<p> Leadership encompasses all types of organizations including for profit, not-for-profit, government agencies, and the U. S. military. The U. S. Army requires its leaders to provide leadership at the direct, organizational and strategic level in a variety of situations from preparing to deploy to combat, actions in combat, redeployment and continuing the cycle for the next deployment. Senior U. S. Army leaders identified that leadership development is a priority for the future. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study, which included 15 voluntary participants, was to understand if the U. S. Army's organizational leadership development process based on the 2012 revisions in leadership doctrine be improved based on the opinions and experiences of prior military leaders, and the analysis of U. S. Army doctrine, regulations and prior leadership surveys. Thirteen themes emerged answering the 3 research questions that included 6 attributes, 4 competencies, and 3 improvements to training and education. The attributes included the combined experiences, lessons learned, and history to make decisions. Other attributes of importance were flexibility, critical thinking skills, ethical leadership, self-development, and becoming a mentor. Competencies were sense-making, understanding leadership doctrine and its implementation, ability to prioritize requirements at the organizational level, and enforcing counseling standards. Improvements were to identify problems and recommend change, talent management, and fostering organizational change. The U. S. Army leadership development is marginally sufficient for leadership development; however, necessary revisions and changes to processes be developed and implemented to strengthen the organizational leadership development outcomes for the U. S. Army.</p>

M.Ed. / Realization of the aims of the school requires, inter alia, meaningful and purposeful co-operation between the members of the top management of the school. Purposeful cooperation between these members implies the establishment of relationships that will realize and facilitate mutual consultation, sharing of responsibilities and effective management ...

M.Ed. / This research project on the promotion of educators as an aspect of educator management is part of a group research project on whole school development. This particular study focuses on managing educators in schools. Its objective is to make prospective and practising school managers aware of the wide range of activities covered by the term promotion of educators and to present the best current practises available on promotion of educators. Educator management is meant to bring about improved student learning. Decisions relating to the selection, placement, evaluation, development and promotion of educators should be made with that outcome in mind. Present and future educators as well as school principals and prospective principals, will find the material of this mini-dissertation to be relevant. When a principal interviews an applicant for a promotion post, plans a staff development programme for the school, or evaluates an educator's performance, he or she is engaging in personnel management. The importance of the principal's role in personnel management is increasing as schools move towards wider implementqtion of site-base management and the decentralisation of responsibility to the school level. However, no aspect of educator management is the exclusive terrain of a single, administrator. It is a shared enterprise that involves administrators at all levels of the regional hierarchy and with all types ofjob responsibilities. All administrators are members of some or other team and to the extent that they all understand the importance of good personnel practices, the region will be able to achieve its instructional objectives and so contribute towards whole school development. Many personnel decisions have a direct impact on the quality of instruction occurring in schools. When a decision is made to employ one applicant rather than another, or when an educator evaluation plan is implemented, there are likely to be implications for the quality of learning in the schools affected. The impact of these and other personnel decisions should be taken into account at the time the decisions are made. In this research a structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the perceptions of the respondents to the items posed in the questionnaire. In this research project 79 items were designed to probe the perceptions of educators on various post levels as to the extent that they agree or disagree with certain statements relative to the management of educators within the context of whole school development. The structured questionnaires were distributed to a convenient stratified sample in seven ofthe nine Provinces in South Africa. Based on the information gathered using the questionnaire each item relevant to this particular research project was analysed and discussed. After the factor analytic procedure the factor mean scores ofthe various groups were analysed and explained. In the view of the findings resulting from this project, further research is recommended. This should occur in areas like the methodology and research of the results of the numerous unique applications that this project recommended. Motivation at group level and the relationship between the experience of stress and those factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of a stress-related illness also need to be thoroughly investigated.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Motivation är oerhört viktigt inom en organisation. Anställda som är motiverade i sitt arbete gynnar organisationen samtidigt som de själva kommer att må bra och trivas. Vad som motiverar en individ finns det väldigt mycket forskning om och motivationsfaktorer skiljer sig åt från person till person och mellan olika organisationer. Vårt syfte med studien är att studera vilka motivationsfaktorer som motiverar anställda i en organisation och vad organisationsledningar kan göra för att främja motivation hos sina anställda. Vi kommer studera tidigare forskning och olika teorier kring ämnet, men även själva undersöka i en utvald organisation genom en kvalitativ undersökning. Det material vi får fram i den teoretiska referensramen och genom empirin kommer slutligen diskuteras där vi strävar efter att hitta likheter och skillnader emellan dessa för att slutligen ge vår tolkning och presentera vårt resultat i studien. Vi fann att de främsta motivationsfaktorerna för anställda var delaktighet, lön, självförtroende, arbetsmiljö och omväxlande och utmanande arbete. Det en ledning kunde göra för att främja motivation hos sina anställda var att förmedla delaktighet och ansvar, ha gemenskap/lagarbete, erbjuda fortbildning, materiella belöningar, visa respekt, förtroende samt förmedla tydlighet och ge rätt verktyg för arbetsuppgifter. Av studien har vi konstaterat att organisationen vi besökte har på ett bra sätt lyckats ha sina anställda motiverade. Vi kan även se att tidigare forskning från de äldre teoretikerna än idag gör anspråk på nutiden med de motivationsfaktorer som beskrivits. / Motivation is extremely important within an organization. Employees who are motivated in their work benefits the organization while they themselves will feel good and happy. There is a lot of research in what motivates individuals and motivational factors differ from person to person and between different organizations. Our purpose of the study is to study which motivational factors that motivate employees in an organization and what the organizational managements can do to promote the motivation of its employees. We will study previous research and theories on the subject, but also examine in a selected organization through a qualitative study. The material we get in the theoretical framework and the empirical data will be discussed where we strive to find the similarities and differences between them to finally give our interpretation and presentation of our results in the study. We found that the main motivation factors were involvement of employees, salary, confidence, working environment and diverse and challenging work. What an organizational management could do to promote the motivation of its employees was to convey ownership and responsibility, fellowship/teamwork, provide training, material rewards, respect, faith and convey clarity and provide the right tools for the job. By the study we found that the organization we visited has in a good way managed to have their employees motivated. We can also see that previous research from the older theorists still claim the present day with the motivational factors described.

