abstract: For over a century, researchers have been investigating collective cognition, in which a group of individuals together process information and act as a single cognitive unit. However, I still know little about circumstances under which groups achieve better (or worse) decisions than individuals. My dissertation research directly addressed this longstanding question, using the house-hunting ant Temnothorax rugatulus as a model system. Here I applied concepts and methods developed in psychology not only to individuals but also to colonies in order to investigate differences of their cognitive abilities. This approach is inspired by the superorganism concept, which sees a tightly integrated insect society as the analog of a single organism. I combined experimental manipulations and models to elucidate the emergent processes of collective cognition. My studies show that groups can achieve superior cognition by sharing the burden of option assessment among members and by integrating information from members using positive feedback. However, the same positive feedback can lock the group into a suboptimal choice in certain circumstances. Although ants are obligately social, my results show that they can be isolated and individually tested on cognitive tasks. In the future, this novel approach will help the field of animal behavior move towards better understanding of collective cognition. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Biology 2013

<p> Presently referred to as the &ldquo;silver tsunami&rdquo;, Baby Boomers are retiring from the federal government in mass volumes threatening the leadership structure and institutional knowledge of the federal workforce. Yet, Millennial workers are entering the workforce in large numbers with over 82 million members. Because of this drastic shift, organizations have spent large sums of money to recruit Millennials but are struggling to retain and engage them in the federal workplace. A basic qualitative study was used to study the employee engagement experiences of Millennial federal government employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen Millennial federal government employees to gain an understanding of their work engagement experiences within the federal workplace. Findings from this study emphasized Millennial federal government employees&rsquo; need to feel valued; have opportunities for professional and personal growth; have meaningful work; and have valuable relationships with managers. These findings were informed by the theoretical frameworks of social exchange theory and perceived organizational support. It is the researcher&rsquo;s intent that these findings will stimulate future research and practice and build further knowledge on understanding the work engagement experiences of Millennial federal government employees, as a means to employ them in the workforce and address the &ldquo;silver tsunami&rdquo; of retirement within the federal workplace.</p><p>

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between organisation structure and individual behaviour To achieve this aim, two components of organisation structure, namely organisation level and line and staff division, are used to represent the vertical and the horizontal dimensions of organisation structure respectively. Individual behaviour is examined on the basis of two manifestations of behaviour, namely motivation and stress. Data compilation is undertaken in one organisation by means of a stress and motivation orientation questionnaire. The results respondents. is determined of the empirical investigation are based on 314 The significance of differences between variables by means of variance analysis and t-tests. It is found that a significant difference exists with regard to the stress experienced by individuals on the various post levels. There is no significant difference in the motivation orientation of individuals on the various post levels. Similarly, no significant differences exists between line and staff person with regard to their motivation orientation or the stress they experience. In order to verify the results of this study, recommendations are made with regard to further research.

<p> Advancement in technologies, including communications, makes virtual work a possibility for many. Although abundant research on team dynamics exists and research on virtual teams is growing, a considerable volume of existing empirical data on virtual teams is conducted in laboratory settings using temporary teams, often at MBA or undergraduate levels. In addition, very few of these studies discuss how conflict is handled in a virtual team. Discovering how virtual teams deal with differences and conflicts will advance our understanding of these crucial issues. This mixed-methods study included surveys, semi-structured interviews, and ethnographic observation and field notes. Data was collected from 31 virtual teams. This study discovered that teams with higher team emotional intelligence approach differences by perspective taking, information sharing, and monitoring and adjusting of team behaviors. Virtual teams with lower team emotional intelligence are more likely to view each other as competitors and have a tendency to avoid conflict and vent without resolution. In addition, teams who meet regularly have more open communications, which enables a collaborative approach to conflict management.</p><p>

