Leadership Studies Commons^™

The Entrepreneurial Leadership Puzzle : The Pieces You Need To Start A Business, Charles S. Ribaudo

Honors Theses

While having effective followers is critical, the leadership attributes of the entrepreneur is just as important. Gardner and several other leadership scholars have done significant research on the attributes of leaders. The entrepreneur is just one of many leaders that possess the necessary leadership attributes for success. Starting a company requires such a tremendous time commitment that the leaders within it must be able to handle the stress and ambiguity that goes along with it. This takes leadership to handle this ambiguity of whether they wilt meet the next paycheck. Employees, investors and customers will be looking to them to …

Does Gender Influence Leadership?, Stacy L. Jones

Honors Theses

The question of gender's influence on leadership styles is an important topic in the modern organizational world. The face of the organization is changing, with new demands being made of management. Organizations no longer depend on rigid hierarchies to achieve their goals, but rather these organizations seek innovation and communication. To achieve these new objectives, organizations are searching for leadership from their executives, managers, and employees.

It is of primary importance to determine whether men and women demonstrate the same leadership behaviors or demonstrate significantly different styles of leadership. This knowledge may substantially aid an organization in utilizing the most …

The Multiple Sclerosis Society : One Thing People With Ms Can Count On, Chris O'Neil

Honors Theses

In my study of the Central Virginia Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, I have chosen not to focus on the departure of the Executive Director, Jacqui Kozsuch, who is leaving for personal reasons. I have instead focused on the issues that are going to be relevant and important for the growth of the chapter in the future, such as the board involvement, fund.raising strategies and meeting the needs of the clients.

Based on my research and observation, I think that the chapter has made a turn for the better and has the groundwork laid for future success. All …

A Study Of Leadership Through The Field Of Events Planning, Meredith Bishop

Honors Theses

During the past fouryearsit seems as if I have always been in charge of something, and looking back that "thing" has always been an event. Whether it was Freshman Tree Planting Ceremony, Junior Ring Dance, or Sorority Rush the events have been a culmination of my creativity, organization, and leadership abilities. It is not everyone who wantsto,orwould be able to plan an event for a client (or even their friends) and be proud of the end results. It is stressful,time consuming, and done for other people. It is a test of leadership in a traditional way through personal and interpersonal …

Making Richmond Greater : A Study Of The Greater Richmond Community Corps, Elizabeth A. Devoss

Honors Theses

The impetus or need for a study of the evolution of a group like the Greater Richmond Community Corps relates to the need for community leadership throughout the country. Many urban areas are facing the same crisis-like problems as Richmond. As a result, this study could provide them with a model in addressing these problems and an in-depth look at Richmond's response.

Virginia Commonwealth University's Plan For A Diverse Community, Matthew T. Corkern

Honors Theses

Having always been intrigued by academic administration, it is only appropriate that I chose to study leadership perspectives within this traditional, yet ever changing context. Desiring the challenge of intellectual development as well as an opportunity to bring an effective change, I researched and assembled a pilot project. With use of this procedure, the Office of Academic Planning at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), may now analyze the implementation of various directions and components of their Strategic Plan over the next months for the September 1995 deadline.

The Grotian Quest Revisited, Jeffrey Waggett

Honors Theses

In 1625, more than twenty years prior to the ending of the Thirty Years War with the Treaty of Westphalia, Hugo Grotius wrote De Jure Belli-ac Pacis, outlining his solutions for a troubled world. While the details and particularities of his ideas may not be compatible with today's unsettled and transitory world, what he strove and quested for is as applicable today as it was at the beginning of the modem state system. At the time of Grotius, feudalism was being replaced by statist concerns, centering around territory and a dual centralization of domestic authority and military power. The transitory …

Personal Leadership : A Course Proposal For The Jepson School Curriculum, Carrie S. Smith

Honors Theses

One growth area within the field of leadership studies is the concept of personal leadership. Personal leadership encourages identifying and living by one's own core values. It incorporates defining and adhering to a personal mission statement and vision. Teaching personal leadership means identifying specific practices, exercises, disciplines and habits that aid the individual in learning to lead a principle-centered life. Since the material is translatable into all realms of a leaders life, teaching personal leadership methods to Jepson students will aid them in gaining a better understanding of themselves and will prove to be a practical preparatory course for leadership …

Art And Leadership, Bridgett Miller

Honors Theses

Art and leadership. Are there any connections? There has been very little research done on the relationship between art and leadership. However, it is about time that we become reflective practitioners and examine the context of art as a manifestation of leadership. Art and leadership are similar and primarily united along the lines of their ability to transcend time and use of the right brain hemisphere.

