Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Leadership Nonprofit organizations Communication in management'

Nonprofit organizational leaders (NOLs) face laws that require increased transparency and more oversight on funding allocations. Grounded by a conceptual framework of Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership theory, Burns's transformational leadership theory, and Greenleaf's servant leadership theory, this multiple case study was developed to explore the leadership strategies of NOLs who implemented requirements of New York's Non-Profit Revitalization Act to increase funding allocations to support fulfillment of the organizational mission and achieve sustainability. The study population comprised NOLs from the Northeastern United States, who implemented requirements of the Non-Profit Revitalization Act requirements. Face-to-face semistructured interviews with 5 NOLs, a review of organizational documents, and member-checking were used to collect data for the study. Data were analyzed using a framework method to determine themes, visualization to code the data, and methodological triangulation to validate themes. Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: strategies for building and maintaining relationships increased funding allocations and sustainability, trust and accountability strategies improved organizational mission achievement and funding allocations, and strategies for higher standards and expectations improved sustainability. The findings from this study may contribute to positive social change by providing insight to NOLs about the need to create leadership strategies to build relationships and trust with stakeholders while operating a more responsible nonprofit organization, thereby creating a better connection between organizational systems and increasing service effectiveness.

This study examined the function of complexity leadership in the generative emergence of new ideas in a high-performance nonprofit organization. The conceptual framework for the study combines Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey’s (2007) Complexity Leadership Theory with Lichtenstein’s (2014) concept of generative emergence in order to investigate the growth of new ideas in high performance nonprofit organizations. The study was conducted at Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana (GICI), a high performing nonprofit that is one of 162 local Goodwill member agencies that make up Goodwill Industries International (GII).

This empirical case study examined the emergence and successful operation of one innovative idea—the creation and operation of public charter high schools—with GICI’s operating territory. Data was collected through interviews with GICI leaders, board members, and community leaders, well a review of documents pertinent to the case. Merrriam’s (2009) case study framework guided the collection of the data, and coding followed the process outlined by Saldaña (2013).

The study identified numerous specific leadership actions as they appeared through each stage of the generative emergence process. These were coded and analyzed through the lens of CLT in order to address the study’s research questions. Case findings determined that, in high-performing nonprofits, the function of complexity leadership in the generative emergence of new ideas is to identify, interpret, and respond to specific system behaviors so that the idea has the best possible chance to reach its full potential.

The study shows that if a high performing non-profit organization is to employ complexity leadership to successfully grow and implement new, innovative ideas via generative emergence, a mix of administrative, enabling, and adaptive leadership actions must be employed during each phase of the process. The study has implications for both CLT and Generative Emergence because it provides specific, empirical examples of the elements articulated by each concept. The study offers implications for practice since the structure and definitions provided by both CLT and generative emergence may be helpful to organizations as they generate and manage the growth of new ideas.

Nonprofit organization leaders face increased performance and sustainability challenges due to reduced funding. Approximately 72% of nonprofit revenues required for the sustainability of nonprofit organizations come from program services, which are threatened by ineffective improvement strategies and reduced program funding. Using the conceptual framework of total quality management, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies that nonprofit leaders use to implement successful continuous improvement programs to increase revenue. The population for this study was leaders of nonprofit organizations in Delaware. Participants were purposefully selected for their successful experience in implementing continuous improvement strategies in nonprofit organizations. Data were collected via semistructured face-to-face interviews from 4 nonprofit organization leaders and review of publicly accessible, online organizational documents related to the implementation of continuous improvement programs. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation through inductive coding of phrases and words. Three themes emerged from this study: leadership strategies for holistic focus on process improvement, leadership focus on organizational strategy, and specific focus on functions of leadership. Nonprofit leaders should embrace continuous improvement applications traditionally applied in for-profit sectors. Nonprofit leaders could apply continuous improvement strategies to enhance performance and boost revenue. Implications for positive social change include developing sustainability and longevity in nonprofit organizations to help nonprofit leaders address larger problems, such as homelessness, disease, lack of cultural acceptance, and environmental sustainability.

