<p> There is ample discourse regarding the need for changing nonprofit performance measurement, but there is little consensus within the field on how best to evaluate while maximizing performance, outcomes, and mission achievement. This Q methodology study documented the perceptions of 22 nonprofit leaders in the United States about effective performance measurement and the characteristics necessary to create an effective model to measure nonprofit performance. The study involved analyzing the nonprofit leaders&rsquo; responses to create three distinct views on effective organizational performance measurement called (a) Road Map, (b) Management Tool, and (c) Weakest Link. Despite differences in the viewpoints, three themes emerged as a starting point to inform the shift in measuring nonprofit effectiveness: (a) the need for larger performance management systems, (b) eliminating the unfunded mandate for performance measurement, and (c) the desire for organization-specific mission-based outcome measurement. Insights from the nonprofit leaders revealed the characteristics of a new system for generating meaningful nonprofit performance data. The implementation of these characteristics could strengthen performance management, promote organizational learning, and inspire collaborative partnerships with funders and beneficiaries. Nonprofit leaders must create a culture of performance management that facilitates performance measurement and performance improvements if they are to advance the mission of the organizations they lead. </p>

<p> Social enterprises have been emerging to support the growing need to address social challenges in society. However, it is not clear how social entrepreneurs create large-scale change. This research examines the emergence of a new organizing approach, social entrepreneurship networks (SEN), for enacting social innovation.</p><p> The premise is individual social enterprises may be limited in their ability to scale, while a network of social enterprises can create greater opportunities for impact. The problem is researchers have tended to focus more on the entrepreneur's human attributes. However, social entrepreneurship networks require an understanding of the interaction between <i>social actions</i> and <i>institutional conditions</i> that support social value creation. This research addresses a gap in understanding the nature of this interaction and how these networks emerge to enable social entrepreneurs the means to harness the complexity to achieve their ends of social change.</p><p> This research found the emergence of a network of entrepreneurs over time, which created novel social patterns. These patterns co-evolved to enable a SEN. This new organizing form was studied through the requisite conditions and social mechanisms necessary to create and scale social value. The conditions included the constraints and influences imposed upon particular agents by <i> course-grained social structures.</i> The social mechanisms identified as <i>fine-grained interactions</i> included the sets of internal assumptions that specified how people would interact and connect with each other. These structures and interactions created a set of <i>dynamical tensions</i> that enabled the emergence and sustainment of the SEN.</p><p> It was concluded that fine-grained interactions are enabled through networks, which provide the social mechanisms needed to lower the probability of failure and increase the level interactions. In addition, course-grained structures are ratcheted&mdash;holding on to what works-- as a result of fine-grained interactions that enable knowledgeable actors to change the structures. Lastly, dynamical tensions create opportunities for hyper-emergence &ndash;a form of kick-starting&mdash;a social entrepreneurship network. Social entrepreneurship networks simulate collective impact, which holds the promise of sustainable social innovation.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to illuminate leaders' lived experience of <i>authentic leadership moments</i>&mdash;those moments when leaders respond with increased authenticity, despite the challenges they face. The literature on authenticity, transformative learning, leadership, and Buddhism provided useful insights into this phenomenon.</p><p> Using a mindful inquiry method focusing on phenomenology, hermeneutics, and Buddhism (Bentz &amp; Shapiro, 1998), 10 participants were interviewed about their experience of authentic leadership moments. Five phenomenological themes were identified: (a) abiding in ambiguity, (b) listening to the body, (c) opening to possibilities, (d) communicating with honesty and vulnerability, and (e) acting with integrity and courage. Descriptions of participants' inauthentic moments helped enhance the understanding of these themes and clarified the experience of authentic moments. Prior to the moment itself, leaders faced situational and personal challenges, acknowledged their fear and hesitation, made a commitment or decision to work with the challenge(s), and prepared for the moment in a variety of ways. The analysis also showed that after the moment, leaders experienced a positive impact on their self-esteem, their relationships, and the organizations they served.</p>

