<p> After 12 years of negotiation, Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005. The impact of joining the WTO has caused many Saudi organizations to change some of their old ways to keep up with competition from all around the world. Foreign investments created a healthy competition that encouraged Saudi Arabian organizations to change, adapt, and thrive in the market. With the need for change, Saudi Arabian organizations are facing employees&rsquo; resistance for unknown reasons. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reasons behind resistance to change in Saudi Arabian organizations and suggest approaches to minimize resistance and facilitate successful organizational change. Many researchers have found a relationship between organizational justice and employees&rsquo; behavior, especially during organizational change. Additionally, Saudi Arabian culture influences employees&rsquo; behavior towards change. Therefore, this correlational study examine the relationship between resistance to change and organizational justice, as well as the relationship between resistance to change and demographic measures in one Saudi Arabian organization. The scales that were used in this study are pre-existing and have been tested for validity and reliability. To measure resistance to change, the researcher used Oreg&rsquo;s (2003) Resistance to Change Scale, which divides resistance to change into four factors (routine seeking, emotional reaction, short-term focus, and cognitive rigidity), and Colquitt&rsquo;s (2001) Organizational Justice Scale, which divides organizational into four dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational). A total of 55 completed surveys were collected with 76.4% male respondents, and 85.5% under the age of 40 years old, which showed how young and male dominant the workforce is in Saudi Arabia. The study concluded that the organizational justice dimensions of procedural and interpersonal justice have a negative significant relationship with employees&rsquo; resistance, especially the short-term focus factor. Moreover, from the demographic measures, the age factor also had a significant negative relationship with resistance to change, mostly with the short-term focus factor.</p>

<p> Interpersonal trust between coworkers remained understudied, despite the critical role of trust in public administration. The specific problem was federal government leaders cannot manage employee behaviors and organizational characteristics that shape peer coworker trust and distrust. The purpose of the qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore federal employee experiences to discover peer coworker behaviors and organizational characteristics that shape peer coworker trust. Mayer and colleagues&rsquo; model of trust and organizational citizenship behavior theory provided a two-part theoretical framework for conceptualizing peer coworker trust. Data were collected from federal employees assigned to a Washington, D.C. duty location via semi-structured interviews as well as documents and physical artifacts. The researcher used NVivo 11&reg; to assist with managing, organizing, coding, and analyzing data. Data analysis resulted in 16 themes that shape peer coworker trust. Six main themes, including (1) transparent persona, (2) Machiavellian tactics, (3) remorse, (4) recognition programs, (5) supportive management, and (6) social interaction, were used to answer the two research questions. Research results unveiled peer coworker behaviors and organizational characteristics that shape peer coworker trust that leaders may use to manage peer coworker trust. Leaders who encourage transparent behaviors, discourage and denounce Machiavellian tactics, and encourage employees to demonstrate remorse after a coworker experiences distrust in them, may nurture peer coworker trust. At the organizational level, leaders who use recognition programs, provide supportive management, and foster social interaction may cultivate peer coworker trust. Fostering peer coworker trust may enhance employee engagement, which may lead to improved results-oriented cultures.</p>

<p> This study used grounded theory to analyze the influence of leadership behaviors on knowledge-sharing intentions. The main research question for this study was, how do leadership behaviors influence the intentions of organizational members to share knowledge? The data for this study were collected by interviewing four leaders and eight followers in the health care, information technology, and security industries. The findings of the study showed that empathy, empowerment, inclusiveness, and trustworthiness are the categories of behaviors that encourage knowledge sharing. Dishonesty, inconsideration, intimidation, and rigidity are the four major behavioral categories that discourage knowledge-sharing intentions. Each behavioral category had various subcategories of behaviors. Based on the findings of the study, it was theorized that the behaviors of the leaders create impressions on the followers, which in turn influence the intentions of the followers to share knowledge. The impressions of the followers mutually transferred between leadership behaviors and knowledge-sharing intentions. The study also showed some significant differences in the leadership behavioral expectations between leaders and followers. Based on the results of the study, 10 propositions were made about how leadership behaviors influence knowledge-sharing intentions of followers. These propositions were based on the behaviors of the leaders and the impressions created by leadership behaviors. </p>

