Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Neoliberalism is a pro-capitalist ideology that cycles money and power to the elite class by deregulating or privatizing the public sphere and is fueled by economic exploitation and oppression. This dissertation examines the neoliberal construct at work in the privatization of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) from an ethnographic lens using the vantage point of an elected IPS board member. The literature surrounding the privatization of public schools offers stories from all over the U.S., however the conditions surrounding the privatization of public education systems are similar irrespective of geographical location. Common themes across the country include the de-professionalization of teachers, the circulation of the narrative myth of failing public schools and charter schools as a positive alternative, and overarching patterns of continued school segregation, gentrification of inner cities, and racial migratory patterns of residents affecting school enrollment. Theoretical framing employed in this study includes Punctuated Equilibrium at the macro level; sociopolitics and logics of action at the meso level, and critical theory and politics of resistance at the micro level of analysis. The analysis of data was conducted thematically and data sources encompass a self-authored blog as well as personal communications and reflections, news articles, and board documents. Results of this study illustrate that IPS as an organization underwent a fulcrum point of change, or ‘Punctuated Equilibrium’ in which it ceased to be an exclusively public institution and began to establish partnerships with private charter school companies with inherent profit motives, via the ‘Innovation School Network’. There were many political players involved in orchestrating this change, and those interest groups and their logics of action are detailed. Implications of this study include identifying the future spread of school privatization and possibilities for disrupting the furthering of this neoliberal agenda.

As an under-researched form of coordination and control, little is known of how collegiality is practiced, especially in for-profit firms. Our thesis has sought to address this research gap by interviewing professionals from two fields which are recognized as collegial, namely lawyers and architects. Our aim was to depict how for-profit firms coordinate and control using collegiality in relation to the traditional modes of governance of bureaucracy and management. We do this by utilizing the concept of institutional logics which focuses on field-level meaning systems and how actors use these systems of values, beliefs and expectations to make sense of their institutional environment. We could observe a clear coexistence of all three modes of governance. Our respondents indicated an awareness of the different logics and demonstrated an understanding of which governance mode was called for in which situation. This interplay was highly contextual and contingent on each situation's institutional demands and expectations. Collegial values were keenly advocated, yet work tasks that were legalized were also bureaucratized. The coexistence of fundamentally contradictory governance modes did not however appear to meet much internal resistance and seemed to rather function peacefully with wide employee acceptance.

Objectives This study was undertaken to confirm that patient reports on buprenorphine medication-assisted therapy in for-profit buprenorphine clinics in our community were personally costly. We contacted all 17 for-profit clinics in our community and confirmed the patient reports that a significant financial payment of ≤$100 was required for each visit. We also found that tapering of buprenorphine dosage in pregnancy was offered by several of the clinics. Methods A telephone survey was conducted with the 17 for-profit buprenorphine clinics located in the Johnson City, Tennessee area. The clinic representative who answered the telephone was asked questions regarding patient costs for therapy and availability of tapering programs for pregnant women. Results Patient reports that the for-profit clinics are costly were confirmed. None of the clinics accepted insurance reimbursement of any type. The most common weekly costs were $100 per visit. A majority of clinics offered biweekly or monthly visits at significantly increased rates. Clinic representatives stated that a majority of clinics would consider buprenorphine tapering programs for pregnant women. Conclusions The high cost of for-profit clinics is a barrier for patient access to medication-assisted therapy with buprenorphine. Tapering of buprenorphine dosage in pregnant women has penetrated buprenorphine management practice in our community. Further research is needed to determine whether elimination of cost barrier would have a positive effect on the rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome.

For-profit social enterprises are facing the dual challenges of fulfilling social purpose on the one hand and surviving business competition on the other. Being a sustainable for-profit social enterprise, the company must balance between economic, social and environmental aspects throughout their business operations. In order to achieve the desired end of sustainability, organization need to keep learning about the social needs and the business environment in order to develop sustainable business processes, and better fulfill their purpose as organizations formed to create social value. The study aims to fill the gaps in sustainability research literature about organizational learning in for-profit social enterprises by exploring how effective learning processes occur at individual, group and organizational level and how to facilitate these learning processes to improve sustainability. The study develops an analytical framework by combining the 4I framework for organizational learning process (Crossan et al., 1999) and an AKO (activities, knowledge source, outcomes) framework for understanding learning activities, knowledge sources and learning outcomes. Four for-profit social enterprises in both Denmark and Sweden are chosen as cases. Based on findings, three organizational learning mechanisms are identified on selected cases. Practical implications and insights are also generated for for-profit social enterprises to facilitate organizational learning for sustainability.

Unethical behavior includes all decisions and actions counterproductive to an organization's mission and can cause irrevocable damage to the organization's professional reputation. The Securities and Exchange Commission reported 807 ethical violations in 2015. This study was underpinned by the ethical leadership theory, which emphasizes leadership decision making based on fair and just practices, for all involved parties. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the ethical decision-making best practices that not-for-profit accounting managers in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area needed to strengthen the ethical decision-making process in their organizations. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from 5 participants who were accounting leaders of not-for-profit organizations. The analysis of data involved coding techniques, while member checking ensured confirmability of participant responses. Three themes emerged from the analysis of data as the most effective in fostering an ethical climate within the organizations, notably: the importance of leveraging internal controls, staff education on ethical decision making, and the role of leadership in fostering ethical leadership. The findings from this study may contribute to social change by providing leaders with strategies to reduce the occurrence of fraud within organizations. The beneficiaries of this research may include not-for-profit leaders, accounting professionals, and business practitioners. The goals of these individuals are to aid companies in furthering their missions and ensure organizations remain operational and utilize ethical decision making.

