This study re-conceptualises service quality in an Islamic context. The conceptual framework underpinning this re-conceptualization sees service quality as a process which emanates from the management of an organization and how the philosophy of this organization is operationalized in the delivery of its services. As such, frontline employees are key elements in service delivery, and contributors to the quality of the service. In the Islamic context, in areas such as service quality, banks' management should understand that the perspective of Islam requires other distinctive services to be provided in addition to functional banking services. These are not limited to the narrow view, namely providing the traditional services and being in compliance with the legal side of Islamic law. The wider meaning includes other services such as social responsibility, contribution to the development of society and the distribution of Islamic financial knowledge. With regard to employees, especially frontline employees in the area of service quality, the Islamic philosophy should mean that considering Itqan (quality is the synonym for this term) should be understood as both a functional and religious duty. Employees' dealings with customers should extend beyond the functional aspects to an approach where customers are considered as `friends'. To investigate this framework, the current research was applied to Egyptian Islamic banks. It used mixed method- interviews with frontline employees and questionnaires distributed to customers, as well as support from field notes and examination of banks' websites. Egyptian Islamic banks, including their employees failed to understand, embody or practice the Islamic perspective on service quality. In the case of management, the failure was evident in issues such as an imbalance between providing functional and distinctive Islamic services. Customers' views were positive about the functional aspects of services and the legal side of financial transactions, but their views on the distinctive Islamic services were negative. Although employees confirmed that quality has Islamic roots represented in the term of Itqan (quality is the synonym for this term) as an inherent duty, the practice of this concept was not apparent to customers. To re-conceptualise service quality in the Islamic context, Islamic banks, including their employees should understand that customer praxis, the process by which the Islamic perspective on service quality is translated into action, was the most important dimension from the customer perspective. The instrument suggested to measure service quality generally and apart from the Islamic context, should be a customized scale that is context, country, industry and religion specific at a particular time.

Organizational learning is a topic that has been widely studied under a number of different approaches. The common, essential themes that are present in any theory of organizational leaning reflect the necessity of balancing explorative and exploitative tendencies within organizations. Organizational learning is the key to organizational effectiveness and development, and involves a collective action and mindset that allows for the reflection of current processes and the reevaluation of the efficiency of these processes within organizational structures. In this way, knowledge is embedded into organizational systems so that continuous learning can be implemented on an organizational scale. As a result, a culture of continually restructuring the organization will be established, resulting in the maximizing of organizational growth and efficiency. Although the topic has been proven to be heavily theory-based, there have been numerous cases in which organizational learning was successfully implemented, resulting in organizational flourishing. All organizations are capable of becoming learning organizations, and should seek to practice organizational learning for the purpose of growth in both individuals and organizations.

<p> This study explored organizational learning from a feminist perspective, similar to feminist critiques of organizational culture, and offers an analysis of individual&rsquo;s perceptions of gender dynamics in organizational learning. Mainstream literature on organizational learning is based upon gender-blind assumptions in theory and practice. This study examined those assumptions with a feminist lens. Constructivist epistemology, a feminist interpretive lens, and phenomenological and feminist methodologies guide this research, which asks, what does gender equal organizational learning look like? Fourteen senior leaders of a small New England college were interviewed to better understanding their experience of gender and collective learning at a small liberal arts college. Feminist analysis of the in-depth interviews revealed patterns of gender dynamics and a distinction between informal and formal organizational learning. Informal learning affected elements of formal organizational learning, raising questions about the ways culture is enacted in organizations. Gendered experiences of voice, participation, and power are among the key findings that problematize mainstream organizational learning theory and suggest that different genders have dissimilar experiences of the participatory and strategic development of their organization. This research sheds light on the emancipatory potential of organizational learning, showing the ways organizational learning is both aa reflection of the culture and a means to change culture and advance gender equality.</p>

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if culture was a significant determinate of commitment to one's work organization. The second objective was to develop a work commitment index that was not only comprehensive but minimized redundancy. This work commitment index contained items measuring values and traits associated with the Protestant Work Ethic, Job Involvement, and Organizational Commitment. A T-Test analysis indicated no significant differences in the levels of protestant work ethic or job involvement possessed by hispanic and white soldiers. Only in organizational commitment were levels significantly different, but multiple regression analysis did not support this difference after controlling for other variables. Some progress was made in the development of a comprehensive work commitment index that minimized redundancy. The theories used in this index are capturing three different facets of work commitment. There still exists some redundancy and overlap within and between measures, but at less excessive levels.

<p>This study investigates how actor status, moral foundations theory and Schwartz values influence the moral judgments of guilt and punishment. I argue that to understand individual values consequences for actions, they must be considered within organizational values and larger institutional logics frameworks. Building off Zerubavel’s conception of a three level cognition (Zerubavel 1999), I argue for a tri level conception of values and morality in order to more fully understand how moral judgements work as well as the social context in which they are shaped. Using original research, I offer evidence of three levels of morality. First, I evaluate actor status on judgments of guilt and punishment. I then evaluate individual moral culture using Schwartz Values (Schwartz 2012; Vaisey and Miles 2014). I evaluate the impact of the organization on moral culture measure through the use of status hierarchies (Sauder, Lynn, and Podolny 2012). Finally, I evaluate broader cultural morality using Moral Foundations Theory (Graham et al. 2016; Kesebir and Haidt 2010). Taken together, these three levels of morality present a more ecologically valid understanding of the ways in which moral culture works from the individual, through the meso-social level and to the broader culture. I demonstrate the complex ways in which moral judgments are influenced by universal concerns, organizational influences and individual characteristics. I find that moral foundations theory conceptions of harm does not predict judgments of guilt and punishment but that Schwartz Values do influence these moral judgments. I also find that it is the actor status that most strongly predicts the outcomes of guilt and punishment. The research provides a foundation for future research of how actor status influences moral judgments of guilt and punishment beyond the limited moral community of the current study.</p> / Dissertation

