<p> This study examined six people-integration best practices during mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As): cultural due diligence, cultural integration, integration planning, integration managers and teams, communication practices, and leadership support. Interviews were conducted with 12 individuals who played key roles in M&amp;As. The study findings supported the use of all the best practices with the exception of cultural due diligence and integration managers. Recommendations of this study are to perform cultural exploration, implement the best practices validated by the study, and hold leaders accountable for supporting the M&amp;A effort. Recommendations for research include examining the impact of external factors on M&amp;A success and improving measures of the people impact on M&amp;A success. This study concludes that organization development practitioners must lead the charge in executing M&amp;As with consideration of the human impact. Practitioners can be aided in this effort by familiarizing themselves with the M&amp;A best practices validated in this study.</p>

<p> This study researched the impact of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) on the development of interpersonal competencies in nonprofit boards, examining the case of the San Benito Time Exchange (SBTE), in Hollister, California. The study assessed five interpersonal competencies tied to organizational effectiveness, including: knowledge of one another, communication style, decision-making, conflict resolution, and ability to influence one another. All SBTE board members participated in pre-interviews, board retreat, and post-interviews, each using AI. Study findings indicated positive changes in four out of five measures. The SBTE case illustrated the positive impact of AI on the board's interpersonal competencies and indicated that AI could have a positive impact on interpersonal competencies in other nonprofit boards. Study limitations include the small number of participants and the short time between intervention and measurement of its impact. Areas for future research include testing the impact of AI with larger groups and over longer time periods.</p>

<p> The role of the middle manager in organizations is evolving. As organizations shift from strictly hierarchical structures to ones that are increasingly horizontal and interconnected through team-based collaborations, middle managers are being asked to assume more leadership responsibilities in addition to their traditional management duties. While there is agreement that both leadership and management skills are required for organizations to be successful, there is limited information on the specific skills that are required to both manage and lead from the middle. </p><p> Mid-level managers who successfully develop both skill sets are well positioned for future leadership positions. Preparing middle managers for senior level responsibility is of particular importance to non-profit organizations which are currently facing a significant deficit in the leadership pipeline. To fully develop their human capital, senior level executives in non-profit organizations need to have a good understanding of the management and leadership skills they desire in their middle managers. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to explore, with senior level executives in non-profit organizations, the management and leadership skills they value in their middle managers. The study was designed using the Delphi Method approach of identification, shared evaluation and re-evaluation, and finally consensus among the executives, to determine the most desired and essential management and leadership skills. At the conclusion of the process, 11 senior level executives identified 11 management and leadership skills they believe are essential for effective mid-level management. 4 management skills were considered to be critical: (a) focused on the mission, (b) organized, (c) communication, and (d) accountability. 7 leadership skills were identified as essential: (a) authenticity, (b) promotes healthy organizational culture, (c) values human capital, (d) takes responsibility, (e) creates alignment, (f) provides senior level support, and (g) relationship building. </p><p> Recognizing that organizations are stronger and healthier when both skill sets are present, the findings in this study may be used to identify current strengths and weaknesses within the management structure of a non-profit organizations so that training and hiring adjustments can be made, and to create training programs to better prepare mid-level managers for future executive positions in order to build a strong leadership pipeline.</p>

<p> This study built upon the Project GLOBE (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, &amp; Gupta, 2004) analysis by using a Web-based version of the GLOBE Questionnaire in order to examine the extent to which the cultural values and practices of middle managers in a multinational organization vary depending on (a) their cultural background and the region in which they work, (b) whether they were a member of a recently acquired company, and (c) the number of years employed by the multinational organization. Multinational organizations face the unique challenge of operating in societies that have different sets of cultural norms, expectations, beliefs, and values. Just as societies have distinct cultures, so do organizations. Individuals working in organizations are influenced by the organizational culture as well as by the societal culture and competition between these 2 sets of distinct cultures can dramatically impact the success or failure of an acquisition, a strategic alliance, or any other initiative involving multiple cultures. Focusing on data from over 200 middle managers from the United States parent organization, and the regional organizations in Ireland, France, and Japan, a secondary analysis shows that an individual's values and beliefs tend to be more closely aligned with the corporate culture of the parent organization than with the societal culture of the regional organization. Additionally, an examination of the culture of an acquired company shows that there are no statistically significant differences in cultural practices, and only 2 statistically significant differences in cultural values, several years after the acquisition. Finally, the results from this study show that statistically significant differences for cultural practices and values between individual respondents and the overall organization tend to be most prevalent among middle managers with 5 to 10 years of service with the organization.</p>