At a small for-profit college located outside of New York City, declining classroom attendance over the last few years has become a serious concern in the business program. Poor attendance is one of the major causes for enrollment dropping and poor student retention. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify factors that influence student attendance. The study was based on Tinto's (1975) model of student integration and Nora and Cabrera's (1996) student adjustment model, which relates environmental influences on student retention. The research questions were used to investigate why students attend or do not attend classes, and strategies to improve classroom attendance. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with a purposeful sample of 16 students, 3 teachers in the business program, and 3 administrators. Textual analysis of the data, and a qualitative data analysis software program was used to manage and analyze the qualitative data. The data analysis revealed the following themes: academic reasons, social influences, and financial challenges. These findings led to the development of a 3-day professional learning workshop for teachers, students, and administrators to improve class attendance. This study also has the potential to foster positive social change by providing strategies that facilitate retention and higher graduation rates, resulting in students graduating with a degree and skills to find better employment opportunities.

No description available.

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore Board decision making in non-profit sport organizations operating in a multi-level governance system. Four major research objectives were addressed: (1) the way non-profit sport organization Boards make decisions, (2) the types and impacts of non-profit sport organization Boards' internal factors on their decision making, (3) the types and impacts of non-profit sport organization Boards' external factors on their decision making, and (4) the similarities and differences in non-profit sport organization Boards' decision making within and between levels of a federated sport model. Strategic decision-making theory is applied alongside internal (i.e., organization size; organization age; Board structure; Board size; leader-member exchanges; professionalization; socio-demographic indicators; motivation; and skills, expertise, and experience) and external factors (i.e., legal requirements, institutional pressures, inter-organizational relationships, market conditions, collaboration, stakeholders, and federated sport model) - originating from the Integrated Board Performance Model and relevant sport governance literature - to comprise the dissertation's theoretical framework. A multiple case study methodology was used featuring six non-profit sport organizations Boards (two national and four provincial/territorial) operating in the Canadian sport system. Data were collected longitudinally through three methods: non-participant overt observations, semi-structured interviews, and documents. Data were thematically analyzed via NVivo12, and SPSS was used for descriptive statistics and comparisons of the observed Board decisions (i.e., t-tests, ANOVA). Board decision making in non-profit sport organizations was identified as information and engagement based, which incorporated multiple sources of internal and external information, involved five members, and occurred over two meetings with some informal interactions (e.g., email discussions between Board members). Five internal factors impacted Board decision making: Board composition, Board size, Chair-Chief Executive Officer relationship, Board meeting practices and environment, and technology. The first four had a positive impact, while the latter resulted in both a positive and negative impact on Board decision making. Two external factors had a negative impact on Board decision making: the sport system structure and market conditions. Seven statistically significant differences were identified in Board decision making at the provincial/territorial level (none for national non-profit sport organizations) and 21 between levels (i.e., national versus provincial/territorial) of the federated sport model. More similarities than differences were found when comparing Board decision making within (i.e., two non-profit sport organizations at the national level, four non-profit sport organizations at the provincial/territorial level) and between (i.e., national versus provincial/territorial non-profit sport organizations) levels of a federated sport model, notably related to duration and interactions. However, differences were attributed to sources of delays, the process to acquire information, and the types of information sources used. Overall, non-profit sport organizations Boards' decision making in a federated sport model is characterized with complexities arising from internal and external factors, thereby having a positive or negative impact on duration, delays, interactions, process to acquire information, and types of information sources used to make decisions. These notions are illustrated in the developed Non-Profit Sport Organization Board Decision Making Model, which address the dissertation's overall purpose. Altogether, this dissertation offers theoretical and practical contributions. Notably, it demonstrated strategic decision-making theory's temporal and contextual boundary to investigate the chosen phenomenon at the group level (i.e., Boards) of non-profit sport organizations in a federated sport model. Further, the conceptual rigour of the applied theory is developed as novel variables (e.g., technology) to measure sub-constructs (e.g., impediments) identified in this dissertation should be incorporated to better understand decision making. Results also contribute to the broader sport governance literature as the approach undertaken in this dissertation supports the value and need for multi-method, in situ, and longitudinal research designs to better understand process-based phenomena (e.g., Board decision making). Practically, this dissertation's results develop strategies and recommendations for Boards of non-profit sport organizations. Specifically, Boards should understand virtual meetings are convenient, cost-friendly, and allow decisions to be made even when restrictions are imposed during a health crisis (e.g., travel, social). However, delays and challenges in engagement are found during virtual meetings. To engage members during decision making, Chairs have an important role to ensure a diverse set of perspectives are gathered from individual members, thereby making a better informed decision. Formalizing decision making with purposefully developed documents (e.g., Board papers) and an action registry is also vital for Boards to be transparent and accountable in their decisions made.

No description available.

In an era when nonprofit and for-profit characteristics are blurring, to what extent do sector boundaries matter? Some research suggest that sector boundaries no longer matter. By exploring the perceptual differences of entrepreneurs practicing in each sector, this paper proposes that, in fact, there are important perceptual and symbolic differences between nonprofit and for-profit organizations. This paper makes four contributions to the field of social enterprise studies: first, it lends empirical support for the idea that issues have not blurred in the minds of practitioners; second, it identifies four areas entrepreneurs are likely to concentrate on when asked to evaluate the merits of practicing as a non-profit or for-profit form (including control, resources, performance, and public perceptions); third, it provides a tool that can be used by academics and policymakers to identify which sector characteristics are perceived by entrepreneurs as salient; and fourth, it raises new research questions that would help to further clarify the usefulness, relevance and significance of the approach and findings presented.