Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Developing Public Service Leadership: Understanding The Field Immersion/Comparative Cases Model For Mid-Career Professional Education In Environment And Natural Resources Leadership, Erin M. Steinkruger

Dissertations and Theses

Public administrators in the United States face increasingly complex challenges and are called to leadership by position and in practice. In a hyper-pluralistic society, individuals must lead from where they sit, arbitrating value differences in day-to-day functions and taking on adversity and uncertainty in pursuit of the public good. These individuals are served by a variety of leadership training programs both internal and external to their organizations. This study characterizes the field immersion/comparative cases (FICC) model for public service leadership development and uses a grounded theory approach to build understanding about how individuals learn about leadership; what learning outcomes emerge …

Impact Of Leadership Style On Moral Conduct In The Ghana Air Force, Kwabena Krampah Antwi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The conduct of personnel in the military is important in maintaining professionalism. The traditional hierarchical level of interactions in the military environment imposes on commanders a critical role to balance their authority in shaping the attitudes of subordinates to achieve objectives. This study was conducted to address the lack of awareness of how commanders’ leadership styles influence the moral conduct of personnel in the Ghana Air Force. The theoretical framework for this study was Bass and Avolio’s full range leadership model. The research question focused on subordinates’ perceptions of operational commanders’ leadership on subordinates’ moral conduct. This non-experimental correlational design …

Factors Contributing To The Success Of Rising Latino Leadership In Central California, A Qualitative Inquiry, Yammilette Rodriguez

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This research study is a qualitative inquiry into Latino public servants in Central California. Drawing from the knowledge of 60 Central Valley Latinos, the study provides details of their inside accounts of their public service paths and political journeys. The public servants shared personal stories of successes and barriers from their experiences and lessons learned through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings translated into recommendations for potential Latino leaders to seek public life as volunteers or to run for political office. The themes of political ambition and social networks and capital arose with subthemes of policies, gender politics, leadership …

The Effectiveness Of Strategy Execution In The Regulatory Management Of The Nigerian Downstream Petroleum Industry., Michael Chinedu Nwonu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNigeria is Africa’s largest oil and gas producer; however, its petroleum industry has experienced mismanagement and a lack of coherent regulations. The general problem addressed in this study was that leaders and managers of Nigeria’s public sector did not have a strong system in place to create and implement regulatory strategies that effectively controlled the management of the petroleum sector. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of managers in developing petroleum regulatory strategies defined by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, FMPR, in Abuja, Nigeria. The realization concept was applied as a conceptual …

Case Study: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities And Threats Analysis For My Brother’S Keeper Organization, Tyriek Bobby Washington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In this case study, strategies to increase the impact of mentorship programs and academic success of African American high school students were examined through the use of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. The purpose of this case study was to gather empirical data to identify opportunities for First Generation College Bound, Inc., an affiliate of the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative to strategically improve and expand their program. The research question focused on identifying the programs’ current administrative practices as well as areas to better engage and support mentees. Using the conceptual framework of Hersey and Blanchard’s …

The Role Of Women In Public Administration In Saint Lucia, Elizabeth Elicia Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women continue to face stereotypes and barriers with their advancement to leadership positions. Nonetheless, there is an increasing number of females in leadership roles partly due to programs and policies for the advancement of women, causing several women to aspire to and take up top leadership positions in the public sector. In Saint Lucia, women hold about 70% of the senior management positions that were once dominated primarily by men. However, little is known about the role of women in public administration in Saint Lucia. This qualitative study aimed to understand the perceptions of male and female leaders relating to …

Public Sector Leadership And The Implementation Of Corruption Mitigation Strategies In Ethiopia, Alem Zeray Reda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPublic sector leaders in less developed countries, like Ethiopia, experience challenges in implementing anticorruption strategies successfully. Ineffective strategy implementation exacerbates the adverse effects of corruption on organizations and the people at large. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of public sector senior leaders regarding the implementation of corruption mitigation strategies in the Tigray region in Ethiopia. The research question focused on senior public sector officials' lived experiences with the execution of anti-corruption policies. The conceptual framework was the strategic leadership theory, focusing on strategy implementation processes and related challenges. The …

