<p> Research suggests that 21^st century organizations are calling for an emphasis on exemplary followers, those who actively engage and think critically and independently (Kelley, 1992), at a time when organizations are becoming flatter, leaner, and geographically dispersed. Technology advancements have enabled employees to work remotely with minimal supervision, changing traditional leadership paradigms and requiring organizational leaders to focus more attention on followership and follower development. Home-based teleworkers experience challenges and emotional stressors related to communicating via technology, feeling isolated, and working longer hours (Baruch, 2000), possibly hindering followers to engage and to think independently, which are essential skills for success in the virtual environment. This study addressed the neglected area of followership, specifically in the area of home-based teleworkers, by examining the relationships between the followership dimensions of engagement and critical, independent thinking using the Followership Questionnaire (Kelley, 1992) and emotional intelligence using the EQ-i 2.0 (Bar-On, 1997). The research discovered that home-based teleworkers who indicated a higher total emotional intelligence score also reported higher engagement and critical thinking scores. Statistically significant correlations were found between followership engagement and three of the five emotional intelligence scales, including self-perception, interpersonal, and stress management. In addition, statistically significant correlations were found between followership critical thinking and three of the five emotional intelligence scales, including self-perception, self-expression, and decision-making. This study provides a framework for followership development, which could enhance the relationships between leaders and followers within a virtual environment.</p>

<p> Some hospital leaders are ineffective in implementing the electronic medical record (EMR) systems in the hospitals. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies hospital leaders use to successfully implement EMR systems. The target population consisted of hospital leaders and healthcare professionals from two hospitals who have successfully implemented EMR systems. The conceptual framework of this research study was Kotter&rsquo;s 8-stage process for leading change, building on the model of an effective change management method. Data were collected from 5 interviewed participants and company documents related to strategies regarding the EMR system implementation. The results of reviewing open-ended interview questions and archived documents were analyzed using codes and themes to facilitate triangulation. Three primary themes were developed from the coded data: (a) strategies hospital leaders use to implement the EMR system, (b) strategies hospital leaders use to achieve quality and best practice, and (c) strategies hospital leaders use to manage change and resistance to change. Results revealed 4 steps for successful implementation: (1) creating a vision, (2) communicating the vision, (3) establishing strong leadership, and (4) consolidating gains. Utilizing the successful strategies hospital leaders use to implement the EMR systems could produce quality patient care, efficiencies in hospital operations, and reduced organizational operation cost. The findings could effect positive social change through delivery of quality health and patient care that results in community cost benefits and healthier patient lifestyles.</p><p>

<p> The business problem is that some human resource (HR) professionals lack the skills necessary to effectively manage emotional labor (EL) in the workplace. HR professionals are responsible for managing potentially high-stress situations within organizations, yet little research exists that describes what skills help to prepare early-career HR professionals for these work situations. The research purpose of this qualitative single case study is to explore the necessary skills needed for HR professionals to effectively manage EL intensive situations within the workplace environment. This research adds to prior studies on emotional work, organization display rules, the socialization of EL, and the organizational impact on expression and feelings for early career HR professionals. The research question for this the research study was how early-career HR professionals developed the skills needed to manage EL in the workplace. The sources of data included nine early-career HR professionals with three or fewer years of experience, nine business leaders managing business organizations within the participating company, and a review of documentation related to HR skill development. Participants in the research studied agreed to participate through a purposeful sampling method and participated in semi-structured interviews. The key findings from the research study resulted in six dominant themes that were coded in Nvivo 11 qualitative analytics software: &ldquo;experience is the best teacher&rdquo;, surface acting vs. deep acting, reliance on HR, networking for different purposes, learning processes, and emotion regulation training. Both groups of participants indicated the desire for training on emotion regulation techniques and emotional intelligence early in the career of new employees to the company. One unexpected finding was that eight of the nine early-career HR professional participants indicated that surface acting was the selected style and nine of the nine business leader participants indicated deep acting was the selected style for managing emotional labor in the workplace. The contributions of the research to the practice of business may assist organizations in developing training content and additional support group structures for early-career HR professionals as they continue to develop within the corporate environment. The contributions of the research to the business literature will add to the body of practitioner knowledge by providing a better understanding of the significance of how early-career HR professionals experience and manage EL in the workplace.</p><p>

