Leadership Studies Commons^™

Relational Leadership, Devops, And The Post-Pc Era: Toward A Practical Theory For 21st Century Technology Leaders, Moudy E. Elbayadi

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretically oriented scholarly personal narrative (SPN) explored how the constructionist view of relational leadership might be applied in a post-PC technological era marked by fast-paced innovation and an always ontechnology organization and infrastructure. Through reflecting on my personal and professional experience, I hope to offer the reflective scholar-practitioner new ways of thinking, present relational practices and suggest ways of being a leader participating in the fast-paced technology driven world. This new way of being combined both relational leadership and new DevOps practices that reduce organizational friction, break down departmental silos, and increase employee engagement in technology operations. Through …

The Awesome Responsibility Of Leadership (Chicago), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this address at the University of Chicago's Booth Graduate School of Business, Pollard reflects on the need for servant leadership among corporate managers. Such leadership, he contends, will be rooted in faith and oriented to the holistic development of those the organization employs.

Reflections On The Metamorphosis At Robben Island: The Role Of Institutional Work And Positive Psychological Capital, Wayne F. Cascio, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners from South Africa were imprisoned on notorious Robben Island from the mid-1960s until the end of the apartheid regime in 1991. The stark conditions and abusive treatment of these prisoners has been widely publicized. However, upon reflection and in retrospect, over the years, a type of metamorphosis occurred. Primarily drawing from firsthand accounts of the former prisoners and guards, it seems that Robben Island morphed from the traditional oppressive prison paradigm to one where the positively oriented prisoners disrupted the institution with a resulting climate of learning and transformation that eventually led to freedom …

Management As A Liberal Art (Seattle), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In these opening remarks recorded for a fall seminar at Seattle Pacific University, Pollard outlines Peter Drucker's theory of management as a liberal art and details the ways in which it was implemented in the ServiceMaster organization. He also notes why such a vision is important for contemporary management education.

Managerial Competencies And Exemplary Leadership In The Lodging Industry: An Empirical Study, Fadila Maraouch

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

In facing the rising demand for improved quality, reduced costs, and constant innovation, the need to continuously upgrade knowledge, skills, and abilities is essential for all leadership roles including those held by executives, managers, and supervisors (Kay & Russette, 2000; Mirabile, 1997; Okeiyi, Finley, & Postel, 1994; Sandwith, 1993; Tas, 1988; Tas, LaBreque, & Clayton, 1996). With management scholars racing to meet this demand, competency modeling has become one of the most frequently used techniques to help organizations profile jobs, select, as well as prepare the right person for the right leadership position (Katz, 1955; Sandwith, 1993).

Under the …

Evidence-Based Management And Leadership, R B. Briner, Neil D. Walshe

Organization, Leadership, and Communication

Organizations can be led and managed in many different ways and there is no shortage of perspectives, models, and frameworks for thinking about how such tasks can be accomplished. This chapter focuses on one such perspective: evidence-based management (EBMgt). At its core is the idea that when managers and organizations make decisions, evidence of various types should be collected, critically appraised, and taken into account. Put this way, EBMgt does not appear to be either new or radical. However, as we shall go on to discuss, recent attempts to elaborate and flesh out this idea show that while some of …

The Relationship Of Servant Leadership Attributes To Sales Performance Of Salespersons In The Healthcare Industry In 2011, William R. Auxier

Dissertations

Problem. Servant leadership scholars have claimed that servant-led business organizations are more financially viable, but these claims are based on anecdotal evidence. This quantitative study examines the relationship of servant leadership to revenue generation in business organizations by analyzing the predictability of servant leadership attributes on sales performance. This was accomplished by studying salespersons in the healthcare industry.

Method. One hundred ninety-four study participants completed questionnaires providing quantitative measurements of the seven factors of servant leadership: (a) developing and empowering others, (b) humility, (c) authentic leadership, (d) open participatory leadership, (e) inspiring leadership, (f) visionary leadership, and (g) courageous leadership, …

Staying Hungry, Staying Foolish: Academic Reflections On The Life And Career Of Steve Jobs, Amy E. Hurley-Hanson, Cristina M. Giannantonio