<p> Projects are becoming the ubiquitous mechanism for creating new products, services, and processes. However, based on deviation from schedule, budget, and requirements, projects are failing at an alarming rate. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to assess whether the relationship between the project manager and project engineer has a significant impact on project performance. A validated survey from Wu (2009) was used and administered to project managers who were members of the Project Management Institute Rio Grande Chapter, and project engineers identified by them. The surveys were analyzed using a Pearson Correlation with a sample of 44 project managers from a population of 404, resulting in a 95% confidence level with a confidence interval of 14.25%. The survey results indicate that there were significant correlations between the relationship of the project manager and project engineer and project performance in the areas of affect, loyalty, contribution, respect, and exchange. The outcomes of the analysis led to the development of a model of project performance that leaders could use to facilitate the significant relationships between the project manager and engineer.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Dept. of Political Science, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 3130. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 28, 2008). Adviser: Elinor Ostrom.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1883. Adviser: Andrea D. Ellinger. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-201) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2009. / "Publication number: AAT 3381598."

This dissertation is a qualitative study of the field of corporative diversity management, based on in-depth interviews with diversity managers and human resource managers at 87 firms across the United States. My work considers both the formal policies and practices that constitute the building blocks of an organization’s diversity management strategy, but also the cognitive elements of the institution, or how diversity management is defined, theorized and legitimated by actors within firms. Throughout the dissertation I focus on acts of institutional maintenance, arguing that behind the seeming stability of the institution of diversity management, diversity and HR professionals within organizations are engaged in constant acts of institutional maintenance. These acts of institutional maintenance have several consequences. First, acts to strengthen and maintain institutions can in fact lead to incremental, bottom-up institutional change, blurring the theoretical distinction between acts of institutional creation and maintenance. Second, acts of institutional maintenance can also lead to unintended consequences. Thus not all acts of institutional maintenance succeed in strengthening the institution. Finally, acts of institutional maintenance can buffer institutions from the tendency to be ceremonially adopted but decoupled from daily organizational activity. My dissertation also sheds light on the challenges of sustained organizational change, as I identify several strategies used by relatively low-power diversity managers to successfully overcome barriers to practice implementation.

Many teams, especially in dynamic knowledge-intensive environments, face interdependent tasks with unscripted responsibilities. The centrality of this challenge to the team process notwithstanding, theories of how team members hold one another accountable for accomplishing interdependent work are underdeveloped. I integrate theory and research on accountability and teams to advance the construct of team mutual accountability – a reciprocally authorized behavior among team members of evaluating one another’s progress on the team’s task. Unlike performance pressure, which is externally enforced accountability on a team, mutual accountability is internal to a team. I theorize the effects of team mutual accountability and performance pressure on team performance and develop a model of team mutual accountability, proposing its antecedents and outcomes. I test this model in a multi-organization multi-method field study. Findings from qualitative research on five teams in two knowledge-based organizations show that team mutual accountability varies across teams, verify that the theoretical construct of team mutual accountability can be operationalized in organizations, and help develop survey items for measuring team mutual accountability. Results of survey research on 45 teams in five knowledge-based organizations show that team mutual accountability is positively associated with team performance, controlling for performance pressure. Both team structures and shared beliefs facilitate team mutual accountability. Overall, this dissertation illuminates the phenomenon of team mutual accountability and demonstrates its link to team performance. Teams with mutual accountability are likely to make timely performance adjustments because team members, by virtue of their intimate understanding of the team’s work and impromptu conversations, can actively evaluate team progress and adjust ongoing performance issues. As teamwork becomes more dynamic and interdependent in organizations, the “right” processes and task divisions become difficult to predict in advance. This renders external team accountability insufficient and mutual accountability among team members critical for timely performance adjustments. This research contributes to the literatures on teams and accountability and offers practical insights for enhancing team performance, especially in dynamic knowledge-intensive environments.