The topic of the thesis is "Organizational culture in healthcare organization: a case study". In the theoretical part of the thesis basic definitions, terms and aspects associated with organizational culture are introduced. Further the thesis deals with diagnostic issues of organizational culture and presents specific factors related to the organizational culture in medical facilities. The empirical part deals with diagnose of organizational culture in the Czech hospital, using modified instrument for measuring organizational OCAI, based on the Competing Values Framework developed by R. E. Quinn and J. Rohrbaugh.

La présente thèse se propose de réfléchir sur le caractère cinétique de la méthode analogique adopté dans le De motu animalium d’Aristote. En considèrant que l'objet du traité est la cause commune du mouvement et qu'Aristote en adopte une solution du type paradigmatique, d'une manière générale l'automotricité est le thème pendant que le membre articulé est le phore dans le raisonnement analogique du DMA. Nous considérons hypothétiquement que les stratégies plastiques sont le fil conducteur du raisonnement suivi par la recherche de la cause commune de la motricité pour tout mouvement. Notre double objectif général est, d’une part de tirer les acquis philosophiques sur le caractère immanent du principe du mouvement de la recherche menée dans le DMA et, d’autre part de percevoir le caractère cinétique et plastique de sa démarche, qui comporte des procédés méthodologiques dynamiques dans le but de s’adapter à l’objet. Ce que nous faisons en deux pas : premièrement par l’analyse des étapes de l’établissement du paradigme du membre articulé ; et en suite par l’analyse de l’analogie entre le membre articulé et l’automotricité animée. Les deux analyses visent saisir des éléments pour confronter les deux termes de l'analogie et vérifier la validité de toute la thèse et de la considération selon laquelle, la méthode analogique est un l'instrument plastique de la pensée de l'immanence. / This thesis proposes to reflect on the kinetic character of the analogical method adopted in De Motu Animalium of Aristotle. Considering that the object of the treatise is the common cause of the movement of animais, in general, automotricity is the "thème" while the articulated member is the ''phore" in De Motu's analogical reasoning. Hypothetically we consider that the plastic strategies of the analogical method of De motu are the guiding thread of the reasoning undertaken in the research on the common cause of the motility of ail animal movements. Our general double aim is: on the one hand, to take philosophical acquisitions on the immanent character of the principle of movement, and on the other hand, to grasp the kinetic and plastic character of this philosophical enterprise, which involves dynamic methodological procedures in view of the adaptation of the method to the object. We seek to achieve these objectives through two analyses: first, the analysis of the stages of the establishment of the articulated member paradigm (AMP), and then the analysis of the main analogy of the treatise, between the articulated limb and the animated automotricity. Through the two analyses we must gather the necessary elements to confront the two tenns of the main analogy, as well as to verify the general validity of the thesis and also the consideration according to which the analogical method of De Motu Animalium is a plastic instrument of the thought of immanence.

Employee disengagement creates an unhealthy working environment. Disengagement rates among Las Vegas hospitality industry organizations led to dissatisfaction among employees and resulted in low productivity and profitability. This qualitative descriptive study involved exploring employee engagement strategies that hospitality industry supervisors and managers used to implement programs, thereby solving the employee engagement problems of their organizations. The conceptual framework for the study was leader-member exchange theory. Twenty participants with 5 or more years of Las Vegas hospitality experience who had already successfully implemented engagement programs answered open-ended questions in semistructured interviews. Company documents constituted an additional data source. Analyzing the data involved triangulation using multiple data sources in identifying themes such as interaction effects of employee engagement programs on employees, mutual respect between leaders and subordinates, and organizational benefits. Better engagement could lead to positive social change through increased job satisfaction and improved customer service, thereby engendering increased social interactions among members of the local community. The former could reduce stress and contribute to the quality of life of community members including the families of the workers.- The latter could lead to greater profits for the employers, thus potentially increasing the tax base in the community.