Many leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) lack strategies to replace leaders who leave the organization. An organization is in jeopardy of survival without an effective leadership development and succession planning strategy. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies NPO leaders use to develop future generations for leadership roles within the organization. Data were collected from face-to face semistructured interviews with 4 executives and 2 directors of a NPO in Texas and a review of documents including organization manuals, organizational charts, the employee handbook, and a management-in-training course. The human capital theory and succession theory were used as the conceptual framework for this study. Yin's 5-step process guided the data-coding process, and member checking was used to validate transcribed data. Data analysis consisted of coding, thematic analysis, and key word analysis, which resulted in 4 major themes: the need for a formal succession plan, removal of barriers to succession planning, investment in human capital, and practices and processes for succession planning. The implications of this study for social change include contributing to the organization's stability and profitability, which might allow the organization to provide services for the community and continue the development of human capital. Nonprofit leaders can benefit from the findings of this study by developing sustainable practices and improving strategies to implement succession planning.

Through an explanatory, sequential mixed methods design with a constructivist frame, this research provides one of the first looks at full range leadership behaviors as shared among directors and explores the group dynamics at work within boards of nonprofit membership organizations. A sample of such organizations in one Midwestern state resulted in chief staff officer participation ( n = 7) in both a custom-designed online survey and a telephone interview, and director participation (n = 45) in a separate online survey, consisting primarily of the questions included in the Team Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass, 1996), as well as telephone interviews with a sub-set of directors (n = 18).

Overall, participants reported high satisfaction with the leadership of their boards and perceptions of high board effectiveness. Directors cited transformational leadership behaviors, most predominantly idealized attributes, inspirational motivation, and idealized behaviors, as those their boards exhibit most often.

Quantitative data analyses resulted in insignificant correlations between the level of agreement among directors within each board—high in each participating organization—and both the board’s frequency of unanimous votes and the directors’ satisfaction with the leadership of the board. Qualitative data provided a more nuanced understanding of within board agreement with directors and chief staff officers seeking to increase the amount of questioning occurring during board deliberations.

Statistically, ratings of directors’ shared leadership behaviors, satisfaction with the leadership of the board, and perceived board effectiveness did not differ between directors and chief staff officers. In the majority of participating organizations, the chief staff officer does not hold a formal position on the board, but interview data surfaced a gate-keeper role for the chief staff officer, largely determining what warrants the board’s time and attention, and filtering the information that reaches the directors.

In building their board teams, the majority of participating organizations have competitive elections only sometimes or never, yet the majority of chief staff officers reported it is not difficult to find qualified board members. Of interview participants, both directors and chief staff officers ( n = 25), 88% stated their boards operate well as teams.

Both directors and chief staff officers in this study acknowledged influences of group dynamics on their efforts to lead their organizations, and the challenges to developing their boards as teams resulting from infrequent in-person meetings and the perception of limited time available from directors. However, directors expressed interest in strengthening their teams by getting to know their fellow directors better.

The meanings chief staff officers and directors in this study made of their boards and their roles in them offer a view into the phenomenon of nonprofit membership organizations’ boards as teams, a largely unexplored area of nonprofit research to date.

White administrators of nonprofit organizations are tasked with the challenge of making the right decisions when their nonprofit seeks to work in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. They utilize their personal worldviews and instincts to carry out the mission of their organization. The problem is that White administrators use their own cultural beliefs as their guide, which typically is counterintuitive to the cultural beliefs of Black and Brown people in the neighborhoods they wish to serve. This disparity raises issues, barriers, and sometimes conflict between both groups, which further divides efforts of collaboration. This study investigates the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes that exist and arise between administrators in a Whiteled nonprofit organization and residents in Communities of Color as they negotiate issues of trust, decision-making, and transformative practices through the context of a nonprofit agency’s mission and the neighborhood. By using portraiture, the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes were examined utilizing the factors whereby groups engaged in relationship-building efforts. Employing one-to-one interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents allowed the researcher to answer the research questions through the portraits. These questions were centered on the understanding of the roles that White administrators and Black and Brown residents carry out in collaborative process efforts. Based on their understanding of these roles, the research sought to find a collaborative process that works. The findings revealed through the data that the Black and Brown residents and White-led administrators in nonprofits can achieve true collaborative practices through a more democratic approach. By understanding Black and Brown residents’ Community Cultural Wealth, both groups can engage in this democratic approach which benefits the mission of the nonprofit and empowers the Black and Brown residents.