Exploration Of Effective Leadership Traits To Retain Millennials In Federal Service, Tony Augustin Damian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The federal government faces critical human capital management challenges because of workforce retirements. Millennial retention is key to addressing some of these challenges. However, job satisfaction surveys have indicated retention concerns for existing millennial federal employees. The federal sector is struggling to compete with the private sector in employee retention among the millennial generation. An intrinsic motivation approach was used in this study, focusing on leadership and its role in retention. Strauss and Howe’s generational theory, the trait-based approach to leadership, and three leadership styles—transformational, ethical, and authentic—comprised the conceptual framework. The purpose was to explore the preferred leadership traits …

Perceptions Of Emotional And Social Intelligence Competencies Among Leaders Within Collective Impact Initiatives In Puerto Rico, Geraldine Bayron-Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The complexity of global societies’ issues requires leaders whose competencies facilitate collective impact initiatives as strategies for coordinating multisector efforts to transform substantial social problems. In Puerto Rico, such endeavors are not producing expedient long-term impact. It is crucial to implement said collaborations relying on leaders' emotional strength and skills, enabling efficient processes to find solutions for subpar circumstances in communities. It was unknown whether senior managers in Puerto Rico understood the necessary emotional and social intelligence leadership competencies which must be developed to improve organizational processes in local cross-sector collaborations. This phenomenological study aimed to understand whether these leaders …

Interpersonal Conflict And Work-Related Stress Among Correctional Officers, Katarzyna Sowa-Lapinskas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasingly, research has been conducted on the penal system, yet few researchers have focused on correctional staff. Due to the nature of their work, correctional officers (COs) experience a high degree of stress that is inmate related, occupational, organizational, and psycho–social. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the work experiences of COs in rural correctional facilities in Alaska and to learn how correctional staff perceive and mitigate work-related stress stemming from interpersonal conflict. The theoretical framework for this study was Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping. Data were collected using semistructured interviews conducted …

Catalysts To Transformational Leadership Between Managers And Analysts In Public Service, Eugene Davis Stevenson Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transformational leadership (TL) is the ability of a leader to convince a subordinate or follower to adopt organizational goals as their goals. Transformational leaders utilize intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence to engage and mold their employees. Within the sphere of public management, current leadership research acknowledges the effect of TL but is still incomplete or inconsistent on how to catalyze TL consistently. The focus of this study was how TL is used between managers and analysts within California state public service. The theoretical framework for this study is complexity theory. Complexity theory states that the world …

Examining Follower Perceptions Of The Relationships Between Public Sector Leadership Behavior And Personality Traits, Robert Perez

Theses & Dissertations

To fill a gap of leadership research in the public sector, conducted in a municipal government department, in a southwestern United States city of over 1,000,000 residents, this quantitative survey research examined the relationships between 66 observer ratings (response rate of 46.15% from a sample of 143 participants) of a department director’s level of the Big Five personality traits, measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3 (NEO-FFI-3), and transformational leadership as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X (MLQ 5X). Demographic data was collected to examine potential relationships between the NEO-FFI-3 and MLQ 5x ratings. To compare the self-other ratings, the …

Decentralization And Good Governance In Angolan Local Governments, Nkosi Mankenda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective provision of public goods and services is among the common issues affecting local governments in Angola. Administrative decentralization is a well-known strategy to foster municipal governance, yet Angolan citizens perceive a lack of impact from this strategy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of leaders and followers in public administration regarding the lack of impact of administrative decentralization on Northern Angola, and to examine the role of public administration education to reverse this trend. The theoretical frameworks were Pierson’s path dependence theory and Cooperrider’s appreciative inquiry theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews …

Minority Women Leaders' Experiences Of Shattering The Glass Ceiling In Public Administration, Trina N. George

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little research explores the experiences of women who have successfully attained careers in the highest echelons of federal service. Using Gregory-Mina's conceptualization of the great man theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to understand the experiences and achievements of 7 women who advanced in the federal leadership hierarchy. This study used secondary data that is part of the Public Administration Genome Project holdings and these data were analyzed using inductive coding followed by a thematic analysis procedure. Data analysis revealed common experiences including that all of the women experienced a lack of mentors and …

The Executive Director Experiences Of African American Women In Mainstream Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations, Davida S. Gobin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women are presently underrepresented in mainstream nonprofit performing arts organizations (PAOs) throughout the United States. Despite this inequality, a small number of African American women have overcome the odds and have productively earned senior leadership roles as executive directors in mainstream nonprofit PAOs. Using the conceptual frameworks of intersectionality and critical race feminism, the purpose of this study was to explore the shared lived experiences of African American women in executive director positions and the impact of race and gender on their leadership development and training for advancement in a mainstream nonprofit PAO. Four research questions explored the …

