Organization Development Commons^™

Best Practices For Implementing The Green House® Model At The Tomah Veterans Administration, Jesana Denter-Eckelberg

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Veterans Administration (VA) located in Tomah, WI is in the process of a cultural transformation to create an environment that is welcoming, aesthetically pleasing, and accommodating to those with special needs. One effort in this transformation is the inclusion of a new concept, The Green House® model, which is a welcomed change to the large facility that has been traditionally known as an institutional setting for treating Veterans with chronic psychiatric conditions. The purpose of this Capstone Project was to conduct a literature review examining best practices in organizational culture and structure, employee management practices, and patient care models …

Meeting The Challenge Of Reconstruction And Development In Fragile States: Lessons From Aceh, Haiti, And South Sudan, Josef Leitmann

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

Reconstruction and development in poor, fragile countries present a double challenge: tackling the issues of poverty and underdevelopment as well as the constraints posed by instability, poor governance, and weak capacity. This context generates a range of problems that include: insecurity, insufficient planning, inadequate implementation capacity, poor financial management, misprocurement, corruption, a volatile fiscal environment, ineffective donor coordination, and negative environmental and social impacts. The paper draws lessons from positive and negative experiences in meeting these challenges in three conflict- and/or disaster-affected cases: Aceh Province, Indonesia (postdisaster reconstruction and postconflict development following the tsunami and earthquakes of 2004), Haiti (postdisaster …

Viewing An Interdisciplinary Human-Centered Design Course As A Multiteam System: Perspectives On Cooperation And Information Sharing, Elizabeth S. Fleming, Alexandra E. Coso

Design Thinking Research Symposium

Many design projects, including human-centered design (HCD) projects, incorporate multiple teams cooperating within what is referred to as a Multiteam System (MTS) environment. These teams mutually rely on resources and processes provided by other teams. As an MTS increases in complexity, knowledge is distributed to more individuals. While effectively distributed knowledge increases creativity and productivity, it is also can hinder team effectiveness. Team members may fail to exchange relevant information or to integrate pertinent information into reasoning for design decisions. Our research addresses information sharing among teams and individuals in HCD by examining interactions between and within the MTS (i.e., …

Whites And The Active Representation Of Racial Minority Interests, Maykao Y. Hang

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

This study explored personal and organizational factors that contribute to White public administrators actively representing the interests of racial minority minorities. Data collection comprised of 15 semi-structured interviews. The average age was 54, and the length of service was 3-33 years. Subjects were asked about their personal background, what it means to be White, and work experiences in local county government.

Personal factors found were racial consciousness, major life events, and significant relationships with people of color. Organizational factors included a diverse and inclusive work environment, bureaucracy, legal and compliance issues, and supervisor support. Findings included that Whites did not …

Idealized, Inspirational, And Intellectual Leaders In The Social Sector: Transformational Leadership And The Kravis Prize, Tawney A. Hughes

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the importance of transformational leadership in the social sector. Transformational leadership is a theory of behaviors and attributes focused on the relationship between leaders and followers of a group or organization (Avolio, 1999; Bass & Avolio, 1990a). It involves four factors: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

In order to gain more insight into leadership in some of the most high-impact and innovative social sector organizations, the research consists of interviews and case studies on five of the ten recipients of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. Having …

Improving Professional Skills Through Adversity: A Phenomenological Study Of Mergers And Acquisitions, Randy Anita Rutledge

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Company mergers and acquisitions often create tremendous conflict for employees because they force them into a spiral of organizational change. In this environment, employees are challenged with redefining themselves within a new organization. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and explain the particular conflict experiences of professional employees who experienced the merger and acquisition of their company. A phenomenological research study was conducted to discover and describe the shared conflict experiences of professional employees during the merger and acquisition of their consulting firm. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 self-identified professional employees. It was found through …

Perspective-Taking Increases Willingness To Engage In Intergroup Contact, Cynthia Wang, Kenneth Tai, Gillian Ku, Adam D. Galinsky

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Duplicate record, see https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3631/. The current research explored whether perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with stereotyped outgroup members. Across three studies, we find that perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with negatively-stereotyped targets. In Study 1, perspective-takers sat closer to, whereas stereotype suppressors sat further from, a hooligan compared to control participants. In Study 2, individual differences in perspective-taking tendencies predicted individuals’ willingness to engage in contact with a hooligan, having effects above and beyond those of empathic concern. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated that perspective-taking’s effects on intergroup contact extend to the target’s group (i.e., another …