This dissertation investigates factors that facilitate effective collaboration of networks functioning within the context of a federal homeless policy—the HEARTH Act of 2009. While the federal legislation encourages networked collaboration to address the incidence of homelessness, not all networks are effective in achieving their intended purpose. Using a nationwide sample of homeless networks, this research explores the role that nonprofit organizations play in the collaborative process and models the effect of individual leadership, nonprofit-led network, and community nonprofit capacity on two levels of network effectiveness—network and community—using multivariate regression modeling. Results indicate that nonprofits play a significant role as participants of the collaboration process and as leading agents of homeless networks. In addition, the variation in network effectiveness is explained by multidimensional factors.

Transformational leadership and employee engagement have been studied in the private sector, yet research in the nonprofit sector is scarce. Addressing this gap is important to improve nonprofit practices, as nonprofit organizations contribute to a myriad of social issues critical to positive social change. Using Burns's theory of transformational leadership, which places emphasis on motivating and inspiring performance through a shared vision and mission, the purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the effects of transformational leadership on employee engagement in nonprofit organizations. The study also assessed whether locus of control acted as a mediating variable on employee engagement. Locus of control may explain differences in the effect of transformational leadership on engagement in those with an internal locus of control (self-motivating-lesser effect) versus an external locus of control (motivated by external forces-greater effect). Data were obtained from emailed surveys of employees of 30 nonprofit organizations (N = 155). The surveys consisted of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and the Work Locus of Control Scale. Multiple logistic regression revealed a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement. No significant evidence was found to indicate that locus of control acted as a mediating variable with regard to engagement. Understanding the effect of transformational leadership on employee engagement may enable nonprofit organizations to improve their effectiveness in programs and services, thereby contributing to positive social change.

The levels of organizational performance (OP) achievable from a dollar investment in information and communications technologies (ICT) remains elusive. A consensus exits among scholars and organizational leaders that effective use of ICT improves OP yet managers continue to struggle to justify investments in ICT. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore and explain how investments in ICT related with OP. The study built on the resource-based view of the firm theoretical framework. A key question in the study was whether there existed a consistent, positive correlation between ICT investments, decision-making performance, and OP, and if so, explain the interdependence among the predictor and outcome variables. The sampling frame for the research was the major nonprofit organizations in Kenya. Data were collected using a tested and validated measurement instrument, and analyzed using SPSS software. Correlation, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analyses were used for data analysis and interpretation. Results revealed that not all investments in ICT correlate positively with OP. In fact, investments in some ICT systems did not correlate at all with OP. This study has implications for positive social change, it facilitates informed decision making that saves resources and thus improves social good. The study is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on the effect of investments in ICT on the effectiveness of decision making and OP.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006.
Title from title screen. Michael Bruner, committee chair; Shirlene Holmes, David Cheshier, committee members. Electronic text (106 p. : ill. (some col.)). Description based on contents viewed Apr. 25, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-86).

Nonprofits are primarily dependent upon external sources for funding and other critical resources; therefore during recessionary periods the nonprofit sector faces a crisis of its own as crucial resources become scarce. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 had widespread adverse impact on the nonprofit sector yet, some nonprofit organizations managed to not only restore their finances and operations to their pre-recession state, but also capitalize on the economic conditions and emerge stronger and more prosperous than before the recession began. Specifically, these organizations embody resiliency by realizing positive outcomes or exhibiting optimal performance during and after tough economic times. In the face of increasing demands, shifting funding streams, and operational challenges, organizational resilience is more important than ever for the sector. The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of the nature of organizational resiliency as it relates to nonprofits impacted by economic recession. The primary research question that directed this research was: What attributes are exhibited by resilient nonprofit organizations? Using a multiple case study approach, this study explored the essence and meaning of resilience through the experiences of seven nonprofit organizations in Virginia during and after the recession. Data were collected from pertinent organizational documents and semi-structured interviews with the executive director of each organization. Nine themes emerged from the data. Conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that resilient nonprofit organizations exhibit: positive disposition toward change; flexibility; timely and responsive decision making; deep social capital; intra and inter-organizational relationships; effective leadership; diverse revenue streams; sufficient assets, systems and infrastructure; and shared mission, goals and strategy.
Ph. D.

Church affiliated Human Service Organizations (CAHSOs) are drastically understudied.Consequently, the experience of their executive leaders is understudied. Information on CAHSOs and the experience of their executive leaders is often blended into general faith-based organizational research. Yet, CAHSOs play a vital role in the United States and abroad. CAHSOs are responsible for the social welfare of millions of indigent people in suffering communities. These organizations provide housing to the homeless, food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and educational programing to at-risk youth, among many other things. These organizations, however, only function because of the expertise and work of executive leaders.

