<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if using intentional, transformational learning strategies in an undergraduate business ethics course improved the curriculum with respect to targeted, student learning outcomes. Since business schools have a social mandate to provide opportunities for ethical growth and development, improving the efficacy of business ethics education is of paramount importance. The importance of this mandate has been further highlighted in recent years by egregious instances of misconduct by business professionals whose actions have had obvious and profoundly negative impacts upon the stability of our financial systems and state of the world economy. </p><p> This was a quasi-experimental, quantitative study conducted at a university of approximately 8,000 students. The focus of the study was to measure the effects of intentional, transformational learning strategies on the occurrence of transformational learning and cognitive moral development among students enrolled in the university's online business ethics course. The intentional, transformational learning strategies utilized were those identified by David Warren Keller in a 2007 study and adapted to an online learning environment. The correlation between epistemological development based on the Perry Scheme (of William G. Perry Jr.) and the occurrence of transformational learning was also examined in this study. </p><p> While this curricular intervention was not found to have had a statistically significant impact on the targeted outcomes, a statistically significant correlation was observed between epistemological development and transformational learning. A principle conclusion of the researcher is that the online learning environment is the most likely explanation for the difference in the efficacy of the curricular intervention when comparing the results of the Keller study to the current study due to the affective dimensions of the student learning experience (central to transformational learning) in the online learning environment and the limitations inherent therein, which are detailed in the study. Finally, the correlation observed between epistemological development and transformational learning, while statistically significant, was inconclusive due to the absence of additional correlations which would have been expected, yet merits further study.</p>

<p> Too many outsourcing models fail to deliver expected results in Integrated Facility Management (IFM) models. IFM is a type of outsourcing model that transfers in-house work to an outside company that performs it onsite as if it were part of the client&rsquo;s organization. This process requires collaboration, coordination, and communication, merging 2 corporate cultures into 1 cohesive business model. Managing the change process related to an IFM outsourcing arrangement is crucial because changing an organizational culture can heighten risk and potentially produce unsatisfactory results. Creating, changing, and managing an IFM outsourcing model require acceptance, coordination, and a clear understanding of expectations from both the client and the service provider. People in general are apprehensive about change, especially when they don&rsquo;t understand it. IFM, being a complex process, requires the proper training and education in order to avoid resistance that creates leadership challenges. According to the literature, effective leadership was the solution to mitigate the resistance to change associated with outsourcing but little research exists to explain the phenomenon experienced by leaders during the initial transition (first-generation) to an IFM model. This descriptive, qualitative study was conducted in order to determine what strategies and practices leaders employ during a first-generation IFM outsourcing initiative. Additionally, challenges associated with implementation, measurement of success, and recommendations from leaders of IFM outsourcing was explored. Fourteen IFM leaders were interviewed and asked 10 questions. These interview questions yielded results such as leadership, communication, and clarity in scope of work as some of the dominant themes. These themes were then used to develop recommendations for further research and recommendations for future leaders of change.</p>

<p> Absence of management transition planning in Nigerian family enterprises undermines economic growth and job creation. Family businesses contribute significantly to the economic development in Europe and North America. This Mixed methods study involving sequential explanatory design investigated and explored the connection between culture and management transition planning in Nigeria. The specific problem investigated was the incessant collapse of family businesses after the death of founders. Management transition planning and its relationship with national culture of Nigeria, from the perspectives of nonfamily managers, is the main objective of this research. A survey involving a self-developed 40-item Likert-type scale was used for collection of data for the quantitative segment of the study. One hundred managers from 10 family businesses located in Lagos and Ogun states of Nigeria participated in the survey. During data analysis, SPSS 21.0 aided the computation of Spearman&rsquo;s Rank Order correlation coefficient, which revealed that cultural beliefs and values, extended family system, tradition/legacy, and lifestyles of the family business owners had negative relationship with management transition planning. The quantitative findings indicated statistically significant correlation between culture and attitudes of family business owners toward management transition planning and allowed rejection of the four null hypotheses. Five top managers of the family businesses participated in the qualitative segment by responding to semi-structured interview questions. NVivo 10 software assisted the analysis of the qualitative data. The qualitative findings supported the quantitative results. Administrators, bankers, family business entrepreneurs, and academics would obtain valuable information from the outcomes of this study.</p>

<p>This mixed-method research study evaluated the effectiveness of value stream mapping (VSM) and 5S lean tools based on Ohno&rsquo;s waste model and Womack&rsquo;s lean thinking concept to identify and eliminate office waste during the employee award nomination process in a large U.S. manufacturing company. The participants involved 19 award administrators and 108 previous award nominees from 2007 to 2012. The researcher carried out two surveys using structured and non-structured questions. Data was collected and analyzed. A Balanced Integrated Office Lean Model (BIOLM) framework was developed and pilot tested to engage employees with practical application of lean tools outside of the manufacturing shop floor. This research addressed the existing gap in the body of knowledge dealing with office lean practice. The findings from this study are generalizable and applicable to businesses interested in improving productivity in the office environment. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: lean thinking, office lean, employee engagement, award nomination, continuous improvement, 5S, value stream mapping, and waste management </p>

<p> This generic qualitative inquiry research study investigated the effectiveness of self-directed learning and experiential learning theory on the business process modeling notation (BPMN) learning process and subsequent development of business process models. The goal was to analyze the experiences of participants&rsquo; individual learning processes for acquiring BPMN knowledge. The research study sought to answer, &ldquo;How do experiential and self-directed learning approaches to BPMN affect business process model development?&rdquo; The generic qualitative inquiry examined 13 participants&rsquo; responses from semi-structured interview questions. The semi-structured interview questions required participants to reflect and describe their learning process. The data analysis was completed using an inductive thematic analysis with a constant comparison method to identify themes from the codes. The self-directed learning processes, experiential learning, and key success factors themes emerged as the study&rsquo;s participants described their learning process for BPMN and factors that affected the development of business process models using BPMN. The findings of this study add the BPMN self-directed learner&rsquo;s mental model and BPMN experiential learning mental model that enable BPMN practitioners to understand the influences and factors of the adult learning process and how the creation of BPMN knowledge occurs for the purpose of developing business process models with BPMN.</p>

