<p> It is believed that the commitment to diversity in the workplace is rooted in the civil rights movement. Six decades later, many companies have achieved a demographically diverse workforce, while others have not. Some organizations assumed that diversity would automatically result in inclusion. Seemingly, it has been more elusive to create and sustain an inclusive workplace. Within large global organizations, the task of creating such a workplace rests with the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). </p><p> Inclusion, as related to engaging diverse employees in the workplace, is an emerging concept. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of Chief Diversity Officers in establishing and maintaining an inclusive work environment. Specifically, this study focused on identifying the challenges they faced and determining the strategies and measures these practitioners implemented to cultivate cultures of inclusion. Further, given their experiences, this study sought to capture their recommendations for others who may consider such a task. Therefore, qualitative research methodology was aligned to the purpose of exploring the meaning assigned to this experience to identify best practices. The qualitative approach relied upon semi-structured interviews conducted on a one-on-one basis with the survey participants. In using a one-on-one format, the researcher was able to glean deep understanding and insight regarding the practices of CDOs. </p><p> The salient findings of the study indicate that there is commonality in regards to the foundational elements of building a culture of inclusion and the challenges that the CDOs have faced. The most noted foundational elements were building organizational capability, blending inclusive practices throughout the talent management cycle and branding the organization as inclusive. With regard to the challenges, most often cited were organizational priority, executive embrace and sufficient resources. In consideration of the existence of measures and which metrics were captured, there was significant disparity. While there was no evidence of consistent best practice associated with measurement, there was universal belief that the creating and sustaining inclusive workplaces would be requisite in the future. The respondents noted that the shifting demographics would make inclusive workplaces requisite for global businesses. </p>

<p> Health care technology workers play an increasingly important role in meeting regulatory requirements, improving patient care and containing health care costs. However, their perceptions of work and job satisfaction are lightly studied in comparison to other health care workers such as physicians or nurses. This exploratory study used heuristic inquiry to investigate the perceptions of health care technology workers with regard to their feelings of task significance, mission valence, work meaning, and job satisfaction. </p><p> Nine research participants representing three not-for-profit, secular hospital systems which were selected to have variation in geographic scope and organization size were interviewed. All participants were full-time, senior professional, non-executive, employees with a minimum of five years of experience in health care technology and three years with their current employer. </p><p> Thematic analysis revealed themes within four categories: organization culture, organization mission, interactions with clinicians and perceived contribution. These organizations have strong cultures in which staff members police the cultural norms. The inculcation to the culture includes helping health care technology workers connect to the organization&rsquo;s mission of patient care, and these employees perceive the mission to have high valence. While these employees feel that the mission of patient care is important and valuable, they have a conflicted relationship with physicians who they perceive as resistant to the adoption of new technology. Finally, health care technology workers recognized that their work tasks may not directly impact patient care; however, they felt their contribution was meaningful, in particular when they were able to contribute their unique talents. </p><p> Study conclusions and recommendations included how job rotations allowing health care technology workers to work at a care provider site provides an opportunity for health care companies to increase workers&rsquo; feelings of task significance and task identity, and therefore, job satisfaction. Contributing one&rsquo;s unique gift is perceived as meaningful, and workers seek opportunities to do so. Recognizing the importance of these workers and facilitating improved interactions between health care technology workers and physicians particularly with regard to adoption of new technology is seen as critical for ensuring effective and efficient health care delivery.</p>

<p> Profound changes are happening in the globalized work environment, challenging the existing way individuals operate at work and the traditional role of the workplace. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the physical and social work environment through the lens of activity based working (ABW) to understand the effects ABW had on an individual&rsquo;s ability to integrate their work and nonwork lives and how this contributed to wellbeing and productivity. Twenty qualitative interviews were conducted across three Australian-based organizations that had implemented ABW. By studying the pre and post change impacts through the lens of Person-Environment Fit Theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the study presented findings that identify a strong linkage between the physical and social environments and how this linkage is able to fulfill an individual&rsquo;s psychological needs&mdash;relatedness, autonomy, and competence&mdash;as defined by SDT. The study identified a greater sense of relatedness as the main benefit of an ABW intervention and suggested that there is a greater role for authenticity to play in the workplace in order to foster greater levels of autonomy. The study also identified competence as an area that organizations should focus more on in order to build and sustain the necessary skills and capabilities to work in an ABW environment. Participants described benefits to mental and physical health and wellbeing as well as productivity as a result of the ABW intervention.</p>