This research study used the phenomenological qualitative research method to interview executive leaders in CAHSOs. The goal of this research was to determine the challenges executive leaders face within CAHSOs and the strategies they use to overcome these challenges while gauging their definitions of success and documenting the advice these executive leaders have for others in their field. The analysis revealed various challenges including lack of financial, human, and real estate resources; unqualified staff; stressful work expectations; and strained relationships. Their strategies included measuring successes, building external networks, and leveraging religious practices. Executive leaders defined themselves by organizational performance and money. They encouraged other executives to leverage general business practices while evaluating their motives for working as an executive leader within a CAHSO. Generally, the results of this research offer insight into the challenges and celebrations of executive leaders of CAHSOs.

Exploring the Career Experiences and Leadership Perceptions of Nonprofit Executives in Central Florida: A Mixed-Methods Study. JahKiya S. Bell, 2016: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Key Words: nonprofit organizations, leadership effectiveness, leadership qualities, administrator characteristics. This applied dissertation was designed to explore the professional and leadership development thoughts and experiences of nonprofit administrators in the Central Florida region. Administrators play a significant role for in ensuring the sustainability and success of nonprofit organizations. Administrators must possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will allow them to lead their organization to accomplish goals while securing necessary funding from diversified sources. In Central Florida—defined in this study as Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties—as of 2012 there were 1,485 health and human services nonprofit organizations in the region, which is 42% increase in the number of nonprofit organizations in the past ten years. An increase in the number of nonprofit organizations is indicative of an increase in competition for available funds. The problem addressed by this research was that while research is available about general leadership practices and the knowledge and skills necessary to become a leader, there was a lack of knowledge regarding the specific experiences of nonprofit administrators in Central Florida. This study collected and discussed the academic and professional credentials held by participating nonprofit administrators and leaders in the Central Florida, as well as reviewed these leaders’ perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and leadership practices required to lead a nonprofit organization.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the current communication techniques and strategies used by political parties resulting in these parties achieving significant growth, understand the components of those communication techniques in order to isolate the factors attributing to this achieved success and develop a model that can be replicated from a business organization in order to achieve similar beneficial results.The study revealed that there is a clear connection between political parties and business organizations, broadening the research fields of both entities respectively. Furthermore, the findings were categorized based on potential value, with practices such as “thriving on dissatisfaction”, “taking advantage of emotions”, “showing visible structures as an organization / political party”, “intentional use of weak signals”, “leader’s direct connection to audience” and “formulating receiver interpretation of signals” appearing to have high potential in achieving success if implemented correctly in the communication strategy.

Although the population of the United States is becoming increasingly diverse, data on the composition of nonprofit boards nationally indicate a persistent pattern of under-representation of minority groups. This exploratory study was conducted in a large metropolitan area with a diverse population. The research investigated board diversity with a small sample of leaders of nonprofit organizations and current or prospective board members from under-represented groups. Data were collected from nonprofit leaders by an anonymous web-based survey and from board members by telephone interview. The research found that all the nonprofit organizations in the study served client groups that were racially and ethnically diverse. The majority of survey respondents felt that having a diverse board was important, and the lack of board diversity was a source of dissatisfaction. Overall board recruitment was reported to be difficult. The most frequent sources of new board members were referrals from current board members and personal networks. Typically, the nonprofit organizations in this study did not allocate financial resources to build board diversity. Interview participants identified the value of recruitment strategies that would expand the pool of potential board members. Other recommendations included increased attention to the process of board entry for new board members. In conclusion, it appears that building more diverse boards will require sustained efforts, but that the changes necessary to successfully include people from different cultural backgrounds will also strengthen nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit leaders face challenges retaining volunteers to support their organizations' human resources. The shortage of volunteers threatens nonprofit sustainability with increasing personnel cost for maintaining quality services. Grounded by Burns's transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies nonprofit leaders from southeastern Michigan used to improve volunteer retention. Data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 3 nonprofit leaders and a review of organizational documents such as volunteer implementation plans, strategic plans, and volunteer committee notes. Data were analyzed using a methodological triangulation process of sorting comments, which involved a chronological review of the interview transcripts and a descriptive coding for emerging themes. Three distinct themes emerged from the data analysis: collaborative relationships improved volunteer retention, team motivations improved volunteer retention, and strategic communication improved volunteer retention. The findings from this study may contribute to positive social change by providing nonprofit leaders with a better understanding of the need to improve volunteer retention and leadership strategies as methods to continue building viable communities for those in need. Furthermore, the implications for positive social change could include the improvement of other nonprofit organizations and the well-being of the volunteers in the organization.

