<p> This study explores the impact of virtuous positive practices on organization identity, specifically it addresses the question of <i>how</i> organizations use virtuous positive practices to construct a positive organization identity. I use an inductive approach to conduct a case study of two organizations that have a reputation of outstanding culture, employee engagement, customer orientation, and have contributed to their respective communities. The study presents a model with a set of five propositions describing how the two organizations use virtuous positive practices to construct a positive organization identity. Key findings suggest that when virtuous thoughts, inspiring words, and empowering deeds are aligned in the construction process, the resultant identity characteristics are imbued with positivity.</p>

<p> Although the major responsibility for community college governance falls to presidents and administrators, researchers have recognized the integral role of faculty in governing higher education institutions. Few studies, however, have explored the effectiveness of contributions of faculty elected to community college academic senates. The purpose of this research was to investigate the background traits and leadership skills of elected academic senate presidents in order to identify both their perceptions of themselves as leaders and the perceptions of other faculty senate members. This study was based in the theory of transformational leadership in organizations and its impact on the effectiveness of organizations. The research question for this quantitative study focused on the extent to which the elected academic senate presidents' background and leadership traits affect the performance of faculty senates. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Form 5X; MLQ 5X) and supplemental demographic data were used with faculty at the 112 community colleges in a western state to measure the relationship between leadership behavior and organizational effectiveness. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and <i>z</i> and <i> t</i> tests. Results indicated that there is a significant relationship between senate presidents who were transformational leaders and more effective in leading faculty senates. The implications for social change include informing community college faculty senates and their presidents about effective leadership styles and skills and providing resources to improve faculty governance. The anticipated results are improved college governance, enhanced college service to their communities, and enriched education for their students.</p>

<p> According to a review of the literature, Christian churches are divided because of constant rejection of change. In spite of the 70% failure rate of all organizational change efforts, successful change initiatives are achievable. Senior pastors assume the primary role of leadership within the church, and were tasked with the responsibility of leading God&rsquo;s people through change and guiding the evolution of the church. Parishioners rely on senior pastors to provide the vision, as many parishioners continue to hinder the change efforts of the senior pastor. The hermeneutical phenomenological research design was used in the qualitative study to investigate the phenomenon of change through the challenges experienced by senior pastors of Missionary Baptist Churches of Greater Minneapolis during change. Seventeen senior pastors of Missionary Baptist Churches of Greater Minneapolis participated in audio taped face-to-face interviews. During the analysis five themes emerged: (a) mixed emotions; (b) servant of the Lord; (c) relationships; (d) organizational culture; and (e) communication is the key. Recommendations for senior pastors, organizational leaders, and Seminary and Bible Colleges were developed from the results of the qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological study.</p>

<p> The quantitative correlational research study addressed the problem of a lack of knowledge on the predictive nature or strength of the independent variables; trust in immediate supervisor, trust in top management, and organizational trust precursors for producing organizational effectiveness (OE) that can also lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. The study was conducted on a research division of a federal government agency via electronic survey format. The study revealed that in addition to significant and positive correlations among the trust and OE variables, the results of a multiple regression analysis for the model as a whole showed an adjusted R² value of .6630, indicating that 66.3% of the variation in the dependent variable, OE, was explained by the independent variables. An <i>F</i>-value of 134.8, significant at the .05 level (<i>p</i>-value &lt; .0001), indicated that the overall regression model was a good fit. All three levels of trust experienced by subordinate employees were positive and significant predictors of OE. Hierarchical multiple regression also showed that organizational trust precursors (<i>B^a</i> = .379, &beta;^b = .573, <i>t</i>-value = 8.310, and <i>p</i>-value &lt; .0001), and not trust in top management (<i>B^a</i> = .096, &beta;^b = .128, <i>t</i>-value = 1.970, and <i> p</i>-value = .0508) or trust in immediate supervisor (<i>B^a</i> = .120, &beta;^b = .245, <i>t</i>-value = 5.370, and <i>p</i>-value &lt; .0001) was a stronger positive predictor of OE. Managers and supervisors will be able to gain practical knowledge that will aid in positive and productive interactions with subordinate employees within organizations.</p>

