Corporate organizations are facing a shortage of future senior management leaders. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership mentoring strategies used to develop future C-suite executives in the waste industry. Companies may improve business practices by mentoring future generations to understand corporate responsibilities and expectations. The target population came from a regional waste company located in central Florida. The study participants consisted of 3 C-suite executives of the company responsible for the management and mentoring of future C-suite executive mentees. The conceptual framework for this study was rooted in transformational leadership theory. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews, along with supporting documentation provided by the C-suite executives, including the company succession plan. Through methodological triangulation, coding, and thematic analysis, 4 themes emerged that could help C-suite executives in the successful mentoring of future C-suite executives. The 4 themes that emerged from the study, were (1) C-suite executives use various strategies to identify talent, (2) C-suite executives use various mentoring and coaching strategies to develop future C-suite executives, (3) C-suite executives use formal and informal leadership strategies to mentor, and (4) succession planning is in place or planned. The implication for social change was improved mentoring strategies for future C-suite candidates. These strategies may transfer to industries that face generational mentoring issues and challenges, improving structural and managerial growth and stability, which will aid in providing community employment opportunities.

The high failure rates of change initiatives threaten the sustainability of commercial printing operations. The focus of this qualitative multicase study was to research the strategies commercial printing managers use to succeed in gaining frontline employee buy-in during change initiatives to improve productivity and profitability in a manufacturing environment. The participants included four commercial printing managers from the Midwestern United States. Each manager had implemented successful change initiatives in the past 2 years and maintained profitability of the business for 12 months before the study. McGregor's (1960) Theory Y served as the basis for the conceptual framework. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with managers, a review of company documents, and observations. Descriptive coding and sequential review of the interview transcripts using a modified Van Kaam thematic data analysis process revealed five themes: (a) constructive communication, (b) leadership behaviors, (c) performance management, (d) employee management, and (e) employee motivation. Recommendations for action include further research on using constructive communication tactics and identifying stimuli of employee resistance to buy in to change initiatives. Commercial printing managers may apply these results to engage frontline employees in participating in the implementation of change initiatives that improve productivity and profitability. Implications for social change include the increased potential of improving the success of commercial printing managers in implementing change initiatives that positively impact employment and economic health within communities.

Academically and professionally qualified Black women who immigrated to Sweden from the United States and the continent of Africa encounter barriers that may hinder their career opportunities. The unstable labor market position of foreigners required efforts by the Swedish government to address the problem. Little is known about the unique and specific challenges that qualified Black immigrant women experience when integrating into the Swedish labor market with foreign qualifications and professional experience. Guided by Durkheim's social integration theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate the lived experiences of Black immigrant women as they integrated into the Swedish labor market with foreign education and professional experience. Using a Facebook group and an organization promoting Black women in Europe, data were collected through 9 semistructured, open-ended interviews with Black immigrant women who lived in Sweden for at least 7 years. Data were then coded and analyzed using Moustakas' framework. Using thematic analysis produced the following themes: reevaluation of labor market policy and Swedish language, networking, and discrimination. Results from this research provide a framework for the Swedish government, public, and private organizations to direct future research, enhance labor market integration opportunities for academically and professionally qualified Black women and other immigrants, and inform the public about current debates and propositions for modifications to labor integration policies.

Virtual teams improve organizational performance and competitiveness because they reduce business travel and allow team members to work from anywhere, anytime, using the Internet to complete projects. Although researchers have identified benefits of using virtual teams, knowledge about how cultural backgrounds influence virtual team performance is limited. Illuminating this relationship may help leadership improve team performance. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of team members with different cultural backgrounds to understand their effect on team performance. The research questions were based on the conceptual framework of organizational cultural theories developed by Schein and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner. Interview questions were electronically distributed to a purposeful sample of 20 participants who worked on virtual teams and could describe their lived experiences. Data were collected, coded using open and axial techniques, and analyzed for themes and patterns. Key themes emerged such as cultural backgrounds, language barriers, communication, conflict, and use of information technology. Findings included techniques for improving communications, understanding different cultural backgrounds, and the satisfaction of team members. Implications for positive social change include an improved understanding among virtual team leaders regarding how different cultural backgrounds influence team performance. Results of this study may benefit organizations by helping them better manage the performance of multicultural virtual teams, thereby leading to improved product development and reduced costs associated with activities such as business travel and remote work.

The purpose of this case study was to explore the effects of downsizing on organizational culture based on the perceptions of contractors who work for an independent distributor in a large metropolitan city in the southern United States. Organizational culture is important to a company's overall success. Organizational culture theory was the basis for the conceptual framework of this study. Using a purposeful sampling approach and methodological triangulation of sources, 3 newspaper delivery contractors who experienced downsizing described their lived experiences. Participants completed the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and a qualitative questionnaire. The OCAI survey results were scored and depicted graphically using organizational culture profiles. Qualitative data were analyzed and coded, revealing 14 themes that described the pre and postdownsizing culture types, the preferred culture type, and the effects of downsizing on organizational culture. The findings of this study revealed that downsizing can affect organizational culture in both positive and negative ways and that contractors' experiences differed from those of employees. The results of this study may influence positive social change by highlighting the need for leaders to assess the organizational culture before, during, and after a downsizing event to ensure that a preferred culture is created or preserved to minimize the negative effects of downsizing. A preferred culture could promote a more effective working environment, benefiting the company, its workers, and by extension the industry and society.

