<p>The recent economic recession in the U.S. and in the E.U. is enhancing entrepreneurship processes around the world. Old forms of production are becoming obsolete along with old ways of organizing the economy and society. This scenario and the emergence of new leadership processes have prompted an increase in entrepreneurship focused on the needs of new niches. However, not all entrepreneurship and leadership processes have been successful in achieving their goals. Research on entrepreneurship and leadership has identified the need to further understand the dynamic features of these processes and their complexity.</p><p> One of the sectors in the U.S. that has shown major growth during the last decade is the wine sector. The increase of national and international market competition in the wine sector has prompted new entrepreneurship and leadership processes in this sector. As a result, it seems timely and appropriate to expand our understanding of effective entrepreneurship and leadership processes in the U.S. wine industry.</p><p> The dissertation&rsquo;s main contributions are to: (a) expand the understanding of the dynamics of entrepreneurship, (b) expand the understanding of how human cognition relates to its contexts in order to make entrepreneurship effective, (c) identify two types of leadership that are key for achieving companies&rsquo; sustained competitive advantage, (d) expand the understanding of how human cognition relates to its contexts in order to make leadership effective, (e) identify the structures (traits and processes) that effective entrepreneurship and leadership share, (f) identify the synergies between entrepreneurship and leadership, and (g) bring useful insights to the nine wineries interviewed so that they can address their current challenges more effectively. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> Toxic leadership harms people and, eventually, the company as well through the poisoning of enthusiasm, creativity, autonomy, and innovative expression. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the decisions made by employees who were exposed to the actions of a toxic leader, and to explore the lived experiences of employees who were affected by toxic leadership within their organizations. The study explored the lived experiences of 13 participants who experienced and were affected by toxic leadership. This study used the modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen phenomenological method of data analysis to examine the participants&rsquo; transcripts. Analysis of the data gathered during the interviews developed five themes: 1) Flight: Leave the toxic environment; 2) Hope: Stay within the toxic environment; 3) Damage: Physical &amp; psychological health issues; 4) Trust: Lack of trust at the workplace; and 5) Development: A positive outlook after experiencing toxic leadership. Findings from the study recommended that obtaining the employees&rsquo; perspectives whenever conducting research on the after effects of toxic leadership was significant. The results of this study suggested that the adverse effects of toxic leadership may continue past the immediate and adverse physiological and psychological responses. This study was intended to add value to the existing body of knowledge concerning toxic leadership for both the practitioner and scholar communities.</p><p>

<p> Innovative and enduring solutions to the myriad of complex social and environmental challenges facing the world today require the shared resources and combined talents of government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Interactions between these sectors are called cross sector partnerships (CSPs). As an example of CSPs, nonprofit patient advocacy organizations (PAOs) are increasingly entering relationships and collaborations with for-profit pharmaceutical companies (FPPCs). Using a phenomenological approach, this study sought to contribute to the body of knowledge on PAO/FPPC partnerships, as well as the broader CSP phenomenon, by exploring how leaders in the field of PAO/FPPC alliances experience collaboration with one another. Three research questions were used as the basis of semi-structured interviews with 11 patient advocacy leaders. Five of the participants were nonprofit leaders (NPLs) and six were for-profit leaders (FPLs). Results from this study include several important new contributions that add to the body of knowledge related to PAO/FPPC cross sector alliances. First, the data describe disparities in decision-making authority between the NPLs and FPLs and the data illustrate the complex, variable and challenging decision-making context that exists in PAO/FPPC partnerships. Second, these results confirm that strategic analysis skills, marketing skills and facilitation skills are important leadership competencies that impact productive PAO/FPPC partnerships. Finally, this research describes similarities and differences in leadership competencies that are important to NPLs and FPLs. This study is significant because an increased understanding of collaborations between patient advocacy organizations and drug development companies may allow for more positive and beneficial future collaborations. In addition, this research provides insight into the general phenomena of cross sector alliances, which may prove beneficial to a wide range of social challenges.</p><p>

