<p> A customer revolution caused by the popularity of internet commerce, the reliance on social media, and the globalization of the retail industry, calls for an examination of a sales model driven by transformational salespeople. This study examined potential salesperson performance drivers and a proposed moderated mediation model of salesperson performance. This study relied upon a foundation of transformational and other leadership attributes and salesperson theory-of-mind (SToM). Although the conditional indirect effects of the model were not statistically significant, transformational leadership was found to be a statistically significant predictor of sales performance (<i> c</i>&rsquo; = .024, <i>t</i> = 2.63, <i>p</i> = .0088). Several sub-components of transformational leadership were also statistically significant such as individualized consideration (<i>c</i>&rsquo; = .133, <i>t</i> = 3.75, <i>p</i> = .0002). Other statistically significant leadership attribute predictors were contingent reward leadership (<i>c</i>&rsquo; = .102, <i>t</i> = 2.65, <i>p</i> = .0084), and laissez-faire leadership, negatively correlated, (<i>c </i>&rsquo; = &ndash;.061, <i>t</i> = &ndash;2.07, <i> p</i> = .039). The study also found that transformational leadership is positively related to SToM (<i>a</i>_i = .768, <i>t</i> = 2.88, <i>p</i> = .0042). Although the study found these predictors statistically significant, caution must be exercised in the interpretation of results due to the low effect sizes. This study is suggestive for sales theory and for sales practice. The study contributes to the pioneering work of Bass (1997) who originally made the theoretical connection between transformational leadership attributes and effective sales performance. He theorized that because sales is an influence process involving the alignment of the customer&rsquo;s goals and objectives with the organization&rsquo;s solutions, it is like transformational leadership, which is also an influence process in which the leader responds to followers&rsquo; needs by aligning goals and objectives of individuals with the organization. The results not only confirm Bass&rsquo;s theory, but also extend it with the addition of other leadership attributes, contingent reward leadership and laissez-faire leadership. This study employed a cross-sectional sampling approach and used data generated by an online package of surveys covering transformational leadership, salesperson theory-of-mind, and personality. </p><p>

<p> This dissertation is a study of identity processes in two social domains: higher education and professional careers. Each chapter presents a distinct form of social identity and shows how it serves either as a resource to guide social participation (in the case of careers) or is a product of social participation (in higher education). "Institutional self" is a shorthand term for a pragmatic definition of identity, an ongoing process through which individuals make sense of their own capacities and trajectories as economic agents, in relation to the cues systematically produced in different environments. Each chapter of the dissertation develops a distinct conceptual model related to institutional self-formation, using empirical cases that are of interest to sociologists: the tensions of work in cultural production; formative stages of boundary-spanning careers; and college-level vocational training. Each fills gaps in the sociological research in these areas. </p><p> The data used throughout the dissertation come from 106 interviews conducted by the author with students, faculty, and graduates of one art school, Adams College of the Arts (43 students, eight faculty, and 55 graduates). The school is located in a metropolitan area on the West Coast of the United States, where interviews took place in 2012 and 2013. All participants are drawn from two academic departments at the school: Visual Design, centered on the discipline of graphic design, and Media Arts, a mix of several digital media applications. Subsequent qualitative analyses of interview transcripts were primarily inductive, involving several rounds of coding along with development of guiding questions that emerged from observed patterns in interviewees' personal accounts and detailed work histories. Each of the dissertation's three empirical chapters is presented as an independent research manuscript; introductory and concluding chapters frame the conceptual and empirical contributions of the project as a whole. </p><p> Chapter 2, "Boundary Work as Career Navigation in Design and Media," looks at how creative workers use rhetorics of creativity to justify preferences for a wide range of working arrangements. Interviewees pursue one of two distinct forms of boundary work: segmentation and integration. Segmentation involves reproducing the institutionalized opposition between artistry and commerce in the temporal and spatial arrangements of working lives. Integration breaks down the boundary, merging the opposing motivations. Each finds expression in a range of career-building practices, from maintaining separate creative projects, to becoming an entrepreneur, or leaving creative work altogether. In closing, the chapter questions the relevance of occupations as a place of sensemaking and belonging for skilled, contingent workers. </p><p> Chapter 3, "Self-Assessment and Self-Presentation in Disorderly Careers," looks at a different set of career navigation strategies, based on ongoing accounting of one's capacities in relation to the observed expectations of work roles and environments. The organization of American work has shifted fundamentally in the last few decades. Work in many skilled occupations now takes on patterns long found in creative fields: project-based work and "portfolio careers" that are disorderly, uncertain, and highly mobile. I find that young creatives continually evaluate their skills and personalities in market terms as they experience jobs in different contexts. These self-assessments lead to instrumental investment in "human capital"-both emotional and technical capacities-and self-selection into work roles based on a sense of fit with a firm, project, or industry. The chapter illuminates the experience of boundary-spanning careers, reviving an underdeveloped stream of micro-sociological career theory. </p><p> Chapter 4, "Crafting Identity: Two Approaches to Professionalization in Art School," turns to college education as a training ground in occupational identification and preparation for boundary-spanning careers. Professional training is the dominant contemporary form of higher education in America, having surpassed the arts and sciences in the number of undergraduate enrollees and graduates, yet sociologists know little about how students experience the professionalization process at the college level. I find that two departments providing artists with training in commercial art practices create distinct pedagogic cultures within the same school. One prepares students for industry-specific work roles to which students peg their future trajectories; the other cultivates general competencies that are applicable across industries, leaving students to identify likely work roles and career pathways. The analysis provides a conceptually nuanced model drawn from cultural and organizational sociology that is applicable across settings of higher education. </p><p> The dissertation concludes with a brief closing chapter that provides an overview of the contributions of each chapter and the project as a whole. It closes with questions for future research that are directly and indirectly informed by these findings that may be useful for sociologists of the arts and media, work and occupations, and culture.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study with a correlational design was to explore the relationship between spirituality and work intentions from the perspective of 140 employees of a behavioral health agency in the state of Arizona. The predictor, spirituality, is supported by the theory of Spirituality in the Workplace, which applies the Spirituality in the Workplace Scale. The criterion, work intentions, is sustained by the Employee Work Passion Appraisal (EWPA) model and employs the Work Intention Inventory Short-Form. This study intended to determine if there was a relationship between the overall of spirituality in the workplace and its three dimensions (organizational values, meaningful work, and sense of community) and the overall of work intentions and its five dimensions (intent to use organizational citizenship behaviors, intent to endorse the organization, intent to perform at a higher than average level, intent to stay in the organization, and intent to use discretionary effort on behalf of the organization). RQ1 applied Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient to determine a statistically significantly positive relationship between the overall of spirituality and the overall of work intentions, rs = 0.658, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001. Additionally, RQs 2-6 employed multivariate linear regression and multiple linear regression to determine a statistically significant relationship between spirituality and intent to endorse, <i> t</i>(132) = 3.806, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001 and a statistically significantly relationship between spirituality and intent to stay, <i> t</i>(132) = 3.590, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001. However, there was insufficient evidence to support a significant relationship between spirituality and the intent to use OCBs, the intent to perform, and the intent to use discretionary effort. Key Words: Spirituality, Spirituality in the Workplace, Work Intentions</p><p>

