<p>This sequential, mixed methods research addressed emerging social media use practices among IT professionals and explored lived experiences of senior IT leaders relative to successful organizational social media adoption and use. The study was informed by structuration theory and elements from the universal technology adoption and use (UTAUT) model, generation theory, and open leadership theory. In the first, quantitative descriptive research phase, an online survey was administered to describe IT professionals' uses of and attitudes toward social media in the workplace. Survey results based on 406 responses from IT professionals in the greater Seattle area indicated widespread use of different social media applications, and also showed that Millennial IT professionals use social media more extensively and are have more positive opinions about social media as compared to their older colleagues. Survey findings also indicated that an increasing number of employers are developing formal social media strategies and adopting policies and guidelines governing the use of social media in the workplace. The second, qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological research phase built on survey results and involved interviews with 13 senior IT leaders in the greater Seattle area. Findings indicated that despite the inherent user-driven nature of social media, senior leadership plays a key role in driving strategic social media adoption and in ensuring broad participation across generational cohorts and employee groups. Findings from the qualitative research phase further suggested that social media can help employees and stakeholders communicate and collaborate more effectively and efficiently, and that leaders can derive significant benefits from social media without compromising the integrity of their organizations. </p>

<p> Addressing the needs and wants of the customers increases the intention of the customers to remain loyal to the company that satisfies their wants and needs. Knowledge Management (KM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) have both been shown to impact customer behavior. The purpose of this thesis was to explore and understand the impact of KM supported by a CRM on customer behaviors, specifically customer loyalty and customer perceived value. The results indicate that in order for KM and CRM to be effective in affecting positive changes in organizations, certain conditions need to be met. These include having employees perceive the importance of the implementation of KM and CRM approaches / processes through incorporating both KM and CRM in the business culture. All employees of all levels of the company need to have the same objective, scope and roles and responsibilities are clear defined and communicated. Both KM and CRM end-to-end processes need to be supported by one stable, easy to use, and easily accessible system with a high sophisticated search engine. The significance of this study is three-fold: for the academic community, for the companies that aim to attain competitive advantage over others, and for the customers of these companies.</p>

<p> The pace of globalization continues to accelerate, which is demanding new approaches to leadership. One area where global mergers, acquisitions, alliances, and partnerships have become commonplace is in the pharmaceutical industry. This growing globalization has made it significantly more important to understand how culture impacts and influences effective leadership. Outstanding global leadership will continue to be a business imperative for the future. </p><p> This study used a mixed-method approach to identify the characteristics and behaviors that contribute to outstanding global leadership and to recommend methods for developing these characteristics. For the quantitative portion of the study, the GLOBE Research Survey was administered to mid-level leaders in a global pharmaceutical company. The qualitative portion of the study included semi-structured interviews with a smaller set of participants from the original sample group. </p><p> The quantitative survey indicated that the characteristics of integrity, performance-oriented, inspirational, visionary, and decisive strongly contribute to outstanding global leadership. The qualitative interviews supported these findings and offered recommendations on how to develop these characteristics, including the implementation of role models, feedback, coaching, learning environments, and culturally diverse opportunities. </p><p> This study provides preliminary evidence that there are specific characteristics that contribute to outstanding global leadership. The results of this study may be used to contribute to the success of global corporations, specifically in the pharmaceutical industry.</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study provides a detailed look at corporate social responsibility (CSR) among selected U.S. Fortune 500 global corporations that show evidence of advanced stages of CSR development, herein referred to as <i>it</i>CSR. While CSR broadly conveys business' role in society, <i>it</i>CSR is a construct meant to indicate business' ideal contribution in society that epitomizes meaningful triple bottom line (TBL) impact. Using the Global Leadership Network Framework of business strategy, leadership, operational excellence, and engaged learning, this research explored what motivates executives to develop <i>it</i>CSR and the success strategies for instituting <i>it</i>CSR practices at America's largest publicly-traded multinational corporations (MNCs). The findings are particularly relevant in comparing the values, practices, initiatives, and drivers of <i> it</i>CSR development among the leading American global companies. Consequently, this study identified 10 U.S. Fortune 500 global corporations that met the <i> it</i>CSR criteria for this study from an analysis that included (a) cross-referencing five indices/lists that measure various parameters of the <i> it</i>CSR criteria, and (b) evaluating total trailing financial returns for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year periods compared to the S&amp;P 500 Index results. Overarching themes from the study include: a) a strong presence of core ideologies has been in place from the origin of each company and represent the essence of the corporate character, and thus its soul; b) the core ideologies are centered on improving life and communities and are grounded in circular wisdom, eudaemonics, and virtuousness, all tied to ethical governance and a moral consciousness; c) there is purposeful connectivity cultivated by leadership for all levels of employees to engage in a shared responsibility; d) executive efficacy in <i>it</i>CSR efforts and undertaking cannot be underscored enough, even though leadership may manifest in different ways; e) it is necessary to embrace and promote <i>it</i>CSR development as a continuous, never-ending, imperfect journey; f) it is necessary to activate all aspects of the business' operations, and at the same time, recognize that the process is more of an art than a science; g) including the customer on the <i> it</i>CSR journey is predicated on authenticity, vulnerability, and risk-taking; h) developing multi-stakeholder partnerships is proactive, strategic, selective, action-oriented, focused on collaborative learning, and absolutely designed for meaningful and sustainable triple bottom line impact; and i) <i> it</i>CSR development operates from a platform of innovation.</p>