Peer Coaching For Leadership Development In The Public Sector: A Case Study From Local Public Health, Tammy Mackinnon

MPA Major Research Papers

Leadership development is critical for the future of public sector organizations. Its impact on employee satisfaction, collaboration and organizational performance has been well documented. But how do we best develop leadership in the public sector? Trends in the literature call for a shift to more shared, distributed approaches which argue that leadership capacity is necessary at all organizational levels, regardless of positional authority. This study will examine the efficacy of a peer coaching model at imbedding leadership capacity throughout the layers of an organizational structure. Using a case study of leadership development in local public health, this study contributes to …

Education Policy Adoption In A Child Welfare Agency: Frontline Perspectives On Leadership, Jennifer Lea Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study focused on a policy that promotes educational stability for foster children in a southern state in the US. At the time of this study, this policy had not been fully adopted across the state which resulted in foster children not routinely receiving the interventions necessary for improving academic outcomes. Using the diffusion of innovation theory as a framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how local-level leaders impacted the successful adoption of education policy in one county office of a statewide child welfare agency. Data were collected from a sample of 5 case managers …

Exploring Public Sector Leadership Through Appreciative Inquiry, Wendy L. Morton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership is an important part of creating effective public organizations. Effective leaders have the potential to produce social change through positive follower and organizational outcomes, the development of important policies, and efficiently implementing public policy. The scholarly literature lacks research concerning how leadership styles translate to the public sector. The theoretical framework used to guide and support this study was Cooperrider and Whitney's appreciative inquiry. The research question explored in what ways public sector leaders affect how followers perceive themselves as social change agents in a local city-county health department. For this phenomenological study, 10 followers employed by a local …

Stakeholders' Explanations Of The State Of Cricket In Barbados, Derek Mcdonald Alleyne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policy processes influence decision-making and when processes are influenced by multiple stakeholders, individual interests can go against the general good of the organization or community. The multiple stakeholders of cricket in Barbados have governed the development of cricket. Over the last 30 years the sport has been on a steady decline evidenced by the low attendance at games and the number of teams and individuals playing the sport. At a time when the sport has been growing at the international level, the decline in the fortunes of the sport in Barbados had led to a climate of mistrust and blame …

Hearts And Minds: An Analysis Of Checks And Safeguards, Monitoring, And Performance Review Of Executive Boards And Their Executive Directors Within Select Nonprofit Corporations., John Michael Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Horror stories of ineffective nonprofit organization management arise in the media far too often. When these stories emerge, the public demands accountability from those responsible. Ultimately, accountability rests with the fiduciaries of the organization. For nonprofit

organizations in the United States, fiduciary responsibility and accountability reside with the board of directors.

Board governance has been widely studied in the for-profit sector. Due to the critical nature of the work nonprofits perform, there has been an increasing effort to study board governance in nonprofit organizations. Employing in depth interviews, with both executive

directors and board members, checks and safeguards such as …

Transformational Leadership Behaviors Of Public Sector Leaders In Barbados, Shantal Maxine Munro-Knight

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior officials in the public service in Barbados, who are charged with the responsibility of leading and managing government ministries and departments, play a critical role in fostering reform initiatives. Few empirical studies have examined specific leadership behaviors in the context of managing change in Barbados. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the specific leadership behaviors of senior officials in public service and to explore the use of transformative leadership by public sector administrators to effect reform initiatives. With Bass and Avolio's full-range leadership theory (FRLT) as the theoretical framework, the research question for this study …

Priests' Perceptions Of The Leadership Styles Of U.S. Catholic Bishops, Aloysius Okey Ndeanaefo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States Catholic bishops have used their authority to address the child sexual abuse scandal, but it has been problematic that no one has yet evaluated their exercised leadership styles. In this phenomenological study, I explored U.S Catholic priests' perceptions of the bishops' leadership styles related to how they handled the child sexual abuse scandal. Knowing the bishops' leadership styles was paramount to fill the research gap. The theoretical frameworks underpinning this study were transformational leadership, transactional leadership, charismatic leadership, and servant leadership. Data collected through interviews with 11 Catholic priests revealed their perceptions of how the behavioral characteristics …

