The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the supervisor's sex and leadership style on male subjects' cooperative behavioral responses and leader behavior descriptions. The study was designed to determine if male and female supervisors, demonstrating either high structure/high consideration or high structure/low consideration leadership styles, were evaluated equivalently by male subordinates. Power was investigated as an intervening variable.The subjects were 64 staff, technical, and master sergeants attending the United States Air Forces in Europe Noncommissioned Officers Academy. The volunteers were randomly assigned to experimental conditions and testing times, respectively.Four trained male and female experimenters portrayed the role of supervisor in the completion of two experimental tasks. Each supervisor portrayed both leadership styles. The first task required subjects to identify eight color-coded resistors and position them on a small electrical circuit board. The second task was introduced as a decision-making problem within time constraints. This task was actually the Prisoner's Dilemma game and provided a measure of subjects' cooperative behavioral responses toward the supervisor. Additional outcome measures were provided by use of a modified Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire--Form XII (LBDQ). This instrument produced two subscale scores--one representing subjects' assessments of their supervisor's consideration behavior and another assessing the supervisor's initiation of structure behavior.Multivariate analysis was used to test the main effects and interaction hypotheses, with significance set at the .05 level. The first hypothesis, which stated there would be no significant difference in subjects' responses due to the task supervisor's sex, was accepted. Responses of subjects on the Prisoner's Dilemma game and the LBDQ reflected no difference due to the supervisor's sex.The second hypothesis, which stated there would be no significant difference in subjects' responses due to the task supervisor's leadership style, was rejected. Further univariate analyses found that the LBDQ consideration score contributed to the significant difference. Thus, the two treatment groups experiencing high consideration together with high structure, regardless of supervisor sex, subsequently rated the supervisor significantly higher on the LBDQ consideration subscale than did the two groups experiencing low consideration and high structure.The third hypothesis, which stated there would be no interaction between leadership style and the sex of the supervisor in subjects' responses, was also accepted.Finally, statistical analyses showed there was no difference in subjects' mean scores on the three outcome measures as a result of prior supervision by a woman in their Air Force careers or lack of such exposure to women in leadership roles. Data also showed the LBDQ to be a more valid measure of subjects' responses than the Prisoner's Dilemma game.Results indicated that male and female supervisors were rated equivalently when demonstrating two distinct leadership styles. Subjects experiencing the high structure/high consideration style rated their supervisors similarly, as did subjects in the high structure/low consideration style. In other words, the considerate style was not rated more favorably for females and the structured style more favorably for males as has often occurred in past research. This finding was particularly important given the traditional, military environment in which the study was conducted and the masculine nature of the task. The study lent support to the idea that both women and men can introduce characteristics into their leadership styles which are contrary to expected, stereotyped behavior. Women are able to incorporate structure or task-orientation without negative perceptions by male subordinates, and men are similarly able to introduce consideration or people-orientation without negative evaluations. The results are positive in terms of the advancement of both sexes, particularly women, in the management field.

This thesis is based on an exploration of the aspects of major organisational change that influence middle manager actions. The first part of this work explains the Stability Pursuance Model, which was developed for this research to conceptualise and clarify the existing organisational change literature. This model showed how the actions of middle managers relate to a major change program. The second part of this work comprises three complementary studies that explore the aspects (action triggers) of influence in middle managers' decisions to act. / Action triggers are aspects of a major change program that cause (trigger) middle managers to act. Action triggers determine whether middle managers will comply or act alternatively. Alternative actions are hindering or promotional. Promotional actions are 'above and beyond' those requested or while hindering actions are meant to interrupt or damage the change. / Three complementary studies were conducted to explore the research question: What aspects of major organisational change programs trigger alternative actions (promotional or hindering) to be performed by middle managers? The first study included a content analysis of literature, the second study involved interviews with middle managers while the third study included both questionnaires for middle managers and several further interviews. These three studies were complementary as each expanded upon the results of the previous one. Together, in using several different approaches, these studies provide a very holistic view of action triggers. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2006.

University of Technology, Sydney. / This overall objective of this research was to identify factors that were important in forming middle managers' attitudes toward quality and quality programs in their organisations. An underlying assumption of the research, supported by the literature, was that a middle manager's attitude toward his/her quality program could be an important indicator of behaviour toward the program e.g. resistance, willingness to be involved. Reviews of the literature on middle management, quality, attitude measurement and research more specifically related to the research topic was undertaken. The work of Ajzen (1988) was particularly useful in devising an overall theoretical framework for the research . A number of hypotheses related to the overall research question were formulated. Twenty-one organisations agreed to participate in the research. These all had a quality program. Some of the organisations were quite advanced in quality, a number had won Australian Quality Awards, others were much less advanced. Organisations were drawn from manufacturing and services in both private and public sectors. Data was collected in two main ways. Firstly, a questionnaire was designed, piloted and distributed to approximately 1100 middle managers in participating organisations. The response rate was approximately 50%. Secondly, in depth interviews were carried out with middle managers, senior managers and quality managers in a number of the participating organisations. The results generally confirm the importance of the middle management group as key to the success of a quality program. Middle managers across all of the participating organisations generally believed that the TQM approach to management was an effective one. Their views on the effectiveness of IS09000 were less positive. Middle managers generally believed that the quality programs were more likely to benefit their organisations rather than to directly benefit themselves, although quality programs did provide some opportunities for some middle managers. Middle managers generally believed that their quality programs provided both operational and strategic benefit for their organisations. Paradoxically, a widely held belief among middle managers was that quality programs did not reduce short term thinking and over-reacting to short term goals. Positive attitudes to quality in the organisation were associated particularly with the values and beliefs that middle managers held regarding: a) program support from top management, from their direct boss and from their colleagues; b) a range of program outcomes for the organisation and c) a range of program outcomes related to the individual middle manager. For middle managers actively involved in their organisations quality program the clarity of their program role was positively related to program attitudes. Training/education in quality was also significantly related to some beliefs and attitudes towards quality and quality programs. Middle managers generally believed that quality programs involved a significant increase in paper work and bureaucracy. However this was not a significant influence on their attitudes toward quality in their organisations. An important finding was that for a wide range of beliefs and attitudes related to quality no significant differences were found between the types of jobs held by middle managers. An exception was the quality specialist group who generally had significantly more positive attitudes and beliefs about quality and their quality programs than did other job categories. Middle managers seemed relatively at ease with most of the changes that were taking place as part of their programs. In particular they had relatively positive views on devolution of responsibility to lower level employees. Middle managers also seemed relatively at ease with their own performance being more tightly monitored with program implementation. The research supported the more optimistic view of middle Management that has been reported recently (e.g. Fenton-O'Creevy 1998). The notion of the middle management still had currency in all of the organisations participating in the research despite the many structural changes that had taken place.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Unitec New Zealand, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-167).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-82). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-82). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 1999. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-105).

