Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Strategies To Combat Tenant Fraud In The Rental Housing Market, Dr. Gwendolyn B. Dawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many business executives lack strategies to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies some business executives used to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The conceptual framework used to guide this study was the theory of planned behavior. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews with 6 purposively selected business executives of public housing authorities, supplemented with a review of policies and procedures that business executives used. Yin's 5-step analysis, which entails examining, categorizing, tabulating, creating a data display, and testing the data, guided the process …

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 …

Elements Of Expatriate Adjustment In Host Country Organizations, Denise Suzanne Schickel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globalization and international business increasingly require the services of skilled expatriates in overseas offices. Over the past 50 years, numerous studies have focused on various factors affecting expatriate adjustment, primarily through quantitative research, reaching no conclusions on what factors in cross-cultural training would guarantee expatriate success. Expatriate failure has high personal and organizational costs. The purpose of this study was to use the qualitative methodology of narrative inquiry to investigate the adjustment, transition, and repatriation experience as a holistic process. Two theoretical constructions, Bandura's social learning theory, applied to the learning process in an international assignment, and social identity theory, …

Social Media Marketing Strategies Used By Small Retail Businesses, Rochelle Shivon Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing effective social media marketing (SMM) strategies to engage customers is a challenge for business leaders. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the SMM strategies used by small business retailers to engage customers. The conceptual framework for this study was Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory. Participants included 5 small business retailers who had been in business for at least 5 years, used effective SMM strategies to engage customers, and were located in the southwest region of the United States. Data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews. Data analysis resulted in 3 emergent themes: (a) marketing strategies …

Implementation Of Food Safety Regulations In Food Service Establishments, Steve Randolph Mcallister

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Food service businesses in the United States have experienced millions of dollars in losses caused by foodborne illness outbreaks, which can lead to bankruptcy and business closures. More than 68% of all foodborne illness outbreaks occur in food service establishments. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the strategies leaders of food service establishments use to implement food safety regulations. Force field analysis was the conceptual framework for this study. The population for the study consisted of 3 leaders of food service establishments located in the southeastern region of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured …

Exploring Ethnic Diversity On Managerial Choices In Nigeria., Henry Odiri Imoni

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Nigeria, most citizens between the ages of 20-60 believe that ethnicity is the leading cause of discrimination. The central problem addressed in this study was how ethnic diversity influenced managerial choices in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the role of ethnicity in managerial choices in a Nigerian federal traffic management agency to gain an understanding of how ethnicity influenced managers' recruitment, placement, and promotion of employees. Complexity theory and a consideration of African management practices constituted the conceptual framework. Participants were 11 managers who were recruited from a Nigerian government agency using a …

Relationship Between Airline Category, Geographical Region, And Safety Performance, Peter Simpson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Passengers rank safety as a key factor in airline choice. Thus, safety performance impacts an airline's ability to attract customers. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship and difference between airline category low-cost carriers (LCCs) and full-service carriers (FSCs), geographical region, and safety performance measured by accident rates. The target population comprised all airlines in all countries that had an accident during the 14-year period 2004 to 2017. Data consisted of archival data of all global airline accidents and airline departure frequencies for the 14-year period. The theory of organizational accidents in complex sociotechnical systems explains …

The Relationship Between Personality Traits And The Income Of Small Business Owners, Staci Lashawn Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Researchers have found that the Big Five personality trait of conscientiousness correlated consistently with high performance across industries. However, previous research was limited to self-reported data collected based on the opinions of the participants and did not include the subtraits of conscientiousness (achievement and dependability). Previous studies also did not provide data specific to entrepreneurs operating as small business owners and did not compare them to their peers. Thus, the purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to explore whether or not there was a relationship between the personality traits of achievement and dependability and the income of U.S. …

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 …

Effect Of Administrative Practices On Law Enforcement Officers' Emotional Intelligence Performance, Iberkis Faltas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2001 and 2017, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) received 295,616 allegations of police misconduct involving New York Police Department (NYPD) officers' use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, and offensive language (FADO). The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of administrative disciplinary actions on officers' emotional intelligence and performance in relation to citizen complaints of police misconduct. The central research question addressed how administrative practices influence law enforcement officers' behavior in relation to emotional intelligence-based performance. The theoretical construct for this study is based on the emotional intelligence theories of Bar-On, Goleman, and Mayer, DiPaolo …

