<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this study was to examine the progression and perception of the glass ceiling today, against the backdrop of decades of changing social developments, including changing demographics, economies, and technological advancements; legislative mandates; organizational structures with a more humanistic approach to human capital; a shift toward collaborative intra- and interagency organizational management; and an unprecedented active citizenry.</p><p> <b>Theoretical Framework.</b> The theoretical framework was based on three foundational theories: organizational theory, feminist theory, and collaborative management theory.</p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> This study included 12 participants, all executive-level women at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) from the deputy executive officer level and above. A semistructured interview approach was utilized to best capture each participant&rsquo;s perceptions in relation to career advancement since each participant&rsquo;s experience was different and due to the highly political climate associated with executive-level positions.</p><p> <b>Findings.</b> The glass ceiling is still pervasive, and all participants indicated being personally impacted by it. Comparable pay is still an issue, occupational segregation is still commonplace, children and marriage are still barriers to advancement, and despite in many cases women surpassing men in educational attainment, disparity at the top continues. Diversity has created unprecedented opportunity, even if by default. Work&ndash;life balance continues to be an issue. Technological advances and shifts to knowledge-based work are expected to increase career advancement. Feminine traits such as nurturing and consensus building that were once seen as negatives are now viewed as positive traits in collaborative structures.</p><p> <b>Conclusions and Recommendations.</b> The results of this study support the overall literature review and the researcher&rsquo;s position that emerging changes in social and organizational structures, especially a shift to more humanistic and collaborative organizational structures, will create career advancement opportunities for women. However, since this a rapidly evolving structure, management/organizational reporting structures need to evolve as well. Women must educate themselves in nontraditional female fields like engineering and the sciences. Joining professional organizations, networking, and mentoring need to be practiced. Lastly, women must be committed to growth and know that they will have to work harder than men, have more education and credentials, and continue to push on the ceiling until it shatters.</p>

<p> Most companies lack the ability to implement organizational change; over 70% of Organization Change Initiatives (OCIs) fail. This inability has negative economic and survival implications for companies. OCIs must be effective and rapid to match the high pace of change in the business environment. Transformational leadership (TL) has been linked to successful OCIs through its positive influence on employee commitment and reduced resistance to change, yet little research has been done to identify its association with OCI implementation speed. This study tested TL and change theory and their association with change implementation. It sought to determine if a relationship exists between TL behavior and OCI implementation time. Archival survey and change data from 98 domestic and international manufacturing plants were used to examine relationships between employees' perceptions of leadership communication and trustworthiness and the speed of change. Hierarchical linear regression was used to determine if these behaviors could predict the change speed of an OCI. The study confirmed the association between effective leadership communication and employee trust in leadership, but it found no significant relationship between TL behavior and the speed of change. This finding is inconsistent with the majority of TL literature; however, companies may still benefit from exploring the potential of the study's theoretical concepts to help them improve the speed of organizational change. The limitations of the study were also noted as a potential contributor to the lack of significant findings, and recommendations are offered to reduce validity risk for similar studies in the future.</p>

<p> This study investigated how the sociomaterial features of e-mail shaped the dynamics of teacher work expectations and work actions in one high school. Drawing on Greenhalgh and Stones' (2010) Strong Structuration Theory Incorporating a Technology Dimension, the study utilized Stones' (2005) Quadripartite Cycle of Structuration to make meaning from the data. The research site was a k-12 independent school in the Southeast United States. The network-in-focus was the high school and the agents-in-focus were high school teachers. Three administrators, all of whom taught at least one high school class, were also included in the sample. Data were collected primarily through interviews with the participants, supplemented by relevant documents, and a participant-generated e-mail communication log. Data were analyzed through a multi-step open coding process, as well as document analysis and analysis of the e-mail communication logs. The study's findings demonstrate that the sociomaterial features of e-mail played a significant role in shaping the dynamics of teachers' work expectations and work actions at Southeast. Teachers all utilized e-mail on a daily basis as both an efficiency and accountability device; however, some also appropriated it for task and work management purposes. Those teachers that used a smartphone in the execution of their jobs experienced feelings of increased availability, stress, and disruption to their work/home lives. There was a strong theme of accountability that was enabled--perhaps even encouraged--by uninhibited e-mail use. Finally, the research demonstrated that e-mail was at the center of how teachers understood their job(s) and what it meant to be "professional." </p>

<p> A considerable deficit of Licensed Mental Health Professionals (LMHPs) is expected in the United States because of the rapid professional burnout and turnover. Research has related various leadership styles to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and retention. This study focused on authentic leadership theory and the relationship between authentic leadership and burnout. The researcher conducted a causal-comparative study with a convenience sample of 116 licensed mental health professionals to assess the relationship between authentic leadership and LMHP leader burnout in an attempt to identify a solution to the systemic burnout and turnover problems in community mental health centers. The results indicated that authentic leadership was a statistically significant predictor of all three subscales of the MBI. The multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the subcomponents of authentic leadership had a relationship with the three subscales of the MBI. The transparency sub-component of authentic leadership was particularly important because it was a statistically significant predictor of the emotional exhaustion subscale, while the balanced processing and self-awareness subcomponents were also statistically significant predictors of the depersonalization subscale. The moral sub-component of authentic leadership was a statistically significant predictor of the personal accomplishment subscale, which makes this study useful for development of leadership trainings designed to promote work environments that are able to minimize burnout and turnover in LMHPs.</p>

