Abstract Background The succession process of a family firm is associated with a number of challenges, and hence a potential for conflicts is strongly pronounced. However, succession is of utmost importance for a family firm, as it is the only way to avoid a company closure in the long run. Previous literature has already extensively researched the phenomena of conflicts in family firms. However, there is a lack of research that looks from a multi-perspective lens into the context of succession and post-succession conflicts. Therefore, in the present research, we examine how family businesses experience and cope conflicts that appear after a successfully mastered intrafamily succession. Purpose This study aims to advance the understanding of conflicts in family firms related explicitly to the context of successions and post-successions. Hence, the thesis aims to determine how conflicts that appear in these contexts are experienced and how they are coped with. Method The study follows a qualitative methodological approach and an inductive analysis. The sample consists of three companies and 14 research respondents, and the data was collected with semi-structured qualitative interviews. Afterwards, the data was coded, and the emerging patterns and themes have been formulated and presented with a general model. Doing so, the focus was on patterns of succession- and post-succession-related conflicts and their coping strategies. Conclusion Our findings reveal that succession and post-succession-related conflicts are experienced as evoked intangible and provoked tangible conflicts and these conflicts are consciously as well as unconsciously coped with. Furthermore, our findings suggest that succession and post-succession family firm conflicts appear as conflict loops. Hence, the coping mechanisms identified and presented are helpful to solve a conflict, but the loop can hardly be escaped.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Agriculture and livestock production were the mainstay of the economies of many sub-Saharan African countries, including of Cameroon, in the 1970s. Things began to change with the discovery of petroleum products and natural minerals, and the push to industrialise. This led to a shift from agricultural production to other more 'beneficial' sectors. In the 1990s there was an 'imposed' liberalisation of the agricultural sector. This liberalisation was marked by a disengagement of most governments in developing countries from assisting agriculture. In Cameroon, disengagement was achieved by the promulgation of law No. 92/006 of 14th August 1992 and its decree of application No. 92/455/PM of 23rd November. This law encouraged the creation of common initiative groups which could independently pool their resources to increase agricultural production. Although there has been a shift to non-agricultural sectors in many sub- Saharan countries, on the whole, however, many rural areas in these nations have remained essentially agro-pastoral. Unfortunately some rural areas, like Small Babanki in Cameroon, whose livelihoods are land-based are faced with soil erosion, population pressure and farmer/grazer conflicts which undermine the little economic gains made in these places. Rural-dwellers have resorted to several innovations to circumvent these constraints to agricultural production. Objectives of the research This research focused on an indigenous agricultural innovation called Cameroon. The innovation involves a partnership between farmers and grazers whereby farmers build paddocks around their farms, and cattle herders drive their herds into farms where they deposit their manure. The idea of the practice is that it enriches the soil of the farms, provides the herds access to good fodder, and reduces conflicts between crop farmers and grazers. The objective of the study was to investigate the role this agricultural innovation is playing in reducing poverty and farmer/grazer conflicts. The research focused on a community called Small Babanki located in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Research questions To gain accurate insight into the role played by NPM, answers were sought to the following questions: (i) What are the causes of farmer/grazer conflicts in Small Babanki and how are these conflicts manifested? (ii) What efforts have been made hitherto by stakeholders to resolve farmer/grazer conflicts and what were the outcomes of such interventions? (iii) What motivated the development of the NPM farming system and how does the system function? (iv) How has the introduction of NPM affected the occurrence of conflicts and the resolution of conflicts when they occur? (v) Has NPM contributed to increasing the output, income and the market value of the products of farmers and grazers? (vi) How have the asset bases of grazers and farmers changed and what additional livelihood options are available to them as a result of adopting NPM? (vii) What are the major constraints that hinder practitioners of the innovation from getting maximum returns from it? Data collection method The data collection method for this research involved a review of reports written on the innovation by NGOs promoting it. Within Small Babanki, a focus group discussion was held with farmers and an elaborate questionnaire was administered amongst 10 randomly selected farmer households and 10 randomly selected grazer households. Structured interviews were also held with key informants, such as local officials and traditional and religious leaders. Findings and conclusions The research supports the perception that, in Small Babakni, NPM benefits both crop farmer and grazer households by means of improving productivity, reducing poverty, and reducing conflict. Respondents indicated that generally speaking the asset base and livelihood options of practitioners of NPM are constantly improving. They also stressed that improvements in education, health, nutrition, land tenure and safety of shelter are indicative of the amelioration of their state of wellbeing, and this in large measure can be attributed to the adoption of NPM Measurement of poverty using the both the US$I/day and the national poverty line of 503.19 Cf'Azday revealed that cropping households are living on the fringes of poverty while grazing households tend to live just above the poverty line. However, going by information provided by respondents on their outputs, the proportion of what was consumed by the household, the proportion of what was sold and the proportion of what was retained enabled us to make an estimation of the cash and noncash incomes of both grazing and cropping households. It was discovered that at any point they seemed to have a significant noncash wealth reserve which could easily be converted into cash in order to meet daily expenses. Both the declarations of respondents and some official documentation suggest that NPM was contributing positively towards a reduction of conflicts between farmers and grazers in Small Babanki.

