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Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Ensuring Quality Consumer Service Encounters, Katina Robertson Jan 2018

Ensuring Quality Consumer Service Encounters, Katina Robertson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counterproductive employee behaviors are inevitable, unpredictable, and widespread in the U.S. retail industry. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore U.S. midlevel retail leadership strategies used to prevent and correct employee behaviors that sabotage quality service encounters. Gilbert's behavior engineering model, which links employee behaviors to performance, was the framework used in this study. The data-collection process comprised 7 semistructured interviews with midlevel retail leaders, online company documentation, and researcher observations and assisted in achieving methodological triangulation. Member checking ensured the accuracy of participant responses, while Moustakas' modified van Kaam method was used to guide the data …


Factors That Encourage Unethical Practices By Organizational Leaders In Nigeria, Ebenezer Bankole Odole Jan 2018

Factors That Encourage Unethical Practices By Organizational Leaders In Nigeria, Ebenezer Bankole Odole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underlying concern for this research was the increasing numbers of reported culpability of organizational leaders' involvement in unethical practices, and the lack of previous literature on organizational factors that encourage unethical practices by organizational leaders in Nigeria. The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding of the factors that encourage unethical practices by organizational leaders in Nigeria despite having ethical leadership skills and knowledge. This study was grounded in the framework of moral development theory by Lawrence Kohlberg, also known as the cognitive developmental theory of moralization. Data were gathered from document reviews from public library …


Strategies Hospitality Leaders Use To Reduce Employee Turnover, Borislav Perev Jan 2018

Strategies Hospitality Leaders Use To Reduce Employee Turnover, Borislav Perev

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is a global problem with adverse effects on financial performance and sustainability of organizations. In the hospitality industry, employee turnover levels increased to 58.8%, and the associated cost of turnover may be more than 100% of an employee's yearly wage, with a total loss of over $25 billion a year. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by hospitality leaders in the southeastern United States to reduce employee turnover. The conceptual framework was the transformational leadership theory. Purposeful selection of participants included leaders with experience in developing and implementing strategies for reducing employee …


Transformational Leadership Behaviors Of Public Sector Leaders In Barbados, Shantal Maxine Munro-Knight Jan 2018

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 …


Leadership Satisfaction And Turnover Intention Among Public Sector Employees, Marcia Bennett Jan 2018

Leadership Satisfaction And Turnover Intention Among Public Sector Employees, Marcia Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The changing demographics of the federal workforce require managers to understand generational differences in experiences, values, and leadership preferences that can negatively impact an agency's ability to fulfill its mission. There is a gap in the literature regarding generational cohort perceptions of employee satisfaction with leadership and turnover intention in the Small Business Administration (SBA). The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine the generational perceptions of SBA employees regarding leadership satisfaction and intent to leave the organization within the next year. Strauss and Howe's generational theory served as the theoretical framework. This non-experimental quantitative study used the …


Exploring The Cultural Intelligence Of Nurse Leaders, Valerie D. Campbell Jan 2018

Exploring The Cultural Intelligence Of Nurse Leaders, Valerie D. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Today, nurses represent many cultures and ethnic backgrounds. In their leadership style, nurse leaders must learn to embrace cultural intelligence or cultural quotient (CQ), that is, an extension of emotional intelligence that affords them the ability to manage a culturally diverse workforce. Historically, CQ has been relevant to business, locally and globally. But it is also important to explore the CQ of nurse leaders. Scholarly studies show that leaders with CQ are responsible for developing innovative employee behaviors, forward-thinking ideas, and creativeness in the workplace. CQ has a theoretical foundation in the 2003 research of Early and Ang who focused …


Organizational Learning In Libraries At For-Profit Colleges And Universities, Julie Evener Jan 2018

Organizational Learning In Libraries At For-Profit Colleges And Universities, Julie Evener

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academic libraries contribute to student engagement, student learning, and retention; therefore, the effects of improved library services for students may be positive and long lasting. However, despite successful application of organizational learning (OL), a strategic process for improvement, to enhance services in academic libraries, little is known about OL in libraries of for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs). The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was to assess and explore the use of OL in libraries at FPCUs. Argyris and Schön's theory of organizational learning grounded this study. Responses to Chen's Processes and Phases of Organizational Learning Questionnaire, completed online …


Leader Self-Perceptions Of Ethics In And Out Of The Workplace And Personal Trustworthiness, Marcia W. Vanderwood Jan 2018

Leader Self-Perceptions Of Ethics In And Out Of The Workplace And Personal Trustworthiness, Marcia W. Vanderwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethical breaches in many organizations can be traced to failures in ethical leadership, which undermine trust. If a leader's ethical behavior in their private life and settings is perceived as influencing workplace ethics, it may in turn affect organizational trust levels and the development of trust. A quantitative study based on the social learning and moral theory was conducted to determine whether a difference exists between a leader's self-perceptions of their ethical behaviors inside and outside of the workplace, and whether it affects their perceived personal trustworthiness. Participants' (N = 94) scores on work and nonwork versions of the ethical …


Priests' Perceptions Of The Leadership Styles Of U.S. Catholic Bishops, Aloysius Okey Ndeanaefo Jan 2018

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 …


Industrial Voluntary Consensus Standards – A Process Under Threat, Joel Blumenthal Jan 2018

Industrial Voluntary Consensus Standards – A Process Under Threat, Joel Blumenthal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The world relies heavily on industrial voluntary consensus standards to serve public interests through the development of uniform and harmonized social and economic procedures. The research problem focused on generating suggestions for improving collaborative practices between U.S.-based accredited and unaccredited standards development organizations that create voluntary consensus standards. The research centered on assessing the level of consensus among experts regarding what actions may be conducive to improving collaborative practices through the lenses of stakeholder and institutional theory. This modified 3-round qualitative Delphi study began with open-ended questions in Round 1 and progressed towards consensus in Rounds 2 and 3 using …


Career Challenges Faced By Professional Black Women In Sweden, Herta Boakye-Yiadom Dahl Jan 2018

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 …


Department Structure And Leadership Functions For Advanced Practice Providers, Deondela Love Jan 2018

Department Structure And Leadership Functions For Advanced Practice Providers, Deondela Love

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Department structure and leadership functions can influence work climate. In one healthcare system, advanced practice providers (APPs) worked in a decentralized structure with multiple leaders. This project explored the impact of the change to centralized leadership for APPs working in an academic healthcare system in which employee turnover was high and satisfaction was low. An ad hoc committee led by the chief medical officer created a centralized department with a designated leader. Surveys and interviews were used to identify the benefits of the strategies implemented and understand whether the change in organizational structure resulted in an improved work climate for …