Organizational Communication Commons^™

Pandemic Collaborative Governance Facilitation: A First Look At Covid-19'S Impact On Collaborative Governance, Amelia Webb

University Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on Collaborative Governance Facilitation, prompting a need to examine continuing impacts and repercussions. This study investigates the effects of COVID-19 on Collaborative Governance Facilitation by exploring the perspectives of facilitators who worked through this period. Using a qualitative approach, and incorporating elements of Grounded Theory and Phenomenology, a focus group was conducted with facilitators operating in the greater Pacific Northwest that identified several emerging themes and patterns in the facilitators' pandemic experiences. The analysis revealed significant insights in several key areas: the assessment phase, pace and productivity, equity and demographic differences, building …

Respawning Jihadist: Isis Recruiting Through Online Gaming Communities, Alexander J. Ham-Kucharski

Student Work

The purpose of my research is to educate and bring awareness of ISIS’s (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recruiting programs through social media and video games. As stated by Lakomy (2019): “Cyber jihadis nowadays rightly perceived as a rising threat to international security” (2019, p. 383). ISIS targets individuals as young as teenagers through games such as Call of Duty, Far Cry, Halo, ARMA3, and Grand Theft Auto as to recruit those from the Western world for their Jihad. ISIS Recruiters use these platforms to attract initiates via the gaming world through imagery that …

How To Effectively Manage Virtual Teams Created Due To Covid-19?, Aakanksha Santosh Rane

University Honors Theses

With the spread of COVID-19 and the social distancing regulations in place, multiple organizations have transitioned their workplace to a virtual setting. With the increase in business' transitioning to remote teams, it is first crucial to understand the various needs and characteristics of virtual teams. Through the analysis of multiple peer-reviewed articles and other texts on virtual teams, this study identifies building trust, effective communication, and performance management as the main points of focus in order to ensure effectiveness of virtual teams.

Workplace Motivation: Addressing Telework As A Mechanism For Maintaining Employee Productivity, Kaitlyn Fujii

University Honors Theses

This research seeks to identify social and psychological factors that affect satisfaction levels of employees. The thesis suggests teleworking as a renewed tool for communicating and executing work in organizations; and moreover, demonstrating how telework systems can motivate millennial and gen-z workers to be productive. The main factors identified for said analysis have been determined through the study of business and academic literature about workplace culture and how it is changing. Such research investigated the differences between baby boomers, millennials and gen-zs, and furthermore how providing employees with the option to participate in telework may enhance their output. To make …

Implications In Implementing Self-Managed Teams In Organizations, Aayushi Gupta, Alex Tacco Melendez, Janet Rosenthal, Lipishree Vrushabhendra

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Over the past few decades, organizations have developed workplace teams that are multi-faceted, diverse and classified or divided by objective. These teams are essentially turning out to be instrumental in innovation and change in organizations. One such work team that has evoked interest in the recent past is the self-managed team. The design, structure and performance of self-managed teams varies from the other teams significantly. Nevertheless, these teams like the other workplace teams share common benefits such as increased knowledge and skills, synergy and commitment. The main difference lies in the way these teams work. The objective of this research …

Virtual Teams : Boon Or Bane?, Krishna Priya Muraleedharan, Satvik Vishnubhatta, Smitha Mandhani, Unmesh Deodhar

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

A virtual team is a group of people who work together across time, space and organizational boundaries.Virtual teams came into existence as the work expertise is distributed globally and it provides more flexibility to the employees. The members of a virtual team have varied skills and they work towards achieving a common goal.

To explain the challenges faced by virtual teams we have studied research papers and case study for whom the only economically and practically means of communication was asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication. This research paper highlights the challenges of making and keeping trust in a virtual team …

Exploring Communicative Aspects Of Client Satisfaction, Loyalty, And Retention In A Private, Non-Profit Organization: A Qualitative, Interview-Based Study Of Catholic Charities, Amanda Michelle Fortin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis focuses on Catholic Charities (Hereafter CC), a non-profit agency that provides pregnancy and adoption support to families in times of crisis. Research and agency data reflect a positive association between the amount of time clients engage in services and the resolution of crises. Both theoretically and empirically, a key determinant of the depth and breadth of clients' engagement with both for-profit and non-profit services is their satisfaction with such services. In 2009-2010, CC's in-house, client surveys reported a decreasing level of client engagement with services. One clear trend was that clients discontinued services after thirty days or less. …

Reentry Shock In The Corporate Environment, Steven A. Locke

Dissertations and Theses

While much research and attention have focused on sojourn adjustment to a new culture, very little research has addressed readjustment to the home culture. This research studies the problems of repatriation work adjustment experienced by U.S. corporate employees. This study also.suggests that cultural readjustment is situational and a multifaceted process which is influenced by many different variables. Interviews with 25 corporate repatriated employees were conducted using a 22-question survey instrument. Repatriates were asked to rate their readjustment experiences on a seven-item Likert scale. Respondents also had the opportunity to expand on their answers with open-ended questions. Fourteen variables were examined …

Normative Teacher And Student Role Behaviors In The U.S. With A Contrast To Japan, Kathleen Ulrich

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to (1) discover normative U.S. classroom teacher and student role behaviors; (2) contrast these to one other culture, Japan and (3) anticipate the difficulties both teachers and students would face if placed in a culturally mixed class unaware of the cultural differences between them. This study also (4) extends the issues theoretically beyond the cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan to other cultures.

Perceptual Correspondence In The Superior-Subordinate Work Dyad, Lora Lee Sager

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present investigation was to provide a clearer understanding of how various levels of perceptual correspondence are associated with one another and with performance appraisal. Specifically, the present study focused on the variable of accuracy in an attempt to discover its relative importance to performance appraisal. Also of interest was the relationship between accuracy and agreement.

Psychometric Properties Of The Group Process Questionnaire, Lucia Igou Eakins

Dissertations and Theses

The Group Process Questionnaire (GPQ), a 55-item rating scale, was developed by Richard Wollert in 1981 to assess perceptions of the frequency of processes occurring in self-help groups (SHGs). The GPQ was first employed by Wollert, Eakins, and Dixon (Note 1) as the primary data collection instrument in an ongoing investigation of urban SHGs. This investigation is one of a small number of empirical studies which have attempted to specify the range of SHG activities. Due to the relatively recent emergence of SHGs as topics of research, and the unique obstacles to research presented by the independent character of these …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Of Organizational Structure To Job Satisfaction Within Social Service Organizations Serving Elderly Clients, Anne Marguerite Wilkinson

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the relationships between organizational structure of client serving organizations and the job satisfaction of the members. The exploration of these relationships was conducted using a three dimension model of job satisfaction and seven dimensions of organizational structure. Data was gathered using interview and survey research techniques from 428 service providers within 42 social service agencies serving elderly clients.