Traits And Management Strategies Attributed To The Success Of Virtual-Team Leaders, Roderick A. Haley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The rapid advances in technology and the globalization of the economy have led corporate leaders to invest heavily in virtual teams to increase their global coverage. The problem in this phenomenological study was that many organizational leaders do not understand the extent to which they need to manage virtual teams differently from traditional, face-to-face teams. This is significant, because due to geographical differences and possibly cultural differences, virtual teams require various modes of communication. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of effective virtual-team leaders and the operational strategies employed to lead them. …

Managerial Strategies Small Businesses Use To Prevent Cybercrime, Doreen Lynn Maahs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Estimated worldwide losses due to cybercrime are approximately $375-575 billion annually, affecting governments, business organizations, economies, and society. With globalization on the rise, even small businesses conduct transactions worldwide through the use of information technology (IT), leaving these small businesses vulnerable to the intrusion of their networks. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the managerial strategies of small manufacturing business owners to protect their financial assets, data, and intellectual property from cybercrime. The conceptual framework was systems thinking and action theory. Participants included 4 small manufacturing business owners in the midwestern region of the United States. …

Effective Management Communication Strategies, Dr. Cad W. Shannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managing employee engagement is critical to the success of an organization, but 85% of managers struggle with engaging employees. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore effective communication strategies within an organization and determine how managers used these strategies to increase employee engagement, productivity, and organizational effectiveness. Data were collected from organizational documents, observations, and semistructured interviews with 6 managers of a corporation located in the midwestern United States. All participants were working full-time for at least 3 years, had a managerial title, and were responsible for departmental communication. Moustakas's modified van Kaam method was used for data …

Employee Retention Strategies In Trinidadian Small Enterprises, Alicia Singh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational leaders face obstacles stemming from the lack of employee retention. An ineffective retention strategy can result in the loss of employees and the loss of institutional knowledge. Lack of appropriate retention strategies can negatively impact the reputation of the organization and ultimately affect the financial standing of an organization. Grounded by Herzberg's 2-factor theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small retail business managers in Trinidad used to retain employees. I collected data through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 5 small business managers and a review of company documents. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation, …

The Impact Of Authentic Leadership Development On Safety Climate Change, Victoria Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tragic, life-changing, and fatal incidents are a reality on large-scale, civil construction projects. Despite a decline following the enforcement of the 1971 Occupational Safety and Health Act, serious and fatal incidents on heavy construction projects remain higher than that of the active military and have not declined in any notable way in the past decade. Industrial-organizational literature suggested a lack of applied testing for the well-developed theory of authentic leadership (AL) to impact safety outcomes. This quasi-experiment combined the constructs of authentic leadership with safety climate perception as quantifiable measurement of potential safety outcomes in the workplace. The research question …

The Effects Of Cultural Dissimilarity On Employee Job Attitudes And Productivity, Sherrice Olithia Lyons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations in Jamaica have been impacted by globalization and the opportunities and challenges of cultural incompatibilities. Most previous studies on cultural incompatibilities have focused on the impact on expatriates leaving a gap in the literature with respect to the implications for host country nationals, and specifically Jamaicans. This quantitative study focused on employees of 2 companies in Jamaica, an energy company and a hospitality company. It examined cultural dissimilarity with respect to host country nationals and expatriates, and its effect on the productivity, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and normative commitment of these employees (N = 110). In addition to the …

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 …

Third-Party Logistics' Hiring Manager Strategies To Recruit Supply-Chain Professionals, Beth D'Alessandro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of third-party logistics companies face a critical talent shortage because of the global deficiency of supply-chain professionals. The lack of trained supply-chain professionals negatively affects business and market performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by third-party logistics hiring managers to recruit supply-chain talent to meet industry demands. The resource-based view theory was used as a lens for this study. Data were collected from 5 Pennsylvania third-party logistics hiring managers from interviews, organizational documents, and company websites. Member checking occurred after transcription and summarization of the interview data. Data analysis occurred using …

Community Public-Private Partnership Leadership Synergy In Tanzania, Hawa Yatera Mshana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the public-private partnership (PPP) concept in health and social health has been politically accepted as the best pathway to improving health outcomes in many developing nations, implementation lacks leadership synergy. Lack of awareness and engagement of community leaders about PPP interventions and their benefits affect accountability and ownership of health and social care interventions. The purpose of this study was to better understand factors that could promote partnership leadership synergy to enhance ownership and accountability for community health and social welfare initiatives in Tanzania. A qualitative empirical case study design was used; diffusion of innovation and the public-private integrated …