<p> Probation officers are subject to a great deal of stress. The goal of this study is to examine occupational stress and burnout by testing and modifying the Job Demands-Resources model. This model suggests that organizational characteristics have implications for individual outcomes related to stress. However, the model neglects the role of individual factors, such as resilience and coping. In coordination with the Probation Association of New Jersey, this study tests the modified model using cross-sectional surveys from 184 probation officers. Results suggest that resilience influences how individuals perceive and cope with stress, maladaptive strategies lead to burnout, and burnout is associated with increased health concerns and turnover.</p><p>

<p> This paper involved a path analysis of a new measure of grit to understand work engagement. Recent studies have found significant correlations between both constructs; however an explanation of &ldquo;how&rdquo; grit plays a role in work engagement is opaque (Robertson-Kraft &amp; Duckworth, 2014; Suzuki, Tamesue, Asahi, &amp; Ishikawa, 2015). The hypothesized model of this study failed to fit the data. Data fit problems likely relate to significant contrasts of two different samples and unsupported theory for the overall model. However, several findings resulted from this study. Grit was found to correlate to work engagement for nursing related staff; whereas, business executives there was no support. Evidence suggest nurses possibly experience a reduction in challenge stressors when they suppress their emotions. In contrast, business executives likely increase hindrance stressors from suppression. Results of this study hint at the notion different groups of people appraise stressors uniquely relative to work engagement.</p><p>

<p> In recent years, marijuana use has become an increasingly prominent concern for Human Resource professionals. Policy makers for organizations are scrambling to understand how individual state legalization in the United States will affect their businesses. This study investigated job applicant perceptions of organizational attractiveness, job pursuit intention, and corporate social responsibility of organizations as potentially affected by marijuana testing policy. Marijuana use was studied as a potential moderator. Results suggest that marijuana use and drug-testing policy both play a role in shaping job applicant perceptions. While perceptions for non-marijuana users were relatively unaffected by drug-testing policy, marijuana user perceptions were affected. An interaction effect of marijuana use and drug-testing policy was found for organizational attractiveness, and main effects of marijuana use and drug-testing policy were found for job pursuit intention. There were no significant results for corporate social responsibility. Additional research on work-related marijuana use and attitudes towards marijuana in the workplace was conducted and reported. Future research and practical implications are included.</p><p>