This dissertation examines the impact of FDI on peace in civil conflict-experienced states. While economic grievances have often been pointed out as a major cause of civil war within the literature, scholarship on post-conflict peace has focused mainly on political settlements, such as one-sided victories or power sharing, largely ignoring the importance of economic conditions. Thus, this dissertation aims to examine how FDI can affect sustainable peace in conflict-experienced states in terms of prevention of conflict recurrence and regime stability. FDI can be conducive to peace during/after civil conflicts, as it can bring capital which can be used for economic reconstruction and development in conflict-experienced states. Furthermore, this dissertation focuses on the impact of bilateral FDI. When a third party intervenes in a conflict management process and the third party has a great deal of economic interaction with the conflict experienced state, this economic interdependency will affect the third party's motivation to make the conflict-experienced state stable. It also provides third-party with greater leverage over peace efforts. Eventually, this third-party leverage will affect peace during/after civil conflicts. This dissertation is built around three interrelated empirical chapters: (1) determinants of FDI in conflict-experienced states, (2) the impact of FDI on conflict recurrence, and (3) the impact of FDI on regime stability. U.S. and Chinese FDI are used as focal cases for the analysis. This is because they have the most powerful economic and military influences in the world. As a result, this dissertation examines the impact of U.S. and Chinese FDI on peace in civil conflict-experienced states.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2000. / This study investigated the management of gender conflict among high school learners. The researcher has identified the types of gender conflict that are perceived to be more serious and the frequencies of different types of gender conflict. The researcher has also determined the ways of managing gender conflict in the high school and established alternative approaches of managing it. Finally, the research recommends possible initiatives on the part of the management staff, educators, learners, governing body and parents, as well as the community at large to promote gender equity * and peaceful coexistence in schools.

Education and training of potential leaders are essential, and chief executive officers (CEOs) need to identify effective leadership development (LD) programs that foster successful leaders within the healthcare industry. The purpose of this multiple, exploratory case study was to explore LD strategies used by CEOs in hospitals in Central Florida, United States. The overarching research question investigated what executable LD strategies healthcare leaders needed to ensure sustainable growth and successful leaders. The human capital theory and the concepts of emotional intelligence and spiritual leadership guided this study. A purposive sample of 8 CEOs participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews to elicit information on their strategies of creating and maintaining LD programs. A review of organizational documents, as well as member checking of initial interview transcripts, helped to strengthen the credibility of final interpretations. Data were tracked and organized with the assistance of qualitative data analysis software which was used to transcribe and analyze the data. The resulting themes include strategies CEOs use for LD, challenges CEOs face in LD programs, environment of care, generational leadership, and benefits of LD. Study recommendations offered strategies for creating LD programs in the healthcare industry. These findings demonstrate the necessity for effective LD programs and may influence social change by uncovering strategies for LD within the healthcare industry and help CEOs understand LD strategies for implementation within their organizations.