Adopting a radically diverse organisation studies approach that embraces a Cultural Studies analytical framework, this thesis examines the ways in which today's middle managers enact masculinity. Considering the gender-orientated 'ways of being' of a middle manager within a contemporary organisational environment, the research gives equal credence to space, language and the body - termed Locations of Enactment - at a time when masculinity (and even middle management) is thought to be 'in crisis'. Focusing, primarily, upon a single case-study - a local authority social services department that provides child-care for a homogenous South Wales community (Wood Valley) - the research is placed within its contemporaneous social, cultural and organisational context: a public sector that, as it is currently experiencing severe staff recruitment and retention difficulties, can be deemed to be 'in crisis' also. Utilising a grounded theory methodology that acknowledges both the research setting and the data itself as 'organic' entities, the middle managers of Wood Valley are understood to be dynamic organisational players who, on a daily basis, attempt to balance their work duties with their home responsibilities. As middle managers they are perceived to be 'in the middle' in a multitude of ways: they are 'in the middle' of an organisational hierarchy; they operate as intermediaries 'between' Wood Valley and outside agencies; they are middle managers who are precariously placed between the working-classes (whom they have distanced themselves from through social mobility) and the middle-classes (as their blatant attempts to prove their worthiness within that strata only heightens their 'anxious' bodily display). Furthermore, as middle-class 'bureaucrats' who work and live among a staunchly working-class community, the middle managers of Wood Valley often find themselves singled-out and scathingly criticised as socially and culturally 'different'. With this in mind this thesis insists that, as an increasing number of individuals are finding themselves employed within white-collar administrative posts, middle managers deserve to find themselves the focus of studies that are determined 'to put the humans back into organisation studies'.

The workplace of today is global, fast paced and under intense pressure to stay competitive and achieve financial results. This makes change an inevitable part of any organisation because in order to survive and thrive in this environment organisations need to continuously change and re-invent themselves. This study was conducted in a mining company and the industry has been one of the biggest contributors to the South African economy for over a century. There have been many changes and developments within the mining industry over the years. The mining industry has also experienced a lot of transformational activities such as mergers, acquisitions, downsizing and restructuring. During these changing and uncertain times it is important to pay special attention to the employees in the organisation as people still remain the most important asset in any organisation. Change can be a pleasant or traumatic experience for people and this makes it important to ensure that with all changes to the work environment employees are well looked after and their wellbeing is maintained. Employee wellness has been a subject of much interest for many years and it has been found that organisations that invest in the wellness of their employees have greater benefits and are more successful at managing change. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of a restructuring exercise on the wellness of middle managers. The study aimed to determine the impact/effect of a restructuring exercise on employee wellness in a sample of employees in the middle management category. This research investigated possible wellness factors that were impacted on during this organisational restructuring exercise. Three wellness dimensions were looked at and these included: physical, mental and social dimensions of wellness. The intention is to use the information collected as guidelines in the development of future employee wellness programs, taking into account change management and how to better handle it. A qualitative approach was followed and employees from a mining company were asked to participate in the study. Data was collected firstly through the use of an open ended questionnaire and thereafter two focus groups were conducted. The focus group sessions were recorded and the data was transcribed. A process of coding was used to analyse and get the central themes from the data. In conclusion the results indicated that the restructuring exercise had a significant impact on the wellness of middle managers. The general responses were negative and indicated that people’s wellness was definitely impacted on. The key themes and sub themes that emerged across all dimensions were grouped into the following: communication, trust, personal health management (nutrition, physical health and fitness and sleeping habits), mental wellbeing (stress and anxiety, morale, uncertainty), workplace environment and social status. The role of managers/leaders was seen as key during this process. Also it was clear that the development and implementation of relevant wellness programs was important to manage employee wellness during such activities. Therefore recommendations and strategies for managing change and wellness offered in this study take into account the responses from the participants and the key issues identified. This study was conducted in a specific organisation with a limited number of participants from the Corporate Office and therefore the findings should not be generalised to other middle managers in other organisational contexts without a degree of caution. Another important limitation to consider is that this research was taken at a specific time during this restructuring exercise. The negative responses could have been influenced by the timing of this research, in that, although there was a lot of communication pertaining to the changes envisaged to employees, there however were no final decisions made or implemented yet. Employees were in a waiting period and they did not know what was going to be the extent of the impact of these changes on them. A recommendation is that this research is undertaken at a later stage when all changes are implemented. In this case this was however not possible due to a time factor from the researcher’s side and delays within the organisation. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

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