations throughout the United States. The variables in the study were measured using the Assessing Emotions Scale and the Comprehensive Organizational Credibility Inventory. Multiple regression analyses and Pearson …

Developing Generation-Based Volunteer Management Practices, Tonya Renee' Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many nonprofits seek a volunteer base that includes the experience and maturity of the Silent and Baby Boomer Generations as well as the creativity and advanced technological knowledge of Generations X, Y, and Z. Published literature recommends implementing multigenerational volunteer programs to increase the representation of multiple generations. However, there is no literature providing guidance to create volunteer management practices that simultaneously recruit and retain those generations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of 5 generations of volunteers. The research questions for this phenomenological study addressed perspectives that may contribute to developing generation-based volunteer …

Validation Of Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory Within A Multicultural Human, Sandra Simone Minott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Shared values and norms are at the core for unifying different cultures socializing or working to fulfill the goals and mission of organizations. Researchers have not examined how employees representing different cultures socialize via shared norms and values in human service companies. The purpose of this ethnography study was to explore the process of 8 culturally different employees working together at a human service organization. Using purposeful sampling, multicultural employees were selected from 4 departments within the human service company. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, questionnaire, and participant observation were the tools for collecting the data. Descriptive coding, value coding, and …

Examining How Supervisor/Employee Communication Affects Employee Intentions To Leave An Organization, Courtney R. Malengo

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Americans who are full-time employees spend more hours at work than they do with family and loved ones. Management articles and research lament organizational communication woes, specifically amongst employees and their supervisors. This study explores supervisor/employee communication and the affect it has on employees’ decisions to stay or leave an organization. Specifically, the study examines how satisfied employees are with their respective supervisor and their organization, correlating findings to Deetz’s organizational communication theory and Graen & Uhl-Bien’s leader-member exchange theory. Respondents included 132 adults, 18 years and older, 58.4% were female and 41.6% were male, largely spanning the nonprofit/association and …

Extroversion And Media Richness: An Analysis Of Media Preferences Of High Extroverts Within Sales Organizations, Donna M. Dudek

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Personality traits and vocational acumen have been the source of research in recent years. Using personality measures such as the Five Factor model, researchers have sought to find common traits which may predict success in critical organizational roles. Communication needs and desires, including media richness choices, have also been the subject of past research. The purpose of this thesis is to tie these two themes together. Using a survey instrument containing both a personality inventory and a questionnaire examining media preferences in different scenarios, the author gathered data from sales professionals, client service professionals, and managers to evaluate similarities and …