<p> Many small businesses in the United States declare bankruptcy within the first 5 years of starting operations. Small business leaders may avoid bankruptcy if they would take advantage of the financial benefits associated with entering the business process outsourcing (BPO) market as service providers. BPO service providers in the United States have experienced significant revenue increases since entering this growing market. This multicase study was an exploration of the strategies small business leaders use to enter the BPO market as service providers to increase revenue and reduce the likelihood of bankruptcy in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, area. The multicase population consisted of 4 small business leaders from 3 companies who successfully entered the BPO market as service providers and increased revenue. The conceptual framework for this study was the resource-based view theory. The data collection process included semistructured interviews, interview notes, and company records. Data were compiled and organized, disassembled into fragments, reassembled into sequence of groups, and interpreted for meaning. Methodological triangulation and member checking validated the trustworthiness of those interpretations. Three themes emerged from the data collected: using professional resources and personal skills to enter the BPO market; entering into trade contracts with BPO clients; and establishing and building on relationships with BPO clients. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the success rate of small businesses, improve and revitalize the economic and social conditions of the local community by providing jobs. </p><p>

<p> Researchers have shown that transcendental leadership theory is an extension of transactional, transformational, servant, and spiritual leadership theories in terms of internal locus control, leadership effectiveness, and spirituality. The problem that the researcher addressed in this study was that while transcendental leaders may be yielding financial results, they are not as successful in gaining spiritual results by influencing their followers. The purpose of this qualitative narrative research study was to explore the conceptualizations of spiritual leadership in a secular workplace context and to explore the challenges and potential barriers confronting spiritual and transcendental leadership. Data collection involved individual interviews with 10 executive members of the Academy of Management who practice transcendental leadership and workplace spirituality. The results of the thematic analysis indicated that transcendental leaders develop and practice seven dimensions of spirituality: organizational commitment, altruistic love, hope and/or faith, trust, civic/social responsibility, solidarity, and spiritual connectedness. While the participants described differing ways of inspiring and reinforcing spirituality, the overarching methods of developing and practicing all seven of these dimensions included a relationship between the leader and employee&mdash;as well as a focus on the individual employee themselves, including a unified vision, behavior modeling, as well as a sense of meaning or greater purpose. The results of the present study may increase transcendental leaders&rsquo; ability to encourage spirituality through improved understanding of the barriers and challenges to implementing dimensions of spirituality in the workplace. Additionally, companies may experience greater benefits associated with transcendental leadership, such as increased productivity and employee satisfaction.</p><p>

<p> As the world becomes more globalized, multinational corporations (MNCs) are obliged to spread and open subsidiaries in foreign countries. Unfortunately, some countries have unstable political systems that exist in a state of systematic crisis. For corporations whose subsidiaries are caught in the middle of a political crisis in foreign territories, this unrest presents high physical and economic risks. Thus, what types of threats do firms encounter, and how do they perceive them? Can their experience influence their perception of the crisis? The focus of this dissertation is to study the decision-making process of multinational corporations in times of political and economic crisis at a subsidiary level, utilizing the example of Mozambique. Two studies were conducted. </p><p> The first was drawn on prior literature on threat perception, social embeddedness and MNCs&rsquo; reaction to external threats. A conceptual model of MNCs&rsquo; response to political crises in frontier markets was developed. The antecedents or predictors of exit included influences on exit decision, past experiences, crisis perceptions and the moderator effect of social embeddedness between perception and exit. </p><p> The second study focused on MNCs that not only decided to stay in the foreign market, but seek for unique opportunities in an economic crisis. The conceptual model created is simple, and builds upon existing literature on social embeddedness, MNCs&rsquo; experience, and international staffing. Within the international staffing literature, it provides a strong contribution to the theories on parent country nationals and host country nationals, implementing new constructs such as parent company experience and subsidiary company experience. </p><p> Both models were tested using a survey data from managers of 108 MNCs&rsquo; subsidiaries in Mozambique, some of which exited due to the economic and political crisis, and some of which remained. The results indicate that both models are mostly supported. These studies contribute to the literature involving MNCs in host countries, including threat perception, social embeddedness, local content, international staffing, expatriates and past experiences. In practical terms, they provide a tool for both policymakers and private MNCs to act preemptively in times of political and/or economic crisis.</p><p>

<p> The official standard of a 40-hour work week has not changed for decades in the United States. A flexible work arrangement (a.k.a. telework, flexible schedule or telecommuting) is an alternative to the traditional 9am to 5pm, 40+hours work week in office. In truth, the working environment has changed as employees are expected to work more than 40 hours per week and must be accessible around the clock on weekends and after the end of the workday. </p><p> Millennials and Baby Boomers (called the emerging populations) are pushing the agenda on flexible work arrangements and getting more flexible schedules. Technology makes this all possible. Millennials are described as the always-connected-to-the-internet generation (Choney, 2012), while any new technological process requires significant instruction and training, and presents a challenge for older workers (Charness, 2006). </p><p> This grounded theory research (Glaser and Strauss, 1999) informs and updates academics, practitioners, companies, and employees on how technology is enabling flexible working arrangements (referred to as FWA) for the emerging populations. The paper draws on both unstructured interviews and a survey with key informants across age ranges who are business owners, corporate workers, and employees. It explores the tools that are critical to connecting to the office, the advantages and disadvantages of working outside the office, and gives guidelines for employers and workers to utilize when creating a best-in-class flexible environment. </p><p>