<p>In emerging economies, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are threatened by continuous political and economic changes. In such uncertain environments, knowledge is the distinctive factor for the achievement of a competitive advantage. However, limited funds and pressure from competitors force SMEs to seek for external sources of knowledge. </p><p> The Multinational Corporation (MNC) represents an alternative for business sustainability within the value chain, including both suppliers and clients. In the aim for pursuing such endeavor, a conceptual framework including inter-firm knowledge transfer processes from the MNC and experiential learning enhanced by the Academia is explored. </p><p> In sum, this dissertation is intended to examine the MNC&rsquo;s and Academia&rsquo;s role on the procurement of SMEs&rsquo; business sustainability through inter-firm knowledge transfer and experiential learning, in terms of absorptive capacity. More specifically, the impact of technical and technological knowledge transferred from the MNC on one side; and reflective learning on managerial skills and business vision from the Academia on the other side, is analyzed through SMEs&rsquo; absorptive capacity. Regarding business sustainability, the effect of the application of newly absorbed knowledge is analyzed in terms of SMEs&rsquo; selected indicators for business improvements. As a complement, a qualitative study is included in order to provide support for findings hereby obtained. </p>

<p> The exploratory qualitative research study explored management education business school offerings in comparison to employer expectations. Through the lens of alumni and human-resources personnel participants, the research examined the skills deemed as transferrable to the workplace and competencies that undergraduate-management education alumni lack upon entry into the workplace. This research study used interviewing as the data-collection method to explore the experiences of undergraduate business-school alumni from two universities, which from here on out will be referred to as University A and University B, as well as human-resources personnel from the states where these universities are located. Existing literature relating to the effectiveness of management education programs did not fully address the problem at the undergraduate level. The findings of this study reaffirmed the need for employers, business school administrators, and faculty to increase collaborative efforts to ensure that undergraduate business-school program competencies are aligned with employer expectations.</p>

<p> The research study involved an investigation into the relationship between corporate culture and organizational efficiency in the Japanese securities industry as it adapts to survive in the competitive international market. Using the materialist conception of history, a case study approach was used to examine the roots of Nikko&rsquo;s corporate culture as it developed prior to the introduction of the modern management system. Working in compliance with a licensing system that served to preserve the status quo, Nikko officials experienced industry scandals, which encouraged Japanese securities executives to introduce American modern management systems. The purpose of the mixed method study was to understand the qualitative and quantitative changes in the management operations of Nikko Cordial affected by the corporate culture before and after the change in management. Insights into Nikko&rsquo;s situation were gained from analyzing the records of Nikko Cordial with those of the Nomura and Daiwa securities companies.</p><p> Using a system of dialectics, organizational inefficiency and low profitability were discovered as triggers for the corporate scandals, despite the introduction of the modern management system. Based upon the analysis of Nikko&rsquo;s case, an inductive conclusion was drawn that organizational efficiency and profitability were considered important factors to sustain a successful business model in the financial business field. The inevitability of regulation as one of the five cost factors necessary to enhance profitability for financial businesses was confirmed by the dialectical approach. The corporate culture is a key catalyst to reduce the costs involved in organizational efficiency and integrity.</p>

