Often we see examples of what makes a great leader, yet overlook examples of dark leaders. This thesis explores how dark leaders don’t necessarily draw in blind followers, but rather abuse their power in order to build their vision. In my study of Jonestown I show that followers were genuine in their feelings about Jones as a person and the Peoples Temple’s mission. They should not be dismissed just because they “drank the Kool-Aid.” This thesis explores and evaluates various religious studies theories and their interpretation of the events, popular perceptions, and personal statements from the deceased or surviving members. I conclude that Jones was a revolutionary leader during his time. He tried to achieve equality in the U.S. on multiple platforms, but was ultimately too attracted by power and control. In the end, this matters because given the state of the world today and the rise of dark leaders both through political offices, terrorist groups and other places, we need to have a way to not only protect ourselves from joining them, but also preventing them.

Child and family nonprofit organizations are essential for the implementation of United States public policy in their role as service providers. Human service nonprofit organizations held approximately 20,000 government contracts, totaling more than $100 billion in 2009 (Boris, deLeon, Roeger, & Nikolva, 2010). Almost 33,000 human service nonprofit organizations contract with the government to deliver services (Boris, et al., 2010). The services provided by these organizations are critical to the lives of vulnerable American citizens. These organizations depend on committed employees to serve this group, carry out the mission, and reach organizational goals. Employees are nonprofit organizations’ greatest resource, investment, and also expense (Rutowski, Guiler, & Schimmel, 2009), thus turnover is considered a critical problem facing the nonprofit sector (Salamon, 2012). Retaining highly committed employees in this important work has been of interest to those studying the nonprofit sector because it is a significant problem particularly in the area of human services (Mor Barak, Levin, Nissly, & Lane, 2006). This study asks if leadership and organizational culture have an impact on nonprofit employees’ commitment to their workplace. This quantitative research uses a quota sample of 103 nonprofit employees to understand the relationships between their perceptions of their managers’ transformational leadership, their perceptions of their organizations’ culture types (clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, market) and two important and distinct employee outcomes, affective commitment and turnover intention. The findings indicate that perceived transformational leadership matters to nonprofit employees as it positively predicts their affective commitment and negatively predicts their turnover intentions. The majority of respondents reported that they perceived their organizations as clan cultures, which are known to be friendly, personal places where belonging and connectedness is high. The findings also reveal that hierarchical cultures play a role in this predictive relationship, having a moderating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and affective commitment. In contrast, the findings reveal that compared to clan cultures, hierarchical and market cultures may be problematic in that they positively predict employees’ turnover intentions. Further, perceived hierarchical cultures negatively predict the employees’ affective commitment.

Health system mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased exponentially in recent years as a result of the Affordable Care Act (Brown, Werling, Walker, Burgdorfer & Shields, 2012). M&As are consummated as a way to control for interdependencies within the market, control costs and leverage debt, and negotiate better rates among health insurers (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Mirc, 2013). Regardless of the impetus for a merger, the largest predictor of the success or failure of a M&A lies within the organizational culture (Brown, et al., 2012; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Kastor, 2010; Ovseiko, Melham, Fowler & Buchan, 2015). The purpose of this research was to assess the organizational culture of two competing health organizations prior to a planned merger and understand whether there were significant differences in pre-merger culture compared to a post-merger preferred organizational culture using the Competing Values Framework (CVF). The population included all employees of both health systems with the survey respondent sample stratified by the following employee types: (Tier 1), entry-level employee; (Tier 2), supervisory level, and, (Tier 3), executive level. Statistical procedures included independent t tests, one-way and two-way analyses of variance. Findings indicated a statistically significant difference existed between the current cultures of the health systems prior to the merger; however, both systems sets of employees preferred a post-merger organizational culture that was not statistically different from each other. Further, there were significant differences in the cultural perceptions of Tier 1 employees and Tier 2 employees and no significant differences between Tier 3 employee perceptions of culture as compared to Tier 1 or Tier 2.

This paper proposes to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the role, attitudes, and interrelationships of West Germany, France, Great Britain, and the United States within the framework of the North American Treaty Organization. This investigation will be limited to the involvement of these four members states in the proposed establishment, and eventual failure of a NATO controlled multilateral nuclear force (MLF). This limitation was imposed because it was discerned that these four major NATO members set the tempo and boundaries for the debate stemming from this proposal. The smaller member states seemed reluctant to take a definite stance on the issue until one of these four set forth its own convictions. Once this was done the smaller countries allied themselves with a major member's views. Thus, a study of the relationships and positions of France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States will lend itself to a full and precise investigation of the matter. The time span involved in the major portion of this research will be limited to the years 1960 through 1965, as these were the years in which the MLF proposal had its origin, was debated and died from a lack of action.

