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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Review Of The Department Of The Army's Decentralized Cost Benefit Analysis Process, Gerard M. Acosta Jan 2011

A Review Of The Department Of The Army's Decentralized Cost Benefit Analysis Process, Gerard M. Acosta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1996 to 2006, the number of Department of Defense (DoD) contract transactions increased, leading to over expenditures and the need for agencies to determine benefit estimation to improve risk management of a project. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply a total quality management theory to explore if a standardized versus decentralized benefits framework within the cost benefit analysis process could improve the Department of the Army acquisition selection process. The two central research questions addressed (a) the differences between successful and failed acquisition systems cost benefit analysis, and (b) whether a standardized or decentralized cost …


Knowledge Sharing And Competitiveness Of Professional Service Firms: A Case Study, Albert P. Cruz Jan 2011

Knowledge Sharing And Competitiveness Of Professional Service Firms: A Case Study, Albert P. Cruz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study is that little action is taken to create the social aspects and social value of knowledge-sharing culture within organizations. There is a need for increased understanding of the behavioral side of knowledge management. The purpose of this study was to focus on knowledge sharing from a behavioral perspective. Knowledge management is defined as the accumulation, protection, and leverage of knowledge. This research study investigated the relationship between knowledge sharing and competitiveness and approached the field of knowledge management from the organizational, cultural, and behavioral perspectives. The research questions examined how knowledge workers described the …


The Relationship Among Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Styles Of Law Enforcement Executives, Gregory, Jr. Campbell Jan 2011

The Relationship Among Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Styles Of Law Enforcement Executives, Gregory, Jr. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policing in the 21st century is becoming more complex and dynamic as law enforcement executives deal with operational, political, and economic challenges. Organizational theory and research indicate positive relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), leadership effectiveness, leadership styles, and employee outcomes. But these relationships have not been investigated in law enforcement organizations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the above relationships in a sample of law enforcement executives. Situational leadership theory, full range leadership model, and trait EI theory comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected from 139 law enforcement …


Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller Jan 2011

Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of good communications between team members has been well documented. Yet previous studies on communications between team members have neglected to focus on reasons for information withholding between people working on teams. The purpose of this case study of 16 engineers and 6 educators was to understand why team members withhold information when working together. A convenience sample was selected from a software engineering organization. Collective intelligence theory in a modern communications environment was used as the theoretical foundation. This theory posits that the synergy of full group collaboration results in enhanced performance and the spread of new …


Data-Driven Decision Making As A Tool To Improve Software Development Productivity, Mary Erin Brown Jan 2011

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 Jan 2011

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 …


Exploration Of The Project Management Practitioner's Emotional Intelligence Competencies, Linda A. Hooper Jan 2011

Exploration Of The Project Management Practitioner's Emotional Intelligence Competencies, Linda A. Hooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The success rate of information technology projects is on a downward trend, with reported losses in the billions of dollars. Recent studies indicate a 50--56% project success rate based on quality, budget, and on-time criteria. Building upon the conceptual framework of the emotional intelligence and knowledge management theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how project management practitioners apply self- and cultural-awareness competencies to affect project outcomes. Using a purposeful sampling method, 24 experienced U.S.-based project management practitioners participated in a web-based questionnaire. Following Giorgi's data reduction process resulted in numeric data coding. Thematic analysis revealed themes …


A Business Case For Return On Investment: Understanding Organizational Change, Rya S. Henderson-Carter Jan 2011

A Business Case For Return On Investment: Understanding Organizational Change, Rya S. Henderson-Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2010, 2,000 U. S. leaders spent {dollar}150 billion on return on investment (ROI) training, yet questions still exist on how to measure the benefits of organizational change. The purpose of this embedded single-case study was to explore how business leaders could use ROI to characterize the benefit of intervention strategies for organizational change. Stakeholder theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A purposive sample of 20 civilian personnel managers located at a medical facility for veterans in central Texas participated in semistructured interviews. The 5 primary themes that emerged using thematic analysis …


The Potential Role Of Business Intelligence In Church Organizations, Charmaine Felder Jan 2011

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 …


Navy Downsizing And Its Effect On Active Enlisted Navy Personnel, Eden Velasco Castro Jan 2011

Navy Downsizing And Its Effect On Active Enlisted Navy Personnel, Eden Velasco Castro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overall scope of naval missions has remained largely unchanged despite the loss of more than 8,000 naval personnel each year since 2002. The downsized naval workforce experienced an overload in work assignments and an increase of health-related issues resulting in lowered morale, motivation, job satisfaction, and productivity. Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs links personal satisfaction to work productivity, which is critical for naval personnel to protect national security, provide humanitarian services, and respond to international crises effectively. This phenomenological study included semi-structured interviews with military and civilian leaders at naval bases located in San Diego and El Centro, …


