<p> This is a study of how the quality of a university strategic plan can be assessed on the basis of content validated rubrics. It further explores of the dynamics of how the choice of a planning process, i.e. inclusive or non-inclusive, can be affected by strategic intent, change capacity and leadership style of the organization's President. </p><p> As the definition of a quality strategic plan document is established by the study, the next problem the study addresses is the gap in higher education literature about the import of clear strategic intent, i.e. the focus on what the organization is trying to achieve. Therefore, two research questions evolve and are addressed in the study: (1) What are the factors that drive the choice of a strategic planning process? (2) Does the process choice affect the quality of the final plan document? </p><p> The first phase of research surveyed 16 presidents of prestigious universities. These participants content validated a Comprehensive Quality Matrix. In the second sampling process, faculty and staff from one Midwestern urban college (Site A) and another university in the same city (Site B) were engaged for focus groups and interviews as the beta sites. This second phase explores the assumption that faculty and staff are more inclined to accept and support change if they are viewed as beneficiaries of and collaborators in that change. </p><p> Conclusively, the research was a mixed study in that Phase I was quantitative in nature whereas Phase II was qualitative. A review of findings from the research reveals that criteria for a high-quality strategic plan document can indeed be defined. The researcher developed a Comprehensive Quality Matrix, whose content was validated by experts using a statistically significant standard method. The researcher also identified certain factors that affect the choice of a planning process (inclusive or exclusive). The major elements were strategic intent and culture management, while the minor elements were organizational capacity and organizational learning. Leader style and orientation were found to further impact process choice. Task-oriented leaders tend to be more exclusive in their planning processes, whereas relational leaders tend to be more inclusive. </p>

<p> This study addressed the frequently discussed issue of a relationship between the demographic diversity of a workgroup and its performance, by empirically testing for a relationship between a complex conceptualization of diversity (demographic faultlines) and workgroup performance bifurcated into processes, specifically relationship and task conflict, and outcomes, in terms of groups member's individual satisfaction with the group, commitment to the group, liking of other group members, and intent to stay. In addition, it hypothesized processes (relationship and task conflict) as mediators of outcomes. An online survey was administered at a single firm, ultimately gathering data from a sample population of 95 workgroups, representing 389 individual members. Using hierarchical regression analysis, the strength of the demographic faultline (<i>Fau</i>) of each group was tested for a relationship with relationship and task conflict and workgroup outcomes. Controlling for group size, the study found <i>Fau</i> positively predictive of relationship and task conflict, and not predictive of workgroup performance outcomes (given the finding of no relationship between <i>Fau</i> and outcomes, relationship and task conflict as mediators of outcomes was not tested), confirming only one of five hypotheses. The possible impact of the sample characteristics on this field study was discussed in conjunction with the theoretical, research, and practical implications of the findings.</p>

<p> This discussion encompasses the specifics of a partnership between leading U.S. foundations&mdash;the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. This analysis illustrates the dynamics of their collaboration&mdash;the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa&mdash;and offers an interpretation of how foundations leveraged legitimacy by both working collaboratively with peer grant-makers, and paying attention to their African beneficiaries' input. This inquiry illustrates how these foundations strategically monitored their accountability around various legitimation mechanisms to maximize the impact of their philanthropy on the field of higher education in Africa while supporting the field's institutionalization. They gained legitimacy by rationalizing a form of collective and participatory action, and promoting a discourse of capacity building that reinforced their role in higher education in Africa. The foundations also positioned themselves strategically in the ecology of international developers to advocate for the importance of higher education in the economic development of Africa while upholding their own conception of knowledge societies.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the leadership practices of presidents and the organizational culture of Christian colleges and universities. The leadership practices of presidents were measured utilizing the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI-S) and the Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer (LPI-O). The spiritual leadership practices (a combination of spiritual gifts and leadership behaviors) of presidents were measured utilizing the Spiritual Leadership Practices-President (SLP-P) and the Spiritual Leadership Practices-Employee (SLP-E) scales. Organizational culture types were assessed utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The target population for this study was the presidents of the 115 member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in the United States. Participants in this study consisted of the presidents and a random sample of administrators, faculty members, and administrative staff members from each participating institution. Out of the 115 presidents and institutions in the target population, 35 responded that they could not participate due to various reasons. This situation left a convenient sample of 80 presidents and institutions. A total of 32 Presidential Questionnaires were completed and returned to the researcher for a response rate of 40%. A total of 56 of 96 Employee Questionnaires were completed and returned to the researcher for a response rate of 58.33%. Results from the statistical analysis of the data and hypotheses revealed statistically significant positive relationships between the leadership practices Model the Way (MTW), Inspire a Shared Vision (ISV), Challenge the Process (CTP), Enable Others to Act (EOA), Encourage the Heart (ETH) and the Clan organizational culture type. Results also revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between the leadership practice Challenge the Process (CTP) and the Adhocracy organizational culture type. In addition, results revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between the Spiritual Leadership Practices-Employee (SLP-E) scale and the Clan organizational culture type. Thus, there is a relationship between the leadership practices of presidents and the organizational culture of Christian colleges and universities.</p>

