<p>Church leaders have historically used attendance and membership as indicators of church health and leader effectiveness, yet church attendance in America is declining. 131 senior ministers in mainline Churches of Christ in the state of Texas participated in an ex post facto study to explore the relationship between the leadership styles of senior ministers (IV) including, transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leader styles, measured by Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and church attendance (DV) patterns, including declining, static, or growing congregations between 2009 and 2012. The findings show that all three MLQ leader styles are present in declining, static, and growing churches. The data suggests there is no relationship between leader style and church growth trends. Churches declined, remained static, or grew with each leader style. The study indicates that senior ministers in Churches of Christ in the state of Texas demonstrate transformational leader behaviors. However, transformational leader styles may not be influencing church growth as measured by attendance more significantly than transactional or passive avoidant leader styles. Because the study did not find a statistically significant difference in church growth patterns for the three leadership styles, this suggests there may be other factors at work that are influencing church growth in Churches of Christ. </p>

<p> Human service organizations increasingly rely upon teams to address complex human problems. Research suggests that workplace teams benefit workers, improve work processes, and yield improved work products and outcomes. However, most child welfare workers perform their jobs based on a traditional practice model - with one caseworker assigned to a family and each worker carrying a caseload of several families. The literature implicates this traditional casework model in workplace conditions (e.g. isolation, burnout and vicarious trauma) linked to diminished worker well-being and increased staff turnover. </p><p> This comparative case study draws from systems theory and extends Hackman's model of team effectiveness to the case of child welfare units implementing a team-based approach to practice. It explores how workers accustomed to functioning independently coalesce as a team in which members share responsibility for casework tasks and outcomes. Adapting Hackman's model, the study posits five cohesion-enabling conditions: Real team; compelling direction; enabling structure; organizational support; and expert coaching. Capturing multiple perspectives across four teaming units, the study conceptualizes the five enabling conditions as antecedents to cohesion. </p><p> Thirty-three respondents - including frontline child welfare supervisors and workers, administrative supervisors, and expert coaches - participated in group and individual interviews. Interview questions explored the relationship between respondents' perceptions regarding the presence or absence of the five enabling conditions, and two indicators of team cohesion - worker well-being and team efficacy. Study results offer preliminary support for the five enabling conditions as antecedents to team cohesion. When enabled, these conditions empower individual workers to create teams that encourage mutual support, shared expertise, and peer-learning. </p><p> Given the history of child welfare case practice, dating back to the mid-20^th century, a team-based approach presents an innovative idea with potential benefits for teaming units; e.g., improved worker well-being and increased team efficacy. Preliminary study findings suggest implications for practice and directions for future research.</p>

<p> The need for public school construction and the cost of funding that construction has been the source of considerable concern and debate as far back as the late nineteenth century and has carried forward through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Although it is estimated that the United States has spent almost $750 billion on school construction since 1900, studies have also pointed out that only six percent of the schools were built since 1980. Numerous studies since 1990 to the current day have placed estimates as high as $322 billion needed to meet current needs for renovation, repair, and new construction. </p><p> The need and cost for funding public school construction is also within the context of how these costs are funded in the United States. Most school construction, with some exceptions, is heavily dependent upon local government, in other words the local taxpayer as the source of funds for the needed construction. This study focused on the needs of Winchester, Virginia, a small city located in the Northern end of the Shenandoah Valley. Winchester Public Schools and the local government were faced with $50 million in local school construction needs for its only high school, a historic building of iconic stature. The prevailing thought among many was that this figure was too high, or exceeded the fiscal capacity of local government. When the estimated cost began to rise, local decision makers were faced with the dilemma of what to do. The conclusion was to take the unheard of step of conducting a capital campaign to raise funds in order to assist in the renovation and restoration John Handley High School. </p><p> The methodology used was to conduct semi-structured interviews of persons, purposefully chosen, who were involved in the decision-making or in some way were involved in the capital campaign environment. The intent was to explore attitudes and beliefs about the school and the fundraising effort. The results reveal a fascinating story about the school&rsquo;s original benefactor and the forces of social capital and attachment to the school that occurred over its history. These forces ignited the effort to raise private funds to renovate and the restore the school that resulted in the donations of funds in excess of six million dollars and has yet to come to a conclusion. The study reveals not only the beliefs and attitudes of the individuals involved, but also the attachment that an entire community has for its beloved school and the community spirit it symbolically represents.</p>