<p> Manufacturers attempt to compete in the world economy and improve their business processes by implementing change management theory, often using Lean Six Sigma processes; however, these implementations are not always effective in manufacturing settings. Research was needed about leadership efficacy differences in Lean Six Sigma success to inform strategies aimed at augmenting success rates. The purpose of this causal comparative quantitative investigation was to determine the impact of perceived leadership efficacy differences on Lean Six Sigma success rates in a manufacturing setting. The population for the study is estimated at 20,000 supervisors with a sampling of 128 leaders from the manufacturing industry in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, who have conducted a Lean Six Sigma implementation. The independent variable was perceived leader efficacy and was gathered from McCormick&rsquo;s Leadership Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ). The dependent variable was Lean Six Sigma implementation success rate and was gathered from a researcher-created checklist designed to measure overall equipment effectiveness of the respective leaders&rsquo; operation. Analysis of variance was performed to assess the difference between high and low efficacy leaders on Lean Six Sigma success rates. The findings demonstrated individuals with high leader efficacy were significantly more successful in implementing Lean Six Sigma initiatives than those with low leader efficacy. Recommendations to increase leadership efficacy in manufacturing in order to positively impact the success rates of change initiatives were offered.</p>

<p> Vulnerability is the ability to risk emotional exposure, chance making a mistake, or disclose personal information because the outcome is viewed as favorable. Vulnerability is a highly effective way to build trust with others. Trust is a valued leadership trait within corporate business because it encourages employees to take risks, share information, and ultimately become more effective and productive (Robbins &amp; Judge, 2013). This paper explores the practicing of vulnerability in college-level business classrooms to appropriately prepare business students to become leaders who are able to build trust within the workplace.</p><p> To further understand vulnerability in the classroom and develop a preliminary operational definition of the complex construct of vulnerability, a mixed methods research study was conducted at Sierra Nevada College that included a two-stage factor analysis followed by short interviews with instructors to gain further insight into the data collected. First, students from four randomly selected business classrooms were asked to participate in a study by completing a survey with 18 variables that describe vulnerable, productive teaching techniques. Then, the same survey was distributed to the five classrooms of instructors who were nominated for the 2014 or 2015 Nazir and Mary Ansari Excellence in Teaching Gold Medal award or Teacher of the Year award. The four Nazir and Mary Ansari Excellence in Teaching Gold Metal award candidates and the Teacher of the Year were interviewed for 30-minutes to provide insight and commentary on the findings from the first round of surveys. The goal of this study is to create a preliminary operational definition of the construct of &ldquo;vulnerable teaching techniques&rdquo; and to have an assessment tool to further understand vulnerability in a classroom setting.</p>

"The purpose of this study is to survey articles on administration and supervision of business education that have appeared in professional literature between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1952"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1953." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." / Advisor: Glen E. Murphy, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-51).

The purpose of this paper is to show how a business teacher may be professionally-minded. A careful study will be made of the literature dealing with factors that it is believed contribute to the professionalization of business teachers. Certain factors will be noted, among which are the following: the adequate preparation of teachers who aspire to professionalism of their calling; the benefits to be derived through membership in education associations as well as the criticism directed toward such organizations; professional business education periodicals; outstanding business education books; the practice of, and the need for, carrying on research in the classroom, as well as the need for sharing the findings with others; the relationship of the business teacher to teachers in other areas, the community, other business teachers, and to the accepted standard of morals. / Typescript. / "January, 1953." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: J. Frank Dame, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-62).

<p>Learning Ambidexterity in Organization As organizational exploitation drives out exploration, companies must reach beyond traditional organizational learning practices to become learning organizations, learning in action as they also perform. As traditional companies tip the balance between entropy and negative entropy, they ultimately begin to focus almost exclusively on evolutionary learning and refining more of what they already know. High-Tech Optics avoided this success trap of focusing on past performance by routinely assessing and perturbing its cultural and structural inertia and continually reaffirming that performance and learning should be integrally linked objectives. Exploitation was kept from crowding out exploration by several factors, namely the company CEO and the ambidextrous organizational culture. When learning was emphasized, it was in the context of ambidextrous learning, not simply a reference to incremental learning associated with the refinement of existing products and processes. Instead, this company?s learning fell across a spectrum, from learning within a specially created structurally ambidextrous space to research projects, customer problem solving, perturbing its own processes, and helping others. This qualitative single-case study, with its nine findings and four conclusions, strongly suggests not only that it is possible for organizations to learn ambidexterity, but that such learning most likely happens in all organizations. This study discovered that High-Tech Optics naturally converged on all three kinds of ambidexterity: contextual, structural, and temporal. What might not be possible, or natural, for most organizations, however, is the sustainment of ambidexterity, learning how to make an ambidextrous culture permanent. Remarkably, High-Tech Optics, a manufacturing company, emerged as an ambidextrous organization naturally over time, but then deliberately set mechanisms, structures, and processes in place to continue these behaviors indefinitely. The main implication for practitioners is to consider an ambidextrous plan for their own organizations. As exploitation tends to drive out exploration as organizations mature, favoring what is already known over what is new, organizations should not forget their early explorative learning behaviors.