<p> Emotional intelligence, which involves competencies that can help leaders deal more effectively with organizational members and foster a healthy organizational climate, has become increasingly more popular and debated in recent years. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to determine whether a relationship existed between a leader's self-perceived level of emotional intelligence and the overall organizational climate, as perceived by organizational members in a nonprofit setting. The research question focused on whether a leader's level of emotional intelligence correlated with a healthy organizational climate. The Emotional Intelligence Quotient Inventory (EQ-I) was administered to 29 leaders from various nonprofit organizations from the United States and the Palestinian territories. The Organizational Climate Questionnaire (OCQ) was administered to 96 organizational members to determine organizational climate. Data obtained from the aforementioned instruments were analyzed using Pearson correlations and multiple regressions. The study revealed no significant relationship between the emotional intelligence of leaders and organizational climate as perceived by organizational members. The results of the study indicate that individuals working in nonprofit organizations are perhaps influenced and/or motivated differently than individuals working in for-profit organizations.</p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: emotional intelligence; organizational climate </p>

<p> National culture and organizational culture impact how continuous improvement methods are received, implemented and deployed by suppliers. Previous research emphasized the dominance of national culture over organizational culture. The countries studied included Poland, Mexico, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Estonia, India, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The research found that Canada was most receptive to continuous improvement, with China being the least receptive. The study found that organizational culture was more influential than national culture. Isomorphism and benchmarking is driving continuous-improvement language and methods to be more universally known within business. Business and management practices are taking precedence in driving change within organizations.</p>

<p> This mixed-methodology study investigates the degree to which dominant organization culture and cultural values influence a manager's willingness to differentiate employee performance for the purpose of making meaningful talent decisions. Data were collected from 26 companies and a total of 45 individual participants. The findings suggest that specific values play a significant role in influencing a manager's willingness to differentiate employee performance regardless of dominant culture. All organizations have high and low performers, yet being willing to make tough performance calls for greater talent decision effectiveness may require embodying values that are considered countercultural. We argue that these values may need to be translated in the dominant culture for greater acceptance and assimilation, and recognize that companywide performance management programs may best be viewed as a collection of individual decisions that carry with them great tensions. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.</p>

<p> Millennials represent the future generation of our workforce, as well as our future thought leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and business owners. The purpose of this study was to identify the cultural attributes of and retention strategies used at companies founded and run by Millennials. This qualitative study collected data through interviews with 10 Millennial managers and 11 Millennial employees. Examination of the data led to the identification of artifacts, behaviors, values, implicit assumptions, and characteristics of these companies. Six common retention strategies also were identified. The concepts underlying these attributes and strategies include openness, egalitarianism and autonomy, immediacy, collaboration and connectedness, and making a valuable impact. Organizations are advised to incorporate these principles into their design, instill supporting structures that help Millennials enhance their potential for contribution, and educate managers about Millennials' preferences and needs. More research is needed to help confirm and extend the present study's findings.</p>

<p> Recent correlation studies in leadership literature have shown that organizational as well as individual outcomes often can be explained by examining leader behaviors and associating those behaviors with those outcomes (Barbuto &amp; Wheeler, 2006; Dannhauser &amp; Boshoff, 2006; Cerit, 2010; Drury, 2004; Hayden, 2011; Laub, 1999; Liden, Wayne, Zhao &amp; Henderson, 2008; Rauch, 2007; Scuderi, 2010; Washington, 2007). Drury (2004) documented that servant leadership can be measured in an organization, and noted a statistically significant relationship between the perception of servant leadership and job satisfaction as well as a statistically significant but inverse relationship between perceptions of supervisors' servant leadership and organizational commitment among employees in an academic environment. The primary focus of this study is volunteer board members' perceptions of pastors' servant leadership and volunteer church board members' reported organizational commitment in high-performing Nazarene churches. Using the 28-item Servant Leadership Scale (SLS) created by Liden et al. (2008) to examine perception of servant leadership among Nazarene pastors, together with the Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) commitment scales to measure organizational commitment of volunteer board members, this study found a statistically significant correlation between these variables. This study also measured pastor self-perception of servant leadership using the SLS self-report by Liden, et al. (2008) and the results indicated that while pastors saw themselves as servant leaders, no significant correlation could be found between the pastor's self-perception of servant leadership and volunteer board members' reported organizational commitment. To further investigate these findings, a summary discussion of interviews conducted with a random sample of pastors complete this mixed-methods study.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental descriptive study was to examine the relationship between servant leadership and job within a multicultural hospitality organization. The theoretical foundation of the study, servant leadership, was supported by the premise that servant leaders within multicultural organizations value the job satisfaction of their employees. Thirty-nine employees completed the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) survey instrument, and the data were analyzed through the utility of SPSS v. 20. The results revealed that a statistically significant relationship existed between servant leadership and job satisfaction as perceived by culturally diverse employees within a hospitality organization (<i>r</i> = 0.635; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.0005). Thus, the discovery of this new knowledge contributed to the fields of cross-cultural leadership, servant leadership, and hotel management regarding the potential utility of servant leadership principles within a multicultural hospitality organization.</p>