Organization Development Commons^™

Informed Consent: Vetting Research Software For Privacy, Noreen Y. Whysel

Publications and Research

Product development is flawed. Often there is no consent at all when testing with potential users. In this article I discuss how to ensure that research participants understand what data is collected, how their data is collected and how it might be used or shared beyond the scope of the covered research product. A study of user research testing tools and panel recruitment software revealed the extent that study participants may be tracked and their data shared by underlying processes that are not in the direct control of the study team. The article frames the discussion around two of the …

Taking Advantage Of Opportunities For Informal Leadership, Linda Miles, Susanne Markgren

Publications and Research

We contend that informal leadership (IL)—the type that does not come from an official title or decree—not only helps our organizations function, it can be vital in helping mid-career academic librarians grow and succeed, and such pursuits should be encouraged and supported no matter where they emerge within an organizational structure. We aim to define and explore IL and provide strategies for mid-career librarians who may want to identify, seek out, and step into IL opportunities. We begin our discussion by considering concepts emerging from the literature on leaders and leadership in general and what it means to lead when …

National Culture And Influences On Leadership Practices [Power Distance Index – Pdi], Oluremi Alapo

Publications and Research

The presenter will discuss power relations, culture, and human behavior in organizational settings based on previous research results on culture and leadership and provide information on new research being conducted on National Culture and Leadership practices. Previous research was based on Hofstede’s five cross - cultural dimension / framework. This new research will look at PDI – Power Distance Index and how it affects the relationship of subordinates to their leaders in new cross-cultural environments. The presenter will present information from a recent pilot study on Power Distance Index and the extent to which a person’s national culture influences (or …

Symptomatic Leadership In Business Instruction: How To Finally Teach Diversity And Inclusion For Lasting Change, Linda L. Ridley

Publications and Research

Are business faculty complicit in mythologizing business concepts by ignoring historical precedence?

The refusal to examine in totality the history of discrimination and racism allows us to perpetuate a mythology of white supremacy that is enhanced through impotent diversity programs repeated throughout corporate America. This paper examines the importance of demythologizing the business curriculum through symptomatic thinking, which allows faculty and students to untangle the quagmire of diversity and inclusion in corporate America. Students are thereby equipped with tools for behavior transformation in the workplace that uses a symptomatic, rather than symbolic approach, to decision making and problem solving.

Symptomatic Leadership: The Impact Of Changing Demographics On Global Business, Linda L. Ridley

Publications and Research

The past several decades have displayed a focus on diversity in the workplace throughout the corporate environment. Questions remain: has the effort been at all impactful – or, due to its symbolic nature, has it only been a distraction? What behaviors would have been better emphasized to achieve full participation and opportunity by all actors in a firm?

Considerable research has revealed that attempts at diversity are clumsy at best; and spurious at worst. [i] The challenge for firms has been to develop a “business case” for why those contributing groups represented by women and people of color should be …

Leadership And Decision-Making Styles, Oluremi Alapo

Publications and Research

Generation X: The Role of Culture on the Leadership Styles of Women in Leadership Positions' goal is to assist organizational leaders to view Generation X women in positions of power from a different perspective. Women leaders are capable of leading a 21st century organization because of their scope of knowledge about growing businesses, and their ability to blend and incorporate new technologies and innovations in the business environment. Generation X: The Role of Culture on the Leadership Styles of Women in Leadership Positions is relevant to the fields of business, cultural, human relations, leadership, management, and cross-cultural leadership and women …