Organizational culture is a product of both internal and external factors. Leaders sometimes attempt to change culture using a variety of mechanisms, while the effects of external environment simultaneously exert influence. The external environment effects can be especially pronounced when comparing a traditional, Midwestern automotive firm (General Motors) with a Silicon Valley automotive startup (Tesla). A study was conducted to compare the social system of these two automakers and to identify some of the factors, both internal and external, shaping their culture. Data was collected on the employment history of engineers and managers using the social networking platform LinkedIn.com. Similarly, publicly-posted employee reviews were collected from the website Glassdoor.com and analyzed using a novel method for classifying and analyzing openorm written survey responses. Together, these records paint a picture of the employee perceptions of culture for both companies, the breadth of external experience represented in their workforces, and the tendency to fill management positions from internal candidates. The results suggest that external environment has broad effects on workforce experience, thereby creating certain cultural attributes such as loyalty or a drive to innovate. The results also suggest that promoting internal candidates more often does not necessarily lead to employee perception of better career opportunities. Taken together, the results reinforce but expand traditional views of organizational culture and call for further study on the matter across more industry groups.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The advent of technology has put a number of institutions in a state of reform (Wolcott, 1997). In fact, it was predicted that technology would completely transform higher education by the end of the twentieth century (Sculley, 1989). Aside from the demographic make-up of the majority of current students (Howe & Strauss, 2000), moving away from the traditional lecture-format to one with the integration of instructional technology can enhance the teaching/learning environment (Bolger & Sprow, 2002). However, instructional technology has still not been completely integrated into the higher education curriculum and students reported that only about 20 % of instructors were found to use technology effectively ("How Students Rate Instructors' Use of Information Technology in Courses", 2011). Educators continue to face a number of barriers to adoption and many institutions are still investigating ways to provide a more effective learning and teaching environment using efficient use of instructional technology. This research used the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech as a test bed and conducted a set of three studies following a mixed methodology. The first study elicited both quantitative and qualitative data from faculty members who used instructional technology in the classroom. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between organizational culture, usability, and instructional technology acceptance and found a significant, positive relationship between usability and instructional technology acceptance, and a positive relationship between organizational culture and instructional technology acceptance. The second study gained more insight into the relationship by collecting qualitative data in the form of focus group interviews. Results of Study 2 indicated that collaborative and innovative organizational cultures, coupled with instructional technologies that have low learnability, high efficiency, high effectiveness, and high satisfaction can facilitate instructional technology acceptance. Based on the results, a set of recommendations to facilitate instructional technology acceptance were developed. The third and final study consisted of a summative evaluation of the recommendations by a panel of experts using the Delphi technique. The overall outcome of this research effort was the development of recommendations and guidelines to facilitate instructional technology acceptance and the description of a comprehensive framework for effective instructional technology use. / Ph. D.

Knowing how organizations engage employees can help researchers and practitioners better understand how to effectively communicate and engage employees to create an efficient and collaborative work environment. This research sought to discover if Tesla Motors strategically communicated values from its Master Plan through company blogs to create an imagined community. The theory of imagined communities provided the theoretical foundation. This research used a content analysis of words and phrases within Tesla's Master Plan and 2015 corporate blog. Although the blog provided some indication that it was communicating values, this study concluded that the Master Plan did not provide enough value information to support a strategic imagined community. This study does, however, imply that imagined communities can be used in public relations research. / Master of Arts / Knowing how organizations engage employees can help researchers and practitioners better understand how to effectively communicate and engage employees to create an efficient and collaborative work environment. This research sought to discover if Tesla Motors intentionally communicated values from its Master Plan through company blog posts to create an imagined community. This research used a content analysis of words and phrases within Tesla’s Master Plan and 2015 corporate blog. Although the blog communicated some values, this study concluded that the Master Plan did not provide enough information to support a strategic imagined community.