<p> This phenomenological study examined how dispersed social workers experience interactions through new communication technology as periods of social presence with their centralized coworkers and supervisors. Additionally, this study sought to understand how interaction via new communication technology facilitates increased organizational identification among dispersed social workers. The conceptual framework focused on social presence and organizational identification theories as well as dispersed work within the context of social work.</p><p> Eleven participants engaged in semistructured, open-ended interviews, and data were analyzed according to Moustakas' (1994) phenomenological analysis reduction method. As a result, five themes and several connected elements emerged. The five themes were social presence, increased organizational identification (OI), lowered OI, advantages of dispersed social work, and challenges to dispersed social work.</p><p> Based on the themes and textural and structural descriptions, there were five findings that answered the two overarching research questions: What is the dispersed social worker's experience of interaction through new communication technology as periods of social presence with his or her centralized coworkers and supervisors? What is the dispersed social worker's experience of interaction via new communication technology as the facilitation of organizational identification? Those findings were as follows:</p><p> 1. Dispersed social workers do not experience interactions through new communication technology as periods of social presence with their centralized coworkers. 2. There are mixed experiences of interaction through new communication technology as periods of social presence with supervisors. 3. Interaction via new communication technology facilitated a varied sense of organizational identification based on the affective, communication, and cognitive components that encompass OI. 4. Dispersed social workers' affective and communicative OI is contingent upon the frequency and type of communication with coworkers (centralized and dispersed) and supervisor. 5. Lack of or negative interaction with centralized coworkers negatively impacted cognitive OI.</p><p> Based upon the findings, conclusions were drawn, and implications and recommendations for theory, research, and practice were discussed.</p>

Abstract not available.

In Cambodia, as in many other post-conflict countries, civil society is weak and poorly developed. Following thirty years of violent civil unrest, the country remains scarred politically and socially. Relations between government and local communities are tenuous, and the capacity for civic participation in the development and implementation of community-based social programs is severely limited. Consequently a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are striving to strengthen Cambodian civil society and to enhance the capacity of local communities to engage effectively with government institutions. This thesis presents the results of an ethnographic case study of two NGO-sponsored educational programs that are striving to strengthen local civic capacity and to foster productive democratic relationships between community leadership and local government officials. The study highlights the potential for strengthening Cambodian civil society in circumstances characterized by deep-seated socio-cultural traditions, post-war undercurrents of resistance to modernization, and abiding suspicion of government authorities. Keywords: Civil Society, Education, NGOs, Development, Fragile State, Cambodia, Culture

Historically, many initiatives designed to assist marginalized populations in Brazil have emerged through civil society. More specifically, for the case of children and adolescents, it has been grassroots and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), at the local and national level, that have played a crucial role in not only defending the rights of destitute children and adolescents but also in creating programs to serve the needs of this vulnerable population. In this light, my aim through two ethnographic case studies is to investigate how the pedagogical approaches and non-formal education (NFE) programs provided by two NGOs foster the potential educational sites for today's street youths in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to become empowered socially, culturally, economically and politically. The two cases also serve as a point of entry to understand these urban youths as a subculture.

While government intelligence"knowledge to support policy decision making"is often characterized as an art or science, this dissertation suggests it is more akin to what Science and Technology Studies call a "technological system" or a" sociotechnical ensemble". Such a policy support tool is a mechanism socially constructed for the production of policy-relevant knowledge through integration of social and material components. It involves organizational and procedural innovations as much as it does specialized hardware for obtaining, manipulating, and distributing information. The development and function of American intelligence is illustrated here through a case study of how the United States and its European allies learned about Germany's World War II secret weapons, especially the long-range liquid fueled rocket known to their military as the A4, but better known to the public as the V-2. The colonial British heritage and the unique American experiences of participating in wars taking place in domestic and foreign territories set the cultural stage for both the strengths and weaknesses with which American intelligence approached the rapidly evolving German secret weapon capabilities of World War II. The unfolding events that American and British intelligence dealt with in building their knowledge evolved through three stages: early speculation about the existence and nature of the secret weapon threat derived from frequently misleading or misunderstood espionage reports, followed by improvements in knowledge from direct access to information sources provided by enabling technologies, and, finally, systematic reflection on the aggregate of earlier knowledge and new data. This allowed government decision makers to build plans and resources with which to counter the new threats and to prepare for post-war management of similar political and technical issues. However, it also illustrated the difficulties that large and complex systems create for stabilization of institutional innovations. / Ph. D.

<p>Managers play a major role in ensuring the practice of ethical behavior in organizations. The problem addressed in this study was that bank failures in Nigeria have been associated with fraud, unethical behavior, and malpractices. The purpose of this descriptive multiple qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of managers regarding the role of spirituality of managers in banks in the Nigerian financial sector and its perceived influence on ethical behavior. The sample study consisted of managers in three Banks in Nigeria, subordinates working under these managers, and executives supervising the managers. A total of 39 participants were interviewed comprising of 18 managers, 18 subordinates, and three executive directors. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of participants in each organization. The findings from the study indicated that workplace spirituality is essential to preventing organizational malpractice, unethical behavior and fraud in banks, in Nigeria. Managers, subordinates, and executives indicated that integrity, honesty, fairness, and professionalism were necessary for ethical practices in the banking sector. The findings were consistent with claims of other researchers, and also achieved the study purpose, which was to highlight the role of workplace spirituality in preventing fraud, unethical behavior and malpractice in banks. The implications are that bank managers in Nigeria should practice the aforementioned spiritual values, and encourage their subordinates to do likewise. This is considered possible through training or inclusion of ethics curricula in professional development programs for managers. The recruitment of bank managers with a strong propensity towards spirituality and ethical values is also recommended to enhance workplace spirituality. Building organizational culture on principles of ethics so that newly hired managers are put in the ethical environment is also recommended. Future similar studies on the role of employee spirituality in preventing fraud, unethical behavior and malpractice in settings other than banks, other African countries, as well as non-African countries is recommended. Quantitative studies such as the need to assess the existence, strength, and direction of potential relationship between the level of spirituality of managers in banks and the level of fraud, unethical behavior, and malpractice is also recommended. </p>