<p> This study addressed the problem that no formal evaluation of a P-12 Washington state school district's change from a traditional hierarchical district organizational structure to a three-region organizational structure based on the feeder patterns of its three comprehensive high schools was conducted. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to address the research questions and hypothesis centered on the original goals set forth by the superintendent to increase student achievement, collaboration, planning time, and professional development opportunities. The study incorporated data collected by the state in the five years before the change in district structure and the five years after the change in the district's organizational structure. Quantitative data were collected on student achievement defined by graduation rates and the 10th-grade state assessments in reading, writing, and math over the past 10 years. Data were also collected through the use of an online survey with classified staff, certificated staff, building administrators, and central office administrators. A convergent parallel design was employed to analyze and interpret the data. Both theory generation and theories of organizational change provided the theoretical frameworks for the study. Results of the study showed no significant change in student achievement that could be correlated to the district's organizational structure change. Planning time and professional development was shown not to have increased but results from the data collected on collaboration did indicate an increase in collaboration for building administrators. This study is significant because it delivered a formal evaluation of a district's organizational structure change where none existed and offers a reference for current and future organizational leaders when considering a change in their own organization's structure.</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological research study addressed the research question: What is the experience of leaders when they think strategically in a VUCA environment? The study explored what happens when leaders think strategically in a VUCA environment and how such thinking occurs. Of specific interest were the triggers of strategic thinking, the strategic questions being asked, and the methods used to develop insight. The term VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity and is used interchangeably in this study with the term "complex" to represent the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition program management environment (Army, 1998). </p><p> Ten acquisition program managers and deputy program managers for major DoD acquisition programs were selected as referred by naval aviation acquisition program executive officers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and transcribed to capture the program managers' lived experience and the meaning they made (Seidman, 2006). Data were analyzed and themes developed using Moustakas's (1994) modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method as a guide. </p><p> The study had four findings: (1) strategic thinking utilizes an extensive range of knowledge, abilities, and conditions that enable clarity of thought; (2) strategic thinking occurs deliberately as both a high-level creative and a tactically grounded process; (3) strategic thinking is fueled by iterative individual and group analytical and dialogical activities to address the knowledge needed to create strategic-to-tactical linkages and frameworks; and (4) strategic thinking is a deeply personal experience that evokes a wide range of positive and negative emotions. The study concluded that strategic thinking is a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral phenomenon that is both high-level and tactically grounded and is fueled by individual and group analytical and dialogical activities to address needed knowledge, enable clarity of thought, and create strategic-to-tactical linkages and mental models to develop enabling strategies. Further, the characterization of the VUCA environment needs to include the structural elements that may impede the ability to adapt and respond, and the triggers for strategic thinking need to include having the explicit responsibility to think strategically. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are offered.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive manual for volunteer managers of Associated Students, at California State University, Long Beach. The volunteer manual will serve as a supplement to the Associated Students volunteer policy. The volunteer manual will also enable staff of Associated Students to efficiently and effectively work with student volunteers. In regard to volunteer staff, the volunteer manual could be utilized by any department within Associated Students. This project informs readers of the importance of recruitment, training, and retention of volunteers. </p>

<p> Family firms contribute to both the national and global economies. Over the last few decades, the family-business field has continued to develop, as have its counterpart disciplines of business, economics, psychology, and social sciences. The study of leadership theory has also advanced over the years; however, not much research has applied this theory to family firms. </p><p> This dissertation contains the oral histories of a family-owned manufacturing business that is still operating after 60 years. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine the leadership dynamics of a family operation. To provide a theoretical leadership model to understand the oral histories presented in this dissertation, four major themes were discussed: family systems theory, organizational psychology, leadership studies, and the manufacturing industry. </p><p> The shifts in scholars' understanding of organizational dynamics were presented using Bowen's family systems theory and Lewin's systems theory is detailed in the narrative portion. This study used two mechanisms to study the family firm: oral histories (captured through open-ended interviews) and written documents and memoirs. Excerpts of written narratives also ground the interviews within the firm's historical and geographical setting. </p><p> This study documents the significance in understanding organizational culture to the development of a leadership model for family firms. This case study provides the opportunity to identify key attributes within a successful family firm. This firm has remained successful through multiple leaders over several decades within a challenging industry.</p>