<p> Ministerial advisers encounter challenges in communicating change to support sustainability in economic growth and capacity building in security missions between Afghan and United States leaders. The problem rooted in the differences among the Afghan leaders and the ministerial advisers would stabilize the Afghan economy and building capacity within security missions. The qualitative exploratory case study examined how communication challenges impede the progress of successfully advising Afghan senior leaders in support of sustaining economic growth and capacity building within security missions. Ten Ministry of Defense (MoDA) advisers were interviewed. During the analysis, two main groups, six themes, and 13 sub-themes emerged. Results corroborated the official government reporting, which found a misalignment with Afghan counterparts and in communicating and sharing information often limited the MoDA program's ability to assess advisory effectiveness. The results discovered that leaders should develop long-lasting and trusting relationships to be able to effectively communicate change. Results exposed that the training programs for these leaders who will communicate change should include more role-playing exercises and on the ground training, prior to placement into the adviser role. Peacekeeping advising efforts in Afghanistan will be successful by allowing time to overcome change-related learning curves. The recommendation for future training must include an evaluation of training programs, and the effectiveness in preparing the adviser with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their assigned duties.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation explores contemporary church planting experiences across select locational contexts. In the 21st century, there has been an intentional focus and renewed vigor among several Christian Protestant denominations, church planting networks, and church planting churches to effectively influence the start and growth of new churches. These church planting entities are attempting to address changing spiritual, geographical, sociological, and cultural realities in the United States through the entrepreneurial endeavor of founding new churches. This strategy of outreach is increasing in use because new churches tend to be pioneering, adaptable, and able to meet the needs of different populations. However, the available evidence and information about church planting is less than comprehensive. This qualitative research study was conducted to add insights to the entrepreneurship, leadership, and organizational change literature by exploring church planting across select locational contexts. This study utilized 11 church planting expert interviews and two mini-case studies of extant churches in order to examine five factors that are considered key in church planting: the overarching church planting perspective, church plant support systems, leadership approaches, organizational change, and successful outcomes. A key goal of the study was to identify and acknowledge diverse perspectives and realities in the church planting experience. The findings revealed a need for a universal definition of church planting and a more comprehensive and holistic approach to church plant support systems, leadership development, and the management of change. Further studies could include a more extended, multi-year longitudinal study that evaluates the organizational change approaches of diverse church plants, and use of experimental research design studies to assess collaboration across churches and church planting entities.</p>

<p> This study sought to determine the impact of perceived career motivation on workplace engagement for new managers. By using the Career Orientation Inventory (Schein, 1990b) in determining an individual&rsquo;s career anchor and the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey (Schaufeli &amp; Bakker, 2003), the study investigates the impact and influence of career motivation on engagement. An explanatory sequential approach was taken using mixed methods and two survey instruments. Quantitative analysis using multiple regression was used to assess the impact of the career anchor differential between desired and perceived use of the career anchor on the work engagement level. Grounded theory then further explored through semi-structured interviews to understand the research question of whether the new manager has a higher workplace engagement level if he/she is placed in a job that matches his or her career anchor. The quantitative analysis estimated approximately 25% of a new manager&rsquo;s engagement could be determined by perceived inclusion of the career anchor in the current work. The qualitative interviews supported the element of the new manager&rsquo;s need for control of the career anchor at work and also developed into a two-part New Manager Engagement framework of Influencing Factors. Finally, this study designated a definition and direction for Career Engagement, building on both previous frameworks and the proposed New Manager Engagement framework. </p>

<p> Leadership is an important aspect of individual and organizational success. In short, leadership matters, however, the organizational environment encountered by leaders is undergoing dynamic changes. New leaders will require skills that allow them to deal with the issues of increased diversity, heterogeneous work teams, high levels of ambiguity, and the need for more personalized approaches. The skills that modern leaders require may be exactly those related to emotional intelligence (EI). The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental, research study was to examine the relationship between the EI and leadership practices in a sample of 302 organizational leaders. The independent variable is EI while the dependent variable is leadership practices as defined by Kouzes and Posner. Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis are conducted to address the research questions and hypotheses. This study provides support for the existence of a relationship between a leader&rsquo;s ability to understand and manage emotions and the leader&rsquo;s ability to engage in effective leadership practices. This relationship exists after controlling for the effect of the leader&rsquo;s age, gender, personality, and years of leadership experience.</p>

<p> Organizational leaders worldwide have been plagued with consistently low and declining levels of employee engagement despite ongoing efforts to implement initiatives to retain talent through increased engagement. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs held by 14 leaders in Arizona and the role their values might play on their receptivity to and experiences with employee engagement. Data obtained from semi-structured interviews and previously completed Core Values Index (CVI) assessments revealed insights that may offer new approaches leaders might consider with regard to engagement initiatives. Results showed six major themes emerged including communication; culture; feeling valued; personal values, such as work ethic, honesty, integrity, or trust; professional development; and empowerment. An individual&rsquo;s position within the organization did not appear to influence his or her engagement preferences. Rather, participants ranked the six themes in different priority orders based on their core values, indicating they may prefer different approaches to engagement by their leaders. Notably, participants appeared to engage others according to the methods they, themselves, preferred rather than adapting to the methods that might work best for the employee. Based on these and other findings, recommendations for C-suite and other leaders include: increased, consistent communication with employees regarding strategy, initiatives, successes, challenges, and recognition; embracing and modeling of engagement practices by leaders at every level; integration of engagement practices throughout the talent management cycle; and updating policies and procedures to ensure accountability and recognition around engagement initiatives.</p>

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2008. / Thesis advisor: James Conway. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Management." Includes bibliographical references (p. 300-340).