<p> In this study the researcher provides a behavioral framework for managing massive airline flight disruptions (MAFD) in the United States. Under conditions of MAFD, multiple flights are disrupted throughout the airline's route network, customer service is negatively affected, additional costs are created for airlines, and governments intervene. This study is different from other studies relating to MAFD that have focused on the operational, technical, economic, financial, and customer service impacts. The researcher argues that airlines could improve the management of events that led to MAFD by applying the principles of crisis management where the entire organization is mobilized, rather than one department, adapting organization development (OD) interventions to implement change and organization learning (OL) processes to create culture of innovation, resulting in sustainable improvement in customer service, cost reductions, and mitigation of government intervention. At the intersection of crisis management, OD, and OL, the researcher has developed a new conceptual framework that enhances the resiliency of individuals and organizations in responding to unexpected-yet-recurring crises (e.g., MAFD) that impact operations. The researcher has adapted and augmented Lalonde's framework for managing crises through OD interventions by including OL processes. The OD interventions, coupled with OL, provide a framework for airline leaders to manage more effectively events that result in MAFD with the goal of improving passenger satisfaction, reducing costs, and preventing further government intervention. Further research is warranted to apply this conceptual framework to unexpected-yet-recurring crises that affect operations in other industries.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine HR executives' perspectives on employability enhancement for employees and how it is operationalized in their workplace. The exploratory questions that guided the study were, What are the perspectives of HR executives regarding employability enhancement for employees, and In what ways and under what conditions is organizational support of employability enhancement demonstrated through workplace learning initiatives? The conceptual framework for this study is based on Clarke and Patrickson's (2008) list of assumptions concerning employability as the premise for the new employment contract. </p><p> Data collected consisted of background questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, organizational documents, and researcher reflective journal notes. Cross case analysis yielded four major themes of "Shared Responsibility," "The Power of Learning Attitude," "Assessment for Growth," and "Resource Availability." These four themes include discussions of the roles and responsibilities for employability, desired employee learning attitudes, recommended assessment activities, and conditions affecting development opportunities provided by organizations. Implications for organizations, their employees, and HRD professionals are described. This study contributes empirical research on today's employment contract based on an employability model from the organization's perspective. It also adds to the body of literature on employability rarely focused on, employability enhancement for employees.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore senior librarians&rsquo; perceptions of successful leadership skills in the 21st century. Library organizations in the postindustrial environment of the 21st century operate in a new context involving digitization, global libraries, cultural diversity, cultural intelligence, and cross-cultural management. This new context requires a postindustrial paradigm of leadership emphasizing influence and collaboration as defined by Rost (1991). The purposive sample used for this case study consisted of 10 senior library leaders. The data gathered consisted of demographic information and responses to six open-ended interview questions. Data were entered, coded, and analyzed for themes and patterns using NVivo 10 software. The analysis revealed significant emergent themes relating to successful library leadership skills. Results from this case study suggest successful library leadership skills in the 21st century involve two levels: foundational level and interpersonal level. At the foundational level are technical and knowledge skills, which are the building blocks for the next level of interpersonal skills. Interweaving these interpersonal skills are persuasion skills and collaborative skills, both at the core of the postindustrial paradigm of leadership. These two levels of skills, with an emphasis on persuasion skills, should form the basis of succession planning programs for next generation librarians. Implementing such programs could lead to increased leadership diversity, greater job satisfaction, improved job performance and effectiveness, helping the retention of librarians, and easing staff shortage. Further studies are recommended.</p>