<p> Business alliances in the form of Mergers and Acquisitions have increased exponentially in the last few decades. Previous studies have established leadership as a critical success factor for mergers and acquisitions. This study aimed to explore individual differences in professional attributes that determine retention of a senior executive following a merger or acquisition. Of the 322 participants, 50%, 23%, and 7% of the participants in this study belong to management, senior management, and chief executive groups respectively. Policy capturing approach was used to identify which professional attributes lead to retention decisions. The study explored four dimensions of senior executive attributes in a 2* 2* 2* 3 factorial design. The findings reflect that on average decision makers prefer to retain senior executives who have a positive outlook for the impending merger or acquisition with a strong influence on subordinates, potential for growth, and strategically oriented.</p>

<p> It is believed that the commitment to diversity in the workplace is rooted in the civil rights movement. Six decades later, many companies have achieved a demographically diverse workforce, while others have not. Some organizations assumed that diversity would automatically result in inclusion. Seemingly, it has been more elusive to create and sustain an inclusive workplace. Within large global organizations, the task of creating such a workplace rests with the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). </p><p> Inclusion, as related to engaging diverse employees in the workplace, is an emerging concept. This study explored the perceptions and experiences of Chief Diversity Officers in establishing and maintaining an inclusive work environment. Specifically, this study focused on identifying the challenges they faced and determining the strategies and measures these practitioners implemented to cultivate cultures of inclusion. Further, given their experiences, this study sought to capture their recommendations for others who may consider such a task. Therefore, qualitative research methodology was aligned to the purpose of exploring the meaning assigned to this experience to identify best practices. The qualitative approach relied upon semi-structured interviews conducted on a one-on-one basis with the survey participants. In using a one-on-one format, the researcher was able to glean deep understanding and insight regarding the practices of CDOs. </p><p> The salient findings of the study indicate that there is commonality in regards to the foundational elements of building a culture of inclusion and the challenges that the CDOs have faced. The most noted foundational elements were building organizational capability, blending inclusive practices throughout the talent management cycle and branding the organization as inclusive. With regard to the challenges, most often cited were organizational priority, executive embrace and sufficient resources. In consideration of the existence of measures and which metrics were captured, there was significant disparity. While there was no evidence of consistent best practice associated with measurement, there was universal belief that the creating and sustaining inclusive workplaces would be requisite in the future. The respondents noted that the shifting demographics would make inclusive workplaces requisite for global businesses. </p>

<p> Profound changes are happening in the globalized work environment, challenging the existing way individuals operate at work and the traditional role of the workplace. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the physical and social work environment through the lens of activity based working (ABW) to understand the effects ABW had on an individual&rsquo;s ability to integrate their work and nonwork lives and how this contributed to wellbeing and productivity. Twenty qualitative interviews were conducted across three Australian-based organizations that had implemented ABW. By studying the pre and post change impacts through the lens of Person-Environment Fit Theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the study presented findings that identify a strong linkage between the physical and social environments and how this linkage is able to fulfill an individual&rsquo;s psychological needs&mdash;relatedness, autonomy, and competence&mdash;as defined by SDT. The study identified a greater sense of relatedness as the main benefit of an ABW intervention and suggested that there is a greater role for authenticity to play in the workplace in order to foster greater levels of autonomy. The study also identified competence as an area that organizations should focus more on in order to build and sustain the necessary skills and capabilities to work in an ABW environment. Participants described benefits to mental and physical health and wellbeing as well as productivity as a result of the ABW intervention.</p>

<p> This qualitative study examined the startup phase of a new manufacturing facility in the rigid plastics packaging industry. Thirteen personnel were interviewed for their impressions of the startup experience, and were asked for their recommendations for the type of leadership, training and knowledge sharing, and organizational systems and support needed for a new plant startup to succeed. Participants noted both successes and challenges related to the plant manager, training and support delivered, and communication and other organizational systems in place. Participants offered several recommendations, including improving leader selection and preparation; optimizing training resources, schedules, and materials for each area; improving coordination, communication, and training for visiting support staff; and adapting human resources, project management, and equipment. Based on these findings, several recommendations for executive leaders, project management, and organization development consultants were identified. The key suggestion for continued research is to repeat the study with an enhanced research design. </p>

<p> This qualitative study examined the use of transformational leadership among producers in one production company in the entertainment industry. A sample of 16 producers who led shows at the organization from 2012 to 2016 completed an interview about their self-described and ideal leadership styles, their current and desired use of transformational leadership, and attitudes and openness to executive coaching. Producers&rsquo; self-described current leadership style is empowering, and they want to become more results-oriented and highly respected in the future. Participants reported they are and want to continue to be transformational. Almost all participants expressed interest in coaching. Although additional research is needed to extend and confirm the present study findings, the study organization may wish to offer its leaders development opportunities and consider training team members to promote consistent values. Specifically, executive coaching and training in transformational leadership may be beneficial and of interest to the participants in this study. </p>

<p> Tourism, Barbados&rsquo;s primary industry, declined substantially from the outset of the 2008 global recession, triggering an economic slump in the local economy. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the views of 20 Barbadian tourism executives regarding the ability of community-based tourism (CBT) to resuscitate Barbados&rsquo;s tourism industry. The participants included 10 from the government and 10 from the business sector; all possessed knowledge of CBT and worked with tourism for at least 10 years. Arnstein&rsquo;s <i> ladder of citizen participation</i> constituted the conceptual framework of this study. Participants were recruited by snowball and purposive sampling. Data were collected using an interview guide with semistructured interview questions, an audio recorder, and interview notes. The collected data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis, which involved collating the most cited codes into potential themes and developing thematic maps. The major themes that emerged from the data analysis of the private sector included the use of CBT as a means to solidify social relationships among locals and tourists and its ability to encourage repeat vacations. The major themes that materialized from interviewing the government workers included the need for the education of residents regarding the importance of their roles as stakeholder participants and the obligation by the relevant officials to stem any potential for criminal activity that could occur through CBT implementation. Repeated vacations through CBT could give rise to positive social change in the island by generating increased foreign currency injections and improving the social well-being of Barbadians and the Barbados economy.</p>