Spirituality And Leadership: Integrating Spirituality As A Developmental Approach Of Improving Overall Leader Effectiveness, George Gregory Houston

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The role of leadership continues to be a consistent topic of discussion whether you are considering the seminal work of Stogdill (1974), Burns (1978), Kouzes and Posner (1995), or Van Hooser's (2013) Leaders Ought to Know, one of Amazon's 2013 Top Ten Leadership books. A consistent question in leader development circles is-how can leaders be more effective in their role given the current state of leadership? One dimension of leadership development that is often overshadowed, downplayed, minimized, or completely ignored is the concept of spirituality. If the spiritual development of individual leaders can be integrated with other accepted leadership …

Understanding Relational Agility: Exploring Constructs Of Relational Leadership Through Story, David M.I. Mclean

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Organizational storytelling was used within Tri Fit, a Canadian health promotion and fitness company, to explore relational leadership practices. Through 27 confidential one-on-one interviews and an interview of the four-person leadership team, the research attempted to examine how relational agility, a new leadership construct, exists, how it is defined, and to describe its organizational impacts. Two hundred and forty unique stories were shared through this process, out of which nine storylines emerged. The distillation of these revealed three cultural themes: a culture of relational connection; a culture of nice and a culture that values positivity. Demonstrations of transformational leadership, authentic …

The Structures And Practices Of Collaboration Among Environmental Organizations In Waterloo Region, Felix P. Munger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Background: Studies investigating organizational collaboration report increased goal achievement in the case of collaboration but identify that developing effective collaborations is challenging. An increasing number of researchers and practitioners are applying emerging research tools such as social network analysis to study collaborations and many of those who have applied social network analysis suggest, anecdotally, that it is a useful process tool aimed at increasing understanding of collaboration and informed decision-making among collaborative members.

Aims: The main objectives are to: (1) Empirically study networking and collaboration among environmental organizations in Waterloo Region; (2) Contribute to theory and practice development by examining …

Organizational Development Consulting: A Study Of Expert Consultants' Key Strategies, Mona Vosoughi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study was conducted to capture the collective voice of expert organizational development consultants. Until now, very few studies have been conducted that take into account the collective voices of organizational development consultants. More specifically, the purpose of the present study is to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the approaches expert organizational development consultants use throughout their engagement with their clients in an attempt to add value to and enhance organizational capacity. To understand the process used by this distinct group of leaders, phenomenological qualitative inquiry was the methodology used to conduct this study. Data were collected …

The Effect Of Shared Leadership On Workgroup Creativity, Simon Guive Minaee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research on leadership typically assumes a single leader who has managerial authority over the group, unit or organisation. Shared leadership is an emerging concept of leadership as a group-level phenomenon. It builds on antecedents such as democratic leadership, semi-autonomous and self-managed work groups, participative decision-making and co-leadership that are typically studied as variations of leadership by a single leader. Shared leadership is seen as more distributed, informal and emergent than these. Recent empirical research shows shared leadership can have beneficial effects on a variety of group process and outcome variables. However, so far its effects on creativity have not been …

For The Love Of Music: A Story Of Organizational Culture And Change, Malii Brown

Capstone Collection

For the Love of Music: A Story of Organizational Culture and Change is an examination of culture and possibilities for change at an organization that manages one top-tier, U.S. classical music orchestra. The research was carried out for the purpose of making and refining meaning from collective employee experiences at a canon cultural organization whose practices reflect and influence our society beyond the context of music. The inquiry at the heart of the work is, ‘How does the organizational culture of the subject organization, Orchestra, Inc.[1], affect its readiness for organizational change?’ The research methodology consisted of organizational culture assessments …

Strengths And Limitations Of The Design Of Helen Keller International’S Childsight® Program Based On Lessons Learned Through The Implementation In Vietnam, 2011-2013, Bradley J. Owen

