<p> This qualitative phenomenological study explored and identified patterns and types of workplace bullying through the witnesses&rsquo; perception. The lack of relevant organizational policies and controls makes it difficult for employees in the United States to report workplace bullying for fear of ridicule, being viewed as weak, or being terminated. There is a need for a richer and more detailed understanding of bullied leaders and employees as they witness the experience of workplace bullying. This study explored and identified actions that were perceived as bullying; explored the impacts, perspectives, and experiences of the witnesses; and developed a model that may assist organizations in mitigating bullying. This study examined 24 organizational leaders and employees from various organizations primarily living in Charlottesville, Virginia area. The results revealed the perception that the responsibility lies not only with the bully, victim, or witness, but with the entire organization. In addition the study exposed that bullying was prevalent within the workplaces and included actions of job intimidation and verbal abuse, which included, yelling, screaming, cursing, and name calling, as well as causing employees to feel stressed, uncomfortable, overwhelmed and not want to work in this type of environment. All of the participants acknowledged that they had witnessed bullying by a supervisor or manager and the most bullying action was job intimidation, the threat of losing a job. A model based on the findings was developed to help transform the organizational culture where the total organization is involved in mitigating bullying in the workplace. The outcomes of this study provide an opportunity for an organization to take a realistic stance against bullying in the workplace.</p>

<p> Studies show that improvisation in leadership decision making is on the rise, and it transpires in organizations 75-90% of the time, yet very little research has explored this skillset. No other leadership skillset that is applied two thirds of the time has ever been so underdeveloped. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a pilot workshop applying a Holistic Improvisational Leadership Model as developed by the researcher and based on the latest improvisation research. The study employed a mixed methods design to gather qualitative and quantitative data for a descriptive evaluation of the pilot training workshop. Nonproportional quota sampling and triangulation were used to maximize cross verification and validity of the data. This study explored the skills leaders acquired and applied during, immediately after, 1 month after the workshop, and in 3 months. The study was pilot-tested on 6 different groups and a total of 67 leaders from various regions, industries and organizations. </p><p> Primary findings revealed that participants gained the highest benefits in working with others and their ability to lead. Executive and educational leaders gained the awareness that 79% of their decisions at work were made spontaneously as opposed to 71% for all leaders. 100% of executives and senior leaders indicated acquiring more effective listening skills. Moreover, the concept of competent risks and celebrating failure appeared to have the most transformational impact on the participants' sense of self, willingness to take risks, and acquire new skills. The workshop seemed to bring participants' stress level down to an optimal level and enhance mindfulness. Ultimately, it was concluded the study's workshop was most effective as a continuous 3.5 hours. </p><p> Learning to improvise experientially includes a process of unlearning old routines of decision making and re-learning more effective skills. Hence, the researcher recommends follow-up learning sessions to complete the cycle of learning. Utilizing grounded theory, the findings from the study led to the revision of Tabaee's Holistic Improvisational Leadership Model. The researcher recommends following the model by teaching the competencies not only to leaders but to all employees for achieving OPTIMAL strategy and performance for the organization.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, survey-based study was to investigate the relationship between anger and hatred in an effort to learn more about how to understand and curb the problem of workplace violence. In particular, perfectionism was examined as a possible mediator of the relationship between anger and hatred. The study was conducted on a sample of 1,192 people. The statistical techniques of correlation, partial correlation, linear regression, and principal components analysis (PCA) were used to examine the relationship between variables in the study. The following conclusions were reached: (a) The correlation between hatred and anger was significant (<i>p</i> &lt; .001) but weak (R = .298), and these values changed slightly (R=.221) when controlling for the influence of perfectionism; (b) PCA revealed hatred and anger to be highly distinct from each other; (c) PCA revealed that the sub-scales of anger and hatred were sensitive to differences in how anger and hatred are felt and expressed; (d) the relationship between anger and motivation was not significant (<i>p</i> = &lt; .001); (e) the relationship between hatred and motivation was not significant (<i>p</i> = &lt; .001); (f) anger and hatred were not multicollinear in their association with motivation; and (f) for younger subjects, anger was a weaker predictor of hatred, while for older subjects anger was a stronger predictor of hatred. Based on these findings, the main conclusion of the study is that existing theories that associate anger and hatred might require revision based on further analysis of the differences between anger and hatred</p>