The Impact Of Stakeholder Collaboration On Effectiveness Of Health Program Implementation In Ghana, Samuel Kwami Agbanu Jan 2010

The Impact Of Stakeholder Collaboration On Effectiveness Of Health Program Implementation In Ghana, Samuel Kwami Agbanu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare providers increasingly recognize the importance of collaboration among stakeholders in cost-effective healthcare delivery. While collaborative relationships offer great advantages, little research has addressed their relevance in an international development aid context, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The region is a major recipient of international development support, yet health indicators on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and child and maternal mortality indicate the health of the region is among the weakest worldwide. This sequential mixed method, descriptive study of a USAID-funded community health program in Ghana examined the nature of collaboration among six stakeholders and impact of this collaboration on effectiveness of program …


Toward A Grounded Theory On The Management Of Orphanages In South Africa And Zimbabwe, Anna Siyavora Jan 2010

Toward A Grounded Theory On The Management Of Orphanages In South Africa And Zimbabwe, Anna Siyavora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of orphaned children in many parts of Africa is increasing as their parents die from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The research problem addressed in this qualitative study was lack of understanding by others about how the managers of orphanages in 2 African countries -- South Africa and Zimbabwe - were responding to the emotional and social needs of these orphans. The purpose of this study was to develop an orphanage management theory or model that could replicate the African kinship environment in the orphanages under study. Nurturing leadership theory provided the conceptual …


Exploring Knowledge Loss In The Contact Center: Key Loss Areas, Contributing Factors, And Performance Metric Implications, Elizabeth M. Herman Jan 2009

Exploring Knowledge Loss In The Contact Center: Key Loss Areas, Contributing Factors, And Performance Metric Implications, Elizabeth M. Herman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge loss, or organizational forgetting, is often overlooked in knowledge management frameworks, yet it costs organizations money, personnel, efficiency, and customer service. The purpose of this mixed model case study was to understand, using a model of forgetting as the conceptual framework, where and why loss occurred and to examine performance implications. An inbound telephone contact center was studied because of prolific changes in that industry regarding knowledge complexity and performance. The researcher interviewed 20 participants, observed 63 calls, and reviewed 3 months of performance data including average handle time, first call resolution percentages, and time spent on after call …


Leadership As Role And Relationship In Social Dynamics: An Exploratory Study Seeking A Leadership Archetype, Brian W. Bridgeforth Jan 2009

Leadership As Role And Relationship In Social Dynamics: An Exploratory Study Seeking A Leadership Archetype, Brian W. Bridgeforth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research on leadership as archetype considered archetype as metaphor and not as it is understood in other literatures as a collectively accepted and defined role within and across cultures. Archetypical theories are posited as useful because they help us understand universal aspects of human behavior; however, empirical research demonstrating archetypical thinking and behavior remains rare. Accordingly, this phenomenological study investigated whether a leadership archetype exists as a shared cognitive template and if so, what characteristics define it. The theoretical framework used to examine the phenomenon of leadership combined leadership theory, philosophy of the mind, Jungian psychology, social constructionist theory, …


Assessing The Collaborative Knowledge Management Of The Market Dominant Organization, Jacob Olusola Ogunlade Jan 2009

Assessing The Collaborative Knowledge Management Of The Market Dominant Organization, Jacob Olusola Ogunlade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dominant firms enjoy economic strengths which enable them to compete effectively in relevant markets through the use of collaborative knowledge management (CKM). While the literature is replete with general guiding principles for companies to adopt successful business strategies, there is very limited empirical research on effectively using CKM to improve company performance and market domination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate strategies for information sharing by companies to achieve better operations management and control, a wider range of customers, and stronger competitive edge in the global economy. Epistemological foundation for the study was provided by the literature on …


Parental Payment Abuse Within The Supplemental Security Income Program, Darlean Taylor-King Jan 2008

Parental Payment Abuse Within The Supplemental Security Income Program, Darlean Taylor-King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Management of Social Security Administration (SSA) has been challenged by the phenomena of overpayments with its Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Oversight authorities of SSA had expressed concerns about the overpayment abuse caused by parents as representative payees for disabled minor children. It was important to address this problem because the amount of overpayments prior to 1998 had caused integrity issues for management of SSA and increased federal debt from SSI claimants. The purpose of this study was to examine how management of SSA and the SSI program had responded to the concerns of the oversight authorities. Theoretical foundations for …