Consumer Operated Service Providers (COSPs) are programs that are directed and administratively controlled by mental health consumers for their peers. As such, many mental health consumers have been placed in the position of serving on a COSP and often with unclear descriptions and no training. As a result, there is often a disconnect between the will of the board and the vision of the executive director, leading to tension and the possibility of failed mission. Using servant leadership as the guide, the goal of this case study was to explore the experiences of executive directors who operate Consumer Operated Service Providers (COSPs) in Texas that specialize in mental health recovery support services to better understand how they work with mental health consumers serving as their governing board members. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 7 executive directors of COSPs in Texas. Interview data were inductively coded, then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Findings revealed that the concept of servant leadership is commonly used to empower board members and create healthy working relationships between boards and executive directors, particularly around the area of motivating board members to engage with the organization. It was also revealed that the existence of COSPs, in conjunction with traditional governing boards, provides a good balance and perspective relative to strategic planning activities and fundraising. Positive social change implications include recommendations to executives of COSPs to more adequately mobilize and train consumer board members in order to achieve organizational goals that often include consumer focused care and treatment for a wide range of mental health issues.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to reform the corporate governance mechanisms in order to improve the quality of financial reporting and thus, enhance the confidence of investors in the stock market and in the accounting profession. Despite the efforts of the SEC, financial reporting scandals continue with record numbers of financial restatements documented by the General Accounting Office. A financial restatement is a correction of a previously misstated financial statement. There is a small volume of literature examining the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on financial restatements. The results of these studies however, are mixed and possibly explained by their narrow focus and omitted variables that could influence the effectiveness of audit committees. Consequently, this study examines the effects of independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence on financial restatements. Specifically, this study investigates the relationship between the likelihood of financial restatements and: (1) the expertise of the independent audit committee members, (2) the expertise and diligence of the independent audit committee members, (3) the reputation of the independent audit committee members, (4) the interaction effect of expertise, diligence and reputation, (5) the tenure of the independent audit committee members, and (6) the cash compensation paid to independent audit committee members. Prior studies have not investigated some of these variables or the interaction effects of independent audit committee member characteristics on financial restatements. This study also investigates the association between auditor independence and financial restatements. The SEC alleges that an increasing number of audit failures are due to the lack of auditor independence. One of the major sources of the lack of auditor independence is the auditor’s economic dependency on the client. The provision of non-audit services increases the financial reliance of the auditor on the client. As a result, the auditor may become reluctant to raise issues with the preparation of the financial statements at the risk of foregoing the lucrative non-audit services fees. The SEC believes that longer audit firm tenure can also impair auditor independence and Section 203 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act suggests periodic audit firm rotation. Therefore, auditor independence was measured as: (1) fees paid to the auditor, and (2) audit firm tenure. Finally, this study extends the prior literature by studying the interaction effects of independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence on financial restatements. This interaction effect is important because the external auditor and the audit committee are regarded vital governance mechanisms that interact and exchange dialogue in the performance of their respective oversight of the financial reporting process. Prior research has not investigated this important interaction effect. The sample of the study comprises 69 U.S. publicly listed companies that announced their restatement from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002. These companies were matched with 69 non-restatement companies based on industry and size. The data for the study is derived from SEC filings such as Form 10-K and DEF 14A, and Compustat. The univariate results show that compared to restatement firms, non-restatement firms generally have effective audit committee characteristics. The audit committees of non-restatement firms have members who are experts, diligent, reputable and appropriately compensated. They also pay lower non-audit services and total fees, and have audit firms with longer tenure. The multivariate results show that after controlling for other governance structures and firm specific non-governance variables, the likelihood of financial restatements is related to independent audit committee member characteristics and auditor independence. Specifically, the likelihood of financial restatements decreases when independent audit committee members are: (1) experts, (2) experts and diligent, (3) reputable, (4) experts, diligent and reputable, and (5) appropriately compensated. The audit committee member tenure variable is insignificant. In relation to the auditor independence variables, the multivariate results show that the likelihood of financial restatements increases when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher. On the other hand, the likelihood of financial restatements decreases when audit firm tenure is longer. The empirical results of this study suggest that independent audit committees are more effective overseers of the corporate financial reporting and auditing processes when: they comprise majority experts, they meet regularly, their members are reputable, and audit committee members are appropriately compensated. On the other hand, external auditors are not deemed to be effective overseers of the corporate financial reporting process when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher but are effective when audit firm tenure is long. The results support the SEC’s concerns regarding the provision of non-audit services impairing auditor independence. The results also support the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which under Section 201 prohibits external auditors from providing certain non-audit services to its audit client. Overall, these results support the regulatory efforts to increase the quality of financial reporting by enhancing the corporate governance process related to audit committees and auditor independence. However, the results do not support calls to limit the tenure of the auditor. The results of the multivariate interaction effects suggest that, after controlling for other governance structures and firm specific non-governance variables, when the non-audit services and total fees generated by the client are higher, the likelihood of financial restatements increases under conditions when the audit committee is not effective (a non expert audit committee, an audit committee that does not meet regularly, an audit committee whose members are not reputable or an audit committee that is not appropriately compensated). The implication of this result is that it provides evidence of conditions under which restatements take place. Knowledge of such conditions could aid regulators further improve the financial reporting process and corporate governance. This knowledge will support regulators in revising policies that ensure audit committee members are not only independent but also comprise other critical qualities. These improvements to the audit committee coupled with the existing regulations on the provision of non-audit services suggest a company’s governance will be more effective. Overall, the results extend current knowledge in the sparse but growing literature related to financial restatements and corporate governance, and extend our understanding of the effectiveness and interaction of governance mechanisms in reducing financial restatements.