Providing strategic leadership for global Not-for-Profit organisations poses great challenges to the leadership structures of these voluntary organisations. This study looks at the phenomenon of strategic leadership in the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DOE) International Award Association (IAA) as a global Not-for-Profit Organisation (NPO). The main aim of the research was an in-depth examination of the processes involved in leadership at the top level in a global NPO. Eight strategic leaders from the top management team were interviewed. Further information was generated from a study of the Annual Reports spanning the 15 year period (1988/9 – 2003/4), and key strategic documents were used as supporting material. The research was conducted in a phenomenological paradigm, using the case study research method. Care was taken to minimize possible researcher bias and interpretations, as the researcher has been associated with this organisation for the past 18 years. It was found that the Royal Family play extremely valuable and multifaceted roles in the organisation. The triumvirate of The Royals; The Secretary General’s; and The Trustees; works well as individual ‘great groups’ yet when necessary, they form a collective collaborative grouping to effect strategic leadership for the IAA. The two main themes to emerge from the findings were the nature of the DOE as a global NPO and the role of strategic leadership in the DOE Award. The DOE Award has demonstrated that it has many unique strategic leadership features and is using these features to become more business-like in the application of its new strategic vision. The individual ‘great groups’ offer sound leadership throughout the process of overseeing and running the business of the DOE Award yet, when necessary and appropriate, these great groups appear to work collectively, perhaps in an unstructured manner, as the triumvirate of power. Their collective collaborative leadership is a unique feature of the DOE Award. The highly interactive role of the Royal Family is unique and sets the DOE Award apart from other similar youth organisations globally. The nature of the loose association of National Award Authorities all subscribing to the rules and conditions of association is also a very unique feature of this NPO. The DOE Award is not a movement organisation but is guided by its service ethic. The DOE Award is a service organisation in which the strategic leadership plays a crucial role yet the constitutional power resides with the International Award Association membership. This IAA membership meets every three years at the World Forum Triennium to approve all new policy and procedures.

Mini-study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) has been undertaken by many organisations with the hope of dramatically improving their competitive position. In most cases however, this undertaking has been a failure. For the success of the BPR, organisational and people issues are of critical importance and cannot be overlooked, as often is the case. Many organisations have not recognised the fundamental need of fully addressing the "soft people issues" during their re-engineering exercises. The ability of the Management team and Management Consultants to filter through these soft issues is of critical importance to the success of the BPR. This study discusses leadership as the first topical issue. Within the parenthesis of LNDC, it then explores the leadership skills required by management of this institution. Leadership is intensely studied from the traits models, situational, consistency models to the transformational leadership styles. Change leadership forms an important basis of the discussions. Organisational culture is one important aspect that has to be considered during change initiative. Crafting and creating appropriate organisational culture forms the centrepiece of leaders' consideration during organisational change. The ability of a leader to create shared values within the organisation leads to building a strong corporate culture that distinguishes between organisations. The McKinsey's seven S model provides a firm framework for most changing organisations. This model illustrates how the soft, yet important issues powerfully impact the BPR process. All of these namely, strategy, structure, systems, style, skills, staff and shared values, are equally important and if any one of them is not properly aligned with the rest, the whole change process may become a failure. This model impacts all seven S's of the organisational dimension and is driven by strategy. Communication on the other hand forms another important element of the discussions. This study shows that without proper communication during organisational change, the whole change process can become a complete failure. The ability of a leader to disseminate intended information appropriately to the employees requires one to have skills and communication methods that are applicable to that particular organisational setting. After undertaking a survey at the LNDC, the researcher concluded that management, at this corporation lacks leadership skills necessary for managing change in an organisation. Recommendations have been made suggesting that the either the CEO be replaced or trained in leadership skills. This would help the organisation to successfully implement the intended change process.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming

