Esta dissertação teve por objetivos principais investigar os fatores críticos de sucesso para implantação do programa Seis Sigma nas empresas, bem como o impacto desse programa no desempenho operacional, na satisfação dos clientes e na construção de uma cultura organizacional voltada para a qualidade. Em adição, procurou-se investigar relações entre aspectos como percepção de sucesso alcançado pelas empresas que implantaram o Seis Sigma; tamanho e nacionalidade das empresas; tempo de implantação do Seis Sigma e de treinamento continuado; nível de comunicação entre os profissionais; regime de dedicação de tempo dos Black Belts; taxa de conclusão de projetos, sua duração e economia gerada. Os dados foram coletados em questionário na Internet, distribuído por correio eletrônico e em fórum de discussão envolvendo profissionais do Seis Sigma. O desenvolvimento do questionário envolveu pesquisa bibliográfica e entrevistas com profissionais experientes do Seis Sigma. Os resultados indicaram oito fatores considerados críticos para o sucesso na implantação dos Seis Sigma: (a) Liderança, (b) Projetos, (c) Treinamento, (d) Comunicação e Revisão, (e) Processo Gerencial, (f) Perfil dos Black Belts, (g) Equipe de Projetos e (h) Iniciativas Prévias de Qualidade. Foram também identificados aspectos que tiveram melhoria após a implantação do programa Seis Sigma nas três áreas de interesse. / The main objective of this research was to investigate the critical success facators to implement Six Sigma in organizations, as well as the impact of Six Sigma on operating performance, customer satisfaction and organizational quality culture. Besides that, a secondary objective was to investigate the relationship between aspects like success perception among those companies which implemented Six Sigma, company size, company nationality, Six Sigma time of implementation, continuous training, communication level between professionals, full-time and part-time Black Belts, Project completion, Project duration and Project savings. Data was collected though an Internet questionnaire, distributed by email and sent to discussion groups involving Six Sigma professionals. Questionnaire development has included literature review and interviews with experienced Six Sigma Professionals. Results have indicated eight critical success factors to Six Sigma implementation: (a) Leadership, (b) Projects, (c) Training (d) Communication and Review, (e) Managerial Process, (f) Black Belts Profile, (g) Project Teams and (h) Previous Quality initiatives. Moreover, several aspects were identified to be enhanced after Six Sigma implementation in the three áreas of interest.

There is a growing need to better understand what influences user behavior for developing comprehensive IT security systems. This study integrates two prominent bodies of research, the theory of planned behavior used to frame the factors influencing user behavior and individual level climate perceptions used to frame organizational environment influences, to develop a multidimensional IT security user behavior model. The model is then used as the basis for a survey based research to empirically test the hypotheses whether the perceived IT security climate of an organization significantly influences the users beliefs regarding the use of IT security. The intent of the study is to extend the theory of planned behavior and IT security literature by investigating salient IT security beliefs and environmental influences on those beliefs. First, anti-spyware was identified as an appropriate target IT security artifact, and then incorporated into a multi-phased research approach. Second, a semi-structured interview process was used to elicit salient beliefs regarding use of the IT security artifact. Third, IT security psychological climate was conceptualized based on the extant literature on organizational climate, safety climate and IT security in order to examine the organizational environment influences on these beliefs. Finally, a survey was used to collect data to validate the constructs and test the hypothesized relationships. / The study found that there was a significant positive relationship between IT security psychological climate and 1) the belief that anti-spyware will protect organizational interests such as privacy and data, 2) the belief that anti-spyware will prevent disruptions to work, 3) the belief that the approval of anti-spyware use by the technical support group is important, 4) the belief that monetary resources are needed to enable the use of anti-spyware, and 5) the belief that time is a facilitating condition for the use of anti-spyware. A discussion of the findings and their implications for theory and practice is provided. / by Janis A. Warner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Poorly integrated crime analysis may be a detriment to crime reduction efforts and financial resources. The purpose of this research is to identify deficiencies and successes in crime analysis integration and to understand which agency factors are related. Using the Stratified Model of Problem Solving, Analysis, and Accountability and data from a national PERF survey of police agencies, this study quantifies the levels of production and consumption-based integration disconnect as well as other important agency factors. To determine which agency factors contribute most to integration disconnect, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses are used to examine the relationships, while controlling for agency type, centralization, officers per analyst, crimes per officer, and agency size. Findings indicate that production- and consumption-based disconnect are positively related to one another and that passive patrol-analyst interactions, an agency’s analysis integration disconnect. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