<p> The purpose of the present quantitative descriptive, correlational study was to determine whether and to what degree a relationship existed between generational shifting at the workplace and the level of work engagement. Generations included in the study were Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. The study also served to determine the relationship, between the employee motivations towards work and generational cohort, and the relationship between motivation sources and employee engagement. The study findings revealed that work engagement levels did not relate to generational cohorts. Similarly, the most prevalent motivation sources did not differ among the three generations. In terms of the relationship between motivation sources and employee engagement, the study added to the body of knowledge about employee engagement and work motivation. Positive correlations were found between work engagement and the following motivation sources: intrinsic process, internal self-concept, external self-concept, and goal internalization. These findings imply that individuals are motivated by the work itself, not necessarily by the rewards expected for the job. Individuals prefer jobs that allow them to have fun and provide a sense of achievement. Individuals will be motivated by tasks that help them to maintain or increase their reputation, and jobs that match their internal values. By focusing on addressing workforce motivation sources, employers will probably increase work engagement. Future research could expand on the suggestions and findings of the present study.</p>

<p> Critical care nurses may experience burnout and stress because they are caring for an increasing number of dying patients in the intensive care setting. The purpose of the qualitative, existential phenomenological research study was to explore the experiences, perceptions, and needs of critical care nurses who provided care to dying patients receiving futile medical care and how their experiences may contribute to burnout and stress. Findings revealed that critical care nurses in the study experienced aversive memories associated with scents and sounds of death in intensive care, discomfort, ethical concerns, family issues, personal issues, and physician barriers, but burnout was not discussed. The sample consisted of four critical care nurses who worked in a hospital in Northern California. Data collection was conducted by unstructured interviews, and data analysis was accomplished using thematic analysis and additionally interpreted using NVivo 10 software. Authentic experiences when caring dying patients, barriers encountered while caring for dying patients and identifying resources for nurses caring for dying patients were three themes that emerged from the data analysis. Goodness of caring with intent to stay, meaningful engagement, death feelings/perceptions/scents/sounds, personal feelings, values neutral, advocating for patients, family issues, physician barriers, developing coping skills, colleague/communication support, and end-of-life education/training were the 11 sub-themes that were revealed during the data analysis. There is considerable need for continued research on how to develop and offer a range of supportive resources to help nurses care for themselves while caring for dying patients and their families, on integrating palliative care teams in intensive care units, and how health care organizations could benefit from developing palliative or comfort care units in their organizations.</p>

<p>When a crisis captures the attention of a nation and the world community, the questions are always Why did it happen and How did it happen. Such an event was revealed on April 28, 2004 with a report on CBS's 60 Minute II and in an article by Seymour Hersh posted online in the New Yorker magazine April 30, 2004. The event was the detainee abuse by U.S. Army soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. The abuse occurred between late 2003 and early 2004, and the story shook the U.S. government and the coalition partners who helped the United States bring down the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. This case study examined how the detainee abuse occurred and why the detainee abuse occurred by applying the theory of practical drift to the events in Iraq. However, the study revealed that while the abuse was conducted in Iraq the forces and causes were not confined to Iraq. The forces that contributed to the breakdown in soldier discipline in Iraq were the result of leadership and doctrinal decisions made decades earlier and governmental decisions made to fight the War on Terror. The study also identified stages of practical drift that illustrate how practical drift occurs in organizations. The case study avoided dealing with the actual events of the detainee abuse but concentrated on the elements that contributed to setting the conditions for the abuse. Practical drift in the war fighting doctrine development of the U.S. Army and the policies adopted by the U.S. administration to fight the War on Terror were causes of the detainee abuse identified in the case study. Individual behavioral traits of dismissive responsibility and deflected responsibility also contributed to practical drift and ultimately the detainee abuse.

<p> The effects of non-routine work on the planned goals of an organization were examined through a qualitative case study. The purpose of the study was to identify the distinguishing features of routine and non-routine operational situations from the perspective of employees from three different organizational levels: executives, managers, and staff. The findings contribute to the understanding of how organizational leaders can meet their planned goals in the face of disruptions resulting from unplanned operational situations. Twenty employees of this organization were interviewed on how they perceived their routine work was affected by non-routine operational situations. System theory was the ontology of the research for an integrative study of how routine and non-routine operational situations affected the employees in terms of their job performance, job satisfaction, and effectiveness of response. Based on the findings, non-routine operations were perceived by the employees as departures from their routine work. Employees also indicated that they routinized the work they expected to perform as part of their job, both for efficiency and to ensure completeness. Employees expressed anxiety about non-routine work since it was unplanned and caught them unprepared. However, employees also indicated having a sense of accomplishment from completing non-routine work, when their routine work was also completed. Two sources of job satisfaction were reported by the employees: (a) contributing to organizational performance through completing the routine work; and (b) overcoming the challenges of dealing with the task uncertainties that non-routine work entails. Further distinctions between routine and non-routine work were indicated by employees in terms of quality control and quality assurance measures.</p>