<p> The research explored a barrier to intelligent transportation systems (ITS) deployment. The purpose of the research involved understanding whether practitioner technical skills correlated to the frequency by which planners&rsquo; incorporated ITS within planning studies and whether projects resulting from studies managed or performed by technically-skilled practitioners more frequently reached deployment status. The predictor variables in the research included planner composite technical skills (composite ITS skill [PV] and composite IS/T skill [PV]) and planner inclusion of ITS in transportation and transit planning studies (PV). The criterion variable reflected three different project status groups for which separate data collection occurred: deployed, active, and completed study (CV). Transportation and transit planners across the United States participated in the research. The research incorporated a correlational design employing survey methodology. Participants used the Planner Skills and ITS survey instrument to provide data. Multiple regression was used to test significance of correlation between the variables. In the active and completed study project status groups, the null hypotheses were rejected in favor of the alternate where <i>p</i> = .023 and <i>p</i> = .001, respectively. In the deployed status group, <i>p </i> = .117, thus retaining the null hypothesis. The conclusion drawn from results indicated that the higher a planner&rsquo;s ITS skills, the more frequently a planner included ITS in planning studies, and the more frequently those study-related projects reached deployed status.</p>

<p> From the early 2000s onwards, authentic leadership has continued to garner growing interest from academia, the public sector, and across multiple industries. Perhaps the reason for the increased focus on authenticity is the unethical behavior demonstrated by a number of leaders from 2000 to 2010. While there is growing interest in demonstrating authenticity as a situational leadership style or even an inherent trait, there is limited research on what leadership strategies or practices are most effective for authentic leaders. This study was designed to apply a common definition, or set of criteria, to identify leaders that are authentic. Once this group of authentic leaders has been identified, research can be conducted to understand common characteristics, traits, styles, practices, and strategies. Conversely, the opportunity exists to understand what common challenges authentic leaders face to determine mitigation strategies. The findings of this study provided exemplary best practices for leaders in business and other fields. To help ground the study, a detailed literature review of leadership theory, and authentic leadership&rsquo;s place within the study of leadership, was completed. The historical examination of leadership is important as it adds richness and context to how authenticity has risen to prominence within empirical and theoretical research. </p><p> This research showed that common leadership strategies and practices among authentic leaders include the ability to connect and engage through honest and transparent storytelling. Authentic leaders are vulnerable and transparent, and they enable and engage people and organizations through sharing a compelling vision. Their core leadership approach of honesty and transparency does not change, but they will flex how direct they are based on the situation and audience. In terms of challenges, authentic senior leaders have a high desire for their authentic approach to be reciprocated, and they can be too demanding. In order to overcome these challenges, they try to manage their stress and use physiological and mental means to manage energy. Authentic senior leaders measure success in terms of business results, talent development, and being recognized. The advice they have for future leader is to be one&rsquo;s authentic self and to understand one&rsquo;s personal mission and purpose. </p>

<p> This research investigated cross-sector collaboration as ideal-seeking social action within the context of a stakeholder-led initiative to foster place-based community revitalization in the City of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It engaged organizational leaders and citizen activists to develop and refine the praxis of design conversation inspired by an appreciative awareness of values and qualities found in communities as thriving, living systems. Within a framework of community action research (CAR) methodology, the study engaged a small group of community leaders to create a learning space and relational field enabling them to acquire knowledge and understanding in the manner of an evolutionary learning community. Through facilitated design inquiry, participants sought to understand their communities as living socio-ecological systems; evolving purposefully within a context of embedded cultural and institutional influences.</p><p> The group discourse combined generative and strategic dialogue with other co-creative inquiry practices to embody dynamic and purposeful characteristics of an evolutionary guidance system. Through design conversation in both small group and community practice settings, participants worked to transform habitual patterns of thinking and shift awareness towards appreciative qualities of communities as purposeful social systems; thereby building collective evolutionary competencies that enable self-organization and unfolding of human evolutionary potentials at the levels of self, organization, community, and society.</p><p> The study results were summarized from participant journaling and transcribed conversations, and interpreted through critical hermeneutic analysis and systemic modelling. The results demonstrate, at least tentatively, how designing conversation as a strategic approach to community revitalization praxis enabled participants to coalesce as a dynamic learning community, expressing evolutionary consciousness and competency and developing a more integral, shared understanding of Cleveland&rsquo;s communities as continuously evolving and appreciatively self-guided, living systems. These results show how strategically facilitated conversation within a framework of evolutionary systems design enabled community stakeholders in Cleveland to utilize conversation as purposeful social action to build appreciative awareness of their differences and understanding of their collective human potentials as the conscious embodiment of values and qualities found in healthy, resilient communities.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to create additional research and outcomes on the theory of applying a whole systems approach to strategic planning through a large group intervention in a non-profit organization. This study utilized grounded theory and qualitative analysis. The research focused on the positive whole systems approach to examine the construct of strategic planning in a large group intervention utilizing the strategic planning frameworks of SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results; Starvos &amp; Hinrichs, 2009) and appreciative inquiry (AI; Cooperrider, Sorensen, Yaeger, &amp; Whitney, 2005) as outcomes-focused alternatives to strategic planning in organizations. This qualitative study was executed in conjunction with appreciative interviews utilizing SOAR strategic visioning process and a strategic visioning SOAR Summit.</p><p> This study provided additional insight into whole systems change approach by utilizing strategic planning methods including: AI, SOAR, large group intervention, positive organization psychology, and World Cafe since such studies were limited that analyzed this approach in the development of public sector organizations. This research study consisted of 63 interviews that were conducted with employees, administrators, trustees, and community residents of the community-funded, non-profit fire protection department. The study timeline was from September 2014 until February 2015. Findings suggested that both non-profit and private sector organizations could drive their missions forward by engaging in a whole systems approach and large group intervention, focusing on appreciative and positive organizational change methodologies.</p>