It should now seem quite apparent how the arts and leadership are connected. Both are multi-faceted fields which lack universal definitions. They pose similar questions to the scholars and practitioners within their respective disciplines. …

Women's Leadership In The Sports Field, Tara L. Messmore

Honors Theses

According to the interviews with successful women in nationally and internationally renowned companies/organizations in the sports world, there were ten concepts discussed most frequently in reference to how women succeed in this particular male-dominated field. Six of these ten concepts correlated to hindrances that impede women from breaking the glass ceiling in other nontraditional careers, while the remaining four concepts were unique to the sports field. In fact, a study conducted in The New Leaders and supported by a combination of other studies commisssioned by the Executive Leadership Council on driving and restraining forces for black senior executives (Baskerville and …

A Cross Cultural Analysis Of Leadership : Operation Smile Philippines Medical Mission 1995, Elizabethharris F. Harris

Honors Theses

One can not examine leadership in isolate from the context in which it is occurring. National and international factors, as well as culture, are key in understanding leadership. Factors such as a history of political oppression impact how Americans are perceived, and considerations such as religious factors impact the workings of the team. An awareness of these factors is imperative to team leadership, as mistakes or insensitivity can be detrimental to team effectiveness and relations.

It seems that at this stage of the leadership evolution, there is really no international model which effectively accounts for the leadership within a cross-cultural …

Teaching Leadership Through Mentoring, Kimberly Y. Fisher

Honors Theses

In order to teach brothers how to be good mentors and leaders, the Fraternity has begun to offer a one-day retreat called a Regional mentor Development Program (RMDP), attendance to which is an expectation of the Epsilon/Brother Mentor Challenge. All members of the Fraternity are encouraged to attend these workshops regardless of the Challenge they are presently completing. As of January 1995, when I temporarily joined the organization, only one RMDP had been facilitated. It was held October 29, 1994 in the midwest region and serves as a guide on which the next RMDPs will be based. The program involved …

Leadership And Corporate Giving, Greg Parisi

Honors Theses

Students at the University of Richmond and many other independent colleges and universities in Virginia are the primary beneficiaries of a remarkable labor of which they are, in most cases, completely unaware. The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, put quite simply, raises funds from Virginia corporations to be distributed to its fifteen member institutions.

In turn, the needs of the VFIC have created an opportunity for inquiry into corporate giving from the perspective of the individual corporate executive. This paper details both my efforts to fulfill the needs of the VFIC and to gain insight into the leadership issues surrounding …

Greater Richmond Community Corps, Elizabeth Devoss

Honors Theses

The Richmond Community Corps was created by Mayor Leonidas B. Young in September 1994, in response to rising crime and violence in the Richmond community and in direct response to recommendations of the report of the Richmond Regional Crime Commission. Mayor Young, a second term council member, newly elected mayor and pastor in one of Richmond's most crime ridden areas, believes that crime and violence in our neighborhood's can be greatly affected if greater numbers of citizens get involved in making their communities safer places to live. As originally envisioned by Mayor Young, the Richmond Community Corps, would provide citizens …

The Phenomenon Of Flow As Experienced By Classroom Teachers: Implications For Leadership Practice, Alyson B. Caouette Edd

Dissertations

The purposes of this qualitative study were to investigate the phenomenon of flow as experienced by classroom teachers and to determine the implications of the understanding of flow for leadership practice. The phenomenon of flow, as described by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, is reported to be experienced when individuals are engaged in activities that have (a) a balance of challenge and skills that can be varied and controlled, (b) a structure with clear goals, and (c) a structure that provides immediate and relevant feedback. The questions addressed within the study involved determining the specific experiences of classroom teachers of the phenomenon of …