<p> Describing tourism has its challenges since tourism and related industry sectors seemingly operate in a decentralized manner. The industry of tourism has continued to accelerate globally in the 21st century. Growth patterns consistently seen in the consumer consumption of both business and leisure travel provide ongoing sustainability to this sector. Exploration of centralization of a global tourism system was reviewed by RQ1: What are the shared industry priorities for a sector-led development of a global tourism communication system? This qualitative descriptive multiple case study explored and described shared priorities for an industry-led development of a global system of centralized communication for tourism, incorporating leadership concepts through the University of Phoenix&rsquo;s Scholar, Practitioner, and Leader (S-P-L) model. Descriptive approaches for social science through case study examined multiple aspects of tourism: Accommodation; Attractions and Recreation; Food and Beverages; Meetings and Events; and Travel Trade. NVivo 11 was used for data analysis. Several themes emerged: tourism by brands was defined by the people in this service sector; the educational programs and the tourism industry knowledge networks were interrelated; and the need for developing regionalized tourism, unifying the various tourism sectors, would create better communication for global tourism collaboration. These findings indicated that, for the tourism industry to attract and retain highly skilled employees, a more collaborative approach to tourism management is needed. Recommendations were to form a cooperative network to collectively align the sectors. Combining the resources for better communication would encapsulate stewardship and governance of the system as a whole.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore a phenomenon concerning why organizational leaders have transitioned from academically recommended leadership theories to their own non-traditional leadership practices. Existing research suggests that current leadership theories are outdated and not keeping pace with continual change, vast technological advancements, and expectations by stakeholders for transparency. The concept for this study was inspired in part by a combination of over 40-years of personal and professional observations and experience in leadership, and a personal theory that leaders do not practice traditional leadership theory as originally intended, but rather select various elements from numerous theories and merge them into a single leadership practice, also known as non-traditional leadership. The findings of this study suggested that all participants practiced non-traditional leadership. Continual change was recognized as an ongoing phenomenon, and leadership theories, or elements of theories, were considered outdated. Acceptance of change and adaptability was identified as necessary attributes for modern day successful leaders, and leaders who continued to practice traditional theory, did so out of fear of change. Additional research should be conducted to evaluate how wide spread the practice of non-traditional leadership practices has spread and why leaders have chosen to ignore the recommended academic teachings of traditional leadership theories. Further research should be conducted concentrating on traditional leaders, in an effort to understand their motivations for following traditional leadership models.</p><p>

<p> El objetivo de esta disertaci&oacute;n fue investigar si las instituciones de microfinanzas (IMFs) extranjeras que se ven atra&iacute;das por entrar en el mercado de microcr&eacute;ditos de EE. UU. por sus atractivos o ventajas de localizaci&oacute;n, deber&iacute;an glocalizar sus pol&iacute;ticas de microcr&eacute;ditos como consecuencia de que en EE. UU. no se cumpla que las mujeres son mejor riesgo de microcr&eacute;ditos que los hombres, y que no haya diferencia en la conducta de rembolso de los micropr&eacute;stamos entre hombres y mujeres. Como objetivos adicionales se indag&oacute;, si esa conducta de pago de mujeres y hombres se relaciona con factores como su edad, etnia, nivel acad&eacute;mico, estado civil o con caracter&iacute;sticas de los microcr&eacute;ditos como prop&oacute;sitos, montos y plazos de pagos. Se utiliz&oacute; una encuesta enviada por correo electr&oacute;nico a 203 organizaciones de microfinanzas, obteni&eacute;ndose un 17.73% de respuestas. Se pudo establecer que no hay una diferencia significativa entre la puntualidad de pago de los microcr&eacute;ditos de las mujeres y los hombres. En EE. UU. no existen, como en otros pa&iacute;ses, fuertes incentivos, motivaciones o presiones externas distintas a aquellas que tambi&eacute;n tienen los hombres, que influencien a las mujeres a pagar sus microcr&eacute;ditos mejor que los hombres. Luego, las IMFs internacionales que se vean atra&iacute;das a entrar en el mercado de EE. UU. deber&iacute;an glocalizar sus pol&iacute;ticas de microcr&eacute;ditos en relaci&oacute;n a las mujeres. Igualmente, en el dise&ntilde;o de sus productos y en sus pol&iacute;ticas de otorgamiento de microcr&eacute;ditos deber&iacute;an considerar las variables que est&aacute;n afectando la puntualidad del pago de los microcr&eacute;ditos, glocalizando sus productos introduciendo variantes que les ayuden a obtener una mayor puntualidad en los rembolsos de mujeres y hombres. Se necesita m&aacute;s investigaci&oacute;n sobre la pr&aacute;ctica de las microfinanzas en EE. UU.</p><p>