Small group leadership self-efficacy is conceptualized as an individual’s degree of confidence in his/her ability to successfully assume a leadership role in a small group. The task specificity of self-efficacy and the conceptualization of leadership as context bound informs the need for a small group leadership self-efficacy measure that is a superior operationalization of the specified construct than extant measures of leadership self-efficacy in the context of small group leadership. Consequently, the purposes of this study were: (a) to develop a psychometrically sound self-report measure of small group leadership self-efficacy and establish its underlying structure through factor analytic procedures, and (b) to present preliminary validity evidence for the measure. In order to develop a representative item pool for the posited small group leadership self-efficacy dimensions, relevant theory was reviewed and extant literature was surveyed, with special attention to factor analytic studies. Using the data of 568 undergraduate students collected online, Study 1 investigated the factor structure of the initial 101-item measure. This resulted in the refinement and reduction of the initial measure to a 32-item measure, consisting of 5 dimensions. However, in Study 2, factor analyzing data collected from 296 undergraduate students who completed only the 32 items retained in Study 1 and the item-to-category sorts of 7 independent judges resulted in the confirmation of a second-order small group leadership self-efficacy factor structure with 2 dimensions (initiating structure and consideration) consisting of 23 items that best captured the content domain of the construct. The final 23-item measure of small group leadership self-efficacy was embedded into a nomological network where its relationships with four variables of interest was tested and results revealed that previous small group leadership experience, valence of previous small group leadership experience, and subjective vitality are correlates of small group leadership self-efficacy. The results of the present work have both theoretical and practical implications. An outcome of this study is a psychometrically sound measure of small group leadership self-efficacy which has the potential for high utility in both applied and scientific settings. These implications as well as possible directions for future research are identified and discussed.

According to enrollment data from the National 4-H Headquarters, minority participation in Texas 4-H clubs has declined over the past five years. This descriptive study measured the perceptions of 4-H adult leaders and county Extension agents about minority youth recruitment and retention in Texas 4-H clubs. An electronic survey was distributed to 168 adult leaders and 58 county Extension agents who have participated in 4-H for at least two years from clubs in 54 counties across Texas that are comprised of at least 50% minority youth members. The results from this study show slight differences in the demographic makeup and project areas that are chosen among the minority youth members. Statistically significant differences do exist between the perceptions of county Extension agents and 4-H adult club leaders. While the county Extension agents tend to focus more on the competition aspects of 4-H, adult club leaders are more concerned with the views and feelings of the youth members along with the relationships that are developed. It is important to acknowledge decline in minority retention rates and develop new techniques for recruitment to improve future enrollment for the sake of the organization and prospective minority youth throughout the state.

Community coalitions are prime vehicles for fostering social support within communities and prominent mechanisms for building local capacities to address health and social concerns. However, sustaining these entities beyond initial efforts and funding is difficult. What has kept members participating in and committed to the work of the Clarkston (Georgia) Health Collaborative, a community coalition, nearly 15 years after its inception? Prior research has examined several variables that predict overall participation and commitment in community-based coalitions, however, the literature has largely focused on coalitions that are topic driven (e.g., diabetes, gang violence, drugs, or obesity). These studies fail to identify those factors that are important in sustaining efforts in non-topic-based (i.e., there is no singular focus, but topics are community generated and vary), non-grant-funded community coalitions. This cross-sectional study examines member engagement as a sustaining factor of coalitions. Members of the Clarkston Health Collaborative (N = 93), ages 21 to 70 years and representing various sectors of the community, as well as racial and ethnic backgrounds, were surveyed as part of a coalition assessment in 2007 and 2008 in Clarkston, Georgia. Predictors that influence their participation and commitment, key components of engagement, are analyzed. These components were: leadership, social resources, sense of community, empowerment, member satisfaction, communication, decision making, and participation benefits. Based on the review of the literature, specific mediating relationships are hypothesized. A mixed-methods approach is employed, including path analysis that tests how well process models fit the coalition data, as well as key informant interviews by coalition members. Toward a conceptual model of engagement, findings supported the hypothesis that effective leadership increases member participation through increased social resources. Findings also supported the hypotheses that shared decision making and effective leadership increases member commitment through increased member satisfaction. Clear communication and sense of community were also factors that contributed to increased participation and commitment. These findings have implications for intervention, policy, and research, including a need for interventions that recognize the contexts of influence that foster member engagement in community-based coalitions. In addition, insight is gained for the planning and implementation of other coalitions to help ensure coalition sustainability.

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In this dissertation, a study is conducted to develop a probability based load and resistance factor design criterion for structural members considering the local conditions of Turkey. The Advanced First Order Second Moment (AFOSM) procedure is utilized as the probabilistic method of analysis. Various sources of uncertainties associated with concrete compressive strength, yielding and ultimate strength of reinforcing steel bars and the dimensions of beams, columns and shear walls are analyzed and quantified. The resistance statistics for different failure modes of different types of reinforced concrete structural members are computed by using the resistance parameters within the framework of reliability analysis. Structural load effects of dead, live, wind, snow and earthquake loads are analyzed considering the uncertainties in these loads. For different load combinations, the safety levels corresponding to the current design practice are evaluated in terms of the reliability indexes for reinforced concrete beam, column and shear wall design in flexure and shear, and also column design in combined action of flexure and axial load. Depending on this evaluation and the reliability index values reported from other countries, target reliability indexes are selected for different load combinations and different failure modes of structural members. Finally, a new set of load and resistance factors corresponding to selected target reliabilities and levels of uncertainties are proposed for each different failure modes of the structural members considered in this study, separately.