U.S. demographic shifts are not being reflected in higher education institutions (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.; U.S. Department of Education, 2013). While institutions recruit underrepresented students and faculty, retention of these populations continues to be an issue in part due to a lack of sense of belonging (Booker, 2007; Hurtado and Carter, 1997), poor institutional climate (Hurtado, Alvarez, Guillermo-Wann, Cuellar, and Arellano, 2012; Rhee, 2008), and institutional racism (Stanley, 2006). Organizational culture theory offers a lens to examine the underlying structural problems preventing organizations from permanently adopting diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout the institution. This qualitative study examines how faculty members describe organizational culture of diversity and inclusion at a research university with a high degree of student diversity. The conceptual framework was Schein's (2010) organizational culture model. Participants included 19 faculty members who identified as Caucasian/White, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian/Pacific Islander. Of all participants, 12 were male and seven female. In-person interviews were conducted to gather data. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Five themes emerged: forming culture, describing diversity and inclusion within the culture, learning impacted by diversity, feeling the culture, and directing culture. Unique findings from this study reveal that participants believed there is a shifting organizational culture of diversity and inclusion at the selected institution due to newly acquired designations, causing redefinition of existing assumptions. Additionally, faculty members (a) held different definitions for diversity and inclusion, which affected how they understood the university's responsibilities; (b) relied on localized diversity initiatives over university-wide ones; (c) believed in the unique needs of a highly diverse student body; and (d) were concerned with gaining diversity and inclusion at all ranks of the institution. Findings suggest that faculty at this institution viewed the organizational culture of diversity and inclusion to be welcoming for students. However, participants' perspectives were mixed about this same culture being welcoming to all faculty members. The study has implications for administrators and faculty members seeking to create more diverse and inclusive organizational cultures. Findings also have implications for future research on organizational culture, faculty, diversity, and inclusion. / Ph. D. / Although U.S. demographics are becoming increasingly diverse, these shifts are not reflected at universities and colleges. Diverse students and faculty are underrepresented in these spaces. Based on previous research, evidence has indicated that diverse underrepresentation is in part due to the unwelcoming environments diverse populations face in university and college settings (e.g., structural racism). In spite of university and college leaders’ efforts to increase diversity on their campuses and make environments more inclusive, these efforts are not always put into practice uniformly throughout these postsecondary institutions. In this study, I investigated this problem by focusing on the values and behaviors that contribute to creating a welcoming environment for diverse populations at a university with a diverse student body. I interviewed faculty members at this university and gathered information about their perspectives on diversity and inclusion. By conducting the study at a university with a diverse student body, I assumed that this university member’s values and behaviors contributed to welcoming campus environments for diverse populations. My goal through these interviews was to learn from faculty members about the values and behaviors related to diversity and inclusion at this university. In these interviews, faculty members discussed values and behaviors in relation to diversity and inclusion at their university; they defined diversity and inclusion; shared their individual efforts to make learning environments more welcoming for diverse students; conversed about the initiatives that the university put in place to create welcoming environments for diverse populations; and talked about the challenges at the university as these related to diversity and inclusion, which consequently and periodically resulted in less welcoming campus environments. Findings from this study are important because as demographics in the U.S. continue to shift, universities and colleges will need to pay close attention as to how organizational values and behaviors impact diversity and inclusion while they attempt to create environments that are welcoming to diverse populations.

Yes / and objectives: People with dementia occupy around one quarter of general hospital beds, with concerns consistently raised about care quality. Improving workforce knowledge, skills and attitudes is a mechanism for addressing this. However little is known about effective ways of training healthcare staff about dementia. This study aimed to understand models of dementia training most likely to lead to improved practice and better care experiences for people with dementia, and to understand barriers and facilitators to implementation. Method: A collective case study was conducted in three National Health Service Acute Hospital Trusts in England. Multiple data sources were used including interviews with training leads/facilitators, ward managers and staff who had attended training; satisfaction surveys with patients with dementia and/or carers; and observations of care using Dementia Care Mapping. Results: Interactive face-to-face training designed for general hospital staff was valued. Simulation and experiential learning methods were felt to be beneficial by some staff and stressful and distressing by others. Skilled delivery by an experienced and enthusiastic facilitator was identified as important. Staff identified learning and practice changes made following their training. However, observations revealed not all staff had the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to deliver good care. Patient and carer satisfaction with care was mixed. A major barrier to training implementation was lack of resources. Supportive managers, organisational culture and strong leadership were key facilitators. Conclusion: Dementia training can lead to improved care practices. There are a range of key barriers and facilitators to implementation that must be considered. / National Institute for Health Research Policy Research Programme (NIHR PRP) under Grant [PR-R10-0514-120006].