<p> There is limited understanding of the variables that impact trainee performance in clinical settings. As such, investigating the tools used to assess performance was warranted. In the first part of the present research study, I investigated the independent factors that comprised the FPEF using 294 archival forms completed by clinical supervisors at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco. The five conceptually derived domains of clinical competency of the FPEF included: psychological intake, evaluation and assessment; clinical interventions; professional roles and behaviors; self-examination and development; and supervision. A principal factor analysis was conducted to determine whether the items of the FPEF comprised performance factors that were based on these FPEF domains. Results yielded a four-factor solution based on how the items clustered together. Thus, subscales were retitled as follows: Clinical Development, Professional Roles and Behaviors, Psychological Conceptualization and Intervention, and Psychological Assessment Skills. The second part of the present study included trainee self-ratings and supervisor ratings on the FPEFs for 47 school-based mental health trainees. This part of the study focused on whether the internal psychological variables of role conflict, role ambiguity, and self-efficacy (domain specific), and the external variables of both organizational support and supervisory support were associated with performance ratings on the FPEF. Findings indicated that the internal and external variables were both associated with trainees' performances across various domains. However, some of these relationships were contrary to what was expected. Organizational support and supervisory support were found to have negative associations with specific performance domains, which may have been due to limitations of the instruments or moderating variables that were not measured in this study.</p>

<p> Businesses are faced with many challenges in the global economy which require frequent changes to their organizational structure and business processes. One of the roles of the human resources (HR) department in any business is to act as the strategic partner for management in disseminating changes to the broader employee base. The HR professional who is faced with communicating and implementing these changes may encounter stressful situations as they are executing these new change processes. When stress is not treated it can lead to burnout. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate if there was a relationship between frequency of change in organizations and burnout among HR professionals. The study also sought to explore the relationship between burnout and gender as well as the relationship between and burnout and position within the organization. The sample included 147 HR professionals who completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which measured burnout and the Frequency of Change Scale (FoCS) which measured change. The results indicated that the frequency of change in an organization does not have a significant effect on burnout among HR professionals. No relationships were found between burnout and gender or burnout and position. Additional research is needed in this area and recommendations are suggested.</p>

<p> Although there are many organizational culture studies that have been conducted, very few have been conducted in the context of a human service organization (Jaskyte, 2010). Organizational culture has been described as a neglected area of exploration as it relates to the enhancement of quality of life for persons with disabilities (Gillet &amp; Stenfert-Kroese, 2003). </p><p> This research took the form of a qualitative case study of the culture of one human service organization. This study may make three specific contributions to the organizational culture literature. These include: (a) providing an empirical study of a human service organization's culture, (b) attempting to describe and understand specific mechanisms that may contribute to culture formation and maintenance, and (c) identifying aspects of a human service organizations culture that may help or hinder their effectiveness. Fourteen participants were be engaged in the research. The participants were associated with three different position levels. </p><p> The participating organization presented a strong and unified culture. The espoused theories and the theories-in-use of the organization's founders were highly congruent. The founders of the organization conveyed a sense of mission that was readily adopted by initial hires. The mission of the organization was formulated around principles of highly individualized support, community inclusion, quality of life, and a consistent regard for the dignity and respect of the individuals supported by the organization. Potential contributions of this research include: (a) being one of the few qualitative studies related to the culture of an organization that provides services for persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD); (b) a research design that provides a relatively comprehensive approach to the study of a single organizational culture; (c) a rich account of how human service workers, from multiple position levels, experience their culture; (d) a preliminary analysis of how leadership may influence culture in the context of a human service environment, and (e) an exploratory investigation as it relates to discovering additional approaches that may assist in evaluating the relationship between culture and organizational effectiveness. The following is a listing of potential future directions for research related to this type of study: (a) a replication of this study, or an approximation thereof, with one or more human service organizations; (b) additional research related to the congruence of, or lack thereof, between espoused theories and theories-in-use held by staff members of human service organizations; (c) the development of mixed methods approaches (quantitative/qualitative) to assessing and measuring congruence between espoused theories and theories-in-use; (d) the relationship between specific types of organizational cultures and effectiveness as it relates to supporting persons intellectual/developmental disabilities and perhaps more specifically, challenging behavior; and (e) research related to various leadership models and behavior as it relates to culture formation in human service organizations.</p>

