<p> This exploratory qualitative inquiry examined the role of experiential learning in undergraduate business curricula. Business organizations seek graduates with abilities and skills that add immediate value to organizations. However, many organizations feel that graduates are not well prepared by current management education curricula and do not possess adequate skill sets to transition efficiently from students to employees. This research examined the influence of internship programs by comparing and contrasting the experiences of graduates that had participated in internship programs as part of their degree requirements with the experiences of graduates that had not participated in internship programs. The research also sought feedback from human resource managers responsible for hiring decisions in order to obtain the perspective of business organizations as stakeholders. An analysis of the study&rsquo;s data resulted in four primary findings. Data suggested that traditional coursework plays an important role in helping students develop soft skills (i.e., verbal and written communication, collaboration, and team-building skills) whereas experiential learning in the form of internships was instrumental in helping students develop hard skills (i.e., specific job-related skills such as accounting processes unique to an organization). The data also suggested that internships help facilitate a smoother and successful transition from student to employee. According to the data, both formal and informal mentors play a significant role when transitioning to employment, and many organizations utilized mentors when training interns and new employees. Finally, the data demonstrated that there is a broad range of benefits to incorporating internships into baccalaureate business curricula. These included benefits to the students, institutions, and employers. The study&rsquo;s findings support the importance of integrating internship opportunities within the business school undergraduate curriculum. The benefits of experiential learning opportunities through internship experiences offer advantages for those lucky enough to participate. However, there are currently too few internship opportunities available to adequately prepare all graduates for the transition from students to employees.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of female leaders and their role in using nonlinear models of change to influence organizational change. This study was designed to determine how approaches to change leadership deployed by female leaders contribute new information and principles to the field of organizational change. A phenomenological research method was the best approach to capture the insights, perspectives, and experiences of female leaders. This study examined the nonlinear change approaches of fourteen senior female leaders in large corporations. While female leaders are increasing in the executive suite, research around their role in change leadership remains limited. This qualitative, phenomenological study examined how fourteen female leaders used different strategies and approaches to lead organizational change. Their experiences, documented through the interview data, encompassed their personal philosophies and approaches in influencing change initiatives. The data gathered was analyzed to develop themes that scholars and female leaders could analyze and apply in the field of change management. The female leaders in this study shared five key strategies that they used to lead change: (a) Relatedness Strategies, (b) Inclusion Strategies, (c) Experiential Learning Methods, (d) Radar-emotion Detection Strategies, and (e) Authenticity and Trust Strategies. These strategies indicated a nonlinear approach to leading change that focused on intervention strategies that could be applied at any stage in the change journey. Four main conclusions can be derived from this study: (a) Effective change strategies need to be intervention driven; (b) The change leader functions best as an interceptor and connector within the organization; (c) Strategies to change require approaches that create inclusion and trust; and (d) Strategies to change should involve experiential learning designs. This study shed light on new methods and approaches for leading complex organizational change from a female perspective in corporations. Moreover, this research was relevant given the demographic changes in society and the strategic role that female leaders play today in corporations and will in the future.</p><p>

To a large extent, management is perceived as a Western notion and is based on Western assumptions and norms. Most of our understanding of management came from the American experience. The problem lies in the assumption by these writers and researchers that what they think is true in the West, it is true for all cultures. This is a problem in cross-cultural management theory and practice. This study was an attempt to challenge the imperialism in cross-cultural management. It attempted to voice the Singaporean Chinese managers' conception of Chinese management through a Singaporean Chinese researcher using an interpretive approach. The specific purposes were to (1) discover Chinese managers' perception and definition of management; and (2) describe the way they manage. This study followed an interpretive paradigm of research and analysis which allows representation of the perspective of the participants. It aimed to reveal and reflect the world as it is. Metaphor was used as a means to understand how Chinese managers in Singapore perceived Chinese management and how they manage. Six interviewees from Singapore local Chinese organizations were selected for the study. Indepth interview was used as the research method. The research findings were presented through six stories and five scenes. Six stories (Chapter Four) were presented how they felt about Chinese management, their organizations and their managerial work. The five scenes (Chapter Five) were the interpretation and analysis of the "stories". Scene 1 focused on the Chinese managers' perception of the characteristics of Chinese management. Scene 2 contrasted the differences between Western management and Chinese management. Scene 3 highlighted the dilemma of the old and young generations and the dilemma in integrating Western and Chinese management. Scene 4 presented four metaphors and a meta-metaphor that capture the conceptions of Chinese management. Scene 5 presented five metaphors that describe the work of Chinese managers. The research findings were discussed in relation to the literature. Implications for Singaporean Chinese managers, management educators, organizational theorists, cross-cultural studies and future research were presented.