A pesquisa em Enfermagem é uma atividade que tem possibilitado avanços na prática assistencial. No Brasil iniciou-se com os programas de pós-graduação, sendo as enfermeiras professoras as detentoras desta prática. As enfermeiras assistenciais têm procurado, ao longo dos anos, superar barreiras de ordem particular e institucional na sua realização. Instituições de ensino e empregadoras de serviços de saúde buscam promover o desenvolvimento profissional das enfermeiras implementando estratégias que incentivem a atividade investigativa no contexto profissional. Seguindo essa tendência a Diretoria de Enfermagem do Hospital Universitário Regional do Norte do Paraná criou em 1999 o Núcleo de Pesquisa em Enfermagem (NUPE), para apoiar as enfermeiras na realização de pesquisas. Tem-se, neste estudo, o objetivo de interpretar os sentidos atribuídos pelas enfermeiras assistenciais na participação em um serviço de incentivo à pesquisa e integrá-los em significados socialmente construídos, por meio da análise interpretativa. O quadro teóricometodológico foi delineado com base em conceitos e princípios educacionais e na cultura organizacional, visando-se interpretar como as enfermeiras constroem a atividade da pesquisa no cotidiano profissional mediante serviço de apoio inserido na instituição hospitalar. Para isso, a etnografia, como método, e o estudo de caso, como estratégia, possibilitaram a aproximação necessária do contexto cultural das envolvidas. Os dados foram coletados em entrevistas individuais e grupais, em depoimentos escritos direcionados por questões e em análise documental. O contexto histórico-estrutural do serviço foi descrito pelo olhar da diretora de enfermagem e secretária do NUPE, em exercício no período de 1999 a 2002. A produção científica nestes anos apresentou 129 projetos de pesquisa e 151 trabalhos científicos elaborados pelas enfermeiras. Destes, 36 foram publicados em periódicos e 6 premiados em eventos científicos. Os artigos, em grande parte, construídos coletivamente e publicados em diversos veículos de divulgação, relacionam-se ao Campo Temático Assistencial e Organizacional. Sobre o processo vivenciado, as enfermeiras aludiram sentidos da atividade investigativa na prática assistencial no que tange à valoração desta, ao papel de aprender por meio dela, além dos movimentos inerentes e ainda, do fato de ser uma tarefa árdua, que demanda empenho pessoal. Os significados, analisados sob o prisma do rito de passagem, evidenciaram os movimentos dos sujeitos e da instituição: no período pré-liminar, pela impregnação do fazer sem questionar; no período liminar, pela inserção das enfermeiras junto ao NUPE; e no período pós-liminar, com sinais de ruptura dos velhos paradigmas e abertura às novas perspectivas. Observou-se, no contexto cultural, o desenvolvimento de estratégias e ações pela mobilização dos atores e da instituição com o despertar para a atividade investigativa, o criar na postura de realizadoras de pesquisa, com repercussões intramuros e extramuros à instituição, percebidas no desenvolvimento pessoal-profissional e na valorização do trabalho desenvolvido. A pesquisa, apoiada pela organização e desejada pela enfermeira, consubstancia-se como estratégia científicopedagógica na formação permanente de enfermeiras assistenciais e agrega repercussões positivas para a assistência prestada. No âmbito de serviços de saúde conceber a realização de pesquisa em favor da produção do conhecimento e desenvolvimento profissional requer uma mudança na cultura organizacional por meio de inovações, tempo e interesse dos envolvidos. / The nursing research is an activity that has advanced in the assistant practice. In Brazil it started with pos-graduation programs, with nurse teachers as possessing this practice. The assistant nurses have been looking for many years to overcome barriers of particular and institutional order to get concreted. Education and health service institutions try to promote the professional development of nurses implementing strategies which encourage the research activities in the professional context. Following the tendency of the Nursery Board of Directors of the Regional University Hospital of North Paraná a Nursing Research Nucleus was created in 1999 (NUPE) to support the nurses during their researches. The aim of this study is to analyze the conferred meanings given by assistant nurses in their participation on the research incentive and include them in built social meanings, by interpretative analysis. The theoretical and methodological view was designed from concepts and educational principles and organizational culture, trying to interpret how nurses deal with research