Examining Trauma Exposure, Organizational Climate, And Job Outcomes In Child Welfare, Shano Rodgers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Exposure to traumatic situations is routine for child welfare workers in California, and the attrition rate for newly hired social workers in some states is estimated to be nearly 50% in the 1st year of employment. Prior research has indicated that reasons for dissatisfaction included dysfunctional organizational climate and culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which trauma exposure contributed to secondary traumatic stress and intent to quit and to examine the degree to which organizational climate moderated the exposure among direct service child welfare employees. Kurt Lewin's field theory, Figley's theory of secondary traumatic …

Strategies Retailers Use To Build Brand Loyalty And Improve Customer Experience, Mekus Samuel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of strategy to build brand loyalty and improve customer experience by retail managers is essential in driving sales revenue and increasing profitability. Retail managers should perceive customer experience strategy as a tool for product differentiation, which could be leveraged to attain benefits, such as, repeat business, positive word of mouth, increased sales, and the competitive advantage. Some retail managers may not fully comprehend customer experience strategy, and may solely focus on individual facets such as, customer service and employee training. This qualitative multiple case study explored the strategies retail managers used to build brand loyalty and improve customer …

Patient Satisfaction Management In Office Visits And Telehealth In Health Care Technology, Todd Price

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telehealth and remote medical treatments have begun to be more commonly used in healthcare systems. Researchers have theorized that providers' abilities to treat patients are not directly tied to the proximity of the patient to the doctor, but by the identification and treatment of the patient's symptoms. Although the treatment and cure rates are being established within individual health systems and professional medical associations, empirical research is lacking regarding patient satisfaction with this remote treatment situation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to address this gap by examining satisfaction ratings of patients between virtual provider visits and face-to-face provider …

Stress In Rural North Georgia Policing, Robert C. Mason

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are many operational and organizational stressors in policing. This study was designed to gain a better understanding of what causes police officers in a rural southern state mental and physical stress and to determine how best to assist officers when they are dealing with stress. The purpose of this study was to determine whether organizational or operational issues cause more stress among police officers in a rural southern state. Qualitative research methods and the phenomenological approach to obtain data from participants who have experienced job-related stressors were used. The social construct theory, a theory of knowledge in sociology, was …

Effective Marketing Strategies To Reach Mobile Users, Melissa R. Roy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reaching users on mobile devices has never been more critical for retailers given the ubiquitous use of mobile devices. U.S. consumers who shop online are using personal computers less and mobile devices more when doing so. The purpose of this single case study was to explore mobile device marketing strategies used by retail marketing leaders to reach mobile users effectively. Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Participants included a purposeful sample of 8 marketing managers employed by a Fortune 1000 retail organization in the Pacific Northwest. Data collected via in-person, semistructured interviews and a …

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

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 …

A Grounded Theory Of Millennials Job-Hopping, Deborah L. Rivers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporations are finding it challenging to attract and retain the top talented Millennials. Their frequent job-hopping is costing the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually despite corporations' best efforts to retain them. The central research question concerns the decision-making process that Millennials use to decide whether to job-hop or stay with an organization. The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop a theory that explains the Millennials' process for deciding whether to job-hop or stay with an organization. The conceptual framework for this grounded theory research is generational theory, Herzberg's hygiene and motivational factors, and psychological contract theory. The data …

The Wealth Gap A Cross-Sectional Quantitative Analysis Of Self-Esteem And Monetary Power, Willard Edwin Pretlow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The median wealth of Blacks is lower than that of Whites by 90 percent. The corresponding median income for Blacks is 40 percent below Whites. Additional research has revealed that Blacks tend to invest in low-yielding assets and borrow at high interest rates. The alarming problem is that financial outcomes and behaviors can be associated with race. In this cross-sectional quantitative study, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem and the Money Attitude Scale, both are Likert-type scales, served as survey instruments to collect data from Blacks and Whites about their individual financial behaviors. The purpose of this survey was to explore the relationship …

The Relationship Between Georgia Public School Educational Funding Sources And Academic Achievement, Rosalind Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, state educational finance systems are required to ensure that every student obtains an adequate and equitable education. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the financial management aspect of public funding and the consequences of Georgia's reliance on local property tax revenue for financing its public school districts and attaining student academic achievement outcomes. The research questions examined whether there was a difference in student academic achievement levels of economically disadvantaged (ED) students based on the total 8th grade student population, annual property valuations, and median home sale prices during the 2006-2014 school terms. …

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 …