<p> The unemployment rate for people with developmental disabilities is almost 7 times higher than the current national unemployment statistics. Research indicates that the majority of those with developmental disabilities do wish to work and moreover, have many skills and talents that organizations can benefit from. This paper aims to use common industrial and organizational psychological measures in a unique population--developmentally disabled adults. Specifically, the present study examines the job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions of adults with developmental disabilities from the Harbor Regional Center and Regional Center of Orange in Southern California. This is the first research h that examines affective feelings about employment in the developmentally disabled population in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Results from the study show that adults with developmental disabilities had higher than expected job satisfaction and affective commitment towards their job. They also had lower turnover intentions than expected.</p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this study was to examine the progression and perception of the glass ceiling today, against the backdrop of decades of changing social developments, including changing demographics, economies, and technological advancements; legislative mandates; organizational structures with a more humanistic approach to human capital; a shift toward collaborative intra- and interagency organizational management; and an unprecedented active citizenry.</p><p> <b>Theoretical Framework.</b> The theoretical framework was based on three foundational theories: organizational theory, feminist theory, and collaborative management theory.</p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> This study included 12 participants, all executive-level women at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) from the deputy executive officer level and above. A semistructured interview approach was utilized to best capture each participant&rsquo;s perceptions in relation to career advancement since each participant&rsquo;s experience was different and due to the highly political climate associated with executive-level positions.</p><p> <b>Findings.</b> The glass ceiling is still pervasive, and all participants indicated being personally impacted by it. Comparable pay is still an issue, occupational segregation is still commonplace, children and marriage are still barriers to advancement, and despite in many cases women surpassing men in educational attainment, disparity at the top continues. Diversity has created unprecedented opportunity, even if by default. Work&ndash;life balance continues to be an issue. Technological advances and shifts to knowledge-based work are expected to increase career advancement. Feminine traits such as nurturing and consensus building that were once seen as negatives are now viewed as positive traits in collaborative structures.</p><p> <b>Conclusions and Recommendations.</b> The results of this study support the overall literature review and the researcher&rsquo;s position that emerging changes in social and organizational structures, especially a shift to more humanistic and collaborative organizational structures, will create career advancement opportunities for women. However, since this a rapidly evolving structure, management/organizational reporting structures need to evolve as well. Women must educate themselves in nontraditional female fields like engineering and the sciences. Joining professional organizations, networking, and mentoring need to be practiced. Lastly, women must be committed to growth and know that they will have to work harder than men, have more education and credentials, and continue to push on the ceiling until it shatters.</p>

<p> Most companies lack the ability to implement organizational change; over 70% of Organization Change Initiatives (OCIs) fail. This inability has negative economic and survival implications for companies. OCIs must be effective and rapid to match the high pace of change in the business environment. Transformational leadership (TL) has been linked to successful OCIs through its positive influence on employee commitment and reduced resistance to change, yet little research has been done to identify its association with OCI implementation speed. This study tested TL and change theory and their association with change implementation. It sought to determine if a relationship exists between TL behavior and OCI implementation time. Archival survey and change data from 98 domestic and international manufacturing plants were used to examine relationships between employees' perceptions of leadership communication and trustworthiness and the speed of change. Hierarchical linear regression was used to determine if these behaviors could predict the change speed of an OCI. The study confirmed the association between effective leadership communication and employee trust in leadership, but it found no significant relationship between TL behavior and the speed of change. This finding is inconsistent with the majority of TL literature; however, companies may still benefit from exploring the potential of the study's theoretical concepts to help them improve the speed of organizational change. The limitations of the study were also noted as a potential contributor to the lack of significant findings, and recommendations are offered to reduce validity risk for similar studies in the future.</p>