<p> Tens of thousands of youth in communities across the United States are engaged every day in out-of-school time (OST) programs. These young people seek opportunities to recreate and socially engage, enhance academic and leadership skills, express themselves creatively, explore important issues in their communities, and work toward affecting change. These programs provide important institutional learning environments in which young people begin to assimilate their roles as political actors and citizens. As the delivery of social services and public programs has increasingly devolved from the government to the nonprofit sector, these programs also shape how young people come to understand their role and function in the public policy arena. Yet it is unclear what configuration of program designs and organizational environments might make for effective development of political engagement attitudes among youth participating in these out-of-school time programs. </p><p> Working with community-based organizations in Boston, this exploratory research looked at how out-of-school time (OST) program designs and implementations were related to the development of political engagement attitudes among youth age 14 to18. Using multiple case sites with multiple embedded units of analysis, the research examined the relationship between program features and elements, organizational environments, and youth served with an eye toward understanding more fully the interplay between these elements and the development of political engagement attitudes. The research looked at how organizational leadership, resource development strategies, organizational values, program design, pedagogical approaches, organizational structures, and youth development perspectives work to create environments that communicate to young people what role or roles they might play in the political life of their community. </p><p> This study contrasted two out-of-school time (OST) programs with clearly articulated youth engagement development orientations (e.g., social justice youth development and community youth development) with two OST programs with no clearly articulated youth development model. The research found that none of the programs was an exemplar. Programs that aimed to build strength in the individual, group, and community domains and those that used a variety of development models (not just youth engagement) were most likely to result in positive political engagement attitudes. Certain program and organizational features examined here also yielded positive results. This research is intended to assist nonprofit agencies, private foundations, and government agencies in evaluating programs that seek to strengthen and improve the lives of young people through political engagement. It is also intended to illuminate how important policy domains that affect youth (e.g., criminal justice, education, workforce development, public health) might work to engage youth constituencies through out-of-school time programming delivered by the nonprofit sector. </p>

<p> Facing the threat of schism in a globalized church by a proposed ban on bishops in openly gay relationships, a parish rector turned to reconstructive rhetoric to promote a unified identity among members of his congregation. This case study uses a sampling of sermons delivered by the Reverend James Nutter, former rector of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, to examine how <i> rhetoric was used to address his congregation, to promote and support collective identity in a potentially divisive atmosphere.</i> The research asks, what was accomplished by the rhetoric and what resources did the congregants themselves bring into play in constructing and maintaining the collective identity of their community? The goal of this research was to find a resonant <i> representative anecdote</i> summing up the parish's organizational identity. The study uses Burke's theory of identification, which involves a systematic clustering of terms that denote <i>association, disassociation,</i> and <i>transcendence.</i> Data sources consist of 37 primary sample documents from sermons, personal interviews, and a focus group analyzed as a Hermeneutic Unit in the Social Scientific Program, ATLAS.ti. The multi-step qualitative research included close reading, content analysis, and coding of <i>umbrella constructs, constructs,</i> and <i>coding themes, </i> which were clustered into semantic maps of <i>coding networks. </i> The study also drew from discourse, church identity, and organizational theories. It contributes to rhetorical theory in the use of parables as analogical extensions that validate the Christian tenet of &ldquo;families&rdquo; gathering at the table despite diversity, and the resistance at Palmer to the actions of global church leaders that were perceived to marginalize gay members of the community. Congregants echoed the cognitive patterns embedded in the parables, connecting them to their own experience and practice of being members of the congregation. When identity work includes a seasoned preacher effectively addressing a competent audience in the pews, parish identity is found to be similar to, but not identical with the denominational identity. The result was an alignment of shared values in Palmer`s representative anecdote, <i> In my Father's mansion, there is room for you.</i></p>