<p> A healthy working environment has been an area of interest for occupation health providers. There is anticipation that a safe working environment improves patient safety, which is associated with reduction in clinical nurse errors. Issues with medication errors and poor working environment pose a greater risk to patient safety. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide a broad understanding on nurses&rsquo; perceptions on the processes that influence a healthy working environment and the impacts of a healthy working environment on patient safety. An interpretive grounded theory methodology was used in this study to evaluate nurses&rsquo; perceptions in acute care settings. The study was carried out in a large city of Southern California and the participants consisted of a community-based purposive population of registered nurses (RNs) in a telemetry. A total of 10 participants with three years working experience in surgical units were recruited and tiered scheduled approach was used for the analysis and refinement of interview questions. The participants were all female registered nurses with three years working experience in acute care settings. The majority of the nurses had a bachelor&rsquo;s degree (44%), masters degree (22%) and 11 % had associate degree. Grounded theory method was used to identify the relevant themes from the interview responses. The transcripts revealed nurses&rsquo; perceptions on the process that facilitate a healthy working environment and HWE impacts on patient safety. The findings of the study showed that communication, teamwork and collaboration within healthcare environment are the most important factors for the development of a healthy working environment. The findings also showed the influence of a health care working environment on medication errors. Nurses reported that lack of communication, nurse shortages and micromanagement increases the chances of medical errors. Nurses reported that effective communication with the nurse leaders, managers and patients provide a stress-free working environment that result in a better care for patients. Enough nursing staff s well as teamwork and collaboration also influences patient safety.</p>

Employees in many occupations deplete cognitive resources of attention and energy (Dodge, 1913; Kahneman, 1973), impacting performance on subsequent work tasks (Dalal, Bhave, & Fiset, 2014). Individuals spend upwards of 10% of formal work time taking a break completing non-work tasks (Esteves, 2013; McGehee & Owen, 1940) in an effort to replenish these resources (Fritz, Lam, & Spritzer, 2011; Kim et al., 2014). This study used a randomized controlled experiment to answer three questions that are new contributions to the literature. First, I explored if engaging in a specific activity (watching a funny video, meditating, or completing a different work task) during the microbreak helped induce recovery processes. Second, I questioned if an individual’s appraisal (psychological detachment, relaxation, and enjoyment) of the break impacted outcomes in addition to, or potentially more than, engaging in a break activity. Third, I investigated if the time duration (1-minute, 5-minute, or 9-minute) of the microbreak impacted outcomes. Results show that taking any break between work tasks allowed individuals to feel less fatigued, more energized, and more attentive. Surprisingly, in many instances a 1-minute break was just as effective as taking a longer break of 5 or 9 minutes, and for these shorter break periods, engaging in a different work task for a short period rather than disengaging from work was the best at improving attention. In addition, to increase feeling energized at work, appraising the break as being enjoyable was more important than the actual break activity. Combined, this study has both an academic and practical impact, finding that just like with work that depletes physical resources, short breaks also benefit employees engaging in work that depleted cognitive resources.

The thesis describes an exploration and analysis of the nature of strategic decision-making processes (SDMP) in Libyan Commercial Banks. The role of 'rationality‘, 'intuition‘ and 'political behaviour‘ in five strategic decisions of very high importance were explored in this study, by conducting sixteen face-to-face interviews with senior decision-makers, all closely involved with the decisions, from three commercial banks. Other observations of SDM behaviour and documentary information were also recorded. Field work enabled analysis and interpretation of the perceived influence of `decision importance` on the process, as well as an exploration of the three key influencing factors on the SDMP. Consistent findings for the nature of the process were found for all five decisions. Rationality was a key factor of the process. Considerable efforts were made by key staff to gather and analyse information, discuss issues, as well as engage consultants and seek advice from Commercial Banks outside Libya. This finding appeared to reflect the high importance of the decisions coupled with the inexperience of the senior management group. This lead to some anxiety and, as a consequence, risk-reducing activities. The SDs were based on analysis, advice and past experience, rather than on personal judgement. None of the banks exhibited strong political or intuitive behaviour in their DMPs. Instead there was constructive consultation in making decisions. DM was driven by clear decision motives, the importance attached to the decision, and a committed effort to minimize uncertainty and risk. Other factors considered were that the decisions were financially rewarding, delivered customer satisfaction and employee welfare, as well as being socially acceptable. Analysis of the data has enabled the development of a model which is consistent with an interpretation that places 'anxiety‘ in the senior management group as the dominant factor driving the adoption of a rational approach to DM, with low intuitive or political activity. Anxiety is derived from the crucial importance of the decision, the relative inexperience of the senior management group, and some policy pressure from the Central Bank of Libya to change and modernize banking methods. The availability of resources and time to the senior group, in a generally munificent environment, also made it feasible for senior staff to adopt rational methods of analysis for DM, and as a consequence reduce their degree of anxiety.