Many university leaders lack the knowledge necessary to retain skilled employees and decrease employee turnover. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that leaders of colleges/universities in the United States used to retain skilled employees. Research participants included 7 leaders in higher education in central Florida who had at least 1 year of managerial experience in academic or human resources administration and were able to provide information on evaluating the effectiveness of approaches to employee retention. The conceptual framework was the behavioral leadership theory of Skinner. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, and review of organizational documents. Using the thematic analysis approach, 4 themes emerged from data analysis: open communication, generational gap, work-life balance, and effective implementation of retention strategies. The implications of this study for social change could include the potential for leaders in higher education to improve employee morale and job satisfaction by applying strategies to retain employees and reduce turnover.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAEL MALISANI MARTINS.pdf: 534774 bytes, checksum: fa4f81d57188cfac9cc2c2eeee9a0cb0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This present study aims to examine the generational gap and identity formation of young Adventists, in order to verify if the generational gap is a demonstration that young people are breaking with the church or, reconstructing identity. The generational gap can be seen in various spheres of society and even within the Adventist Church. However, the generational gap is not caused by rebellion, but for different ways to react and cope with the characteristics of contemporary society. Thus, older people do not agree with the new proposals of young people and also not even the youngest wish to continue living with the old stuff. The Adventist Church has experienced the generational gap in two main aspects: The first is evident in the communication, the second in the worldview of the world. The language has changed in the time to communicate, in the present context, the image took the words function. Therefore, communication may not reach your goal, especially the younger ones, when expressed only through words. The other aspect that has caused the conflict is the world concept to the youngest. For them, the world is not synonymous with sin as some older people understand. Because of this difference, certain issues are not acceptable within the church, because they are linked to the world and the world is understood as sin. However, my conclusion is that though the young do not understand the world itself as a sin, they understand that there are aspects of the world that are wrong. These aspects are not acceptable to them and therefore they do not wish to break with the church. But they are looking for significant changes that fit with their worldview. It s possible to show this same line of reasoning in some church leaders, but the reports of young people express that did not reach the local practice. Once I conceive the Hervieu-Leger s thought that identity is not passed intact from father to son, but built individually, I understand that young people are forming their own identity. For this identity to be solidly formed on the Adventists principles and opened to the necessary changes in society, it does, in my perception, need to re-read Ellen White based on the thought of Walter Mignolo, presented and explained by Adolfo S. Suarez. / Este presente trabalho, tem por objetivo analisar o conflito geracional e a formação da identidade dos jovens adventistas, com o objetivo de verificar se o conflito geracional é uma demonstração que os jovens estão rompendo com a igreja ou, reconstruindo a identidade. O conflito geracional pode ser notado em diversas esferas da sociedade e inclusive dentro da Igreja Adventista. Todavia, o conflito geracional não é causado por rebeldia, mas sim, por diferentes maneiras de reagir e conviver com as características contemporâneas da sociedade. Sendo assim, os mais velhos não concordam com as novas propostas dos jovens e tão pouco, os mais novos desejam continuar convivendo com as coisas antigas. A Igreja Adventista tem vivido o conflito geracional em dois aspectos principais: o primeiro se evidencia na comunicação; o segundo na cosmovisão. A linguagem sofreu alterações na hora de se comunicar; no contexto atual, a imagem tomou a função das palavras. Por essa razão, uma comunicação pode não alcançar seu objetivo, principalmente aos mais novos, quando expressa somente através de palavras. O outro aspecto que tem causado conflito é a compreensão de mundo que os mais novos possuem. Para eles, o mundo não é sinônimo de pecado como algumas pessoas mais velhas entendem. Por conta desta diferença, certas questões não são aceitáveis dentro da igreja, por serem vinculadas ao mundo e o mundo ser entendido como pecado. Porém, a constatação que faço é que, embora o jovem não entenda o mundo em si como pecado, ele compreende que existem aspectos do mundo que sejam errados. Esses aspectos não são aceitáveis para eles e por isso, eles não desejam romper com a igreja. Mas estão em busca de mudanças significativas que se encaixam com sua visão de mundo. É possível evidenciar essa mesma linha de raciocínio em alguns líderes da igreja, mas os relatos dos jovens expressam que isso não alcançou a prática local. Uma vez que, concebo o pensamento de Hervieu-Leger de que a identidade não é transmitida intacta de pai para filho, mas construída individualmente. Entendo que os jovens estão formando sua própria identidade. Para que essa identidade seja formada de maneira sólida nos princípios adventistas, e aberta as mudanças necessárias da sociedade, se faz necessário, sob minha percepção, uma releitura de Ellen White baseada no pensamento liminar de Walter Mignolo, apresentado e explanado por Adolfo S. Suárez.