Leadership plays a vital role in any industry. Therefore, a positive relationship between the management and the employees is very crucial for any organization to get better turnover and recognition. The current study discusses the leadership styles used in the Construction Industry in India. The development of construction industry in India requires suitable leadership approaches of the management. In the condition of such requirement, this research paper has three-fold objectives: first, to study the leadership styles used by the higher-management levels of Indian construction companies, and second, to examine the impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction, and third, to analyze the impact of the leadership styles onorganizational commitment. A survey was designed and carried to assess the objectives of the research. A total of sixty employees were selected for the study. The survey participants were the three working groups of the three construction companies; (1) senior managers, (2) construction engineers, (3) worker supervisors. The questionnaire has a total of 25 questions that includes demographics, leadership styles assessment, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Confidence level, Mean, and Standard Deviation was used to analyze the results of the respondents. The results show that the higher-management of company A uses good leadership styles and the employees are satisfied with the job and committed to the organization. However, employees of company B and C were not happy with the leadership styles used by the management and unsatisfied with the job and less committed to the organization.

Although motivation to lead (MTL) was characterized as stable, recent research suggested otherwise. This study explored the malleability of MTL and its predictors. Individuals with high affective-identity MTL are motivated to lead because they enjoy leading. Individuals with high social normative MTL are motivated by an obligation to lead. Individuals with high noncalculative MTL are drawn to leadership because they avoid weighing the costs and benefits of leading. Applicants to a California college were sent a questionnaire on MTL and leadership self-efficacy (LSE) (Time 1 assessment, N = 2704). Four years later (Time 2), participants who responded at Time 1 were sent a survey on motivation to lead, leadership self-efficacy, college leadership experience, and leader identity (LID) (N = 96). Results showed that participants’ affective-identity and noncalculative MTL have decreased over time. Leadership self-efficacy at Time 2 and leader identity at Time 2 were related to the changes in all 3 categories of MTL. Only specific college leadership experiences related to changes in affective-identity MTL. Lastly, leader identity at Time 2 mediated the relationship between affective-identity MTL at Time 1 and Time 2. Most high school students applied to college aspiring to be leaders, but only students who cultivate their leader identity should continue to be motivated to lead. Implications are discussed in the context of the construct validity of MTL, specifically for student leadership development in higher education.

The study purpose is to advance implementation of sustainable development at colleges, and to contribute to organizational change research using social network analysis. The researcher conducted document analysis using 2012-2016 sustainability reports of 16 purposefully selected two-year colleges under a common framework. Interpreting and coding resulted in ranking sustainable development activities as well as grouping colleges using cluster analysis. A survey and interviews were employed by the researcher to determine major themes as challenges to sustainability implementation, and personal network themes using social network analysis measures and sociograms. Challenges to sustainability implementation identified as study themes were: (1) college leadership transition; (2) communication networks; and (3) sustainability funding and resources. Personal network themes based on network analysis were: (1) sustainability leadership typologies; (2) network communication bridges and cliques; and (3) social capital for sustainability funding and resources. The research found personal egocentric network techniques an effective methodology in identifying attributes of communication links to inform transformational leaders implementing innovation. Study implications are that sustainability leaders within informal networks of staff, administrators, and faculty influence and actively participate in innovation diffusion. Faculty and staff work on specific projects and activities advancing sustainability such as community gardens or working with environmental groups, and administrator support provides social capital in terms of funding and resources. Striking the right balance among types and communication ties is a challenge for transformational leaders. Personal network techniques help leaders recognize organic network cliques and bridges during implementation stages, allowing for informed support and advancement of college sustainability. From this study, sustainability practitioners may be interested in using sustainability activity frequencies for planning and sharing with other colleges, as well as using personal network techniques to develop sociograms identifying important network positions, cliques, and bridges for sustainability implementation.

