Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Construction Industry: Profitable Corporate Sustainability Strategies And Processes Achieve Competitive Advantage, Chad Justin Czelusniak-Serviss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some construction industry managers lack strategies to integrate corporate sustainability strategies and processes for competitive advantage, which causes limited profitability. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore corporate sustainability strategies and processes senior and mid-level construction industry managers use to achieve competitive advantage in the United States. The participants were eight senior/mid-level construction industry managers from eight different construction industry organizations with at least five years of experience in the construction industry who utilized corporate sustainability strategies and processes. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Three themes emerged using thematic analysis: …

Construction Industry: Profitable Corporate Sustainability Strategies And Processes Achieve Competitive Advantage, Chad Justin Czelusniak-Serviss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some construction industry managers lack strategies to integrate corporate sustainability strategies and processes for competitive advantage, which causes limited profitability. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore corporate sustainability strategies and processes senior and mid-level construction industry managers use to achieve competitive advantage in the United States. The participants were eight senior/mid-level construction industry managers from eight different construction industry organizations with at least five years of experience in the construction industry who utilized corporate sustainability strategies and processes. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. Three themes emerged using thematic analysis: …

Employer Strategies For Improving Employee Work-Life Balance, Vernessa Lashawn Johnson-Hoffman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior leaders who fail to implement work-life balance strategies may experience reduced profits and sustainability challenges. This single case study explored employers' strategies for improving employee work-life balance. The population for the study included 4 senior leaders of a hospice care agency in North Carolina who successfully implemented employee work-life balance strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and from the review of company documents, website, and social media pages. The conceptual framework for the study was the transformational leadership theory. The trustworthiness of interpretations was supported by member checking. Four themes emerged from inductive analysis of the data: a …

Leadership Strategies For Improving Employee Engagement In The Information Technology Industry, Geneva L. Reed

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees in the information technology industry lead to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, poor job performance, higher employee turnover, and reduced organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the leadership strategies that information technology leaders used to improve employee engagement. The transformational leadership theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 3 leaders of information technology companies in Illinois and a review of company documents. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis and using Yin's 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding data. The 3 emergent themes …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Examining The Effects Of A Lean And Green Supply Chain On Bottom Line Costs And Market Valuation, Sharon Maskin

Senior Theses

This paper examines the link between a firm’s adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the resulting monetary benefits. Specifically, it addresses four major areas of business operations that present great opportunities for supply chain cost reduction and a simultaneous decrease in environmental impact. These four areas include traditional/open-loop supply chains, product packaging waste, pollution at the manufacturing site, and logistics inefficiencies. The paper then identifies several business cases in which companies have addressed several environmental issues and driven down bottom-line costs in each of the four areas through innovation and increased resource productivity. Along with cost benefits, it …

Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Management, And Profitability, Dr. Daisy Valentin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. hospitality industry's profitability has been shifting to environmental management and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Hospitality industries accounted for 5% of the global market in 2015 and are expected to increase by 130% in 2035. Grounded in stakeholder theory, this correlation study examined the relationship between corporate sustainability officer (CSO) CSR, CSO environmental management, and hospitality business profitability. Secondary data were collected from 97 hotel websites of the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area from 2014 to 2016. The multiple linear regression combinations of CSR and environmental management (EM) measured significantly related to the profitability index, F(3, 93) = 4.67, …

Educational Manager Perceptions Towards Integrated Management Information System Implementation In Yemen, Mahfood Hussain Alkaabi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The government of Yemen has been developing government offered services designed to improve the quality of education management. Yemen's managers of education and managers of higher education in the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) have sought to improve quality of education, reduce costs, and provide timely information for decision-making processes by implementing an integrated management information system (IMIS). The problem was the lack of understanding the barriers that hinder successful IMIS implementation by the MOE and MOHE, and the role that lack of collaboration has played in prior unsuccessful attempts. The purpose of this …

Exploring Management Practices Of The Health Care System For Contractors, Gary L. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that military members serving in war experienced changes in physical and mental health. Military members' healthcare is managed by the Department of Defense. The problem was that management practices of the system for providing long-term healthcare for employees of a contracting company working in foreign combat zones is either minimal or nonexistent. The purpose of this case study was to explore ways that contractor managers and government managers can work together to provide healthcare for those contract employees who will be deployed with the U.S. military. The primary research question was to determine what managers of contractors …