<p> A toxic organization is characterized by a narrow focus on bottom line profits and malicious or abusive behaviors go unnoticed or undisciplined (Kusy &amp; Holloway, 2009; Macklem, 2005). It produces a toxic work environment where employees suffer emotional pain generated from damaging behaviors (Samuel, 2010). While some degree of toxicity is unavoidable, the unrelieved intensity of pressures over a prolonged period of time tends to wear people down (Bacal, 2000; Samuel, 2010). </p><p> Much of the academic and popular literature addressing organizational toxicity focuses on bullying and dysfunctional behavior. This research shows that harmful behaviors are symptomatic of more complex systemic problems. The purpose of this study was to uncover the organizational antecedents of toxicity using Bolman and Deal's (2008) Four-Frame Model of holistic analysis addressing the role that structure, human resources management, political systems, and organizational culture in creating or perpetuating organizational toxicity. </p><p> The study was guided by 4 research questions: 1. What role, if any, does the Structural Frame play in creating or perpetuating organizational toxicity? 2. What role, if any, does the Human Resources Frame play in creating or perpetuating organizational toxicity? 3. What role, if any, does the Political Frame play in creating or perpetuating organizational toxicity? 4. What role, if any, does the Cultural Frame play in creating or perpetuating organizational toxicity? </p><p> The researcher used a phenomenological methodology and purposeful sampling strategy. Fifteen working professionals were interviewed to share stories of their experiences working in a toxic organization. Data extracted from the stories were synthesized through a holistic framework to identify the systemic sources of toxicity. The results revealed dysfunctions with organizational hierarchies, strategies, goals, policies, rules, standards, technology; failures in human resources management and political power sources; and the impact of leadership, values, and norms on organizational culture. These dysfunctions culminate in a toxic work environment. </p><p> This study was intended to provide leaders, students, and victims of toxicity with information for early and accurate identification of organizational toxicity. It concludes with suggestions for understanding the organizational antecedents of toxicity and provides a strategy for managing within, and emotional release from, the toxic work environment.</p>

<p> Complexity leadership theory (CLT) (Uhl-Bien, Marion and McKelvey , 2007; Uhl-Bien &amp; Marion, 2009) represents a 21st century transcend and include theory of leadership. This study examined how seven senior managers and leaders working in complex environments engaged in CLT at work, and whether action-logics (Torbert and Associates, 2004) made a difference in how they did so. Participants spanned three action-logics: expert, achiever, and individualist. </p><p> Data collection for this qualitative study was based on a moderately structured interview protocol developed around the seven primary theoretical components (called "CLT Areas") of the adaptive leadership function presented in Uhl-Bien and Marion, 2009. The interview protocol embodied a language translation from the more abstract academic language of CLT to the idiolect of participants. Individual interviews lasted about two hours. Each participant also completed an action-logic instrument (Leadership Development Profile). </p><p> The primary study finding is a novel methodology for determining the degree to which participants were engaging in CLT. Existing definitions of CLT Areas as shown in Uhl-Bien, Marion, and McKelvey (2007) and Uhl-Bien and Marion (2009) were expanded via the development of elements comprising each CLT Area. Further, metrics were developed for each element that generated numerical scoring from interview text, providing a means for quantitative analysis to compare differences among participants. Data for three of the seven CLT Areas were analyzed. </p><p> In addition to the primary methodology finding, data findings guided by the CLT Scoring Framework showed evidence that all participants were engaged in CLT, but in different ways. Moreover, patterns of scoring differences emerged across action-logics, suggesting that action-logics were impacting the way these leaders engaged in CLT. </p><p> This study represents an early step in the integration of two theories - complexity leadership and action-logic - both of which appear to be related to 21st century environments. The study concludes with a recommendation for how to further integrate these theories in a way that could lead to considerable expansions of both. Of particular interest is the potential to deepen understanding of the role systems thinking plays in regards to action-logics.</p>

<p> This qualitative, exploratory case study addressed the research question: What is the interplay of executive group members' deep-level attributes in the process of high-stakes decision-making in one global organization? The study responded to Lawrence's (1997) call to explore the "black box of organizational demography" through the exploration of subjective concepts such as beliefs, cognitions, and values and their relationships within research models. As such, it sought to further the understanding of the influence of executive group members' surface- and deep-level (underlying) attributes while engaged in promotion and selection of internal candidates to higher levels of leadership within one regional business unit of a global organization. The research used executive groups, leadership, and decision-making literature as its basis, and its results inform practice related to executive groups, decision-making, and selection. </p><p> The study offered seven conclusions. (1) The definition of deep-level attributes requires revision. (2) Beliefs are not deep-level attributes, but result from the interplay between surface-level attributes and values. (3) Cognitions are generated from the interplay of beliefs and the decision-making context. (4) Executive groups appear to function best when both homogeneity and heterogeneity are present simultaneously. (5) The CEO has a more substantial and pervasive influence on the executive group decision-making process than any other member of the executive group. (6) The conceptual frame for this study required revision to fully understand "interplay." (7) Decision-making executive groups are flexible in structure. The study offered recommendations related to theory, practice, and future research.</p>