<p> Incivility, also known as bullying or horizontal violence, can take many forms from derogatory statements to physical harm. Incivility can create physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms leading to job dissatisfaction and increased turnover. Incivility can impact patient care and patient safety. Organizational impacts include increased turnover and decreased productivity. Regulatory and professional agencies have issued recommendations for leaders of organizations to address incivility in the workplace. The purpose of the study was to determine if an educational program for nurse leaders can improve the perceived ability of the leaders to act with moral courage to address uncivil behavior. Two theories identified as relevant to incivility in the workplace, Freire&rsquo;s Oppression Theory and Kanter&rsquo;s Structural Theory of Power. A quasi experimental design, one group pretest-posttest, was used. The study took place in a 363-bed tertiary care facility. A convenience sample of nurse leaders completed a pre-survey, education, and post-survey. Analysis was conducted on 37 matched pairs of surveys. The tool, the Professional Moral Courage (PMC) Scale, is comprised of fifteen statements divided into five themes; three statements per theme. Three areas of statistical significance were found using a paired t-test comparing the pre-survey to the post-survey scores. The results indicated improvement in two out of five themes, acting morally and proactive approach, and the overall score. Leaders need to utilize moral and address incivility. By witnessing the leaders&rsquo; role modeling civil behaviors and taking action in the face of incivility, staff should also demonstrate the same behaviors.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of writing &ldquo;The Relationship Between Religious Coping and Resilience Among Senior Leaders at the United States Army War College&rdquo; was to determine the relationship of resilience and religious coping among senior Army officers. It measured religious coping, resilience, religious orientation, and explored service-related stresses as experienced by a representative sample of officers. </p><p> Chapter One develops the purpose out of a context with senior Army officers who carry a significant burden of responsibility as they are entrusted with the war-fighting effectiveness of soldiers in combat and serve in a culture which places enormous pressures on its senior leaders. The ministry problem is that the stressors faced and methods of religious coping with these stresses have not been fully studied and are not clearly understood by religious leaders, churches, and the military enterprise. </p><p> Chapter Two provides a review of the literature pertaining to a working definition and discussion of religion, coping in general, the role of religion in coping, religious orienting systems and how they impact one&rsquo;s coping patterns, religion&rsquo;s role in well-being, resilience and coping, spiritual fitness, and military culture. </p><p> Chapter Three describes the research design, procedures for data collection, and methodology utilized to measure and understand the relationship between religious coping and resilience. </p><p> Chapter Four presents the results and interpretative analysis. The findings indicated a moderate positive correlation between religious coping and resilience. There were several significant correlations between the demographic and religious variables which offer insight into the relationship between religious coping and resilience. </p><p> Chapter Five offers observations, implications, and recommendations based on the findings of the research. The results are applied to the ministry of military chaplains, churches, religious organizations serving the military, and the defense enterprise in terms of improved solutions to better support senior military leaders.</p><p>

Searchers typically adopt random-appearing scan patterns when inspecting homogeneous surfaces, presumably because the absence of critical features (pattern irregularities and edges) precludes development of systematic and efficient scanning strategies. The present research attempted to determine whether available modeling tools were appropriate for developing optimal scanning aids for homogeneous displays. Three experiments were conducted to test two critical assumptions that underlie existing models of visual scanning. The first experiment tested the assumption that a static visual lobe, obtained in a task in which the eyes remained fixated at a single location, was the same as a dynamic visual lobe, obtained in a task in which the eyes moved before and after the display presentation. The dynamic lobe was slightly smaller, but no different in shape than the static lobe. The second experiment tested the Independence Model, according to which information acquired in a given fixation cannot be combined with information acquired in a subsequent fixation. Each trial consisted of two tachisoscopic presentations of overlapping portions of the same homogeneous field, controlling target presence on each fixation. Detection performance was compared between conditions on which the target was present on one or two display presentations. The results were consistent with Independence Model. In the third experiment, the Independence Model was tested in a multiple-fixation continuous dynamic scanning task. The subjects' unexpected inability to fixate accurately at specified locations precluded a direct test of the Independence Model, however a Static Independence Model was constructed using a single-fixation continuous lobe model to predict target-detection at each fixation within the dynamic scanning task. Dynamic scanning performance differed systematically from predictions of the Static Independence Model, reflecting an apparent shift in allocation of attentional resources to the center and away from the top and bottom of the display. The attentional shift was embodied in a Dynamic Independence Model which better predicted dynamic scanning performance. Although there was considerable individual variation, the results suggest the requirement to fixate at specified locations may have interfered with target-detection performance at certain target locations. Implications for the development of optimal scanning aids for homogeneous display were discussed.

The present project tested a theoretical framework for the deception judgment process. The framework argues that the deception judgment process begins when a perceiver first becomes suspicious of deception. This engages the perceiver to attempt to verify the speaker's claims. If the claims are deemed untrue, in an effort to classify the statement as a lie, the perceiver then examines the speaker's motives. If deemed a lie, the perceiver decides what to do about the deception, often taking into consideration the speaker's motives for lying. Three studies tested this framework. The first study examined the information perceivers used to distinguish lies from non-lies; the second study examined how the various forms of information were utilized and weighed in the deception judgment process; and finally, the third study examined the information processing strategies perceivers used to process deception. Overall, it was found that perceivers used several forms of information (e.g., logical inconsistencies, facts, and motives) when considering and judging deception. However, only facts were used to draw a conclusion regarding a statement's deceptiveness. In terms of processing strategies, support was found for an information-processing ordering effect consistent with the proposed model. Implications and future research are discussed.