Stakeholder Collaboration Strategies In The Hawaii Tourism Industry, Catherine Kaehu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Travel and tourism are concepts that date back to 3000 B.C. with globalization extending possibilities of travel to people across the world. Addressing stakeholder concerns is especially important in promoting the development of sustainable tourism contributing to the protection of Earth's natural resources and long-term sustainability of tourism businesses through collaboration and participation. This qualitative case study incorporated a strategic stakeholder management framework, focusing on exploring strategies that Hawaii tourism industry leaders use for increasing stakeholder participation in sustainable tourism development. The population consisted of individuals across 6 categories of Hawaii tourism industry stakeholders identified as visitors, residents, government or …

A Grounded Theory Of Emergent Leadership In Nonhierarchical Virtual Teams, Randall Fleming

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Grounded Theory of Emergent Leadership in Nonhierarchical Virtual Teams

by

Randall David Fleming

MS, Colorado Technical University, 2008

BA, The Ohio State University, 1984

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Management

Walden University

November 2018

Information Communication Technology Management As A Gdp Growth Contributor Within Arab League Nations, Jamal Alexander Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The general problem addressed in this study was Arab League nations' over-reliance on fossil fuels as a gross domestic product (GDP) growth driver. Arab League nations that depend primarily on fossil fuel production lack alternative resources for growth in times of fossil fuel usage or price decline. Overdependence on fossil fuels has led to minimal development in other economic sectors, primarily in skilled domestic labor, and to a high dependency on foreign skilled labor for skilled domestic jobs. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent information communication technology (ICT) management can be a viable GDP growth …

Developing Sustainable Leadership Strategies To Increase Corporate Revenue, Linda Goulet Crosby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The business environment is in constant flux where stakeholders encourage organizational leaders to consider sustainable business tactics alongside corporate profits. While most business leaders recognize the importance of including sustainability into corporate goals, evidence suggested that only 10% have sustainable action plans in place. Using the honeybee leadership model as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the sustainable leadership strategies that business leaders from small- and medium- sized companies integrated to increase corporate revenue. These companies were B Corp certified which ensures a third party endorsement of sustainable practices. The data were collected …

Patient Portals: Achieving Technology Acceptance And Meaningful Use In Independent Physician-Managed Practices, Kimberly W. Bartholomew

CCE Theses and Dissertations

As the bulk of medical health records shift from paper-based file systems to electronic formats, the promise of the transformation process called healthcare reform included adding efficiencies to medical practice workflows, lower costs, improved quality of care and most important, and the freeing of patient information from traditional propriety silos. With this incoming largess of protected health information data now viewable through online patient portals, patients can be empowered to become educated and active in their own health care decisions, but only if they have admission to their information. A digital divide currently exists in many medical practices where only …

Understanding The Impact Of Hacker Innovation Upon Is Security Countermeasures, Sean M. Zadig

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Hackers external to the organization continue to wreak havoc upon the information systems infrastructure of firms through breaches of security defenses, despite constant development of and continual investment in new IS security countermeasures by security professionals and vendors. These breaches are exceedingly costly and damaging to the affected organizations. The continued success of hackers in the face of massive amounts of security investments suggests that the defenders are losing and that the hackers can innovate at a much faster pace.

Underground hacker communities have been shown to be an environment where attackers can learn new techniques and share tools pertaining …

The Impact Of Technology Acceptance And Openess To Innovaion On Software Implementation, Michael Marin Bertini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior management decisions to foster innovation and adopt new technology solutions have serious implications for the success of their organization change initiatives. This project examined the issue of senior management decision or reasons of their decision to adopt new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems as a solution to solve their business problems. This project investigated the degree that perceived ease of use and usefulness of the ERP system influenced decisions made by senior managers to innovate. Roger's diffusion of innovations theory and Davis technology acceptance model theory were used to predict when senior managers were open to innovation, and whether …