Business Faculty Articles and Research

The 2011 death of Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and cofounder, generated a flood of articles in the popular press acknowledging his influence on the design and delivery of consumer products that changed the way multiple generations work and play. As one of the most visible, yet controversial CEOs in recent history, stories of his management style are likely to fuel a debate over his leadership effectiveness. It is expected that scholarly and academic articles will emerge in the next few years detailing the business lessons that can be learned from the way that Jobs ran Apple Computer, NeXT, Pixar, and …

Empathy During Times Of Crisis And Corporate Reputation, Ann T. Gallagher

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

How an organization responds to victims is central to crisis communication management and protecting organizational reputation. While there is significant literature about best practices for crisis response, one area which has not been explored is the relationship of empathic communication and corporate reputation during times of conflict. This study examined this relationship through a study of the British Petroleum Gulf Oil crisis of 2010. The qualitative study used focus groups with working professionals and personal interviews with communication experts. The research is grounded in Coombs’ (1998) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), and Benoit’s (1977) image restoration theory, which is used …

Examining The Influence Of National And Organizational Culture On Performance Evaluation And Recognition Structures In A Multinational Organization, Katie Bliven

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examines how well organizational culture functions as a mechanism to support diversity and respect for employees’ national culture in a multinational organization. Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions and Ting-Toomey’s face negotiation theory provide a framework for understanding the needs and expectations of individual employees regarding performance evaluation and recognition from leaders for culture-specific skill sets. The study was conducted at a multinational call center located in Ireland, where employees negotiate the collection of negative balances for online payment accounts belonging to customers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific) regions of the world. …

Servant-Leadership And Re-Establishment Of Organization Culture After Crisis, Reese Dayle Cooper

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Organizations create a base for culture through the language in mission, vision, and value statements (Deetz, 1995). Organization culture is then shaped and molded by organization members (Deetz, 1995). As a result, members form organization identities (Mead, 1934). Identities are fluid and constantly being negotiated (Stewart, Zediker, & Witteborn, 2009, p. 82). At any moment, organizations can face crisis. During the crisis, identities are threatened and organization culture becomes unstable (Beer & Steif, 1997; Sen, 2006). Stabilizing organization culture is important to the long-term success of an organization and to the long-term success of individuals. This study uses a case …

Getting Thrown Under The Bus: The Impact Of Destructive Narcissistic Management On Group Sensemaking, Russell Allen Royston

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Despite the vast research and scholarship on leaders with narcissistic traits and tendencies, little research has focused on the impact these leaders have on group communication. This thesis uses an ethnographic research methodology to explore a group under destructive narcissistic management. Karl Weick’s (1995) theory of organizational sensemaking is used to examine the affected group’s communication. The study was conducted from a phenomenological perspective of the group’s lived experience. Kierkegaard’s theory of communication is also applied to learn how the group made sense of was happening to them during a period of substantial change (Anderson, 1963). The results show that …

Financial Services Innovation: Opportunities For Transformation Through Facial Recognition And Digital Wallet Patents, Debora S. Bartoo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Bringing innovation to the marketplace for new products and services involves creativity, a culture in which change flourishes, and leadership that thrives on transformation and complexity. This study explored the potential for market disruption or change based on innovations involving patents granted to nonfinancial services organizations that could affect financial services, specifically consumer or retail bank products. It involved analyzing documents related to recently granted patents and completing a mixed methods survey integrating the Delphi research technique. This method required multiple iterations of a survey presented to expert panelists or industry thought leaders to attempt to gain consensus ("Consensus", 2011) …

Measuring Normlessness In The Workplace: A Study Of Organizational Anomie In The Academic Setting, Tayo Glenn Switzer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation explores leadership and change by examining normlessness in the workplace through a multi-layered study of anomie theory, anomie research in the workplace, and organizational and business management theory. The research validates a quantitative survey designed to measure the level of normlessness experienced by workgroups within an organizational context. The survey reflects a set of six normative aspects that when disrupted produce organizational anomie—a state of normlessness that leads to an increase in worker resistance and a reduction in worker consent. The audience studied in this dissertation is associate professors at a large Midwestern research university. Data were gathered …

The Virtue Of Profit (California), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This particular version of the "Virtue of Profit" speech was prepared by Pollard for a meeting with a Chinese business associate. In it he contends that profit can be considered virtuous when it allows servant leaders to invest in employees, thereby contributing to the moral and spiritual formation of human beings.