Over the last decades, there has been a decline in the recognition and prevalence of communication and interaction between people of different age groups. This change can be perceived as a loss of value in societies on several different levels while this societal segregation continues to create larger divisions within societies. These divisions in generations may have different causes such as different interests, lifestyles, values, technological developments, politics and so forth.  This dissertation focuses on exploring the social dynamics, connections and interactions between older and younger generations and the project is situated in Sweden. The project adopts a user-centred design approach with several participatory design methods such as omnipresent workshops with focus groups, anecdotes and interviews with participants from different age groups. It proposes urStory, a platform that enables individuals to share life experiences, stories and memories with their voices only. The concept also discovers the accessibility and usability of such tools across generations.      Findings from the workshops and interviews indicated the awareness and the recognised value of intergenerational interactions are limited. Addressing the reacquaintance between generations and mutual respect were requirements to foster meaningful connections. Results from the testing sessions and the follow-up discussions provided valuable insights including the aspects from alternative use cases and accesibility to moderation and safety of the platform.

This research examines the United States Army’s adaptation and organizational resilience as it faces the phenomenon of what is commonly assumed to be the drastically different millennial generation of potential recruits, soldiers, and future leaders. Millennials are arguably the most unique generation to date when compared to their predecessors, mainly due to the significant technological advances of the past few decades and their ubiquitous use of technology. This study is distinctive because it addresses organizational resilience and generational gap issues from a cultural maintenance versus an adaptation and resilience viewpoint within what the author argues is presently a quasi-total, rather than total, institution. The study results refute important claims in the existing literature, which label the U.S. Army a total institution. That designation is no longer accurate because the modern U.S. Army has changed drastically. The ‘total institution’ label for the modern U.S. Army is only true during certain periods of the soldier’s experience, such as during onboarding or deployment. Thus, the label quasi-total is a better descriptor of the modern U.S. Army. Still, the U.S. Army’s need to change, so that it can recruit, train, accommodate, and retain this younger generation as an employer, must be balanced with preserving the organizational ability, culture and identity essential for the U.S. Army to function. That constant need for balance between accommodation and maintenance of core values and processes has mitigated the ‘total institution’ mindset of old. That is a major finding of this study. This study is an exploratory investigation using formal theme statements in an interview format given to the top 1% of the 1% of the U.S. Army’s leadership, as well as to lower ranking millennial soldiers. In this it is rare, if not unique. It is a problem-solving exploratory effort. In addition to a review of existing literature on related interdisciplinary topics, the study collected and analyzed empirical data in the forms of semi-structured interviews of senior grade non-millennial officers in Part 2, and, in Part 3, interviews of junior grade millennial generation soldiers who are currently serving. The study took a holistic approach to understand relevant views of different generations presently in the service and harvested the experiences and perspectives of senior leaders who have witnessed the U.S. Army’s transition firsthand. The findings indicate that several junior millennial respondents had contrary views and values to the assumptions society makes about them. Nor did they identify with the stereotypes of common views and biases about their generation. Amid signifying that not all millennials are alike, this discovery more importantly implies that assimilation to a strong organizational culture can transcend and/or alter presumed generational characteristics and norms, thereby demonstrating the U.S. Army’s resilience at the organizational level. The study showcases the uniqueness of the U.S. Army: as a ‘quasi-total institution’ it differs from others so labeled because it becomes much less total as the member spends more time in it. As an organization, the U.S. Army is different from most others because it must retain its talent since it has to grow leadership internally. Finally, its strong culture is essential to daily operations. Despite those facts that make the subject organization unique, parts of the study are relevant to many businesses globally which face similar issues of organizational adaptation versus resilience enfolding their multi-generational millennial versus non-millennial workforce. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary