<p> The combination of globalization, technological advancements, governmental regulations, changing customer tastes and trends combined with a host of other influences constantly force organizations to change, or respond to changes in the business environment. Businesses need their employees to be flexible and ready for change; however, the literature is rife with the assertion that more than 70% of organizational change initiatives fail. These failures cost organizations billions of dollars each year and have been blamed in part on employees' unreadiness for change, and their subsequent resistance to it. Businesses have a continued interest in understanding how to achieve higher rates of success with change initiatives; therefore, this research examined whether or not employees' personality traits predicted their readiness for organizational change. It also examined whether or not employees' level of education interacted with their personality traits to moderate the effects of personality traits on variances in readiness for change. Results indicated that personality traits predicted employees' readiness for change; however, increasing education did not interact with personality traits to modify the effects of personality on employee readiness for change.</p>

<p> This research provides original data on the study of obsessive-compulsive personality traits in law enforcement. The study explored prevalence of obsessive-compulsive personality traits (OCPT) in law enforcement (compared to the general population) in association with the occupational need for such characteristics in that profession (orderliness, organized, attentive to detail, display restricted affect, adhere to laws and regulations, and assume leadership roles). While many studies seek to explain police personality, no literature could be found regarding prevalence of OCPT in sworn peace officers. Degree of OCPT was measured by the total mean score on the Five Factor Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FFOCI) and compared using a one-tailed independent samples t-test. Differences between two groups across 12 subscales were analyzed retroactively using a MANOVA for qualitative descriptions of each group. Research revealed, with statistically significant results (p&lt;.01), that prevalence of OCPT is significantly higher overall in law enforcement peace officers when compared to non-law enforcement participants. Results from this study contribute meaningfully to police psychology within the field of forensic psychology. Results have the potential to influence supplemental assessment for peace officer candidacy screening.</p>

<p> This study examined the relationship of sales employees' emotional intelligence (EI) to their organizational justice (OJ) perceptions, and examined if sales employees' job satisfaction (JS) moderated the strength of the relationship between their EI and OJ perceptions. Three assessments were administered electronically and completed by 135 participants. The Job In General (JIG) assessment measured overall JS of employees. The assessment used to measure employee EI was the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0). The assessment used to measure employee justice perceptions was the Perceived Overall Justice scale. Hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis (MRA) was used to identify any relationships. No statistically significant finding between EI, JS, and OJ were found when using hierarchical moderated MRA. Because of the violations of assumptions for MRA, it was determined that follow-up non-parametric testing was required. Non-parametric testing found a significant relationship between employees' EI and their OJ perceptions. The non-parametric testing confirmed previous findings of significant relationship between EI and OJ. Recommendations for future research include examining individual facets of EI and OJ, using different assessment to measure EI and OJ, and using a controlled environment to recruit participants.</p>

The study of expertise has led to insight into the nature of expert performance in a variety of problem solving domains. In medicine, considerable study has focused on diagnostic reasoning, however the role of expertise in coping with decision complexity has remained to be more fully explored. In this thesis three groups of subjects, consisting of medical students (novices), residents (intermediates) and intensive care experts were each presented with complex cases of intensive care problems containing varying levels of uncertain and conflicting evidence. The subjects were asked to think-aloud as they worked through the problems and provided a management and treatment plan for each case. The audiotaped protocols were coded for key process variables in decision making and problem solving. / The results indicate that the strategies used by novices, intermediates and experts for dealing with complex cases containing ambiguous information varied considerably. When faced with anomalous evidence, expert physicians were found to disregard the anomalous evidence and focus on the patient's overall clinical condition. In contrast, non-experts used the anomalous evidence to evaluate diagnostic hypotheses and drive the decision making process. Expert physicians were also found to focus on situational aspects of the patient's condition to a greater extent than non-experts, occasionally employing recognitional strategies. Strategies for processing anomalous evidence were shown to relate to level of confidence in decision making. / The research has a number of important theoretical implications for the study of decision making and expertise in general and medical decision making in particular. A theoretical account of the role of expertise in complex decision making is provided which emphasizes the interaction between situation assessment and evaluative reasoning processes in the decision making of experts. In addition, the thesis provides empirical support for aspects of several emerging naturalistic models of decision making, and extends them to include greater consideration of processes involved in evaluation of evidence. Implications for education and design of decision support are discussed.

<p>The success rate of information technology projects is on a downward trend, with reported losses in the billions of dollars. Recent studies indicate a 50&ndash;56% project success rate based on quality, budget, and on-time criteria. Building upon the conceptual framework of the emotional intelligence and knowledge management theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how project management practitioners apply self- and cultural-awareness competencies to affect project outcomes. Using a purposeful sampling method, 24 experienced U.S.-based project management practitioners participated in a web-based questionnaire. Following Giorgi&rsquo;s data reduction process resulted in numeric data coding. Thematic analysis revealed themes of (a) awareness and redirection of negative emotions, (b) cultural intelligence, and (c) balanced diverse teamwork. The findings from this research study support increasing awareness, training, and application of emotional and cultural intelligence competencies within the multidimensional knowledge-centric global business environment. Increased awareness and ability to use emotional and cultural competencies can lead to enhanced business outcomes. Improved people-based business practices may increase the economic stability for the organization, employees, and specifically the project management practitioner as a knowledge manager. Implications of social change from this study include increasing success of knowledge-based information technology solutions, expanding employment opportunities, and supporting socially-responsible integrated change. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1995. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: B, page: 5126. Chair: Nancy G. Bliwise.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0407. Adviser: Andrea B. Hollingshead. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-87) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 201 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0478. Adviser: Dorothy Espelage. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-123) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: B, page: 7652. Adviser: Howard Berenbaum. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-47) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.