As the gap between the haves and have-nots widens, the call for reform in higher education in the United States intensifies. Policy actors, philanthropists, and academics from across the political spectrum work on various policy solutions, creating a policy environment that is complex and often contentious. Incrementalists claim that major policy reform is unlikely since unknown variables and inexplicable events can stall or dismantle policy initiatives. In such environments, policy entrepreneurs—those individuals who advocate for policy innovation, work for change, and help shape policy solutions from within and without government—try to break through the barriers of incremental politics. As important as this role is to the influencing and structuring of higher educational policy, it has not yet been explored. This study fills this gap in the extant literature by cataloging the characteristics and skills that enable higher education policy entrepreneurs at the state and national levels to persevere and accomplish sustainable and innovative higher education reforms over time. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The ability to understand the individuals that we deal with on a daily basis can give anyone who focuses on this knowledge a competitive advantage in today's business world. In today's fast paced and globally expanding business world, it is critical to explore innovative approaches that will facilitate the process and time it typically takes to establish business relationships. When it is imperative to quickly create a business relationship between individuals that are unknown to each other, identifying the city or region of the individual with whom a relationship is being formed and understanding that culture will help build a common ground which will facilitate and enhance the newly established working relationship. This paper shows how this can be achieved. / by Walter N. Burton. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

I examine the presence of earnings management at pre-IPO and lockup periods. Motivated by significant post-lockup insider sales documented in prior research, I investigate whether insiders (managers and venture capitalists) inflate earnings around the lockup period in order to increase share price and maximize personal wealth from selling shares at lockup expiration. I also compare levels of earnings management in the pre-IPO and lockup periods with those in the post-lockup period. Prior research also documents that auditor quality mitigates earnings management behavior. I explore the impact of auditor quality in the unique setting of IPO lockups. ... Cross-sectional analysis reveals that my sample IPO firms also utilize real-activities manipulation, but only in the early pre-IPO period. The results are robust with respect to alternative abnormal accruals and real-activities measures. I also find that IPO firms that hire prestigious auditors experience less earnings management in the lockup period than firms with lower-quality auditors, after controlling for the monitoring role of venture capitalist and underwriter reputation. / by Lizhong Hao. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This dissertation examines factors with influence on the organizational cultural competence of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems. The purpose of this study was to draw on theories of representative bureaucracy and transformational leadership to assess cultural competence in Emergency Medical Services systems from the perspective of EMS leadership, within careful consideration of the external environment in which EMS systems operate. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Esta tese de doutorado tem por objetivo apresentar um modelo conceitual e um modelo estrutural de comunicação da liderança para a tomada de decisão para alguns tipos de organizações no Brasil. Para cumprir este propósito foram identificadas variáveis discriminantes na literatura que definiram o novo modelo proposto. O modelo estrutural foi avaliado a partir de entrevistas e pela aplicação de questionários para líderes e equipes de 9 tipos de organizações, incluindo empresas privadas, multinacionais e nacionais, dos setores de saúde e serviços, assim como entidades civis representadas por escolas de samba. A pesquisa exploratória quantitativa considerou 32 variáveis discriminantes agrupadas em 3 constructos. O uso de análise estatística de equações estruturais pelo método PLS e CBSEM permitiu concluir que o modelo estrutural proposto foi capaz de confirmar o uso destas variáveis discriminantes para explicar e correlacionar aspectos determinantes da comunicação da liderança para a tomada de decisão em alguns tipos de organizações no Brasil. Esta contribuição permitirá dar um passo adiante no sentido de entender, analisar e atuar no escopo da comunicação da liderança, fenômeno considerado crítico para o campo da comunicação. / This doctoral thesis aims to present a conceptual model and a structural model of communicaton leadership for decision making process for some types of organizations in Brazil. To fulfill this purpose, discriminant variables were identified in the literature that defined the proposed new model. The structural model was evaluated based on interviews and questionnaires for leaders and teams of 9 types of organizations, including private, multinational and national companies, health and service sectors, as well as civil entities represented by escolas de samba. Quantitative exploratory research was developed with 32 discriminant variables grouped into 3 constructs. The use of statistical analysis of structural equations using the PLS and CBSEM method allowed to conclude that the proposed structural model was able to confirm the use of these discriminant variables to explain and correlate determinant aspects of communication leadership for decision making process in some types of organizations in Brazil. This contribution will allow us to take a step forward to understanding, analyzing and acting in the scope of communication leadership, as a phenomenon considered critical for the field of communication.

