<p> The purpose of this historical case study was to explore how individual moral identity can influence leadership ethics in decision making. By focusing this case study on former U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, this study examined how moral identity influences of education, family, peers, and religion from childhood through college could affect ethical decision making. Using NVivo^&reg; 10, data analysis determined emergent themes from the four key moral identity influences for both study subjects. Analysis of each emergent theme established positive or negative moral identity development. For this study, positive moral identity demonstrated a close alignment with a concern for the welfare of others; whereas, negative moral identity development demonstrated alignment with concern for oneself. Results showed that President Kennedy demonstrated greater moral identity development because of education and family influences than President Nixon. Closer analysis of moral identity core themes revealed that President Kennedy possessed a higher number of high moral identity core themes to support ethical decisions made during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Conversely, President Nixon possessed a higher number of low moral identity core themes to support unethical decisions during Watergate. Study results contributed to the literature by showing how moral identity can affect ethical and unethical decision making. Suggested recommendations showed the need for further qualitative studies of leader moral identity as well as the need to establish reliable testing mechanisms to determine and measure individual moral identity.</p>

<p> Negative affect is widely recognized as a common precipitant of both subjective and objective sleep disturbances (Vandekerckhove &amp; Cluydts, 2010). Since repetitive thought forms such as rumination can sustain negative affect states, they may play a critical role in the etiology of sleep impairment. However, extant research suffers from a number of methodological shortcomings, including a lack of objective sleep assessment and 'first-night' effects. Further, this literature has yet to adequately address the treatment implications of the association between rumination and sleep. Mindfulness-based meditation has emerged as a favorable candidate for such an intervention in recent years (Carney &amp; Segal, 2005). Therefore, the present studies aimed to investigate the association between rumination and sleep outcomes using a multi-method approach to sleep assessment. The efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation in extinguishing rumination and improving sleep was also explored. </p><p> A sample of 42 university students who scored high on a trait-level measure of rumination participated in two, week-long studies. Participants provided informed consent, received an actiwatch, and were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness or distraction group before the studies began. During Study 1, participants in both groups completed brief, electronic questionnaires assessing daily levels of rumination just prior to bedtime. Immediately after waking, participants reported the duration and quality of sleep they experienced the previous night. Analyses revealed that daily rumination (z = 2.44; p &lt; .05) was significantly associated with actigraphy-based sleep-onset latency (SOL), but not with total sleep time (TST) or sleep efficiency (SE). Daily rumination was also significantly associated with self-reported SOL (z = 3.18; p &lt; .01) and SQ (z = 2.39; p &lt; .01), but not with TST. </p><p> During Study 2, participants in the mindfulness and distraction groups partook respectively in a mindfulness- or distraction-induction task immediately after the nightly questionnaires. A significant effect emerged between group membership and actigraphy-based SOL (z = - 2.13; p &lt; .05), diary-based TST (z = 2.38; p &lt; .05), and diary-based SQ (z = - 2.88; p &lt; .05), with the mindfulness group reporting better sleep outcomes. With respect to within-person effects over the course of the two studies, the mindfulness group exhibited shorter actigraphy-based SOL (z = - 2.30; p &lt; .05), higher actigraphy-based SE (z = 6.54; p &lt; .01), and higher diary-based SQ (z = - 2.22, p &lt; .05) during Study 2 than during Study 1. There were no significant differences in any sleep outcome between Studies 1 and 2 for the distraction group. </p><p> These data suggest that rumination is associated with both subjective and objective sleep impairment, and that mindfulness-based meditation can help attenuate this effect. Implications for current behavioral treatments for insomnia are discussed.</p>

<p> Workplace bullying has affected almost half (47%) of American working adults corresponding to approximately 71.5 million workers who either experienced bullying directly or witnessed it. This resulted in an alarming turnover of 21 to 28 million workers. This qualitative historical study explored, identified, and documented through historical records and documents, the patterns and trends of workplace bullying in organizations, characteristics and types of bullies, and types of mistreatment workplace bullies direct toward intended targets over the past 30 years. The data analysis yielded eight major themes of bullying styles and traits. These consisted of the four bully styles reinforced from the literature review of the snake, gatekeeper, screamer, and nitpicker. Additionally, the three new bully styles of the tyrant, joker, and discriminator, and one outlier bully style of the reverse bully. Themes of leadership skills associated with reducing or eliminating workplace bullying were also identified and analyzed. These themes coincided with the successful leadership traits and attributes of ethical leadership, social responsibility, and encouraging the heart, which led to the development of the GUARDIAN model. The GUARDIAN model presented recommendations to leaders of organization that would limit or prevent workplace bullying, which would provide significant financial savings for organizations because of less human resource issues.</p>

