Abstract not available.

Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) and its impact on Canadian university business schools (UBSs) is a question that has been studied empirically in only a limited manner in recent years. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential consequences as perceived by administrators and faculty members. Does accreditation constrain organizational actions, or conversely, does it facilitate organizational learning? What are the contextual factors which influence these potential consequences? A qualitative, multiple case study approach was employed to study these questions. A sample of four business schools was selected; and data were collected from multiple sources. In Phase I, data was analyzed using NVivo7 and individual case profiles were prepared. These were validated and provided input into Phase II in which a multiple case analysis was performed. Emergent themes were identified and informed by three main bodies of knowledge: accreditation, institutional theory, and evaluation for organizational learning. The study concluded that the primary drivers for seeking accreditation by Canadian UBSs were marketing-related - accreditation was seen as a powerful marketing tool which could be used in a highly uncertain and competitive market to enhance reputation and gain competitive advantage. Primarily motivated by the Dean/Director, accreditation was seen as a lever for change, both within the school and with central administration. Perceived impacts were related to these drivers - enhanced reputation, leverage for change, management efficiencies, an increased focus on research and quality, and program changes. Five contextual factors were found to be potent in influencing the drivers, impacts and consequences of accreditation, with leadership being the most pervasive. In terms of the enabling or constraining consequences, AACSB accreditation was perceived to be slightly enabling or neutral in its effect. While accreditation did promote some elements of organizational learning in three of the four schools, (continuous improvement), the learning effects were limited in scope, duration, and magnitude. There was insufficient evidence to suggest that double loop learning had occurred. Although accreditation was viewed to be constraining in several ways, overall it was not perceived to be overly restrictive.

This study was intended to examine the present direction of development and implementation of non-credit management education programs by companies and colleges and universities. This study presented specific information that illustrated that many industrial and service organizations have developed their own management education programs to satisfy their perceived current needs. The research was intended to provide information into the changing needs of management education as well as the deficiencies of academic institutions in successfully meeting those needs. It was intended to assist both business and higher education to understand the long-term needs of management education and the effects that the fulfillment of these needs will have on business, schools of management, schools of education, and divisions of continuing education. A survey questionnaire was developed and sent to 308 businesses. A different survey questionnaire was developed and sent to 60 colleges and universities. The business survey included small, medium, and large sized companies in the north, east, south, and west in both manufacturing and service sectors. The survey of colleges and universities included small, medium, and large sized institutions from the north, east, south, and west including both public and private colleges and universities. The findings indicated leadership/management issues are the critical needs of business in management education programs and that the majority of the companies use in-house programs to address those needs. The finding indicated that there is a need for better communications between business and higher education on the needs of business in management education and how colleges and universities can satisfy those needs. The findings indicated that higher education and corporations have completely different objectives in sponsoring management education programs. It was indicated that the objective of business is to design management education programs to fit specific immediate situations whereas programs sponsored by higher education are broader in context and are not designed to fit specific immediate situations. The findings also indicated that management education programs have an impact on business and higher education and a cooperative effort can result in a positive benefit to each other.

<p>The nonprofit sector has historically faced a multitude of challenges that threaten sustainability. Such continues even today. Nonprofit organizations struggle to respond to changes imposed by external environmental influences. These changes revolve around accountability and resources. With all of this, the sector now faces yet another challenge of a significant executive leadership deficit. During the past ten years to the present, the sector has experienced a mass retirement of baby boomer executives. The nonprofit sector has warned of the leadership deficit. However, nonprofit organizations have failed to urgently respond to the developing leadership void. Nonprofit organizations tend to not address executive leadership needs of the organization until an occurrence of vacancy. While nonprofit organizations are encouraged to utilize successor planning, under utilizing is prevalent. This qualitative research explores nonprofit executive successor planning from a phenomenological approach. The research emphasizes perspectives of twelve nonprofit executives who experienced leadership transition during the years 2008&ndash;2012. The research approach is framed by theories of organizational management and human behavior. This research informs the issue of nonprofit successor planning utilization decisions in two areas. One area is the influence of incumbent executives in facilitating successor planning. A second area is consideration of ascribing resource value to the executive position. Such can encourage strategic assessment and planning for future leadership needs. Findings of the research indicate continued under utilization of successor planning characterized by the following: a reality of nonprofit executives facing operational distractions; governing boards avoiding the issue of leadership transition; and nonprofit organizations under utilizing strategic planning. </p>

No description available.