Family-owned businesses are associated with a low rate of survival. Statistically, less than three in ten will survive the first 50 years. The literature acknowledges that the issue of succession is critical for organizational development and continuity. Effective (successful) successors are defined in the literature as those persons who have the title and power of office and, in the long term, demonstrate the ability to create a positive trend of growth and profits for the business. The research consists primarily of quantitative analysis. The bulk of the research is predicated on 254 respondents, of which 181 are classified as effective successors and 73 as ineffective successors. Additionally, four in-depth interviews with successors were conducted and analyzed to verify the quantitative dimension and to lend breadth to the constraints of a survey questionnaire. The purpose of the research is to identify factors common to effective successors and ineffective successors. The data gathered centered on two topics: successor demographics, and successor attitudes relating to their families, themselves, and their businesses. The data show some interesting and clear differences between effective and ineffective successors. This information should be of interest to family-owned businesses, family therapists, business consultants, and academicians. The research is driven by six hypotheses. The results show three of the hypotheses to be consistent with the literature, while the remaining three uncover new information. The three hypotheses which coincide with contemporary researchers replicated that most successors: worked elsewhere before joining the family firm; willingly came into the business; and had positive outlooks on the businesses. The remaining three hypotheses uncover what appear to be new data about successors: that most successors are first exposed to the family business between 10 and 11 years of age; that there is a level of competition residing in the successor and aimed at the predecessor; and that 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-generation successors generally work around 60 hours per week in order to get the job done. The study concludes by offering specific recommendations for further research. These recommendations were generated by the research findings, which present some new implications for research, theory, and practice.

<p>The workplace is in a transition with age demographics (Mann, 2006). The baby boomers, once a large and dominating force in the workplace are now in their initial years of a decade?s move into retirement. And with such a large demographic change, there is a vacuum that is created and then filled. Many industry analysts have deemed this transition as the "Great shift change." In the workplace, vacancies are being created en mass at the managerial and executive levels. Due to the recession of 2008-2012, the baby boomers remained in the marketplace for an extended period of time, some say to rebound with their depleted retirements. As the economy made its way back to normalcy, an intersection of market forces hit. This collision of market forces is the emergence of an economy out of recession and an age demographic beginning an advanced pace of retirements that analysts say will last up to 20 years. Due to a high turnover of the baby boomer generation with the Millennial generation in the market, succession planning is key to maintain productivity and smooth the transition in demographics while providing services to increasing student populations. This dissertation will utilize case studies to analyze this market event and see how private higher education institutions located in Los Angeles, California are handling succession planning in an aggressive employment demographic change.

<p> Too many outsourcing models fail to deliver expected results in Integrated Facility Management (IFM) models. IFM is a type of outsourcing model that transfers in-house work to an outside company that performs it onsite as if it were part of the client&rsquo;s organization. This process requires collaboration, coordination, and communication, merging 2 corporate cultures into 1 cohesive business model. Managing the change process related to an IFM outsourcing arrangement is crucial because changing an organizational culture can heighten risk and potentially produce unsatisfactory results. Creating, changing, and managing an IFM outsourcing model require acceptance, coordination, and a clear understanding of expectations from both the client and the service provider. People in general are apprehensive about change, especially when they don&rsquo;t understand it. IFM, being a complex process, requires the proper training and education in order to avoid resistance that creates leadership challenges. According to the literature, effective leadership was the solution to mitigate the resistance to change associated with outsourcing but little research exists to explain the phenomenon experienced by leaders during the initial transition (first-generation) to an IFM model. This descriptive, qualitative study was conducted in order to determine what strategies and practices leaders employ during a first-generation IFM outsourcing initiative. Additionally, challenges associated with implementation, measurement of success, and recommendations from leaders of IFM outsourcing was explored. Fourteen IFM leaders were interviewed and asked 10 questions. These interview questions yielded results such as leadership, communication, and clarity in scope of work as some of the dominant themes. These themes were then used to develop recommendations for further research and recommendations for future leaders of change.</p>

