Leaders often are faced with making difficult decisions for their group, such as when a course of action preferred by group members conflicts with one that is likely to optimize group outcomes. Across five studies, I provide evidence that prestige-oriented leaders (but not dominance-oriented leaders) sometimes experience tension between facilitating the success of their group and maintaining their group members' social approval. Studies 1-3 examined whether highly prestige-oriented (but not dominance-oriented) leaders would adhere to group members' idiosyncratic desires at the expense of group performance. Findings from Studies 1-3 demonstrate that, in private, prestige-oriented leaders choose what they judge as best for group performance but that, in public, they choose whichever option is preferred by the rest of their group. In private, prestige-oriented leaders' tendency to choose the performance-enhancing option was mediated by group performance motives; in public, their adherence to group preferences was mediated by social approval motives. Thus, results from Studies 1-3 illuminate some of the key motivations that underlie prestige-oriented leaders' group behavior. Studies 4 and 5 extend this investigation by uncovering the social cognitive processes that are activated among prestige-oriented leaders when faced with common leadership situations that could threaten their level of social approval. Those studies focused on situations in which leaders anticipated having to provide their group members with critical feedback in public versus private. Studies 4 and 5 demonstrate that, when faced with giving their group members negative feedback publicly, leaders prestige-orientation was positively associated with ) (1) heightened attention to social targets (versus non-social targets)—particularly those targets displaying negative emotions (Study 4) and (2) elevated tendency to misidentify real smiles as being false—a self-protective bias. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 10, 2017. / Hierarchy, Leadership, Motivation, Organizational Behavior, Social Monitoring, Status / Includes bibliographical references. / Jon K. Maner, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; James K. McNulty, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Heather A. Flynn, University Representative; E. Ashby Plant, Committee Member; Andrea Meltzer, Committee Member; Jesse R. Cougle, Committee Member.

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The research on the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and various outcomes has been continuously popular for the last 30 years since the first POPs model was introduced in 1989. Recent examinations of the POPs-outcomes relationships consider the intermediate linkages between the two. This dissertation presents unique and previously unexamined mediating conditions that offer alternative explanations of how POPs affects job crafting. Adopting theoretical foundations from self-determination theory, the psychological needs paradigm is used to explain how the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness motivate individuals who perceive organizational politics to engage in job crafting as an attempt to regain control at work. Furthermore, this dissertation examines the use of political skill as an effective tool that can aid individuals to successfully capitalize on job crafting opportunities and achieve their desired outcomes. Results from two samples (n = 272) and (n = 273) demonstrated that political skill moderates the relationship between job crafting and the following work outcomes: work frustration, emotional exhaustion, job strain, and job satisfaction. The hypothesis that need satisfaction would mediate the relationship between POPs and job crafting was not supported. However, POPs demonstrated significant direct effects on job crafting. This dissertation expands our knowledge and understanding of the use of political skill at work, and how employees can react positively (via job crafting) to POPs. Strengths, limitations, future directions, and contributions to both theory and practice are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / November 1, 2019. / job crafting, Perceptions of organizational politics, political skill, psychological need satisfaction / Includes bibliographical references. / Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Wayne Hochwarter, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Maura Scott, University Representative; Shanna Daniels, Committee Member; Jack Fiorito, Committee Member.

Domestic violence is a global issue and is one of the most widespread violations to human rights. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine strategies applied by 3 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to sustain and develop women's human rights. The theoretical foundation for this study was based on Sabatier and Jerkins' advocacy coalition framework and Jones and McBeth's theory of narrative policy. The research question was focused on the influence Lebanese laws have on domestic violence in supporting NGOs in promoting women's human rights. A case study design was used to answer the research question and in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants each from 3 selected NGOs. Data from the transcripts were analyzed using hand coding and analysis for emergent themes. The interviews and the reflective notes were organized based on how the participants perceived domestic violence and to what extent the existing laws enabled them to reduce the effect of domestic violence on society. The findings revealed that despite laws, women in Lebanon still suffer from domestic violence due to the patriarchal and confessional system, and this affects women's psychological and social lives. Recommendations include establishing a Google page that supports domestic violence victims and having NGOs provide preventative programs as well as counseling for men and women because domestic violence is a social problem. The implications for social change include informing policy makers of the importance of the issue, which increases awareness and can lead to new ways to reduce the effects of domestic violence.

Efficient managers influence the success and performance of organizations, in contrast to inefficient managers who may negatively affect employee motivation, productivity, stress levels, job satisfaction, and performance. Managers' ability to recognize emotions can positively affect employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance, which is likely to decrease employee turnover. The purpose of this phenomenological research was to explore the perceptions among employees regarding their managers' EI in relation to employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance in the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area. The presence of managers' EI skills was explored based on the emotional abilities to facilitate, understand, perceive, and manage emotions. Snowball sampling was used consisting of 20 employees from the NOVA area. The data were collected using in- depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Coding and categorizing of interview responses facilitated their thematic analysis. Findings from this sampling suggested that those employees who experienced managers with EI skills reported increased levels of motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. In contrast, those employees from the sampling who experienced managers with a lack of EI skills reported decreased levels of motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. These findings could contribute to positive social change in the workplace focusing on the potential for positive change in human resource, leadership, management, and higher education. The findings could also indicate how these skills help increase employees' motivation, job satisfaction, and performance, as well as effectively manage employee turnover, and improve organizational success.

The tourism industry dominates the Bahamian national economy. While seaport visitor arrivals continue to rise, stopover visitor arrivals continue to decline due to a recurring theme of negative front-line hotel staff attitudes. Eliminating negative staff attitudes toward stopover visitors is important for hoteliers, the government, and all stakeholders of the Bahamian tourism industry. Guided by servant leadership theory, the purpose of this research was to investigate the servant leadership dimensions that motivate Bahamian front-line hotel workers. This quantitative cross-sectional study involved the use of the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) developed by Dierendonck and Nuijten. There were 8 specific servant leadership dimensions measured against 7 sociodemographic attributes to answer 2 research questions (RQ). A random sample of 646 front-line hotel workers participated in the study. For RQ1, independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance produced significant results for the union, region, and department demographic groups. For RQ2, k-means cluster analysis generated a 2-cluster model with significant F-statistic value contributions across all 8 composite variables. Based on the final cluster centers, the 8 SLS composite variable average mean results equate to cautious support for the acceptance and application of servant leadership. The research findings may lead to positive social change by supporting the creation of a new leadership model in the Bahamian tourism industry that enables hoteliers to increase Bahamian front-line hotel workers' motivation and thereby decrease negative staff attitudes manifested in the workplace.

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