<p> This generic qualitative inquiry research study investigated the effectiveness of self-directed learning and experiential learning theory on the business process modeling notation (BPMN) learning process and subsequent development of business process models. The goal was to analyze the experiences of participants&rsquo; individual learning processes for acquiring BPMN knowledge. The research study sought to answer, &ldquo;How do experiential and self-directed learning approaches to BPMN affect business process model development?&rdquo; The generic qualitative inquiry examined 13 participants&rsquo; responses from semi-structured interview questions. The semi-structured interview questions required participants to reflect and describe their learning process. The data analysis was completed using an inductive thematic analysis with a constant comparison method to identify themes from the codes. The self-directed learning processes, experiential learning, and key success factors themes emerged as the study&rsquo;s participants described their learning process for BPMN and factors that affected the development of business process models using BPMN. The findings of this study add the BPMN self-directed learner&rsquo;s mental model and BPMN experiential learning mental model that enable BPMN practitioners to understand the influences and factors of the adult learning process and how the creation of BPMN knowledge occurs for the purpose of developing business process models with BPMN.</p>

<p> Vulnerability is the ability to risk emotional exposure, chance making a mistake, or disclose personal information because the outcome is viewed as favorable. Vulnerability is a highly effective way to build trust with others. Trust is a valued leadership trait within corporate business because it encourages employees to take risks, share information, and ultimately become more effective and productive (Robbins &amp; Judge, 2013). This paper explores the practicing of vulnerability in college-level business classrooms to appropriately prepare business students to become leaders who are able to build trust within the workplace.</p><p> To further understand vulnerability in the classroom and develop a preliminary operational definition of the complex construct of vulnerability, a mixed methods research study was conducted at Sierra Nevada College that included a two-stage factor analysis followed by short interviews with instructors to gain further insight into the data collected. First, students from four randomly selected business classrooms were asked to participate in a study by completing a survey with 18 variables that describe vulnerable, productive teaching techniques. Then, the same survey was distributed to the five classrooms of instructors who were nominated for the 2014 or 2015 Nazir and Mary Ansari Excellence in Teaching Gold Medal award or Teacher of the Year award. The four Nazir and Mary Ansari Excellence in Teaching Gold Metal award candidates and the Teacher of the Year were interviewed for 30-minutes to provide insight and commentary on the findings from the first round of surveys. The goal of this study is to create a preliminary operational definition of the construct of &ldquo;vulnerable teaching techniques&rdquo; and to have an assessment tool to further understand vulnerability in a classroom setting.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify the importance of the manager's relationship with frontline staff. There continues to be a need for top leadership to understand clearly and value this relationship and provide managers with the support they need to deliver on their visions, missions, and corporate goals. The manager-staff relationship sets the tone for the frontline staff and creates an environment of trust. The communication the manager provides is pivotal to helping staffs understand the goals and vision top leadership established. In addition, the positive atmosphere created by this relationship helps to cement the staffs' commitment to the organization and reduces the turnover rate because job satisfaction increases. The positive impact on the morale of staffs by the manager-staff relationship is well documented in the literature. In a high-performing organization, communication flows both vertically and laterally (Robbins &amp; Judge, 2010). That is, leaders and managers pass communication downward to groups in lower levels and these groups provide feedback to higher-up staffs.</p>

<p> The purpose of the study was to explore the application of the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR) framework derived from the appreciative inquiry literature and through the lived experiences of California-based association management and non-profit executives leading professional societies, trade associations, or foundations. In addition, this research, using phenomenological interviewing techniques, aimed to determine whether or not association management executives working in California-based professional societies and trade associations changed their individual thought processes or behaviors as a result of attending a professional development program that demonstrated the SOAR framework. The research questions that guided this research were: (a) what changed mindsets were experienced as a result of an understanding with the SOAR framework in the strategic thinking process? and (b) what changed mindsets and organizational application were experienced as a result of an understanding with the SOAR framework in the strategic thinking process? </p><p> This qualitative study, using semi-structured interview questions, sought to explore and document the experiences of California-based senior association management executives with SOAR framework. This research aimed to add to the body of knowledge of SOAR as a result of expanded individual and organizational application of this approach as compared to other strategic thinking experiences. The study documents comparisons, by the non-profit executives involved in this study, between the more commonly known strategic thinking of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis and the positivity-focused SOAR framework.</p>

<p> The US airline industry has seen its share of woes with increased oil prices, several wars, acts of terrorism, and economic meltdowns to name a few. US Airlines have been challenged financially as evidenced by the realities of airline bankruptcies experienced by several legacy carriers that have struggled to remain financially viable. However, one major US airline and legacy carrier was for many years able to withstand the perils of bankruptcy, possible in most part due to the sacrifices made by its employees. This sacrifice was significant as the majority of an airline's total costs can be attributed to unionized labor. In what they believed to be a sacrifice that all employees would share, unionized flight attendants at Airline XYZ took a significant pay cut to help keep the airline out of bankruptcy, only to later see executives at the company receive bonuses while they continued to see cuts in labor and benefits. This study examines the sacrifices made by flight attendants at this major US airline, management, and the concept of broken agreements experienced in the aftermath of those sacrifices. It explores the concept of broken agreements and the perception of inequity as they relate to flight attendants and their decision to leave their careers at Airline XYZ.</p>