<p> Managing employees from different cultural and national backgrounds within international business organizations is one of the greatest challenges that mid-level leaders face in the new millennium because of the broad range of communication difficulties that can arise (Cox, 1991; Cupach &amp; Imahori, 1993; Fitzsimmons, 2013; Ietto-Gillies, 2005; Lisak &amp; Erez, 2015; Oliveira, 2013). The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategies and tactics of mid-level leaders in one major multinational company with a sizable multinational workforce, Saudi Aramco. The theoretical framework for this study was Communication Accommodation Theory (e.g., Giles, 2014; Giles, Coupland, &amp; Coupland, 1991, 2007). The principal survey instrument employed was the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (Downs &amp; Hazen, 1977). </p><p> Only 7 demographic variables (education, age, gender, nationality match, language match, income, and duration of time with the company) had any significant correlations with the <i>Seven Dimensions Of Communication Satisfaction </i> proposed by Downs and Hazen (1977), but the strength of all those correlations was weak, with the exception of education. The more education the participants had, the more satisfied they were with their job. </p><p> Interestingly, in a culture in which gender differences play such an important role, there were no significant differences by gender in the workforce at Saudi Aramco. It was notable however, that the most satisfied employees were those who had been at the company the longest. National and language differences also played almost no role in employee satisfaction, most likely because the whole workforce is fluent in English. The employees did place some significance on what Suchan (2014) describes as Arabic styles of persuasion, which favor: (a) the use of repetition and paraphrasing to make a point, (b) the use of highly ornate and metaphoric language, and (c) the use of strong emotion. </p><p> Finally, in comparing the employees&rsquo; responses to Goleman&rsquo;s (2000) Six Styles of Leadership, the researcher discovered that the workers at Saudi Aramco relate most of all to Goleman&rsquo;s affiliative, coaching, and democratic leadership styles.</p><p>

<p> Work engagement and burnout have been researched extensively through the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) stress framework; however, there are still relationships within the model that are not fully understood. Historically, job demands have been considered to be one homogenous group having similar relationships with resources, burnout and engagement. Researchers have found that job demands have been consistently positively related to burnout, and job resources have been positively related to engagement. Associations between job demands and engagement have been shown to be positive, negative, non-existent, as well as curvilinear (Bailey, Madden, Alfes, &amp; Fletcher, 2015). However, job demands may be differentiated into challenges, which may actually be less harmful for workers, and hindrances, which may account for the majority of the negative association with burnout. Although a small amount of primary research has investigated demands differentiated into challenges and hindrances with samples outside of the U.S., no studies to date have investigated the relationship between challenge and hindrance demands with burnout and work engagement with a sample of employees in the U.S. Additionally, very little research has studied the interaction effects within a differentiated demands model on burnout and work engagement. In this study, a moderated hierarchical regression analysis was used to explore the relationships among challenge demands, hindrance demands, resources, burnout, and engagement with a sample of knowledge workers in the U.S. sourced through the Amazon Mechanical Turk system. Overall, hindrance demands were found to be positively related to burnout and negatively related to engagement. Challenge demands were not significantly related to burnout but were positively related to engagement. The interactive effects of job resources were only observed for the hindrance demand relationships. The differentiated model of job demands may provide a clearer understanding of the different mitigating and boosting relationships between challenges, hindrances, and resources. The results of this study suggest that for executives who wish to increase the positive outcomes associated with well-being, they may want to focus on reducing hindrance demands and increase access to resources across their organizations. Further implications for practice and research will be discussed.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to generate a theory about the implications of leadership development and organizational culture on employee engagement. The focus is on the experience and perceptions of participants of a leadership development program within a public-sector organization with a strategic imperative focused on cultural transformation. The researcher investigated the outcomes of the leadership development program, and examined cultural aspects of the organization, each from the view of employee participants. Much leadership development research to date is based on private sector organizations. There are studies that are an examination of quantitative organizational results such as productivity and personal results such as promotion and incentive pay rates. The researcher placed emphasis on the lived experience of employees and sought insight to the differentiators that result in higher levels of organizational buy-in and commitment exemplified by engaged employees. The research included interviews with individuals that participated in the subject organization&rsquo;s leadership development program. The research findings led to the generation of a new theory of employee engagement applicable to the field of human resource management. Understanding the differentiators within an organization such as leadership strategies and organizational cultural objectives that lead to increased levels of employee engagement is instructive for organizations. The results are applicable to organizations in the public-sector, or in the private-sector, when the organization adopts an intentional leadership development approach based on leadership strategies and makes organizational culture a strategic imperative.</p><p>