Awakening Intuition: A Delphi Study, Verna Veronica Schmidt Edd

Dissertations

This study was framed by three key questions: How is intuition characterized, how is intuition in adults best developed, and what influence might the development of intuition have on individuals, organizations, and society. The data for the study was collected using the Delphi method. The panel included twenty females and twenty-three males from three Canadian provinces and eighteen American states. Eighty-three percent of the panel had post secondary degrees in over twenty different disciplines. Twenty-three percent of the panel held doctorate level degrees. Thirty-one different occupations were represented. All forty-three participants who started the study completed all three rounds. Data …

"Constructing" Nation Within States: The Quest For Federal Recognition By The Catawba And Lumbee Tribes, Anne Merline Mcculloch, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Creating and in some cases re-creating viable tribal political communities within the construct of modern nation-state has proven to be a troublesome task for indigenous populations worldwide. The task for indigenous governments in the United States has been further complication by federalism's divisions of power between the states and the national government. Native American tribes often find themselves waging a two-front battle in which they must resist state encroachments over their lands and their inherent government authority; while at the same time they must lobby the federal government for protection of those same lands and powers.

History is replete with …

Tribal-State Affairs: The Next Proving Ground?, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

While these more profound issues of structure and perception beg for solution, a more immediate problem has arisen with the advent of Republican dominance in the Congress. One of the likely outgrowths of this transference of political power is that Congress, along with the Supreme Court, which has been doing it for some time, may funnel more issues to the States and their subsidiary governments for resolution or administration. Such a transfer does not bode well for tribes. Remember the allotment of Indian lands (1880s-1930s) and the Termination of tribes (1950s-1960s)? Those policies essentially made tribes and their citizens subject …

The "De-Selected" Senate Committee On Indian Affairs And Its Legislative Record, 1977-1992, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This essay has three major sections. In section one, I examine the Congress's constitutional responsibility for administration of the federal government's affairs with tribes. In section two, I describe the history of the various Indian committees from 1820 to 1977. Section three details the legislative record of the Senate Select Committee during its sixteen-year existence (1977-1993) as a "select" entity. Substantive policy content analysis of the committee's legislative activity, which is the next logical step leading to the construction of a theory or theories about congressional committees and their impact on the development of sound federal Indian policy, must await …

The Historical And Contemporary Contexts Of Leadership: A Conceptual Model, J. Thomas Wren

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Stating that leadership is a complex phenomenon repeats a truism that is painfully obvious to all who have ever participated in, observed, or analyzed the process as leaders, followers, students or scholars. Despite its inherent complexity, those who seek an understanding of the nature of leadership and leadership processes are well rewarded by the insights generated thereby. This essay provides an expanded conception of one of the key elements of the leadership process--the context of leadership.

The Secondary School Assistant Principal, Victoria W. Halsey Edd

Dissertations

School leadership research typically centers around the high profile roles of the site level principal and the district superintendent. The resulting scarcity of information in regard to the role of the assistant principal is contributing to ineffective training, fewer initial guidelines and an overall lack of clear conceptualization of the position. The purpose of this study was to construct a realistic portrayal of the assistant principal's daily professional life in the educational arena. This qualitative, ethnographic study stressed depth, richness and accuracy to depict the singular and collective voices of the participants. Eight practicing Junior and Senior High School assistant …

A Decade Of Home Schooling In Saskatchewan, Canada (1984-1994): A Case Study, Sandra Christine Hill Edd

Dissertations

The efficacy of alternative education has had a significant impact on public education. The diversity of cultures, lifestyles, and needs of home-schooling families compelled the public educational sector to make available educational alternatives. The purpose of this study was to build upon previous research (Hill, 1988) by interviewing a sample of the same families and their children to investigate the longitudinal experiences for a follow-up study. The representative sample participated in a study entitled An Investigation of Home Schooling in Saskatchewan (Hill, 1988). Twenty families (18 parents and 25 children) were interviewed; 10 were selected as case studies. Home schoolers …

Development Of A Participative Approach To Guide Organizational Change: Reviewing The Sawtooth Technique, Port Robert Martin Edd

Dissertations

In a world economy that bears scant resemblance to the one dominated by the United States following World War II, many American companies have found it increasingly difficult to keep pace with their foreign competitors. The public sector, too, has found itself under significant pressure to provide needed services but with significantly reduced resources. In each individual case leaders have been seeking new solutions to both old and new problems, and organizations have been faced with change and its impacts. The purpose of this study was to design a methodology that could be used to structure organizational changes in such …