The ability of project managers to effectively lead virtual teams is an important factor in the teams' success. Since the 1990s, organizations' use of virtual teams to plan and execute projects has increased, yet virtual teams continue to have high failure rates. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether a relationship exists between leadership styles, years of project management experience, and success of virtual teams. I used the path-goal theory of leadership as the theoretical framework for this study. A nonpurposive random sample of 160 project managers in the San Francisco Bay Area who had obtained the Project Management Professional-® designation issued by the Project Management Institute completed an online survey. Multiple regression was conducted to determine whether a statistically significant relationship existed among variables. The results of the regression analysis were statistically significant, F(2, 142) = 39.21, p = .000, R2 = .35, indicating that a combination of leadership style and project management experience can predict success of virtual teams. Leaders of organizations can use the findings of this study in training virtual team leaders. The findings may contribute to social change in organizations that use or plan to use virtual teams in their operations. Team leaders can apply the findings in developing virtual team management strategies. Effective management may reduce the failure rate of virtual teams, which could lead to higher job satisfaction and employee retention among team members, increased employment opportunities, increased urbanization and gentrification of local communities, and reduced flight of capital. Effective management of virtual teams could thus support socioeconomic empowerment and a higher standard of living in local communities and improve knowledge and tolerance of cultural and geographic diversity.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is experiencing an economic recession, manifested through social disorders such as abandoned and vandalized houses. Research points to social disorders and lack of community engagement as key factors inhibiting community development efforts. In order to strengthen these struggling communities, research has highlighted the need for public-private partnerships. Guided by Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, which posits that attitudes can predict behaviors, this study examined the relationship between social disorder and engagement of small business owners in community development. Small business owners in the U.S. Virgin Islands received an Internet or paper survey; a total of 79 completed surveys out of the 220 who were contacted. A Spearman rank-ordered correlations test and multiple regression were used to analyze the responses, with physical and social disorder, number of employees, and years of operation as the independent variables, and community engagement level as the dependent variable. The findings revealed a strong community engagement from the business owners, although none of the independent variables had a statistically significant relationship with the dependent variable. The findings also indicated which areas of social disorder most concerned small business owners. This study can have a positive social impact by identifying common areas of distress, which can help spur greater collaboration between community stakeholders and local small businesses, thereby creating an improved local environment.

Nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs), of which credit unions comprise, constitute an important part of the financial sector because of their contribution to economic development, particularly in developing economies. This multiple case study explored strategies for maintaining credit union profitability against the backdrop of numerous closures in the past decade. The conceptual framework for this study was agency theory. Data were collected from 6 purposefully selected managers or directors representing individual credit unions in Grenada. Data were also collected from publicly available sources and used to conduct methodological triangulation. The interview data were coded using a computer-aided software package, and the interpretations of the data subjected to member checking. The emergent themes from both sources were then aggregated into 6 major strategies for maintaining credit union profitability, namely credit risk management, portfolio growth and development, operational efficiency, advertising and promotion, performance metrics, and strategy review. Agency problems exist in the credit union environment and influence the strategies leaders of credit unions in Grenada employ to maintain profitability. Findings from this study represent a corollary against the participants' position that agency theory is not applicable in the credit union environment because of the existence of the common bond. Implications for social change include safeguarding the financial wellbeing of credit union members by contributing to the soundness of Grenada's NBFIs. This is social implication is an important consideration given the mission of the credit union sector to serving the disenfranchised and to the growth and stability of developing economies.

Scripting, defined as the mechanization of business processes through automated tools or orchestrated responses, has played a significant role in shaping call center activities and the resultant customer relationship. However, findings of industry research have shown that the use of scripting to maximize operational efficiency has had a disempowering effect on call center employees by lowering their job-skill and knowledge requirements. Grounded in the concepts of knowledge management and knowledge transfer, this study explored the experiences of frontline call center employees on the effects of scripting on customer problem solving. A single-case study design with semistructured interviews was used with a population of 20 frontline employees in a North American call center to gather insights. Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data using nodes to identify emerging themes and insights. Three major themes emerged: First, although scripting had contributed to improved service quality and operational efficiency, scripted practices undermined the use of team knowledge and limited the amount of shared information. Second, the employees requested that call center scripted solutions be more intuitive and better aligned to knowledge requirements. Third, the employees suggested that an object-oriented approach to solution management be used, one that could better leverage communities of practices and collective team knowledge sharing within the organization. This object-oriented approach to solution management may promote virtual knowledge flow and the building of subject matter expertise that could elicit higher agent engagement and problem ownership. The proposed object-oriented approach to knowledge sharing is important to management, as it could help facilitate knowledge reuse and improved organizational performance.

The inadequacy of entrepreneurial knowledge among 21-25 year olds in Nigeria with recent undergraduate degrees has led to youth unemployment after graduating from universities. The development of entrepreneurship skills through entrepreneurship education programs for the students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria may bridge the unemployment gap. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to gain a robust common understanding of how undergraduates from 21-25 years old can obtain the entrepreneurial knowledge required for self-employment in Nigeria. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, field notes, and archived training documents, with a purposeful sample of 15 undergraduate degree holders over 21 years old, who had been self-employed, in different industries and possessed entrepreneurial knowledge and experiences. Using Yin's 5 step data analysis process, member checking, and triangulation resulted in the emergence of codes, themes, and categories. The key themes were knowledge of business management, identification of business opportunities, information from workshop and seminars, information from social media and customer service, information on innovation, and mentor and mentee relationship. The findings from this study provide the empirical evidence needed to support entrepreneurship education as well as insight on tertiary institutions' commitment to entrepreneurship education that may lead to the creation of employment and empowers entrepreneurs towards national growth and development. The implications for positive social change include reshaping the way undergraduates prepare for self-employment, leading to a reduction of unemployment among youths in Nigeria.