<p> Case study research was conducted to explore the existence of shared leadership in a social enterprise board of directors to identify the common characteristics and traits of board members, and the factors that facilitated or inhibited the development of the board as a shared leadership team. Creating and sustaining a committed and involved board of directors that works as a team were key challenges for the social enterprise board. Current research on shared leadership and the governance of social enterprises and nonprofits provided the conceptual framework for the researcher to develop and test two proposed models in a case study situated in a social enterprise. </p><p> Purposive sampling bounded the study to one social enterprise board of directors located in Southwestern region of the United States. The first model, <i> Developing Shared Leadership in a Nonprofit Board</i>, elucidated the researcher&rsquo;s postulation of the elements necessary for shared leadership to exist in a board of directors. The second model, <i>Best Practices of Nonprofit Boards and the Process of Developing Shared Leadership</i>, was constructed from the benchmarks found in the current literature for board structure and composition by which the researcher measured the readiness of the social enterprise board to act as a team and share leadership. </p><p> Using a case study design, data were collected from triangulated sources that included interviews, observations, a focus group, and archival documents. Two iterations of coding comprised of first and second cycles were conducted utilizing established coding methods. The constant comparison process was applied, the resulting codes were categorized and subcategorized, and the quantities of occurrences were calculated to make inferences about the emerging themes. The results of the case study and the use of shared leadership in a social enterprise board of directors were presented using a linear-analytic approach. </p><p> The findings from the thematic analysis showed that the important antecedents of shared leadership were present in the social enterprise board. The data collected from the case study were compared to the best practices found in the literature review and the findings indicated the social enterprise board had achieved many of them. Important qualities and characteristics of shared leadership were present in the board members such as trust and transparency. Impediments to shared leadership were identified as the infrequency of board meetings and unfamiliarity with other board members which impacted board member relationships, group cohesion, and the board&rsquo;s ability to act as a team. </p><p> Two models were created by the researcher in response to the findings: <i> Dynamic Elements of Shared Leadership in a Social Enterprise Board</i>, and <i>Fundamental Building Blocks for Successful Boards</i>. These models have practical implications for social enterprises and nonprofit organizations that can be replicated and tested in future research. This case study research identified the key factors contributing to the social enterprise&rsquo;s board performance, that may enable social enterprises and other nonprofit boards to derive the benefits of cultivating and sustaining shared leadership. </p><p>

<p> This study examined the possible relationship between leader emotional intelligence (EI) and employee engagement within a small digital media company. The study identified the level of employee engagement within the organization and the level of emotional intelligence of its leaders using Q12 engagement and Schutte self-report emotional intelligence (SSEIT) surveys respectively. These two constructs were then related to each other using the survey data as well as a focus group of company employees. The findings revealed that while there is no direct correlation within the data obtained form the surveys, employees do understand the effect of leader emotional intelligence in the workplace and do think that it is important for their leaders to have high emotional intelligence. Findings suggested the organization should focus on the development of their leaders. Communication and recognition of employees from leadership were indicated as areas to further improve engagement. Further leadership development could help with these areas and positively impact. Future research could obtain more data using a larger sample group and different surveys to further determine the influence of leaders emotional intelligence on employee engagement.</p><p>