activity in their daily professional lives with support service provided in their hospital institution. For this reason, the ethnography as method, and the case of study as strategy, made the necessary approach to the cultural context of the ones involved in the process possible. The data were collected by individual and group interviews, written statements and documental analysis. The historical and structural context of the service was described through the nursing director and NUPE secretary?s view, working in the period from 1999 to 2002. The scientific production in these years present that the nurses created 129 research projects, 151 scientific works. From these, 36 were publicized in scientific newspaper and 6 awarded in scientific events. The articles, in general, were collectively written and publicized in different means, related to the assistant and organizational thematic field. About the experienced process, the nurses mentioned meanings of the research activity in the assistant practice referring to increasing the value in it, the role of learning through it, besides the movements and finality related to it, and furthermore, being a really hard task which demands personal dedication. The meanings, analyzed through the ritual process, show the movements of the subjects and from the institution during the preliminary period, by doing without asking; during the current period by the insertion of nurses into NUPE and during the pos period, with rupture signals to the old paradigms and an opened mind to new perspectives. The development of strategies and actions to mobilize the subjects and the institution were observed in the cultural context with the consciousness to the research activity, the creation of the role of research, the repercussion inside and outside the institution, realized during professional and personal development and having their work developed with an increased value. The research supported by the organization and desired by the nurse, consolidates as scientific and pedagogical strategy in the constant assistant nurse training and adds positive repercussions to the given assistance. In the health area, accepting the research realization in favor of knowledge production and professional development requires changes in the organizational culture through innovations, time and interests of the ones involved.

Patient safety experts identify changes in culture as critical to creating safer care (Flin, 2007; Leape, 1994; Reason, 1997; Vincent, Taylor-Adams & Stanhope, 1998). Yet there is limited understanding of how to best study, evaluate and make changes to patient safety culture. The literature on organizational culture, safety sciences and health services research suggests varying perspectives on studying culture and an evolving approach to creating tools to measure culture change. This thesis reports two projects. The first project used the Manchester Patient Safety Culture Assessment Tool, the Modified Stanford Instrument, and qualitative interviews to examine whether safety culture profiles varied by research method and instrument used to assess culture. Comparative assessment of the results suggests that while the quantitative measurement tools provide a high level organizational summary of safety issues, the qualitative interviews provide a more fine-grained understanding of the contextual and local features of the culture. The second research project used a multiple case study design to understand what hospitals have learned from trying to improve patient safety culture. Interviews in three organizations were used to determine how these organizations shifted their cultures. Although each organization had different experiences and used varying methods, they all created culture change through the simultaneous implementation of practice, policies and strategic framing of patient safety culture concepts in their everyday work. The third research paper examined how leaders measured changes in patient safety culture. Both leaders and front line workers look to both process measures (e.g., talking about safety and encouraging patient safety activities) together with outcome measures (e.g., adverse events, infection rates, and culture survey results) to evaluate their success in culture change. Overall this dissertation deepens our knowledge of how methods influence our assessment of patient safety culture and how leaders influence culture change. Future research needs to assess in more detail the roles of leaders and middle managers to understand how these individuals are able to reconcile the practice environment challenges while continuing to create a culture of patient safety.