Comparative Analysis: Successes And Failures Of St. Louis, Stephen Anane-Boakye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The St. Louis School District (SLSD) provided its students with a virtual education program (VEP) but abandoned it following a cut in federal funding, omitting an alternative pathway for students to complete their education. The problem addressed in this study was the effect of technology and management's decision to discontinue the VEP. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine management's role and the effect of the technology in discontinuing the VEP. Dewey's theory of education and Koskela and Howell's theory of management established the theoretical foundation for the study. A purposeful sampling selection approach was used to recruit …

A Multisite Hospital's Transition To An Interoperable Electronic Health Records System, Valerie Gerene Drill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The health care industry is transforming into an industry that requires health information technology, yet many health care organizations are reluctant to implement new technology. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies that led to a successful transition from an older electronic health record (EHR) system to a compliant EHR system at a multisite hospital system (MHS). The study included face-to-face and phone interviews with 12 managers who worked on the transition of an MHS's EHR system in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The technology acceptance model was used to frame the study. Audio …

Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring Strategies For Building Sustainable Business Organizations, Maria Ana Church

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Brazilians create an average of 1.2 million new registered enterprises annually, but some struggle to keep their business in operation. Thirty percent of the new ventures are unable to survive the first year, and 58% go out of business after the first 5 years. The goal of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of Brazilian women entrepreneurs concerning the strategies needed to build sustainable business organizations in Brazil. The individual concepts of sustainable development, sustainability, business strategies, and business models served as the theoretical foundations for the study. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs …

Sustainability Efforts Of One Oil Company In Niger Delta Of Nigeria, Charles Afam Anosike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Environmental degradation and socioeconomic dilemma continue to stigmatize oil production in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Sustainability programs of oil companies often determine the improvement of living conditions in the region. This explanatory qualitative case study, guided by systems thinking theory and sustainable value framework, explored practitioners' perceptions of sustainability programs to identify its impact on business and the host communities. The research question was designed to address how sustainability efforts of a single oil company in the Niger Delta contributed to the business performance and the livelihood of the local people. Research data were gathered from a sample of …

Acceptance And Usage Of Electronic Health Record Systems In Small Medical Practices, Ritu Tannan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the objectives of the U.S. government has been the development of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including adoption and use of an electronic health records (EHR) system. However, a 2008 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics indicated a 41.5% usage of the EHR system by physicians in office-based practices. The purpose of this study was to explore opinions and beliefs on the barriers to the diffusion of an ERH system using Q-methodology. Specifically, the research questions examined the subjectivity in the patterns of perspectives at the preadoption stage of the nonusers and at the postadoption …

Transcending Technological Innovation: The Impact Of Acquisitions On Entrepreneurial Technical Organizations, Bruce Crochetiere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology firms with substantial cash reserves acquire smaller entrepreneurial firms for diversification. In 2006, 3 large firms acquired 28 organizations, with the combined deals exceeding {dollar}4.7 billion. The problem addressed in this study is that new start-up companies with innovative ideas may not mature when they are acquired by larger companies and do not fully articulate potential industry-transcending innovation. This is important because the unsuccessful integration of an acquisition can dismantle innovation and compromises economic inventiveness. Drawing from the disruptive innovation and the resource-based theories, the purpose of the quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of acquisition by larger …

The Potential Role Of Business Intelligence In Church Organizations, Charmaine Felder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business intelligence (BI) involves transforming data into actionable information to make better business decisions that may help improve operations. Although businesses have experienced success with BI, how leaders of church organizations might be able to exploit the advantages of BI in church organizations remains largely unexplored. The purpose of the phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of pastoral leaders concerning the potential usefulness of BI in church organizations. Conceptual support for the study was based on the premise that churches may also benefit from BI that helps improve decision making and organizational performance. Three research questions were used to …

An Empirical Study On User Acceptance Of Simulation Techniques For Business Process, Olurotimi Adeboye Ladeinde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Non acceptance of technology may result in serious damages to organizations. For example, non acceptance of simulation technology cost Merrill Lynch Bank over {dollar}50 billion in 2008, while statistics in 2 separate studies showed that non acceptance of technology was responsible for a 57% decrease in performance level for physicians practicing in public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong, and a 39% decrease in productivity for hotel workers in Seoul, Korea. The problem addressed in this research was non acceptance of simulation technology by project managers. This research investigated the correlation among personal innovativeness, organizational innovativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of …

