The inflation rate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) rose to 5-year highs in 2014 and higher by 28% in the first half of 2015. This situation has challenged business managers to sustain business goals. Guided by Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard framework. the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies business managers use to maintain profitability with rising operating costs. Two organizations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates were purposefully sampled for this multiple case study. Data were collected through multiple semistructured interviews of a single senior manager from each organization, then triangulated with company e-mails and focus group interviews of 2 junior managers from each of the organizations. All data were analyzed using a 5-phased cycle of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding to understand the emerging patterns. The themes revealed cost reduction initiatives and revenue enhancements initiatives as the key strategies used by the business managers. The approach and direction used in these strategies showed variance based on cost and revenue drivers of the organizations. The findings of the study can be a guide for business managers to understand the essence of effective business strategies that counter challenging economic environments, thus sustaining profitability and developing additional employment opportunities for the surrounding community.

Employee absenteeism is a costly problem, affecting organizations' ability to deliver products and services. Finding strategies managers use to help reduce employee absenteeism is critical to sustain operational capacity, control labor costs, and to achieve organizational success. Drawing from the Herzberg 2-factors theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies implemented by six business organizations to reduce employee absenteeism in the maquiladora industry in Mexico. Through semistructured interviews, 11 management participants shared strategies implemented to reduce absenteeism. In addition, other data sources, such as organizational policies, management graphs, and meeting minutes were used. Data were coded and analyzed revealing 7 themes: (a) organizational support, (b) leadership quality, (c) compensation and benefits, (d) disciplinary actions, (e) recognition, (f) work environment, and (g) staffing policies. The research findings may contribute to business practice by providing organizational managers broader perspectives for the development of strategies to effectively manage employee absenteeism. These findings might also contribute to social change by improving organizational communication, supporting workers' personal needs, recognizing employees' contributions, enhancing relationships with supervisors, improving the work environment, and raising employee take-home pay.

A sustainability plan of an organization is useless without effective leadership in its design and execution. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies that church leaders having at least 7 continuous years of organizational fiscal sustainability and leadership used to ensure fiscal sustainability. The study included 8 face-to-face and 2 phone interviews with 4 senior pastors, 3 associate pastors, a treasurer, a finance committee chair, and a certified public accountant who lived in the Akron, Ohio area along with a review of documents including a leadership meeting agenda and financial committee meeting agenda, provided by study participants. The transformational leadership theory was used to frame this study. Audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed along with interview notes and publicly available documents to identify themes regarding strategies used by church leaders to successfully achieve fiscal sustainability. Data analysis consisted of coding, thematic analysis, and key word analysis, which resulted in 4 major themes: mentoring strategies, where a pastor might get some good advise from someone knowledgeable about fiscal sustainability; training strategies on subjects like planned giving; education strategies on the use of websites and social media tools to improve the effectiveness of fundraising activities; and the importance of choosing the right leadership style as a strategy in improving fiscal sustainability. These strategies may contribute to social change if they are used by pastors and other church leaders to ensure fiscal sustainability in their organizations. Social implications may include increased attention on the varied benefits of sustainability and their adoption by individuals, businesses, organizations, governments, and society.

Rising costs and continued risks in patient care indicate that knowledge management (KM) tools have not been fully recognized in healthcare. A case study was conducted to determine how KM tools might support the decision-making process of interprofessional teams. The study was predominately qualitative with a quantitative supplemental component. A questionnaire was used to collect data; this questionnaire contained open-ended questions along with Baggs' Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions and Anderson & West's Team Climate Inventory instruments. Responses to open-ended questions were reviewed, categorized, and coded as part of the qualitative analysis. Descriptive statistics were completed from Likert scale responses. Participants were selected from existing interprofessional transitional care teams in clinics at a VA hospital; a total of 29 participants volunteered. The framework of decision making and KM was the basis for the study. The research concentrated on interprofessional teams' environment characteristics of trust, collaboration, and sharing. The intended goal of the study was to understand how satisfaction in the delivery of collaborative care decisions and the team climate might influence the success of using or implementing KM tools. Key findings included the importance of communication to support teams' knowledge sharing and collaboration; findings also revealed how the satisfaction in the patient care decision-making process may influence a team's climate for innovation, collaboration, and sharing. These insights may inform the development and implementation of healthcare KM tools. Through the use of KM tools to support clinical decision making, opportunities become available to improve patient care and reduce costs, which lead to a positive social change in minimizing the disparity in the healthcare delivery system.

Senior executive leaders face ongoing challenges assessing whether their leadership teams have the competencies to respond to rapidly changing business conditions resulting from negative leader-employee interactions. The purpose of this qualitative single-unit case study was to explore strategies that team leaders at an online, for-profit high school education system located in Delaware, used to sustain positive leader-employee relationships to increase employee productivity. The population consisted of 5 current team leaders (faculty members and executives) at the study site who had experienced team member losses, yet had implemented effective strategies to sustain positive leader-employee relationships and increased employee productivity. The conceptual frameworks that grounded this doctoral study were path-goal and transformational leadership theories. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data collected through semistructured interviews, note taking, and company documents, with member checking implemented to validate the findings. Four themes emerged from the analysis: leadership styles and strategies, motivation, goal setting, and employee engagement and productivity. The implications for positive social change include the potential for top executives, stakeholders, and team leaders to increase the number of positive leader-employee relationships resulting in increased productivity, a favorable organizational reputation, and lower turnover rates, contributing to the financial stability and prosperity of not only employees but also communities and families.