<p>Healthcare as an industry included over 14 million workers in the United States and accounted for more than 15 percent of total Gross Domestic Product in 2008. Healthcare, particularly hospitals, played a significant role in shaping the culture, economy and quality of life throughout the United States beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing to the present. For this reason, it was important to understand the nature of hospitals as healthcare organizations and the nature of leadership within these organizations. Metaphors were identified as a viable way to capture the structure and functioning of hospitals through their evolution as organizations over the past century and were used to evaluate the effectiveness of hospital leadership in responding to environmental, financial and societal changes. Based on this assessment, the role of metaphors as a leadership tool was examined and as well as the potential role of metaphors in promoting organizations development. </p><p> A survey of Certified Professionals in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) in the Northeastern United States was used to assess the prevalence of the two most common metaphors cited in the literature for healthcare organizations, mechanistic and complex adaptive system. A unique aspect of this survey was the use of paired statements reflecting characteristics of the two most common metaphors to evaluate their use in healthcare organizations. Surprisingly, the metaphors frequently cited in the literature were identified infrequently and no metaphors were identified consistently across hospitals in the region. </p>

<p> This study explored the conditions and outcomes of student transformational learning (TL) in a semester-long community college work placement context. Thirty-five interdisciplinary students participated in an appreciative inquiry survey and interview protocol. 31% experienced a high degree of TL, reporting nearly twice the degree of change as low TL students and also exhibiting multiple TL outcomes. They exhibited self-growth, changed frame of reference, confidence, new behaviors and habits, and also described an emergent sense of hope, empowerment, and new possibilities. Positive emotions were the strongest differentiator of high versus low TL. The professional learning context, work culture, and relationships facilitated the greatest impact for high TL. Financial aid was the only personal condition of significance. Leveraging new workplace experiences to catalyze authentic learner capabilities as characterized by TL, offers promising potential for educators and employers alike to build sustainable future capacity. Continued TL research should explore positive, holistic methodologies.</p>

<p> This study explored effectiveness in nonprofit collaborative networks (NPCNs) and the role shared values played in that effectiveness. Twelve participants representing nine different NPCNs were interviewed for this study. Study findings suggested that NPCN effectiveness stems from six sources: shared direction; strong leadership; strong relationships throughout the community; active, ethical participation on an individual and organizational level; efficient and inclusive work processes and dynamics; and producing valued outcomes. Values participants believed led to NPCN effectiveness included focus on mission; focus on relationships; collaborative approach; and work ethic, ethical behavior, and integrity. Shared values were reported as necessary for NPCN survival, productive action, and positive organizational climate. Suggestions for research are to evaluate techniques for promoting collaboration between funders and NPCNs, building awareness among NPCNs operating in the same space, and expanding the sample to extend the present study's findings and allow for analysis based on demographic groupings.</p>

<p>Internal quality auditing (IQA) in the aerospace defense industry is not optional. Under Part 46 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) all businesses providing product and services to the U.S. government are required to comply with their contract's quality requirements. The amount of compliance audits organizations receive are directly proportional to the number of government related contracts they possess. Therefore, most organizations are forced to focus IQAs on compliance to survive. The release of AS9100 international aerospace standards in 1999 was pivotal in eliminating these multiple audit requirements that plague the industry. However, the focus on IQA for compliance has remained rooted within the IQA system. Audit experts claim that recent updates included on AS9100 Rev C would change IQA's focus from auditing for compliance to auditing for effectiveness and performance. </p>

<p> This mixed-methods case study examined the impact of leadership on practices to organizational agility. Leaders and employees from three organizations (two universities, one financial institution) participated in surveys and interviews to generate data related to the organizational and personal leadership orientations and styles exhibited, the degree of agility in the organization, and the impact of organizational and personal leadership orientations and styles on organizational agility. Study findings suggested that leadership varies based on industry- and organization-specific demands, organizational agility can exist across industries and organization types, and that adopting a long-term focus and practicing agile leadership behaviors throughout the organization may promote higher organizational agility. Organizations are encouraged to promote agile leadership through their hiring, learning and development, and performance review processes. Future research should utilize larger samples, improved data collection instruments, and focus on examining the critical few agile leadership behaviors that may most strongly predict organizational agility.</p>