The church is often seen as a place where people go to seek love, peace, and acceptance. Increasingly, there are occasions where these needs are not being met. Mansfield (2012) used the term “Ecclesia exitus ...the decision to permanently question one’s faith, trust in the church leadership and/or withdraw from a congregation you had considered to be your ‘church home,” to describe the experience of Church Hurt. This study seeks to describe the experience of those who have undergone church hurt. Abraham Maslow in his seminal 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation and his subsequent book, Motivation and Personality, posited a hierarchy of human needs that motivated human behavior, in conjunction with Social Constructionism, shall provide a theoretical framework(s) for the study. Phenomenological analysis as outlined by Moustakas (1994) was the methodology utilized, given its focus on capturing the subjective meanings and perspective of the research, participants lived experience(s). The study interviewed fourteen (14) respondents, eight (8) females, and six (6) males, derived by purposive and snowball sampling methods. To attain in-depth, “thick descriptions,” semi-structured interviews, ranging in duration from forty minutes to an hour, were conducted, over a month long period. Four (4) themes were unearthed, Sanctity of the Church, Sense of Loss, Transformative and the Ineptitude/Ignorance in the Resolution of Conflict. The study shall provide survivors of church hurt experience a voice, and church administrator more sensitive and effective conflict management strategies to handle the church hurt experience, ultimately resulting in a more fulfilling ecclesiastical experience.

The focus of this thesis was around two questions: "Do mediators commonly share a personality typology?" and "Does personality type affect mediators' perceptions of disputants' goals?" The findings of this study have several implications for conflict management and its practitioners. For instance, consideration of one's own personality type can lead to deeper understanding of one's own biases and help develop mediator neutrality. Studies about mediation practitioners can also provide information about this under-represented group for use in career counseling, as well as in public education. This research suggests that 71% of this group of mediators shared preferences in both the intuition and feeling dimensions, and 42% shared the three dimensions of intuition, feeling and perceiving. According to MBTI literature, individuals who favor intuition tend to focus on relationships and look at the big picture and the connection between the facts. Individuals who prefer to use feeling in decision-making tend to be sympathetic, compassionate, and people-focused. Individuals who prefer to use perceiving tend to be spontaneous and enjoy trusting their resourcefulness in adapting to the demands of a situation. This study also investigated potential personality affects on mediators’ perceptions of disputants' conflict goals. Personality dimensions, mediator experience, and scenario outcomes were assessed and a statistically significant relationship was found between the intuition dimension and relational goals in one of the four scenarios. Some significant relationships were also found in another of the four scenarios between mediator experience and preferred scenario outcome. The study group was a small interagency group of workplace mediators called Shared Neutrals, who mediate disputes in Oregon and Washington. The design of the study was different from past studies in its use of contextual conflict scenarios; in the form of an author-developed questionnaire; similar to those used in the medical field to test clinician responses. The study was limited by the restriction of range of the group, by the subjectivity of the author-developed questionnaire, and by the statistical limitations of the MBTI. Some suggestions are made for future studies, including consideration of factors such as type of training, gender, group dynamics and socialization.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The integration of nonstandard (temporary) workers into an organization is called a “blended workforce,” and such an arrangement is a breeding ground for potential conflict. Until very recently, much of the research on nonstandard workers has been limited to exploring those in low-wage positions requiring limited skills and the detriments of such working arrangements. However, with advances in technology that allow working from remote locations and the desire of firms to more quickly adapt to changes in the market, the role of high-skill, high-wage nonstandard workers is steadily growing. Pondy (1967) proposed that conflict episodes are composed of five possible stages: latent, perceived, felt, manifest and the aftermath. These conflict stages provided the framework for the consideration of conflict in blended organizations. Through an extensive literature review of nonstandard workers, this research determined six potential areas of latent conflict in blended organizations. Next, the research determined if those areas of latent conflict move into advanced stages of conflict within blended organizations that integrate high-end nonstandard workers. Finally, the research explored how those conflicts that emerge from the use of a blended workforce are managed.

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