<p> Leader capacity is threatened by a projected gap in corporate leadership as a result of retirements of the baby-boomer cohort necessitating a need to develop effective leaders. Authentic leadership, underpinned by people's sense of self-awareness, has been found to increase employee performance. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine changes in self-awareness and authentic leadership among volunteers and controls over a 40-day period during which a national breast-cancer walk occurred. A Pearson's correlation was conducted as a control to determine whether self-awareness and authentic leadership are independent constructs. Forty-six volunteers were selected from publicly posted lists of volunteers matched by age and gender to 46 controls that were recruited from Survey Monkey&trade;. Self-awareness was measured using the Leader Self Awareness Scale and authentic leadership was measured using the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. Both questionnaires were self-administered as a pretest 7 days prior to the event, as a posttest 7 days after the event, and as a follow-up 30 days after the event. Mixed ANOVAs were used to reveal a significant interaction effect of volunteerism by time on self-awareness, <i>F</i>(2, 180) = 59.43, <i> p</i> &lt; .001, and authentic leadership, <i>F</i>(2, 180) = 57.62, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, while no significant main effects for volunteerism were found for either self-awareness, <i>F</i>(1, 90) = .007, <i>p</i> = .93, or for authentic leadership, <i>F</i>(1, 90) = .04, <i>p</i> = .84. There was a significant positive correlation between self-awareness and authentic leadership among volunteers, <i> r</i>(44) = .70, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, 30 days after the event, which was not found in the controls, providing additional confidence in the interpretation of the study results in that self-awareness and authentic leadership were independent constructs. Overall, these findings suggest that volunteerism over time may have functioned as a trigger event leading to enhanced self-awareness and increased authentic leadership. To expand the value of this study beyond the specific venue of the 3-day cancer walk, investigations into other volunteer events are needed as well as investigations into the reflection process. Recommendations for organizations include cultivating employees, who volunteer, in order to develop self-awareness and authentic leadership potential.</p>

<p> This study investigated the role of the social media niche of micro blogs in workplace learning. Micro blogs consist of messages containing fewer than 140 characters that are sent to a broad audience. Using the #lrnchat group as a case study, a mixed method study was designed. Through a survey followed by in depth interviews, the researcher sought to understand how micro blogs are being used currently to support workplace learning and whether the micro blog group functioned as a community of practice. Once participants discovered #lrnchat, they had a high level of engagement with the group. The information shared in the group is of value in the workplace to participants and is used on a weekly basis. When compared to other sources of professional development, the #lrnchat group ranked high in terms of the timeliness of responses received and the quality of information provided by the group. During the interview, participants were asked about best practices in participating in a micro blog group for the purpose of learning. The responses included being selective on who they follow on the micro blog and avoiding trying to read everything that comes through on the feed. When determining whom to follow on a micro blog, a user is determining what kind and quality of information to add to their individual feed. For this reason it is important to be selective on what streams one chooses to follow. Also, when consuming information from the feed, it is important to take in what is possible and not try to read everything as it becomes overwhelming and loses value. The final finding was that measurements of open communication, shared vocabulary, recalling previous lessons, and learning from one another all indicated at some level that the #lrnchat group functions as a community of practice.</p>

<p> An organization's ability to achieve its goals depends on the quality of its leaders and their ability to produce a highly engaged workforce. High levels of employee and managerial turnover and burnout can impede an organization's workforce engagement and ability to grow and be successful. To minimize the impact of these 2 constructs (turnover and burnout), this study examined the link between leadership behavior practice patterns' and employee work engagement in a nonprofit that supports the homeless. Responses from 48 non-managerial employees were used for this study. To investigate this study data were collected using 2 survey instruments: the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Both surveys were completed by the same population on the same day. The combination of cross-sectional survey designs using quantitative and descriptive correlational research methods helped the researcher analyze the data to identify relationships between the variables under investigation. According to the respondents' ratings, a positive correlation was found to exist between leaders' behavior practice patterns and employee work engagement. Moreover, the results found no negative correlations between the LPI scores and the UWES scores. High employee engagement in a nonprofit organization leads to better economic outcomes for the community and a better workplace for employees who feel their organization cares about their health and well-being, which leads to a more tenured workforce and effective group of leaders. Future directions for research include exploring other variables (leader responses and gender) to potentially predict different work engagement levels and leadership behaviors that could impede employee burnout and turnover.</p>

<p> The three primary objectives of this project were: (1) to identify and codify a framework for best practices in developing a simulation; (2) to construct a prototype or test simulation based on these best practices, and (3) to create a methodology to assess pedagogical efficacy and economic fidelity.</p><p> While the current body of knowledge is rich in describing the virtues and pitfalls of computer simulation technology that has existed for close to 60 years, the literature nonetheless lacks a codified set of best practices for developers and objective assessment methods to judge a simulation quality for both the pedagogical effectiveness and economic fidelity. This study addresses both issues and offers a solution that is unique and effective. A General Framework for Effective Simulation Development that is derivative, and an extension of existing research in the business simulation domain. A simulation prototype, SimWrite!, has been developed that is consistent with the 12 elements identified in this framework. Each stage of the development of this test simulation is explicitly tied to the best practices that emerged from the literature. A second assessment tool, The Economic Theory Input-Output Matrix, is presented to enable a user to measure the economic fidelity of a simulation. This tool is based on microeconomic theory that is taught at business schools throughout the globe. Both assessment tools will be applied to the test simulation in a manner that will enable the user to replicate this research with other simulations they are interested in. The products of this dissertation are intended to aid current and future developers make better simulations and faculty users of simulations to better select simulations that will help them to achieve the goal of all involved in teaching business: To produce greater learning for students.</p>

<p> Desert backpacking, rock climbing, Civil War reenactments, ropes courses, portable initiatives, and rafting are just a few of the mediums that experience-based training and development (EBTD) facilitators utilize to deliver their programs. This transcendental qualitative phenomenological study describes a segment of the EBTD community from the perspectives of 17 training company (TC) professionals. This investigation aimed to discover a) how EBTD programs are conducted, b) where they take place, c) what types of activities they offer, and d) what commonalities programs have. Lack of previous research on the EBTD community created a void that this investigation aimed to fill. The researcher used telephone interviews to gain rich data from participants about the EBTD field, including current program designs, activities used and recent trends. A pattern was discovered, which revealed that over two-thirds of the TCs sampled were using portable initiatives. These EBTD providers used new and innovative activities, including gourmet cooking and programs influenced by eco-racing, to improve workplace performance for the clients partaking in the EBTD programs. The cost of EBTD programs does not seem to have changed over the last 20 years. Two emergent themes found in this research, which have not been mentioned by previous researchers, are the significance of repeat clientele to the businesses success and affiliation of the EBTD TC's to professional organizations. This research did not pose an argument for the validity or lack thereof in the EBTD industry; rather, the research updated and developed a deeper understanding of the EBTD field, including its evolution.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Corporate adventure training (CAT), teambuilding, experience-based training and development (EBTD), portable initiatives, training company (TC).</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0554. Adviser: Braj B. Kachru. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-173) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-113).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1644. Adviser: Scott Johnson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-123) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4576. Adviser: Peter K. Kuchinke. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-190) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2762. Adviser: Peter Kuchinke. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-133) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.