<p> This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of 13 active mediators who conduct mediations between individuals of differing collectives (race, gender, age, religion, etc.). These mediators were volunteers, human resource professionals, or other external professionals utilized to assist in resolving workplace conflicts. They offered experience in corporate environments, state and federal government, school systems, and the community. </p><p> Study participants met the following criteria: (1) successfully completed the 40-hour mediation training; (2) conducted a minimum of 30 mediations over the past five years; (3) conducted a minimum of 10 diversity related mediations; and (4) experience with workplace conflicts.</p><p> As a phenomenological study, interviews were the method of data gathering. Following Merriam and Tisdale&rsquo;s (2016) interview structure continuum, data gathering occurred in two stages: highly structured/standardized and unstructured/informal. The first stage assessed the mediator&rsquo;s appropriateness for the study. The questions focused on the mediator&rsquo;s recent experience with conducting workplace and EEO mediations. The second stage was the detailed interview used to build an understanding of the lived experiences. Questions asked led to the understanding of the lived experiences of the mediators thereby supporting the research question.</p><p> Five conclusions emerged from the results of this study. (1) Communication that is poor or lacking is a major source of conflict. (2) Environmental changes have increased workplace diversity leading to more conflict. (3) Perceptions of fairness by authority and senior staff leading to conflict. (4) Parties who volunteer for mediation are more successful. (5) Mediators and the mediation process are not completely neutral.</p><p> Implications for theory are: the strengthening of the social identity literature by specifically identifying sources of conflict; expansion of the literature that explains the role management plays in conflict escalations; introduces a hybrid mediation style; and the expansion of trait theory literature by identifying which traits are prone to conflict. Recommendations for practice are workplace initiatives focusing on diversity and interpersonal skills; incremental training for mediators to ensure mediators practice in the spirit of neutrality; encouraging organizations to implement mediations for all conflicts prior to escalation of workplace chaos; and emphasizing the minimization of legal advice by licensed attorneys during mediations.</p><p>

<p> This study explored how middle managers experienced and responded to role ambiguity after they transitioned from previous roles well understood by the individuals and their role sets to new or redefined middle manager roles in high knowledge-based organizations (HKBO) that had undergone planned organizational changes. The study found that even in HKBOs where knowledge workers are the predominant workforce and change is constant, organizational change had significant negative impacts on middle managers. Their role transitions were found to be difficult and of negative valence when their preferred work role identities were challenged when in-role expectations were changed or by their new role requirements, which were often unclear, conflicting, or overlapping with other roles, leading to role ambiguity. Actions taken to resolve the sources of ambiguity such as the exercise of autonomy and working closely with their bosses to clarify expectations were ineffective without the support of the greater organization. Individuals found these impacts to be unsettling and to require significant identity work to redefine their work role identities. The key finding was that while externally they presented a work role identity that was accepted by their role set as consistent with the new role, internally they rejected that identity and maintained their preferred work role identity. This dual condition was seen to be persistent, indicating that these alternative identities can co-exist through construction of a coherent identity narrative that reconciles the differences and justifies the maintenance of the preferred work role identity while exercising a different role. Future longitudinal studies could explore how HKBO knowledge workers and middle managers are able to maintain this duality of work role identity and for how long. Also, for those who have successfully transitioned to new preferred work role identities, studies could assess how new learning was involved and how identity narrative was employed.</p><p>

<p> Today&rsquo;s&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;must meet the external and internal challenges of&nbsp;continuous change.&nbsp;Most traditional organizational models, however, are designed for stability, including forms of leadership that use top-down, command-and-control hierarchy to steer direction and work. This study explores an alternative phenomenon observed in practice, collaborative leadership culture (CLC). In CLC, organizations determine where they are going, coordinate work, and sustain commitment through broad participation, collaborative practices, and emergence. Scholars&nbsp;study&nbsp;similar phenomena using different names, including&nbsp;in the emerging area of relational leadership and in constructive-developmental theory, a stage theory of adult development. What has not been well researched is how these forms of leadership develop. The research that does exist emphasizes senior leaders as participants versus taking a whole systems approach. This study explores how CLC develops in organizations, aiming for a multi-level, systemic collection of data. </p><p> This research is a single case study that uses critical incident interviews (CIIs) to understand how a 100-person catering company in suburban Chicago, Tasty Catering, developed CLC. The study draws on CIIs with 30 members representing diverse company areas and roles. All participants completed the Leadership Maturity Assessment (MAP), a measure of human development. Participants also completed a preliminary Direction, Alignment and Commitment (DAC) survey intended to understand the extent to which participants perceive leadership outcomes are produced by their current form of leadership. Study findings were captured in a proposed conceptual model of how CLC develops. The conceptual model includes individual behaviors, or levers, that contribute to six organizational drivers that create the conditions for CLC. The data also indicate that complex individual development of members and/or formal authority holders as measured by the MAP is not a prerequisite for developing CLC in an organization. The study presents practical implications for organizations, leaders, teams, and leadership educators, as well as recommendations for future research.</p>