Capstone Collection

The ophthalmology sector in Vietnam currently faces many challenges. The Asia- Pacific Region, including Vietnam, is reported to have the most cases of uncorrected refractive error in the world at approximately 62 million people. A 2009 study implemented by the World Health Organization also concluded that the Western Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, has 3.98% of the population suffering from uncorrected refractive error, with an estimated cost to the region’s GDP of 111 billion dollars, or .86% of regional GDP (Smith, et al. 2009). In Vietnam alone it is estimated that one in five children suffer from some form of …

Smartphones In The Workplace: Changing Organizational Behavior, Transforming The Future, Thiraput Pitichat

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

In the past decade, Smartphones have been developed and increasingly integrated with people’s lives not only for social use, but professional use as well. Many researchers claim that Smartphones can have negative consequences in the workplace such as lowering productivity, separating people from their realities, bringing stress from personal issues to work, and creating bad manners. Companies, however, have a difficult time mandating a policy in regards to prohibiting the use of Smartphones. Therefore, CEOs and corporate leaders should encourage their employees to use their Smartphones as tools for increasing their company’s efficiency. This research aims to examine the results …

Making Room At The Table: Enhancing Public Participation In Economic Development Process, Timothy P. Fitzgerald

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

In 2011, Mohawk Valley EDGE became the lead organization for the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council (MVREDC), one of the ten Regional Councils established in New York State. Public participation has been stressed as an essential function of all Regional Council processes. But throughout the 2012 Regional Council process, the MVREDC and EDGE had difficulty in soliciting feedback in implementing the regional strategic plan. This study examines how EDGE can foster more public engagement in local economic development.

Examining The Effectiveness Of The Millennium Villages Project Through The Health And Education Sectors: A Case Study In Ruhiira, Uganda, Meixi Guo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is meant to present the information gathered by the researcher during a 6-wwek practicum with the Millennium Villages Project Ruhiira office. The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of this organization by looking at its Health and Education sectors. By studying the interactions between the two, the paper aims to analyze the pros and cons of their interventions. During the course of this study, the researcher also learns about the local people’s view on the Millennium Villages Project as well as the difficulties Millennium has encountered when implementing the project.

The researcher used multiple methods …

Peran Support Group Dalam Mendorong Motivasi Belajar Remaja : Action Research Pada Pelajar Sma X, Afra Afifah

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This study discusses how support group plays a role in encouraging student’s learning motivation with action research approach. Application of support group becomes an alternative to complete counseling approach in dealing with adolescent learning problem in school. After running the program, an evaluation conducted on five students as the object of study. The result showed that student’s awareness on the low of learning motivation as a problem to be solved affects their involvement in the group. Students who have that awareness are able to engage within group well and get benefit from the existence of group.

Transforming Finance For The Future, Siu Loon Hoe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Significant changes in external market conditions have resulted in operations placing greater demands on the finance function. Traditional finance departments are increasingly expected to deliver more value and be more proactive in supporting the organization's overall business strategies. Unfortunately, many finance departments are not yet ready to meet such challenges. This article proposes a transformation process to reorganize present day finance functions to become a finance of the future. The proposed process applies tools such as best practices, outsourcing and technology to achieve a desired future outcome.

Service Provider Promising Practice: Kfi In Maine - Making Mission-Driven Choices About Funding And Service Innovation, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Katahdin Friends, Inc. (KFI), headquartered in the small rural community of Millinocket, Maine, has been a service provider in this community and surrounding regions for the last 54 years. After providing segregated services for its first 20 years, KFI became an early adopter of supported employment. In the 1980s, staff members started attending conferences to learn about better, cheaper ways to serve their customers. They were profoundly influenced by the integration approach to community and employment support espoused by other innovative service providers across the country

Winning The Global Contest For Talent, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Knowing what workers want help keep them at your company. But don’t forget about your managers.

Exploring The History And Challenges Of Monitoring And Evaluation In International Nongovernmental Organizations: Complemented By Intern Experience At Save The Children Usa, Scott Toscano

Capstone Collection

This paper examines the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system of a large international non-profit organization, Save the Children. An internship was used to support the central M&E unit and work on projects related to its needs. Projects included cataloging evaluation reports from the past two years and evaluation plans for the upcoming year, interviewing key informants about technical resource utilization and validating evidence about known gaps in Save the Children’s M&E system. A review of evaluation literature showing the evolution of the development evaluation practice is followed by a description of the mechanisms in Save the Children’s M&E system and …

A Tale Of Two Trusts: A Case Study Of The Consolidation Of Two Community Land Trust Affordable Housing Organizations In Vermont, Isaac I. Wagner

Capstone Collection

Between early 2010 and May 2011 the Windham Housing Trust conducted a feasibility analysis to study the possibility of merging with or acquiring the Rockingham Area Community Land Trust, a similar community land trust organization providing affordable housing in an adjacent county.