Organizational Socialization Practices For Successful Newcomer Adjustment, Stacey L. Holleran

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This research study examines the practices organizational leaders can employ to assist newcomers in their adjustment to the organization, thereby creating an increase in the number of successful, long-term employees. In the workplace setting, organizational newcomers who fail to properly adapt are at risk for early “turnover” or an extended period of disengagement, producing an extremely costly scenario for the organization. Literature in the area of organizational socialization and successful newcomer adjustment suggests myriad ways to positively influence the newcomer’s experience; however, no single source offers a comprehensive approach that can be universally applied. Grounded by interpersonal communication theory and …

The Impact Of Mergers On Those Left Behind - Maintaining Employee Engagement After Merger-Based Restructuring In A Financial Services Firm, Victoria L. Basinger

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the impact of organizational restructuring on associate engagement in a financial services firm due to a merger. It determined how much weight interpersonal relationships carry on associate opinions of the new organization, and what the new organization can do to reduce uncertainty and re-engage their newly acquired associates. The literature review looked at Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Belongingness and principles from Social Information Processing Theory to identify solutions for a decrease in engagement. A survey distributed to all associates at a financial services firm that recently underwent a merger yielded data for this study, as did five individual …

The Power Of One: Effects Of Ceo Duality On Compensation Committee Quality And Ceo Compensation, Cindy K. Harris, Carol C. Cirka, Eric Farris

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

This paper contributes to the corporate governance literature by focusing on how Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) duality and compensation committee quality are related to CEO compensation in the period since passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (“SOX”). Unlike research prior to SOX that focused chiefly on committee members’ independence, we measure compensation committee quality in two ways. We consider the average number of board directorships held by compensation committee members as well as the proportion of committee members with prior or current CEO duality experience. We introduce the latter variable as a new measure of quality as it has not …

Communicating Ethics: Analysis Of Annual Letters To Stakeholders, Christopher Bryan

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This research examines how executives, leaders and managers communicate their sense of ethics. Literature from various disciplines is increasingly focusing on the strong ethical tone-at-the-top and strong ethical culture to prevent organizational wrongdoing. The literature suggests that leaders face unique challenges in communicating their ethics and that the communication of ethics is inhibited by a psychological bias and the work is grounded in the cultural communication theory of Geertz and Pacanowsky and the organizational culture work of Schein. The research focuses on CEO annual letters written to stakeholders. This form of communication is a high-profile channel of communication and written …

Employee Perceptions Of Productivity: Virtual Workplace Location Vs.Working In The Office, Stephen Patrick Guida

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study focused on perceived productivity. The key question answered explored how the perception of one’s productivity when working in a virtual workplace setting compared to working in the office. A 24 question survey was given to 100 employees within a financial organization resulting in 46 total useable surveys to analyze. Findings revealed that workplace setting does not significantly affect an employee’s perception of productivity. The result supports the Coordinated Management of Meaning theory of interpersonal communication as presented by Pearce and Cronen (1989) because communication required of an employee to be productive within an organization is learned and constantly …

Communication Techniques: Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, Laurie Beth Fried

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important for businesses and their stakeholders. Successful communication ofa companies' CSR program remains a huge challenge. It is important for business leaders to understand how to build customer awareness of CSR efforts, and identify the factors that positively impact customers' beliefs and purchasing behavior, and thus the bottom line. Research for this study was both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative analysis utilized data from a recent e-mail customer survey conducted by a national retailer. Top CSR Communicators were identified and then a qualitative analysis was applied with in-depth employee interviews. The results revealed that …

What Impact Does Social Media Have On Knowledge Transfer?, Michael Walgren Showalter

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Knowledge management and knowledge transfer is vital to the long-term success of any organization. Social media is connecting people in a way never before possible. Previous research has concluded that knowledge transfer is more likely to take place between individuals in an organization who have built a relationship with each other. In parallel, social media is compared to Roger‟s Diffusion of Innovations Theory and his Technology of Acceptance Model. This thesis contains the results of focus groups conducted with engineers from an international aerospace corporation and examines the likelihood of knowledge transfer taking place based on social media relationships. This …

Bridging The Gap Between Academic And Practical Crisis Response Strategy Using A Public Risk Perception Model, Kyle Davidson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As risk is inherent in any profitable or viable business, it can be assumed that at some point an organization may face a crisis stemming from known or unknown risks. As such, it is important for organizations to understand how to respond to crises. Crisis communication really has one simple goal in mind: to minimize the effects of the crisis on the organization’s reputation. William Benoit’s “Image Restoration Theory” and Timothy Coombs’ “Situational Crisis Communication Theory” set a framework for how organizations can respond successfully in crisis situations. Yet much of the contemporary academic theory fails to translate from academic …