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership are two very important constructs to organizations. Likewise concepts like OCB, conflict handling and intention to quit of employees are equally important constructs to organizations. The primary aim of the present study was to determine how well Organisational Citizenship Behaviour and intention to quit as well as the conflict handling style of subordinates could be predicted by means of leadership style, and the emotional intelligence of leaders. A secondary aim was to determine whether a causal model could be built to represent the relationships among the variables included in the study. Relationships among these constructs were investigated in a South African sample of employees (N=470) working for various organisations. The construct validity and internal consistency of the measuring instruments were investigated. The finally accepted factor structure of not one of the measuring instruments matched the original structure as found by the authors/developers of the measuring instruments. It was therefore decided that in all cases the factor pattern as determined on the responses of the present sample would be used in further analyses of the data. Emotional intelligence of leaders as seen by subordinates and the self - perceived conflict handling styles of subordinates seem to be related in the case of Integrating and Obliging conflict handling styles and both the emotional intelligence sub-scales, i.e. Motivation and Vigilance. The Multiple Regression analysis indicated that the emotional intelligence sub-scales scores played a minor role in the prediction of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour. Models of the relationships among the variables were built by studying the results of v previous as well as the present study. The model, in which emotional intelligence is depicted as a causal variable influencing - through leadership behaviour – organizational citizenship behaviour and the integrating style of handling interpersonal conflict represented a good fit with the data. These results seem to provide some structure for thinking about the relationships among the variables and can possibly serve as frames of reference in future studies.

<p> The current study contributed to an understanding of the relationship between leader, follower, and organization by exploring the interactions between multi-factor models of servant leadership, destructive leadership, and employee engagement. The sample consisted of 107 self-identified employees of the service industry in the United States. Analysis included the calculation of correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression. The results indicated that servant leadership and destructive leadership are not antithetical. There was no significant relationship between courage and subordinate-directed behaviors and only forgiveness and accountability had negative relationships with organization-directed behaviors. It appeared that transparency limits opportunities for destructive leadership as the absence of empowerment and forgiveness predicted subordinate-directed behaviors, and the absence of accountability and forgiveness predicted organization-directed behaviors. Followers are engaged when provided with latitude and honest feedback regarding performance. Forgiveness was the only exception in a set of positive correlations between the factors of servant leadership and employee engagement. The servant leadership factors of empowerment, courage, authenticity, and forgiveness predicted the factors of employee engagement. The lack of significant relationships between destructive leadership and employee engagement indicate that destructive leadership can be persuasive rather than abusive. To be effective, the servant leader must provide the follower with both support and challenge to achieve positive, long-term developmental goals.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the role lean management tools serve to potentially stimulate learning within an (R&amp;D) team at a top 10 pharmaceutical company located in Northeast U.S. to ensure the organization can manage knowledge for developing innovation for drug development at a faster rate. Each of the nine participants worked together using the visual lean management tool for more than six months The information gathered from participant responses to semi-structured interview questions revealed the experiences, viewpoints, and reflections of the research participants regarding how the use of visual lean management tool influenced learning. Data were coded and analyzed with NVivo software for windows (QSR International, 2015) to obtain a detailed qualitative analysis of the narratives of each participant. The five findings included: (a) the SQDCI visual lean management tool provided a forum to share information to improve meeting metrics and timelines; (b) employee engagement and participation influenced the use of the SQDCI tool, meeting metrics, and timelines; (c) the metrics tracked by the SQDCI tool influenced employee engagement and meeting goals; (d) leadership support influenced employee engagement; (e) and time pressures negatively impact engagement in using the SQDCI tool and attending additional training. This qualitative case study contributed to the literature by identifying how the use of visual lean management tool influenced organizational learning by a pharmaceutical R&amp;D team. Finding methodologies that enhance the engagement of employees to transfer and manage knowledge remains essential for the pharmaceutical industry.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to identify relationships between organizational culture types, supply chain integration, and firm performance. The study process included obtaining data from 201 supply chain professionals and procurement specialists working in various companies throughout the United States. Supply chain integration data and firm performance derived from results obtained from participants completing a 5-point Likert-type scale survey. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument helped with determining organizational culture types. The results revealed a significant correlation between supply chain integration and firm performance. All three integration variables, customer, supplier, and internal had a significant positive correlation with total integration and firm performance. The data also indicated that supply chain integration increased when organizational flexibility was present. An unexpected result was both clan and adhocracy cultures had a significant correlation to supply chain integration and firm performance. Conducting this study and revealing the findings added to literature and informs supply chain practitioners by determining the influence of organizational culture on supply chain integration performance. The results of this study substantiate that a flexible organizational structure, as shown in the clan and adhocracy cultures, increases supply chain integration and firm performance. As competitive forces intensify, the need for firms to develop a flexible organizational structure to leverage supply chain integration practices will increase. The results of this research could provide organizational leaders more insights into increasing supply chain integration efforts and improved firm performance through flexible culture alignment.</p><p>