A Jun-zi oriented enterprise is one which acts like a Jun-zi or noble man, the behavioral standard upheld by Confucius and elaborated in the Analects, one of the most important if not the most important Confucius canons. According to the Analects, a large number of Jun-zi ethical principles have been identified, which can be distilled into five cardinal virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and integrity, which form the components under our Jun-zi orientation construct. / Despite the fact that socially responsible corporate behavior and conscious capitalism have been advocated for more than three decades, we still witnessed numerous instances of corporate scandals both in the East and the West that caused unrecoverable damages to mankind and existing institutions. From the never ending product safety scares of Chinese products to the financial tsunami that has spread from the US to the rest of the world, we are constantly at the mercy of unscrupulous corporate executives who have few qualms about exploiting the system to the fullest extent for big profit. The doctrine of societal marketing orientation and corporate social responsibility has proven to be ineffective in preventing corporate catastrophes. A new paradigm is urgently needed to restore our confidence in business undertakings, without which trust cannot be re-established and order cannot be restored. To this end, we propose the concept ofa Jun-zi orientation that we believe could not only ensure decent corporate behavior, but would also enable a firm to stand out of its competitors in the marketplace. / On the face of it, our Jun-zi orientation construct is not significantly different from the existing societal marketing construct or the conscious capitalist ideology. However, in actuality, a Jun-zi oriented business differs from a promotional socially responsible (CSR) enterprise in a very fundamental way. For a promotional CSR company, responsible behavior is only a promotional instrument to ensure the survival of a firm and business profit, whereas for a Jun-zi oriented enterprise, responsible behavior is institutionalized. Hence, corporate social responsibility is embraced throughout a Jun-zi organization and affects all the policies it generates and not just used as a promotional means to generate short-term effects. / We believe that the Jun-zi concept propounded in the Analects can provide an alternative framework to help business managers not only run a more successful company, but also build a better society for humankind. Given the growing importance of China in international business, it also provides important insights for businesses operating in a Chinese culture context. In this research, we have developed a new scale that is psychometrically valid and reliable to measure Jun-zi orientation, and have empirically tested that Jun-zi orientation is positively associated with business performance. / Tian, Vane Ing. / Adviser: Ching Biu Tse. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-202). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendixes include Chinese.

by Suen Mei-Yan Priscilla, Tsoi Wing-Hoi Elaine. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ii / CHAPTER / Chapter I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter III --- METHODOLOGY --- p.13 / Subjects --- p.13 / Data Collection Procedure --- p.13 / Measurements --- p.15 / Questionnaires for the Employees --- p.14 / Questionnaires for the Human Resources Managers --- p.18 / Chapter IV --- RESULTS --- p.19 / Downsizing --- p.19 / Companies' Actual Practice to Laid-off Staff --- p.19 / Comparison of Employees，Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice to Survivors --- p.20 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done to Survivors --- p.21 / Comparison of Employees，Expectation to Human Resources Managers' Actual Practice to Survivor During Downsizing --- p.22 / Human Resources Managers' Perception of Survivors' Productivity and Morale After Downsizing --- p.23 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment And Psychological Health with or without Downsizing --- p.23 / Salary Cut and Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.24 / Comparison of Employees' Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice Regarding Salary Cut and Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.24 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done During Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.25 / Comparison of Employees' Expectation and Human Resources Managers' Actual Practice Regarding Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.26 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment and Psychological Health with or without Salary Cut --- p.26 / Measures of Employees' Organizational Commitment and Psychological Health with or without Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.27 / Chapter V --- DISCUSSIONS --- p.30 / Downsizing --- p.30 / Companies' Common Practice to the Laid-off Staff and Employees' Expectation of the Things Being Done to the Survivors --- p.30 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done to Survivors --- p.31 / Affective Commitment --- p.32 / Continuance Commitment --- p.33 / Normative Commitment --- p.33 / Psychological Health --- p.34 / Salary Cut or Fringe Benefits Cut --- p.34 / Comparison of Employees'Expectation to Companies' Actual Practice --- p.34 / Comparison of Employees' and Human Resources Managers' Perception Regarding Things Being Done Done to Employees --- p.35 / Affective Commitment --- p.36 / Continuance Commitment --- p.36 / Normative Commitment --- p.36 / Psychological Health --- p.37 / Chapter VI --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.38 / "Before Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.38 / "During Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.41 / "After Downsizing, Salary or Fringe Benefits Cut" --- p.45 / Ways to Improve Morale --- p.45 / Ways to Improve Organizational Health --- p.47 / Ways to Improve Productivity --- p.48 / Ways to Improve Organizational Commitment --- p.50 / Chapter VII --- LIMITATIONS --- p.51 / Chapter VIII --- CONCLUSION --- p.53 / APPENDIX I --- p.54 / APPENDIX II --- p.55 / APPENDIX III --- p.59 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.63