Although research has been done on amnesty, little is known about amnesty as a public policy tool toward countering insurgence in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of amnesty as a public policy tool. The research questions are: Is there a difference in people's view of amnesty that explain the relevance of infrastructural facilities to stimulate economic growth and development in Nigeria? And, are there specific citizen characteristics that explain the differences in the way citizens perceive amnesty as a public policy choice? The theoretical framework was based on Marx's ideology of conflict theory. This study employed convenience and purposive sampling methods in selecting participant and employed a cross-sectional ex-post facto quantitative research design. Data were collected through a researcher developed survey administered to 100 randomly-selected participants at the Gwagwalada shopping mall, located in the capital city of Abuja. Descriptive statistics and analyses of variances showed a significant mean difference in the perceptions of participants who believed that amnesty would play a viable role in countering insurgency, based on age, income, education, sex, employment status and type of work performed, and the regions in which they reside. However, findings indicate that there is no statistical significance between religious differences or views on economic growth and development and amnesty as a public policy choice. The awareness will provide a framework for better understanding of amnesty as a public policy choice. The positive social change implications include advocacy for amnesty as a public policy tool toward countering insurgence. Implementation of the recommendation of this study lends support to amnesty policies in Nigeria by providing a greater awareness of citizen preferences in policy development.

Many owners of small business restaurants lack financial strategies for successful business recovery following a disaster. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the financial strategies 3 owners of small business restaurants used for successful business recovery following a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conceptual framework for this study included theories of reasoned action, planned behavior, and vested interest. Historical evidence of past practices supported semistructured interviews with 3 owners of small restaurant businesses. Yin's 5-step analysis guided transcribing and coding of the participants' responses. The major themes of this study revealed that strategies such as communication, having funds on-hand, flood deterrents, and disaster planning helped owners prepare for a natural disaster. The owners' actions related to preventing restaurant closures and unemployment, and to supporting community stability, family unity, job opportunities, and economic growth. All owners of small restaurant businesses were successful in planning after disaster created opportunities for increased employment for those who wished to return and rebuild. The findings from this study may contribute to positive social change by supporting strategies including positive attitudes and disaster preparedness to prevent business closing and contribute to the local economy.

Greenhouse gas emissions are caused, in part, by human activities. However, consumers may assume that the burden of environmental problems, such as carbon emissions reduction through sustainable energy practices, should be borne by the entire society. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to test whether behavioral determinants and demographic factors could influence homeowners' intent to conserve energy. Empirical data were collected from 436 sampled homeowners in the Northeast region of the United States using an online survey questionnaire. The survey instrument was adapted from Ajzen's theory of planned behavior instrument. Variables aligned with the theory of planned behavior, alongside sociodemographic factors, were used to explain any impact the predictors had on the outcome. A multiple ordinary least squares regression model was used to answer the 3 research questions. According to the study findings, the most significant positive relationship was found between homeowners' beliefs about energy conservation and the intent to conserve energy. There was also a significant positive relationship between the other predictors and the outcome at varying levels. Policymakers could generate support for energy efficiency and conservation by educating consumers about alternative energy options as a means of mitigating carbon emissions and air pollution. This study may lead to a positive social change by supporting regional policymakers in designing and promoting cost-effective behavioral solutions and demographic change support systems as an alternative policy tool that could encourage a sustainable energy consumption practice at the household level.

Leaders of the U.S. government and U.S. organizations continue to seek information to mitigate risk and improve project deliverables in virtual environments. The problem addressed in this study was the rapid growth of technology in virtual workplaces that causes organizational leaders to concentrate on infrastructure and technology. The purpose of the exploratory case study was to understand the challenges virtual leaders encounter in the government environment that affect project delivery. The research questions were designed to examine the challenges virtual team leaders encounter while maintaining their roles and responsibilities to complete a project successfully in a timely manner. The theory of constraints was the framework used to address the problem of virtual leaders who struggle to complete project deliverables. Data were collected from 11 government virtual leaders via an online anonymous questionnaire and were triangulated via a reflective journal and notes from a checklist filled out by the participants who reviewed their own virtual team documents, logs, and recordings that served as firsthand knowledge. Data analysis led to several patterns and themes including communication, trust, and collaboration challenges for virtual leaders. Organizational leaders can use this study's findings to develop efficient and effective ways to engage with virtual leaders to achieve effective project deliverables and impact change in virtual environments in the 21st-century workplace.

Employee turnover costs can be 100%-200% of the total compensation package of an employee who leaves the organization, depending upon their position and experience. Leaders in the highly competitive insurance industry should emphasize the importance to retain talented employees with managers in an effort to minimize costs and diminish productivity levels associated with employee turnover. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies to retain employees used by insurance managers in the Charlotte, NC metropolitan area. The conceptual framework included Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory to explore motivator factors that encourage employee retention. Seminstructured interviews were conducted with 6 insurance managers from 3 small businesses in which successful retention strategies have been implemented for the past 10 years. Company documents were reviewed, including a performance evaluation template, organizational chart that highlights growth opportunities, employee evaluation and review form, and a staff guide to performance development. Data were thematically analyzed and triangulated to ensure the trustworthiness of interpretations. The findings included 4 themes: offering competitive compensation, use of frequent two-way communication, providing growth opportunities, and understanding employee needs. These findings could impact positive social change by providing insurance managers and other small business managers with strategies to retain employees that could lead to higher levels of commitment and engagement from employees, yielding increased productivity and profits for the business.