Data-Driven Decision Making As A Tool To Improve Software Development Productivity, Mary Erin Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The worldwide software project failure rate, based on a survey of information technology software manager's view of user satisfaction, product quality, and staff productivity, is estimated to be between 24% and 36% and software project success has not kept pace with the advances in hardware. The problem addressed by this study was the limited information about software managers' experiences with data-driven decision making (DDD) in agile software organizations as a tool to improve software development productivity. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how agile software managers view DDD as a tool to improve software development productivity and …

Relative Pricing Of Publicly Traded U.S. Electric Utility Companies, Nicholas Stephen Jewczyn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the financial turmoil of 2008, U.S. firms reported debt-ratios that differed from the debt-ratios calculated from balance sheets. The problem is that investors bought common stock expecting initial investment return and lost money when companies delisted. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine sample securities pricing with the application of synthetic assets and debt accrued. Addressed in the research questions was whether those securities were (a) underpriced compared with return-on-assets (ROA), (b) overpriced compared with ROA, (c) a debt-ratio higher than 60% and also overpriced, (d) underpriced with a synthetic asset added, or (e) related by relative …

Asset Reuse Of Images From A Repository, Deirdre Herman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to Markus's theory of reuse, when digital repositories are deployed to collect and distribute organizational assets, they supposedly help ensure accountability, extend information exchange, and improve productivity. Such repositories require a large investment due to the continuing costs of hardware, software, user licenses, training, and technical support. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of evidence in the literature on whether users in fact reused enough digital assets in repositories to justify the investment. The objective of the study was to investigate the organizational value of repositories to better inform architectural, construction, software and other industries whether …

Learning Without Onboarding: How Assessing And Evaluating Learning Benefits New Information Technology Hires, Dory L. Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Onboarding ensures learning success through sharing and acquiring knowledge to remain competitive. However, little is known about new Information Technology (IT) hires' learning needs in the absence of onboarding; therefore, the purpose of this case study was to examine, increase, and retain their technical knowledge at the Unified Communications Company (UCC). Following the theoretical model of knowledge management, which holds that knowledge is the key to confirm learning and knowledge sharing, the research questions were used to examine how the company assessed and increased their technical knowledge and how they taught their culture in the absence of onboarding. A qualitative …

Using Organizational, Coordination, And Contingency Theories To Examine Project Manager Insights On Agile And Traditional Success Factors For Information Technology Projects, Michael J. Doherty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Two dominant research views addressing disappointing success rates for information technology (IT) projects suggest project success may depend on the presence of a large number of critical success factors or advocate for agile project management as an alternative to traditional practice. However, after two decades of research, success rates remain low, and the role of critical success factors or project management approach remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to use views of experienced project managers to explore the contribution of success factors and management approach to project success. Applying organizational, coordination, and contingency theories, the research questions examined …

The Role Of Leadership In Safety Performance And Results, Halina E. Caravello

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee injury rates in U.S. land-based operations in the energy industry are 2 to 3 times higher relative to other regions in the world. Although a rich literature exists on drivers of safety performance, no previous studies investigated factors influencing this elevated rate. Leadership has been identified as a key contributor to safety outcomes and this grounded theory study drew upon the full range leadership model, situational leadership, and leader-member exchange theories for the conceptual framework. Leadership aspects influencing safety performance were investigated through guided interviews of 27 study participants; data analyses included open and axial coding, and constant comparisons …

Entropy In Postmerger And Acquisition Integration From An Information Technology Perspective, Gloria S. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mergers and acquisitions have historically experienced failure rates from 50% to more than 80%. Successful integration of information technology (IT) systems can be the difference between postmerger success or failure. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the entropy phenomenon during postmerger IT integration. To that end, a purposive sample of 14 midlevel and first-line managers in a manufacturing environment was interviewed to understand how the negative effects of entropy affect the ultimate success of the IT integration process. Using the theoretical framework of the process school of thought, interview data were iteratively examined by using keywords, phrases, …