<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>

In the developed countries, executives who carry the mam responsibility for the achievement of organizational objectives, are introducing Executive Information Systems (EIS), user-friendly software products designed especially to meet executives' internal and external information needs. The use of technology and the need for reliable information on which to base decision-making are issues currently attracting attention in Saudi Arabia, as prerequisites for attaining national development objectives. This is especially true of the private sector, which faces new challenges as a result of the increased role recently given to it by government policy. However, little or nothing is known about the availability and use of EIS in Saudi Arabia. This study, therefore, presents an overview, with international comparisons, of development in EIS, with a detailed investigation of the current situation of EIS in large companies in Saudi Arabia, in particular. A questionnaire survey was carried out among the 100 largest companies (measured by turnover for 1995) in which executives and IS personnel were asked about availability of EIS in their companies, patterns of information use, EIS development approaches and utilization, and users' satisfaction with EIS. The survey revealed that EIS were available in 52% of the 73 responding companies. Companies used and valued internal more than external information, and made little use of the EIS to gain external information. Development of EIS was usually in-house; little use was made of commercial EIS packages. Data tended to be centralized at head office. A major increase in EIS use appears to have occurred between 1991 and 1995 though there are still some "resisters" who do not use the EIS, despite having access to it. Few companies had experienced EIS failure, and respondents were highly satisfied with their systems' usability, cost-effectiveness, development and controllability. The companies' approach to developing EIS and experience with using it were related to company age, turnover, region and type (stock or non-stock). The Saudi experience appears to broadly similar to that reported in Western studies, except in the area of development approach and type of software used. The study concludes by highlighting significant results in terms of the comparison of EIS experience in Saudi Arabia with international experiences, especially in the U.K. and U.S.A.; and factors which may be expected to affect further development of EIS in Saudi Arabia, as well as having implications for education and research in this field.

Thesis (Ed. Spec.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Field study. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1934. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 136-140.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Management." Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-123).

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.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: School of Business. Bibliography: leaves 139-169. Also available online via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-46).

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.