<p> Despite the increased rate of women in the workplace and more women acquiring advance degrees, there are still barriers in the workplace that hinders the advancement of women. The focus of this qualitative study was first to understand the perceptions and beliefs of six female managers' experiences during the developmental process of an all-female mentoring program. The second focus was to provide information on the importance of mentoring in the development and advancement of women in the workplace. Utilizing a phenomenological methodology, a descriptive approach was employed to examine and describe the thought processes and subjective views of the participants' role, understanding, and expectation of the program development. </p><p> The purpose of this applied dissertation was to examine and describe from the participants' perspectives the factors that hindered the successful development of the mentoring program. Based on the analysis of the data collected from the semi-structured interviews, four themes emerged: (a) purpose for mentoring program development, (b) perception of barriers to mentoring program development, (c) perception of management role in program development, and (d) perception of program outcome. </p><p> The data collected as a result of this study revealed five findings: (a) mentoring programs are an important human resource intervention, (b) the lack of top management support and commitment adversely affected the successful development of the mentoring program, (c) the successful development of a mentoring program requires the clear establishment of the program goals and objectives, (d) research does not fully support the findings that women in senior positions will advocate for women in lower ranking positions, and (e) the top management role is an essential component in the continued success of mentoring programs. This study offers insight into female managers' perceptions of the barriers that affect mentoring program development and insight into the development of successful mentoring program.</p>

<p> Credit unions, the cooperatives started by the people to serve the people, have experienced tremendous growth, success, and challenge since their inception in the mid-19^th century. While the overall number of members and assets are growing, the physical number of credit unions is decreasing due to mergers or insolvency, keeping market share stagnant for the past 20 years. As with all organizations, succession planning is essential to ensure a future. Considering a conceptual foundation including stakeholder theory and succession planning, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how succession planning is utilized by CEOs of credit unions today, what impedes credit unions from succession planning and leadership development, as well as what tools or resources are needed within the industry to either build or enhance the succession planning efforts. </p><p> Based on in-depth interviews with eight current CEO&rsquo;s, findings revealed that succession planning is happening more frequently in large credit unions than previous research noted. CEOs are committed to their stakeholders and to the industry and are driving this process in their credit unions, they believe developing leaders is their main role, and they see succession planning as a competitive advantage because of the results it generates. To make the process successful, the CEOs are utilizing consultants, incorporating a variety of activities, focusing on innovation and technology, and challenging the talent management status quo. The CEOs did not believe suggested impediments from previous research were accurate. Rather, they believed that intrinsic factors got in the way including excuses, basic human nature and egos. To truly revolutionize the industry and gain market share, the CEOs shared that many strategies including hiring practices must change. </p><p> It is recommended that credit union leaders and directors become knowledgeable on succession planning and its benefits, connect strategic planning with talent management, and remove intrinsic obstacles to most effectively give back to their stakeholders. Additional research on smaller credit unions and their succession planning efforts, recruiting and hiring tactics for credit union CEOs, and the prioritization of succession planning, strategic planning, and financial results is needed.</p>

<p> With the continuing rise of globalization, organizations face a variety of unique and complex challenges which require significant changes. One of the greatest challenges is the need to develop leaders with higher levels of global competence. Despite the abundance of research supporting the use of intercultural leadership development experiences, existing research has shown that not all leaders benefit equally from these experiences. Given that adults have differing learning style preferences, the results of this research provide useful insights into how a leaders learning style may be associated with the development of global competence. </p><p> This study examined the relationship between the levels of global competence and preferred learning styles of a group of leaders from multinational organizations. For this study, the Kolb Experiential Learning Styles instrument was used to categorize respondents into one of four learning styles, and the Global Competencies Inventory to measure 16 global competencies. Findings indicate a relationship between three of the learning styles and four of the 16 global competencies. Conclusions from this study reflect that those with an Accommodating learning style are more likely to have lower competence in Nonjudgmentalness, Self Awareness, and Stress Management, but higher competence in Interest Flexibility. Those with an Assimilating learning style demonstrate lower competence in Interest Flexibility, and those with a Converging learning style showed lower competence with Stress Management.</p>

<p> Organizational culture has been a topic of interest throughout all industries and has become a phrase studied in business and academic literature. With the Millennial generation now in the workforce, organizations employ workers of various age groups and generations. With increased scrutiny on organizational culture, the widely varying age ranges of employees, and a competitive workforce, it is not surprising that organizations are considering the role their organizational cultures play in both recruitment and retention. This case study examined the impact of organizational culture on workers&rsquo; decisions to join, stay, or leave an organization. This study included an examination of literature on gender and generational needs, differences, and similarities. Additionally, this case study examined the extent to which organizational culture plays a role in workers&rsquo; decision-making processes. The qualitative data used to support this case study was collected from interviews with a gender-balanced sample of 12 individuals (four Baby Boomers, four Generation X participants, and four Generation Y participants). Although the interview questions were consistent across participants, questions were open-ended to allow for emergent dialogue. After the interviews were completed, the data were analyzed to identify themes. This case study finished with summarizing the key themes found in the qualitative data that supported or refuted the literature review. Study limitations, conclusions, and recommendations also were identified.</p>