<p> This study examined factors that lead to retention of engineers who joined Microsoft in Silicon Valley as part of an acquisition. The study findings surfaced two set of factors that are important in retaining acquired engineers. The factors are broken up by pre- and post-acquisition. Recommendations of this study include the importance of comprehensive communication plans, community and belonging, and personal and professional growth in retaining acquired engineers. Recommendations for further research include expanding the study beyond Microsoft Silicon Valley, and mapping to motivational theories. This study concludes that organizational development practitioners should understand the strategic intention of an acquisition and augment employee engagement and retention plans accordingly. This study can aide practitioners by presenting the factors that lead to retention of acquired engineers at Microsoft in Silicon Valley.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to understand how transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership behaviors and practices of high-performing air transport pilots in the United States were perceived to have optimized team functions during crisis situations in the cockpit. Four research questions provided the framework for this study and focused on understanding what the perceived transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership behaviors and practices were of pilots and how these high-performing pilots optimized team functions during crisis situations inside the cockpit. The sample was a purposive sample of six expert air transport pilots and six high-performing pilots. The theoretical foundation for this research was Bernard Bass&rsquo;s transformational leadership theory. The researcher collected data using the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire, interviews, and researcher field notes. The analysis of data collected included coding, categorizing, thematic analysis, and triangulation. The results from the research identified the following themes: being professional, ensuring the team is committed to the same goal, aviating the aircraft and maintaining safety, maintaining a communicative attitude, displaying confidence and being decisive in priority of duties, following standard operating procedures, following checklists, and practicing through training. The findings of this study determined that high-performing pilots who effectively handled crisis situations displayed more transformational than transactional leadership behaviors and that crew resource management training prepares pilots.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to research the relationship between leadership styles of higher education administrators and their faculty and staff&rsquo;s perceived psychological empowerment. The theoretical foundations are based around the Full Range Leadership model and Psychological Empowerment models. The Full Range Leadership model includes three specific leadership styles of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire. The study was comprised of three research questions, which were designed to determine the relationship of each of the leadership styles with perceived psychological empowerment. The research was undertaken at a public higher education institution in upstate New York. The sample for the study included 72 faculty and staff participants. Individual leadership styles were correlated with individual faculty and staff&rsquo;s psychological empowerment using a Spearman&rsquo;s rank-order correlation. The findings indicated that transformational leadership style has the greatest positive influence on faculty and staff&rsquo;s psychological empowerment (<i>r_s</i> = .38, <i> p</i> = .001). However, for this study there was not a significant correlation between transactional leadership and perceived psychological empowerment (<i> r_s</i> = .15, <i>p</i> = .10). There was a negative correlation between laissez-faire leadership and perceived psychological empowerment (<i>r_s</i> = -.36, <i>p</i> = .001). It can be stated that this research further supports that transformational leadership of administrators results in the highest levels of faculty and staff psychological empowerment.</p><p>

<p> This study answered the call of Luthans and Avolio (2003) to focus on leadership training approaches that facilitate the development of authentic leadership and followership. Further, it answered the call of Gardner, Cogliaer, Davis, and Dickens (2011) for more &ldquo;evaluations of the host of &hellip; programs currently offered that promise to enhance the development of leaders, including their authenticity, integrity, and effectiveness&rdquo; (p. 1141). Researchers or curriculum designers are interested in authentic leadership development. However, it is not yet clear which developmental approaches may have the most effect on PsyCap or Authentic Leadership behaviors. Positive Organizational Behavior theorists recommend trying different approaches to determine which have an effect (Luthans and Avolio, 2006). To that end, this study sought to generate new knowledge about the type of intervention approaches that effect PsyCap and Authentic Leadership Development. The two-part purpose of this study was to a) measure the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and authentic leadership (AL) and the extent to which these variables are modified by professional development and gender and b) to explore the perceptions of leaders regarding their experiences in professional development programs, the emotions that contributed to their professional development, and the differences in their perceptions of men and women. The study hypothesized that there is a relationship between these two variables and that they are moderated by gender and professional development. Quantitative results suggested a correlation exists between PsyCap and AL and that the relationship is stronger among those who completed graduate school, those who attended two or three of the corporate training programs, and those who participated in the mentoring program. Findings showed that the relationship was stronger among females. Qualitative findings explained that women are more passionate about growth and development than men. Qualitative findings suggested that participants believed that mentoring is an important component of leadership development and that the success of leadership development depends heavily on experiential learning, the supportiveness of the environment, and trust in leadership. Qualitative findings also showed that attitudes and emotions such as confidence, hope, optimism, resilience, patience, compassion, empathy, and positivity may contribute to an individual&rsquo;s leadership development.</p><p>