This study analyzed the one year feasibility study and merger negotiation process between the two organizations, and explored the complex set of relationships between financial partners, communities, residents, and funding stakeholders. The methodology for this work included reviewing current literature about nonprofit mergers and acquisitions, funder involvement, and community impact of consolidating services. In addition the author interviewed …

Patient Care News: May 2013, St. Cloud Hospital

Patient Care News

Happy Nurses Week 2013

Ethics Committee Membership Openings

Isolation Policy and Signage Changes

Daisy Award Honoree - Joan Willenbring RN

Effects of Aromatherapy for Anxiety

CPAP/BIPAP Patient Reminder

Enabling? The Revolving Door of a Chronic Inebriate

Evaluasi Program Penguatan Perempuan Usaha Kecil (Puk) (Evaluasi Sumatif Terhadap Program Penguatan Puk Yang Dilakukan Asosiasi Pendamping Perempuan Usaha Kecil Di Solo), Agung Cahyanto

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This research is a study summative evaluation PUK Strengthening Program in Solo with a quantitative approach. The goal is to measure outcome indicators and analyzes the factors that influence the achievement of outcomes based on aspects of the process and input. The analysis was done by means of univariate and bivariate with cross table, Chi Square and Kendall Tau. The results showed that the outcome indicators has not been achieved. Factors that influence the outcome of the process aspect are ability to identify and solve problems, quality of production, volume of business, business innovation, profit exhibitions, as well as participation …

Mentoring Unfolded: The Evolution Of An Emerging Discipline, Nora Dominguez

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The purpose of this study was to outline the development of mentoring in the fields of business, education, and psychology over the past three decades. With the aim of revealing an organized framework of the theory and practice of adult mentoring in academic and workplace contexts, a systematic review of 25 books and 80 articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 1978 and 2012 was analyzed using two methodological approaches: qualitative meta-summary and qualitative meta-synthesis. Through the analysis of published literature, this study provides a taxonomy of evidence-based mentoring best practices for the creation and maintenance of exemplary formal adult mentoring …

The Ups Approach To Employee Relations, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

But at UPS, the management starts off every meeting by reciting one of the policies in the company’s policy handbook that contains guidelines on how to handle employees, stakeholders and customers. Mary Yeo, vice president of supply chain operations at UPS South District, said at a talk presented at Singapore Management University (SMU): “This is a reminder to all of us working at UPS that we cannot overlook any important matters happening in our environment by simply forgetting the good culture at UPS.”

Investigating Virtual Worlds, Patricia D. Sobczak

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The global phenomena of online gaming engages millions of people, some playing over 45 hours a week - the equivalent of a second full-time job. Our children are logging over 10,000 hours of gaming time before they are 21 years old; the equivalent of the time children spend in formal classrooms from grades five through 12. Players in one of the most popular online games have logged over 5.3 million years of play time since 2004.

These statistics show that virtual worlds, including online games, have become an important component of modern culture, but their impact on society has yet …

Practicing Technology Implementation: The Case Of An Enterprise System, Yukika Awazu

2013

Drawing on four theories of practice – Communities of Practice (CoP), Bourdieu's theory of practice, Pickering's mangle of practice, and Actor Network Theory (ANT), the study provides an in-depth understanding about technology implementation practice. Analysis of an Enterprise System implementation project in a software manufacturing company reveals five stories of practice that relate to the major challenges faced. The story of mentoring related to the challenge of developing skilled analysts, and is examined by focusing on episodes about newly hired staff members. The story reveals the inhibiting impact of past habits and the role of occupational status. The second challenge …

Positive Workplace Dynamics: A Qualitative Exploration Of Exceptional Performance In Community College Units, R. Michael Stapleton

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

In this companion dissertation findings are reported of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. Ample prior evidence confirmed that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit.

Emerging positive organizational theory and research shows promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. Therefore, …