Career Challenges Faced By Professional Black Women In Sweden, Herta Boakye-Yiadom Dahl

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academically and professionally qualified Black women who immigrated to Sweden from the United States and the continent of Africa encounter barriers that may hinder their career opportunities. The unstable labor market position of foreigners required efforts by the Swedish government to address the problem. Little is known about the unique and specific challenges that qualified Black immigrant women experience when integrating into the Swedish labor market with foreign qualifications and professional experience. Guided by Durkheim's social integration theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate the lived experiences of Black immigrant women as they integrated into the Swedish …

Leading A Multigenerational Workforce In The Public Sector, Cynthia A. Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the demographic changes in the workplace is the presence of multiple generations working together. Some managers may find leading a multigenerational workforce a challenge, because the generational cohorts may have different work values and approaches to work. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how generational characteristics manifest in the workplace, how managers perceive a multigenerational workforce, and whether macro-level descriptions of generations creates stereotypes or recognizable indicators of behavior in the workplace. Mannheim's theory of generations and diversity management theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews and a …

Pastoral Transformational Leadership And Church Human Service Provision, Debra Harding Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the poverty rate continues to rise, many individuals seek assistance to help meet basic needs. Previous research has indicated that churches provide a social safety net for those in need, yet some churches choose not to become human service providers. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore how pastoral transformational leadership influences a church's decision to become a provider of human services among African American pastors and churches. Transformational leadership provided the theoretical framework for this study. The purposeful sample included bounded systems of 5 pastors and their respective churches. Each case was bound by race, location, …

Influence Of Leadership Style On Leaders' Transition From Private To Public Sector, Lorinda Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership can improve the quality of work through motivation or degrade work through pressure. Leadership effectiveness depends on style and work environment. Differences in work environment may create challenges for leaders transitioning from private to public organizations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between leadership styles and ease of transition from private to public organizations. The study included the full-range leadership model as the theoretical foundation. Seventy-seven public sector employees in Ontario, Canada, participated in a survey to measure leadership style and effectiveness of transition from private to public sector. Results of multiple linear …

Servant Leadership And Humility In Police Promotional Practices, Kevin C. Barker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The improper promotion of police officers who lack effective police management skills results in poor supervisor/employee relationships and could have a further negative effect on the relationships between officers and citizens. Yet, few police departments utilize leadership testing in making promotional decisions. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study was to explore whether servant leadership, from the perspective of police officers, is viewed as an effective leadership strategy. In particular, the focus of this study was on the element of humility as part of servant leadership theory. Data were collected by distributing the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) to 2,794 police …

Information & Communications Technologies Investment Decisions And Organizational Performance In Major Nonprofits In Kenya, Sylvester Musyoki Kisonzo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The levels of organizational performance (OP) achievable from a dollar investment in information and communications technologies (ICT) remains elusive. A consensus exits among scholars and organizational leaders that effective use of ICT improves OP yet managers continue to struggle to justify investments in ICT. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore and explain how investments in ICT related with OP. The study built on the resource-based view of the firm theoretical framework. A key question in the study was whether there existed a consistent, positive correlation between ICT investments, decision-making performance, and OP, and if so, explain the …

Strategic Leadership In Public Sector Administration In Nigeria, Joy Onyinye Eliogu-Anenih

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inefficiency in the public sector as a result of leadership ineptitude is said to have contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of Nigeria. This has led to the mismanagement of human and financial resources as well as contributed extensively to poor service delivery to the citizens. The research considered the critical role of public sector administration to the functionality of a society, noting that the major determinant for public sector success is leadership effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify how leadership ineffectiveness could be addressed in public sector administration in Nigeria and consider the implications of …

Transformative Leadership And Its Development In Public Service Reform In Kenya, Gerald Paul Regier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership on the African continent has been a focus of scholars as African nations have incredible human and natural resources but seem to be bereft of the leaders necessary to capitalize on its opportunities. Researchers acknowledge that the barrier to progress in the developing world is not the deficiency of money or natural resources, but suggested it to be the lack of leadership. Researchers have demonstrated reasons for this deficiency including the effects of the colonial system upon people and civil service systems, but have yet been able to establish a promising path to economic and social progress. Leaders in …