The definition of leadership is not gender specific; however, the role of a leader continues to be defined in mostly male terms by society. While, women have outpaced men in gaining an undergraduate education, women are not being hired for top leadership roles. There continues to be a gender leadership gap in both the private and public sector. Women continue to advance in their education and career, yet they are unable to break the invisible glass ceiling and attain top leadership roles. This study proposes that in order to gain equality and reduce the gender leadership gap, in both the public and private sector, it is up to individual women to seek and attain leadership positions, thereby opening the path for others. The study identified both the internal and external barriers that prevent women from moving ahead in their careers. It also provided solutions that women can adopt to gain top leadership roles, based on Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ theory, which notes that women can make adjustments and strategies in order to obtain top leadership positions. Women can overcome barriers and move ahead with their careers by increasing self-confidence, balancing roles at home, and setting realistic standards. Women need to also step out of their comfort zone and believe in themselves. Through a qualitative content analysis, the study analyzed how three women achieved top leadership roles and were successful in applying the concepts of Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ theory. The study included Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. The study identified the barriers that they individually faced as they sought their career. The women were selected to be part of the study due to their incredible accomplishments of achieving positions in the highest level of judicial public service, in a male-dominated field. The sampling and collection in this study included the digital autobiographies and biographies of the public service leaders, by creditable sources. The analysis sought to answer the three study questions: What forms of barriers did the Associate Justices face as they advanced in their careers? What strategies and approaches did the Associate Justices take when faced with barriers? How does Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ theory apply to the Associate Justices? The written autobiographies and biographies of the Associate Justices were analyzed using NVivo, a software that analyzes digital texts. Two coding categories were selected as part of the analysis. One focused on the barriers that the Associate Justices encountered as they moved ahead with their career and the second category focused on the strategies and approaches they used to overcome them. The study findings demonstrated that the Associate Justices faced a significant number of barriers as they sought to advance in their legal careers. They encountered discrimination, gender bias and the obstacles of balancing their careers and family. The analysis results also strongly conveyed that the Associate Justices used a number of strategies and approaches to overcome the barriers. They were self-confident and set realistic standards – therefore validating Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ theory.

This research aims to facilitate better understanding of perceptions of gender roles and gender equality among members of the Evangelical Church and to determine whether these perceptions differ by gender. The evangelical community’s ideologies and values have come to shape social and political dialogues within the United States. A key component of the faith is understanding the role each member plays within his or her family unit and community at large. The evangelical faith’s organizational structure and ideologies are informed by a patriarchal model that’s placed women at internal and structural odds, based on research exploring evangelically informed organizations. However, there is a gap in literature related to gender roles and equality within the faith, and how these perceptions may differ by gender and the influence a church’s organizational structure may have on these perceptions. This process involved the examination of perceptions of gender among evangelical Christians in a nationally representative sample. These findings informed a series of questions designed to explore, at greater depth on a regional level, the views of evangelicals regarding gender roles and gender equality within their organizations. The study provided a multidimensional construct of how the evangelical community defines themselves, understands gender roles and gender equality, and how these definitions affirm and conflict with definitions outside of the church as well as their own church’s leadership and organizational structure.

Global leadership has been a growing area of research as our world becomes interconnected. The National Association for College Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies Work Group even added an eighth competency: global/intercultural fluency. Employers have also expressed a skill crisis regarding students graduating from college without the necessary global leadership skills. However, there are often not enough resources at institutions of higher education to add specific co-curricular programs around global leadership. At the same time many institutions have begun to use the Student Leadership Competencies (Seemiller, 2013) as learning outcomes for their co-curricular programs. This research study aimed to combine the concepts of global leadership and the Student Leadership Competencies so that students have the opportunity to develop global leadership competencies on their own. The researcher created a global leadership competencies self-assessment instrument mapped within the Student Leadership Competencies, then demonstrated the extent to which the instrument yields evidence that supports valid and reliable inferences about students’ global leadership competencies. Validity evidence based on content was established through the use of 13 subject matter experts. Validity evidence based on cognitive process was established through cognitive interviews. Validity evidence based on internal structure was established by conducting an exploratory factor analysis. Specifically, a principal axis factor analysis with a varimax rotation was conducted on data gathered from 279 participants. Evidence supported the finding that the instrument yielded reliable inferences about students’ global leadership competencies (30 items; α = .932). There were six constructs uncovered and measured through the validation process: Interpersonal Impact, Perspective-taking, Adapting, Diversity, Responding to Ambiguity, and Resiliency. The instrument created in this study provides self-awareness of a student’s proficiency in these global leadership competencies, which enables them to seek out development opportunities for those competencies either on their campus or in other out-of-the-classroom activities based on their results. This instrument can now be used to guide a students’ global leadership competency development journey.