Women And Men In Collaborative Working Partnerships: Connecting Two Disparate Modes Of Experience, Steven Blue Robbins Edd

Dissertations

This study provides an in-depth description of mixed gender working partnerships in a collaborative effort over a one year period. The research identified differences between men and women in mutually collaborative working partnerships at the undergraduate level in order to also discover what was productive or problematic between those women and men in the partnerships. The research studied twenty-two UCSD undergraduate women and men who worked together in partnerships with mutual goals. The research utilized phenomenological interviewing techniques. The focus was the perceptions and experiences of the participants. The interviews were designed to address two primary research questions: 1) What …

The Impact Of Community Service-Learning On Student Development, As Perceived By Student Leaders, Judith Starr Rauner Edd

Dissertations

Since the mid-1980s, leaders in higher education have promoted the resurgence of student service linked with learning, but limited research exists on expectations or outcomes for these students or for the communities they serve. The literature review revealed that students' experiences of community service leadership had been a previously unexplored phenomenon. This study investigated the experiences of college students as community service leaders over a two-year period at two universities. According to data generated by four case studies, these leaders perceived significant personal changes in themselves as being different from changes they experienced when they volunteered. They grappled with their …

Historical Case Study: San Diego And Tijuana Border Region Relationship With The San Diego Police Department, 1957-1994, Adolfo Gonzales Edd

Dissertations

Large numbers of undocumented persons cross through the hills and canyons along the San Ysidro/Tijuana border region, on a nightly basis. As these helpless victims cross, border bandits and other criminals stalk these people and prey on them like predatory animals. The San Diego Police Department is charged with the responsibility of providing public safety along the United States/México international border. The purpose of this research was to investigate the circumstances which led to the establishment of the San Diego/Tijuana international border (1846-1848), the role and policy of the San Diego Police Department along the international border, and the relationship …

The Identification Of Behavioral Indicators Of A Superintendent's Leadership Success: A Delphi Study, Douglas George Player Edd

Dissertations

In British Columbia, as well as other Canadian provinces, an annual report is produced by every school district. The report informs the citizens using a variety of indicators that demonstrate the level of success of the district. These reports do not include specific indicators on the level of success of the superintendent or other administrators in the district. This study sought to identify and describe behaviors that could serve as indicators of a superintendent's leadership success. It also sought to ensure that the indicators were aligned with the leadership behaviors applicable to a Total Quality Management model. The research methodology …

[Introduction To] Our Social World, Donelson R. Forsyth

Bookshelf

Noted by reviewers as being exceptionally well-written and engaging, this text is intended to help students understand how social psychologists view the world, to teach them to recognize the social determinants of human action, and to make use of social psychology in their daily lives. Without watering down the content, Forsyth writes in a style that is consistently clear and conversational, and effectively integrates social psychology with everyday life. Using research findings as demonstrations and evidence (rather than as an exhaustive review of the literature), Forsyth urges students to look at the world from a social psychologist's perspective. Rather than …

[Introduction To] The Leader's Companion: Insights On Leadership Through The Ages, J. Thomas Wren

Bookshelf

This book serves as a guided introduction to the rich a diverse perspectives on leadership throughout the ages and throughout the world. Each of the selections, introduced by the editor, presents enlightening thoughts on a different aspect of leadership. Writings by Plato, Aristotle, Lao-tzu and others demonstrate that the challenges of leadership are as old as civilization. Machiavelli, Tolstoy, Ghandi, and W.E.B. Du Bois provide a wide range of insights into the eternal practice and problems of leadership. Modern masters of leadership such as James MacGregor Burns, John Kotter, and Warren Bennis join such leading practitioners as Max De Pree …

Leadership: Personal Narratives Of Practitioners, R. Daniel Israel Edd

Dissertations

Leadership scholars and researchers have still not come to an agreement as to what the nature of leadership is. Most research within leadership studies has been grounded in preconceived or stated definitions of leadership. However, very little information exists about people's experiences of leadership. This project addresses the lack of experiential clarification of the leadership relationship. It utilizes a new leadership research method grounded in the experience of people. Leadership narrative research uses the stories people tell about their leadership experiences as a form of data collection This study is designed to discover if Rost's (1991) definition: "Leadership is an …