<p> Although previous studies have attributed empowerment and trust to a leader&rsquo;s use of generalized reciprocity (Coyle-Shapiro, Kessler, &amp; Purcell, 2004; Gouldner, 1960), this dissertation posited that the relational context flowing from a leader&rsquo;s ontological acceptance of <i>kenotic alterity</i> may be identified in terms of <i>generalized norms of reciprocity</i> (i.e., low concern for equivalence of exchange, low concern for immediacy of reciprocation, and shared focus of interest rather than self-interest). This qualitative exegetical analysis of John 21, Colossians 3:3, and 1 Peter 4:1 (RSV) presented a biblical perspective on the essence or starting point of leadership in death, inability, and external locus of control resting in God. Based on an exegetical analysis of these passages, this study qualified the meaning of <i>kenosis</i> (exiting or emptying oneself formulated as <i>death</i> per exegesis) for the benefit of others (<i>alterity</i>) recognizing an external locus of control in the work of Christ, rather than internal self&ndash;control or self&ndash;constraint, or assumption of skill sets. The study explored the extent and function of the death analogy used in Johannine, Pauline, and Petrine Scriptures to describe kenotic alterity and suggested that resulting affective trust leads to generalized norms of reciprocity. Research presented here further suggested that Scripture&rsquo;s thematic teaching of kenotic emptying using the objectionable figure of death is actually the essence of God-designed leadership.</p>

<p> Collaboration between groups is a critical component in community resilience. Yet, memorable disaster mismanagements illustrate the difficulty of collaboration. Historically, it was thought that poor interoperability between communications equipment was to blame, but as technology differences were resolved, collaboration efforts continued to suffer. Recently, experts and practitioners are turning to group culture to explain collaboration failures. However, the literature is disjointed and dispersed with many gaps. The purpose of this research was to better understand the essential culture aspects important to good collaboration. A survey was utilized to examine the culture of a long-standing, successful collaboration: The Washington State and Local Tsunami Workgroup. The Workgroup endeavors to balance both Home Agency and Workgroup identities, utilize a flat hierarchy to its full advantage, and value openness and diversity as a means to reach the goal of mitigation of tsunami damage. Resulting themes centered on identity, commonality, structure, and attitudes.</p>

<p> Decision making is among the chief liabilities and risks recurring foremost on a daily basis for human resources professionals in today&rsquo;s workplace. Therefore, human resources professionals as decision makers are often required to be aware of, and comply with, a variety of subject matters, trends, concepts, issues, practices, and laws. For human resources professionals, decision making a core job function. The problem addressed in this study is how the absence of formal decision-making criteria specifically designed for the management of human resources can cause human resources professionals to make decisions that are above not only costly for organizations, but can increase their own personal liability and risk. The purpose of this qualitative research via multiple case study was to investigate how the absence of formal decision-making criteria specifically designed for the management of human resources can cause human resources professionals to make decisions that are often financially and perceptually costly for the organizations in which they work, and can also increase their own personal liability and risk. Additionally, the focus of this research study was to contribute new knowledge for the process of decision making as it pertained to the occupational field of human resources management. This qualitative multiple case study examined the perceptions and experiences of human resources professionals working within the public sector in state government in Georgia. The human resources professionals as participants represented varying levels of decision-making responsibility, inclusive of tax-based and revenue-generated entities from small, medium, and large organizational structures. Results from this research study provided insight for use to inform human resources professionals regarding the mostly negative impacts, effects, and outcomes as perceived and experienced by human resources professionals resulting from the absence of formal decision-making criteria specifically designed for the management of human resources. Examination of the data collected from participants regarding the actual decisions made resulting from the absence of decision-making criteria for the management of human resources highlighted evidence connecting the absence of formal decision-making criteria leading to mostly negative impacts, effects, and outcomes based upon perceptions or experiences. Such evidence via the claims by participants featured personal and organizational results that could be further studied against the backdrop of existing literature, albeit limited, to develop a formal decision-making process (i.e., model) inclusive of criteria specifically designed for the management of human resources to achieve results that lessen cost, mitigate liability, and avoid risk.</p>