<p> Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has the potential to strengthen an organization in the long term by effectively leveraging the organization&rsquo;s human resources to achieve the organization&rsquo;s strategic goals. The problem this dissertation focuses upon is the extent to which SHRM has been implemented in oil and natural gas companies in Western Pennsylvania and whether the information needed to support SHRM is being communicated into and within these oil and natural gas companies. This included examining how HR leaders and staff are viewed in the company relative to its strategic efforts. Using Jacobson, Sowa, and Lambright&rsquo;s (2014) models of SHRM implementation, three cases were examined to identify the degree to which SHRM has been implemented in the organizations. In addition, the communication of SHRM information was explored with regards to what information has been communicated, how is this information communicated, and who communicates such information. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 participants from three companies, including seven HR managers and employees and three non-HR managers. The interviews led the researcher to conclude that there is further opportunity for the strategic use of the HR departments and HR functions in the sampled companies. Additionally, there was an apparent lack of communication between the HR departments and the rest of the organization regarding strategic HR issues. The organizations with more traditional models of HR, with limited SHRM, demonstrated a weak focus on communicating SHRM information, as well as minimal information processing capabilities to support SHRM implementation.</p>

<p> Does our status impact the way we interpret change? This study proposes that one's level of power within their workplace, as granted by their role within the organization, shapes the way in which people interpret adjustments to the norms of that organization. Drawing on qualitative focus groups with forty-four members of Oregon's construction trades, this study examines the relationship between participants' position within the industry&rsquo;s structure and their opinions about the changing jobsite norms brought on by recent waves of diversification in the workforce. Findings suggest that within Oregon&rsquo;s construction trades, hierarchical distribution of power via industry position serves to stratify and reorganize the attitudes and responses of participants. This is done through situating knowledge; different positions hold differential understandings of which issues generate harassment, present barriers to progress, and serve as potential solutions to the issue. Results show that participants who occupy positions of power within the trades tend to frame harassment as an interpersonal problem, which can be solved by interpersonal solutions. Thus, participants in positions of power saw change as an incremental process that was constantly happening. Conversely, participants who were not in positions of power within the trades tended to frame harassment as an institutional problem that required industry-wide changes to be fully addressed. As a result, participants with less power in the trades framed change as generational for the industry; something that could only be achieved after the current workforce. Ultimately, this study highlights the tension between interpersonal and institutional strategies for organizational change.</p>

<p> Trust is consistently identified as a key factor in the success of organizations. Despite its importance, public trust of U.S. institutions has fallen steadily over six decades. One exception is public trust of the U.S. military, which has increased. This qualitative Delphi study sought to answer the question: What are the perceived characteristics of the trust relationship between the U.S. military and the general public at the point interface where senior military leaders, their public affairs advisors, and national-security media representatives directly facilitate the relay of information between the military and the public? This study also sought to identify which, if any, of those perceived characteristics are unique in the literature, or if they are uniquely prioritized in the trust relationship between the U.S. military and the general public. The purpose of the study was to explore a favorable trust relationship in an effort to identify characteristics that might be beneficial to other leaders in their effort to establish, preserve, or strengthen public trust in their own institutions. The Delphi methodology was used to achieve consensus of opinion among three groups of subject matter experts who, in accordance with joint U.S. doctrine, act as a point of direct interface between the military and the public. Retired senior military officers, retired or former military public affairs officers (PAOs), and journalists who cover the national-security beat for national and international media organizations participated in the study. During three survey rounds, members of two independent groups identified, prioritized, and defined characteristics they perceived as contributing most to the favorable trust relationship between the U.S. military; anonymously reviewed input from other group members; and modified their own input. Overall consensus was reached among these two groups of subject-matter experts that prioritization of honesty, integrity, and credibility contributes most to a favorable trust relationship. Summative content analysis of the respective group&rsquo;s definitions of those terms revealed key themes of open communication and the critical importance of an organization&rsquo;s members doing and saying the right thing, regardless of consequences.</p>

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Lowenhaupt / This qualitative case study examined the organizational learning mechanisms utilized by a district superintendent and their impact on principals’ learning. Examining recent curriculum reform efforts, the study concentrated on a small sample of building principals within a mid-sized urban public school district. Grounded in both organizational and situated learning theories, the research focused on organizational learning mechanisms and the interplay created by their implementation through the analysis of interview data and documents. Findings highlighted how the superintendent interpreted and distributed information to principals. In addition, findings showed the impact that superintendent-initiated processes, behaviors, and structures had on principal learning. The study provided strong evidence that the superintendent under study took steps to create district structures to support organizational learning. Moreover, principal data showed the impact of these structures on principals’ perceived learning. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

"The writer has attempted to emphasize the point that the principal should be the key leader in developing a curriculum for the school that will meet the needs of all the children and the entire community which it serves. The writer selected this subject for research and study because it is his desire to become a school principal, and he would like to know the duties of the principal in developing a desirable instructional program. It is also a contribution toward consolidating information and facts which apply to the role of the principal in developing such a program. The material for this paper was obtained from a study of professional and related literature and from talks with leaders in education"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "February, 1950." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science under Plan II." / Advisor: Mode L. Stone, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-37).