<p> Absence of management transition planning in Nigerian family enterprises undermines economic growth and job creation. Family businesses contribute significantly to the economic development in Europe and North America. This Mixed methods study involving sequential explanatory design investigated and explored the connection between culture and management transition planning in Nigeria. The specific problem investigated was the incessant collapse of family businesses after the death of founders. Management transition planning and its relationship with national culture of Nigeria, from the perspectives of nonfamily managers, is the main objective of this research. A survey involving a self-developed 40-item Likert-type scale was used for collection of data for the quantitative segment of the study. One hundred managers from 10 family businesses located in Lagos and Ogun states of Nigeria participated in the survey. During data analysis, SPSS 21.0 aided the computation of Spearman&rsquo;s Rank Order correlation coefficient, which revealed that cultural beliefs and values, extended family system, tradition/legacy, and lifestyles of the family business owners had negative relationship with management transition planning. The quantitative findings indicated statistically significant correlation between culture and attitudes of family business owners toward management transition planning and allowed rejection of the four null hypotheses. Five top managers of the family businesses participated in the qualitative segment by responding to semi-structured interview questions. NVivo 10 software assisted the analysis of the qualitative data. The qualitative findings supported the quantitative results. Administrators, bankers, family business entrepreneurs, and academics would obtain valuable information from the outcomes of this study.</p>

<p> Manufacturers attempt to compete in the world economy and improve their business processes by implementing change management theory, often using Lean Six Sigma processes; however, these implementations are not always effective in manufacturing settings. Research was needed about leadership efficacy differences in Lean Six Sigma success to inform strategies aimed at augmenting success rates. The purpose of this causal comparative quantitative investigation was to determine the impact of perceived leadership efficacy differences on Lean Six Sigma success rates in a manufacturing setting. The population for the study is estimated at 20,000 supervisors with a sampling of 128 leaders from the manufacturing industry in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, who have conducted a Lean Six Sigma implementation. The independent variable was perceived leader efficacy and was gathered from McCormick&rsquo;s Leadership Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ). The dependent variable was Lean Six Sigma implementation success rate and was gathered from a researcher-created checklist designed to measure overall equipment effectiveness of the respective leaders&rsquo; operation. Analysis of variance was performed to assess the difference between high and low efficacy leaders on Lean Six Sigma success rates. The findings demonstrated individuals with high leader efficacy were significantly more successful in implementing Lean Six Sigma initiatives than those with low leader efficacy. Recommendations to increase leadership efficacy in manufacturing in order to positively impact the success rates of change initiatives were offered.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1959. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> Education policymakers in Nigeria lack the knowledge on the views of Niger Delta youths, who rely on entrepreneurship education and its contents to fight poverty and unemployment in their area. This study&rsquo;s purpose was to gain deeper understanding of the views of Niger Delta youths on entrepreneurship education, its contents, and its role in fighting their area&rsquo;s high rate of poverty and unemployment. This study was framed and guided by three key concepts that focus on the challenges of poor communities: youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa, entrepreneurship education, and youth entrepreneurship. To address this issue properly, a qualitative multiple-case study was designed. Data were collected from multiple sources: semi structured interviews, archival data from government labor reports , and the researcher&rsquo;s field notes.Data analysis was completed through thematic and cross-case synthesis analysis. . The findings showed that the Niger Delta is less privileged in financial availability, deepened in economic recessions under unemployment, poverty, inflation, hunger and starvations, with less chance of obtaining education, without qualification for employable white-collar jobs, neglected by the government of Nigeria, irrespective that Niger Delta region is the city of petroleum production that gives approximately 95% of Nigerian national revenue annually. With the adoption of entrepreneurship education in their school system and through training and skill acquisition, the Niger Delta would contribute to poverty alleviation, increased business career ownership, and meet the daily economic demands of their families, and be able to have a voice in social change. Social change can potentially be achieved through economic restoration and the enhancement of youths&rsquo; education and employment status, which in turn would help decrease the rate of poverty.</p><p>