The Reconciliation Of Personal-Corporate Identity Conflicts By Evangelical Christian Workers, Michael E. Anderson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Communication can be viewed as a negotiation of identity. In that negotiation it is inevitable that conflicts in identity will occur (Lederach, as cited in Stewart, 2006). When that conflict is between one’s personal identity and the corporate identity an organization asks, or even requires of that person, what processes are used to reconcile those differences? This question becomes even more salient in an organization utilizing a cultural style of organizational structure (Conrad & Poole, 2005). Cultural organizational structures are rooted in a belief that people, as emotional beings, need to feel connected to their work community. Understanding identity reconciliation …

The Role Of Communication And Listening In Leadership, Elinor Kay Van Engen

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

In our world today, leadership is important in many organizations. Leaders create the opportunity to develop relationships based on listening. Listening is a multidimensional construct that requires further integration within leadership studies. This study aimed to seek the validity of focusing on listening within the study of leadership. The research promotes the understanding of the verbal and nonverbal characteristics of the listening process that have the greatest ability to influence a person’s leadership potential, as well as examining what leadership characteristics can influence a person’s listening. Understanding these characteristics presents evidence that listening deserves the recognition to be studied as …

Downsized Survivors: Areas Of Loss And Work Behaviors, Cyndi J. Schaeffer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research design used factor analysis to develop subscales related to areas of loss, and subscales related to work behaviors of survivors following a downsizing. Five loss subscales were revealed as a result of factor analysis. They were loss of sense of justice and supervisory support; loss of security and support; loss of positive outlook; loss of territory; and loss of control and identity. There were two work behavior components identified through factor analysis. They were lack of productivity and sabotage; and intention for flight. The loss components, sense of justice and supervisory support; security and competence; and territory, were …

The Tangled Web: How Nonprofit Board Members Experience Organizational Crisis, Elizabeth A. Valicenti

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop an understanding of what board members experience during a time of organizational crisis. Major corporate and nonprofit failures of previously successful organizations in recent years have raised questions and led to speculation about the role of boards of directors through the crises. In this study twenty board members of nonprofit organizations who had experienced an organizational crisis during their board service were interviewed. Participants were asked to share their perceptions and explore how they identified and made meaning of the events and board processes that went on as the crisis …

Millennial Integration: Challenges Millennials Face In The Workplace And What They Can Do About Them, Chip Espinoza

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is a monumental changing of the guard that is currently taking place in organizations due to demographic metabolism. One of the largest birth cohorts or generations in history (Baby Boomer) is beginning to retire while their predecessor (Builder) is almost completely out of the workforce. Gen X is hitting stride and on the cusp of inheriting the proverbial organizational mantle. The three aforementioned age cohorts have learned to play in the organizational sandbox together. However, a new age cohort (Millennial, a.k.a. Gen Y), equal or greater in size to the Baby Boomer cohort started entering the playground approximately ten …

A Case Study Of The Rhetorical Styles And Content Used In Devising And Delivering A Workplace Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Program As An Example Of A Gender-Related Power Construct In A Private Sector Workplace With A Predominantly Male Workgroup, Kimberly Campbell

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This work examines what rhetorical approaches were used in the devising and delivery of workplace training materials that address intimate partner violence and gender-related power constructs in a predominantly male workplace and why these approaches were chosen. Specifically, this study analyzes the language used throughout the discourse for the purposes of determining how language can shape the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of the participants. The data was obtained using the qualitative methods of rhetorical analysis and interviewing. The materials were analyzed and this data was synthesized with the results of interviews with the author of the discourse. Supporting research examines …

An Expectancy Violations Theory Study Of Employee Satisfaction, Melissa Cleland

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study seeks to find what drives employee satisfaction using the expectancy violations theory. An exploration of the literature including Judee Burgoon’s expectancy violations theory against leadership credibility, narcissistic communication, and use of power are fully discussed. Ethnographic research is used to study a nonprofit organization, the three employees of Nonprofit XYZ were surveyed, interviewed, and observed over a two week period. The Executive Director of Nonprofit XYZ allowed full access to her office space and employees, however, didn’t participate in the study. The results of the study showed that employee satisfaction was a direct result of specific leadership attributes …