<p> We are facing an unprecedented level of interconnectedness that has engendered a level of complexity that defies our historical reasoning capacity. Building off of the literature on sensemaking, this action research study proposed and investigated a new concept in leadership to respond to the growing complexity: sensecrafting. Sensecrafting refers to deliberate, collective sensemaking, while sensemaking refers to "how [people] construct what they construct, why, and with what effects . . . " (Weick, 1995, p. 4). The study answered the research question: How can individuals develop their capacity for sensecrafting in order to cultivate a more generative relationship with the organizations to which they belong? Employing Herda's hermeneutic participatory research, the study consisted of three, 1-hour conversations with six research participants which were recorded via Skype and transcribed. The purpose of the study was to see how participants employed nine traits of sensecrafting (learning, tolerating ambiguity, discernment, openness, framing, mindfulness, envisioning, action and reflection) in the workplace. Additionally, the study investigated how participants worked with stories to create a generative working environment. In the study, participants worked with a set of 18 cards that presented techniques for enhancing their sensecrafting skills. A thematic analysis of the study found that participants made frequent use of the sensecrafting traits at a personal level, and less frequent use of the traits at a collective level. The findings suggest that participants' possessed a high degree of potential to further develop their skills. Participants' exhibition of the sensecrafting traits generated value both for the individuals in the study and for their organizations. Benefits that accrued to individuals included improved relationships with key personnel and insights into how to cope with changes in the workplace. Implications from the study included the observation that a useful way to work with the sensecrafting traits would be through an instrument that measures participants on each of the dimensions of sensecrafting and that provides feedback to individuals about how they can capitalize on strengths and develop areas of opportunity.</p>

Organisational learning is seen by many to be a key determinant of organisational performance. This is demonstrated by the growth of the 'learning company' concept (Pedler et al. 1991), and by the suggestion that the ability to learn faster than one's competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage (DeGeus 1988). Consequently, organisations need to integrate and maximise the knowledge and learning of their individuals, and central to the learning process in firms is an effective means of transferring knowledge and learning between individuals and their organisation as a whole. Mental models (individual and shared) have been postulated as a mechanism through which this occurs (Senge 1990a; Kim 1993; Hayes and Allinson 1998). An individual mental model can be characterised as a simplification or representation of understanding of an idea, notion, process or system which provides the cognitive framework in which that individual's knowledge in respect of that issue is stored, whilst shared (group or organisational) mental models can be characterised as the common elements that exist between individual mental models. Both of these have been theoretically linked with individual and organisational learning. Literature in respect of individual and organisational learning, mental models and a third issue cognitive style is reviewed. Cognitive style represents the way individuals obtain, store and operationalise knowledge, and is included here as it is recognised as potentially affecting how learning and mental models interact (Hayes and Allinson 1998). A research model is posited which integrates key theory in respect of these three concepts, and research undertaken in two phases is presented. Phase One focused upon the representation of individual and shared mental models through semi-structured causal interviews with senior mangers in participant organisations, whilst Phase Two involved organisation wide surveys of these models, aspects of learning and cognitive style. Results obtained suggest that the complexities of an organisation, its environment, learning and mental models all mitigate against the identification of a simple relationship between these constructs. However some of the sources of these complexities are identified and suggested, and it is posited that the progression of work addressing organisational learning would best be served through a case study approach addressing the sources of complexity and effectiveness of learning in relation to specific mental models and within organisations.

<p> High staff turnover in private group homes decreases organizational stability. There are a large number of developmentally disabled individuals in group homes of the high risk disaster city of New Orleans, indicating the need for stability from high staff turnover indicated by job satisfaction. The problem investigated in this study was the recognized difficulty in maintaining job satisfaction in order to retain staff in group homes of the high risk disaster city of New Orleans. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors contribute to job satisfaction. The variables examined were hours worked per week, years of service, salary, and employee benefits. A quantitative research study was employed to determine what factors significantly contributed to job satisfaction using a multiple regression methodology. The population in this study included direct service workers compiled of caregivers, nurses, and managers within three organizations facilitating group homes in the New Orleans area. From this population of employees the sample size resulted in 163 direct service workers. Questionnaires were used to collect data using Spector&rsquo;s (1985) Job Satisfaction Survey as the instrument. A multiple regression design was used to analyze the factors influencing job satisfaction. Findings in the study determined that employee benefits significantly contributed to job satisfaction wherein hours worked per week, years of service, and salaries were not significant predictors of job satisfaction. Statistically significant results for benefits received resulted in t = 2.99 and p = .003. The results of the study provided insight into high risk disaster area group homes wherein managing staff turnover is specifically difficult.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-12, Section: A, page: 4612. Adviser: Alan R. Dennis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. College of Nursing, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 20, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-170). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: B, page: 3310. Adviser: Brent W. Roberts. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-75) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.Th.(Prakt. teol.))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-146).