<p> Seeking and finding highly effective principals to lead our schools is one of the highest priority tasks for a school head. Research has documented the importance of the principal for improved student achievement. Waters, Marzano, and McNulty (2004) reviewed the literature over the past 35 years and identified 21 specific leadership responsibilities that have a statistically significant, positive correlation to student achievement. The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to deepen our understanding of the ways that international school heads identify high-potential principal candidates. </p><p> The survey, Dimensions of Quality Leadership Candidate Identification (DQLCI), was distributed to a random sampling of the complete population of international school heads of full member schools in all regional associations. From a population of 732 international school heads, an average of 184 valid responses (25%) for the four questions was received. However, two regions received a higher percentage response rate thus improving the external validity of the results for the two regions: East Asia Regional Council of Schools (44%) and the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (56%). </p><p> Specifically, the study examined four areas that heads attribute to identifying each of the 21 responsibilities upon screening principal candidates: the principal candidate quality, the value that heads attribute to each of the 21 responsibilities upon screening principal candidates, the perceived ease of identifying each of the 21 responsibilities in principal candidates being screened, and the best method of identifying each of the 21 responsibilities when screening principal candidates. </p><p> The results indicated that international school heads felt that the quality of candidates was just a little better than average with qualitative data highlighting the shallow pool of quality candidates. Heads perceive the 21 responsibilities to have high value in the candidate screening process. Five themes emerged from a factor analysis or data reduction process. Heads value the following factors (in descending order of importance): (1) Ideals and Beliefs about the School's Learning Culture; (2) Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; (3) Personal Communication and Relationships; (4) Managerial Leadership; and (5) Principal as Change Agent. These themes provide a clear topical framework for principal preparation programs and for the design of effective principal recruitment tools. </p><p> In response to the third question, the heads became more uncertain about their ability to identify the 21 responsibilities. Heads deemed interview, then reference checks, the two best methods to identify the 21 responsibilities in candidates; however, qualitative data points to the need for multiple measures to triangulate the data and build a better profile of a potential candidate. </p><p> Recruiting high-quality leadership is difficult in the best of conditions but the nature of international school leadership recruitment is complex. It is important for an international school head to be proactive and able to develop systematic and intentional hiring practices.</p>

<p> Within the past few decades, university-industry research centers have been developed in large numbers and emphasized as a valuable policy tool for innovation. Yet little is known about the heterogeneity of organizational structure within these centers, which has implications regarding policy for and management of these centers. This dissertation focuses on organizational structure heterogeneity and how it varies with characteristics of the research and development (R&amp;D) performed in university-industry research centers using a framework based on prior research in organization theory, economics of innovation studies, and strategic and knowledge management. This is addressed through 10 case studies of National Science Foundation (NSF) university-industry research centers in two research fields which are expected to vary along the examined characteristics of the research &ndash; seven centers in nanotechnology and three centers in information, communications, and computing (ICC).</p><p> Prior research has demonstrated that radical R&amp;D - that is R&amp;D that is divergent from existing practice - requires organizational forms with greater hierarchy and with more codified rules and procedures (e.g., for data use, knowledge dissemination) to ensure coordination and control among diverse actors (e.g., scientists and engineers with different backgrounds and training) when compared to incremental R&amp;D, or R&amp;D that is reliant on existing practice. The predominance of cooperative research centers engage in R&amp;D aimed at radical scientific and technical innovation and bring together diverse actors from industry, academia, and government labs for coordinated problem solving. However, there is still much to learn about organizational heterogeneity in organizations engaged in radical R&amp;D. Therefore the purposive sample of university-industry research centers addressed in this dissertation help to further theoretical understanding of organizational diversity across R&amp;D organizations. For R&amp;D management practice and policy, the dissertation findings support that university-industry research centers can or should use differing organizational structures depending on the characteristics of the R&amp;D conducted by the center. </p><p> Specifically, the findings of this dissertation arrive at four organizational structure approaches for R&amp;D managers working in university-industry cooperative research centers. </p><p> 1. Centers are more likely to be organized with an increased number of hierarchical levels, or increased vertical differentiation, and increased codification of rules and procedures, or increased formalization, when conducting research that cannot be readily replicated without prior hands-on experience, or R&amp;D characterized as having high tacitness, and when conducting research that does not draw on a commonly agreed core of knowledge and prior research, or R&amp;D characterized as having low cumulativeness. </p><p> 2. Centers are more likely to be organized with increased vertical differentiation, increased formalization, and increased concentration of decision-making, i.e., centralization, when engaging in R&amp;D projects that are planned to be dependent on the inputs or outputs of other R&amp;D projects conducted simultaneously, or R&amp;D characterized as having high interdependence. </p><p> 3. Centers are more likely to be organized with increased structural complexity &ndash; i.e., a combination of increased number of hierarchical levels, increased role specialization of center participants, or increased number and/or distance of separate locations - when conducting R&amp;D designed to involve researchers from a number of different research fields, or R&amp;D characterized as having high R&amp;D complexity. </p><p> 4. Centers are more likely to be organized with increased vertical differentiation and increased centralization when conducting research that is intended to be restricted from unauthorized use, or R&amp;D characterized as having high appropriability. With high appropriability, centers are also more likely to experience goal conflicts among the center actors (e.g., industry and faculty researchers). </p><p> Because in management science, practice and theory are closely linked, some of these recommendations also suggest theoretical propositions to address in future research on cooperative research centers and comparable R&amp;D organizations.</p>