<p>Organization Development has the potential to play an active role in supporting environmental change initiatives. This study explores the values of a group of OD practitioners who are working with environmental concerns as a consideration in their practice. Nine qualitative interviews were conducted to explore values and surface factors that have influenced those values. The Schwartz Value Questionnaire (SVQ) and the Nature Relatedness Scale were administered to better understand practitioner values. Elements of self-transcendent values were revealed amongst practitioners through both quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition, these practitioners scored higher than the average population on Nature Relatedness. This study supported research, which linked an individual&rsquo;s self-transcendent values to feelings of environmental concern. This study also supported research by Schein (2014), which showed that certain experiences shaped ecological worldviews of sustainability leaders over their lifespan. OD has an opportunity to enable more of its students and practitioners to adopt this ecological worldview and gravitate towards leveraging OD expertise in the environmental sustainability space. </p>

<p> This qualitative study examined the startup phase of a new manufacturing facility in the rigid plastics packaging industry. Thirteen personnel were interviewed for their impressions of the startup experience, and were asked for their recommendations for the type of leadership, training and knowledge sharing, and organizational systems and support needed for a new plant startup to succeed. Participants noted both successes and challenges related to the plant manager, training and support delivered, and communication and other organizational systems in place. Participants offered several recommendations, including improving leader selection and preparation; optimizing training resources, schedules, and materials for each area; improving coordination, communication, and training for visiting support staff; and adapting human resources, project management, and equipment. Based on these findings, several recommendations for executive leaders, project management, and organization development consultants were identified. The key suggestion for continued research is to repeat the study with an enhanced research design. </p>

<p> This qualitative study examined the use of transformational leadership among producers in one production company in the entertainment industry. A sample of 16 producers who led shows at the organization from 2012 to 2016 completed an interview about their self-described and ideal leadership styles, their current and desired use of transformational leadership, and attitudes and openness to executive coaching. Producers&rsquo; self-described current leadership style is empowering, and they want to become more results-oriented and highly respected in the future. Participants reported they are and want to continue to be transformational. Almost all participants expressed interest in coaching. Although additional research is needed to extend and confirm the present study findings, the study organization may wish to offer its leaders development opportunities and consider training team members to promote consistent values. Specifically, executive coaching and training in transformational leadership may be beneficial and of interest to the participants in this study. </p>

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<p> Tourism, Barbados&rsquo;s primary industry, declined substantially from the outset of the 2008 global recession, triggering an economic slump in the local economy. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the views of 20 Barbadian tourism executives regarding the ability of community-based tourism (CBT) to resuscitate Barbados&rsquo;s tourism industry. The participants included 10 from the government and 10 from the business sector; all possessed knowledge of CBT and worked with tourism for at least 10 years. Arnstein&rsquo;s <i> ladder of citizen participation</i> constituted the conceptual framework of this study. Participants were recruited by snowball and purposive sampling. Data were collected using an interview guide with semistructured interview questions, an audio recorder, and interview notes. The collected data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis, which involved collating the most cited codes into potential themes and developing thematic maps. The major themes that emerged from the data analysis of the private sector included the use of CBT as a means to solidify social relationships among locals and tourists and its ability to encourage repeat vacations. The major themes that materialized from interviewing the government workers included the need for the education of residents regarding the importance of their roles as stakeholder participants and the obligation by the relevant officials to stem any potential for criminal activity that could occur through CBT implementation. Repeated vacations through CBT could give rise to positive social change in the island by generating increased foreign currency injections and improving the social well-being of Barbadians and the Barbados economy.</p>