Mestrado em Ciências Empresariais
A presente dissertação enquadra as estratégias e ações de marketing e comunicação, e outras práticas de gestão nas IPSS. Estas são organizações sem fins lucrativos que pertencem, mas não esgotam o Terceiro Setor, tendo atualmente uma elevada importância para a sociedade, facilmente comprovada pela relevância que a Economia Social tem na economia do país. A redução dos financiamentos por parte do Estado, e as dificuldades sentidas por este tipo de instituições, despoletaram a necessidade da sua profissionalização. O presente trabalho foca-se no caso empírico de uma IPSS, a ACS, que tem já implementadas práticas de gestão geralmente utilizadas no setor lucrativo. Deste modo, a presente dissertação tem como principais objetivos compreender qual a relevância para os gestores da ACS, das estratégias e ações de marketing e comunicação para a instituição, de que forma são utilizadas, e qual a importância da introdução de práticas de gestão neste tipo de organizações. A escolha do Estudo de Caso como metodologia foi muito importante, possibilitando através da consulta de várias fontes de dados disponíveis assegurar diferentes perspetivas, permitindo a análise e compreensão da importância que a profissionalização e as práticas de gestão têm para as organizações sem fins lucrativos, neste caso, para a ACS como IPSS escolhida para o estudo. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a introdução de práticas de gestão, utilizadas no setor lucrativo, nas IPSS têm um importante papel no seu dia-a-dia.
This work addresses the communication and marketing strategies and actions, as well as management best practices, within the IPSS. These not-for-profit organizations belong to the third sector, playing an important role in society that can be easily perceived from the impact that social economy has in the country's national economy. The difficulties of these entities, with particular relevance to the reduction of the public funding, have raised the need of turning into professionally run entities. The main goals of this work are to understand how relevant are the marketing actions and communication strategies for the institution, how are they employed and what is the importance of the introduction of management best practices within this type of organizations. The choice of the Case Study approach as a methodology was very important, not only allowing to know different perspectives by consulting several sources of information, but also to analyse and understand how important the professionalization and management best practices are for the not-for-profit organizations (specifically for ACS as the chosen IPSS for the current study). The results achieved with this work suggest that the introduction of management best practices by the IPSS, having the ACS as an empirical case, already in use in the for-profit sector, have a verified importance in their day to day work.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

xvi, 207 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
This research develops Broom, Casey and Ritchey's (1997) concept of relationship antecedents, suggesting moral obligation as a non-consequential relationship antecedent. By using Bivins's (2009) classification of moral and functional obligations, this research suggests that nonprofit managers perceive a moral obligation on the part of gaming corporations to establish relationships that can benefit the local community. Where a functional obligation would affect the corporation's ability to do business, the moral obligation is non-consequential and falls outside the parameters of the six consequential relationship antecedents identified by Grunig and Huang (2000). Business ethicists have long debated the need for corporate social responsibility, broadly defined as the idea that a corporation has a responsibility to society separate from its profit-making obligation to stockholders. This research looks at corporate social responsibility in the gaming industry in Las Vegas, examining nonprofit managers' expectations for these corporations to contribute to the local community. This study examines through qualitative interviews these managers' perceptions about the responsibility of gaming corporations to participate in and give back to the local community. This research also sheds light on Las Vegas, NV, recognized more often for its architecture and cultural zeitgeist than for the contours of its community. A background section on Las Vegas history and its development as a tourist destination provides context for an examination of the ways Las Vegas's nonprofit organizations interact with the city's dominant industry. Nonprofit managers perceive gaming corporations as under- involved in the local community; in addition, they believe the community is under- informed about these efforts, potentially leading to a low level of civic engagement. This research also examines corporate social responsibility in the context of the economic downturn that began September 2008. Because Las Vegas's economy is so heavily dependent on the gaming and tourism industries, the city provides an excellent location in which to examine how economic forces affect corporate social responsibility efforts. The significant decline in CSR from the gaming corporations, as reported by nonprofit managers. suggests an orientation to CSR that is more functional than moral.
Committee in charge: Patricia Curtin, Chairperson, Journalism and Communication; Tiffany Gallicano, Member, Journalism and Communication; Thomas Bivins, Member, Journalism and Communication; Renee Irvin, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2007.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed August 5, 2008). Advisor: Carolyn Kenny. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2007."--from the title page. storytelling, stories, portraiture, organizational culture, corporate culture, organizational behavior, narrative Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-198).

The purpose of this research is to highlight the importance of identifying the communication frequency within the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship, and to appreciate what the positive or negative effect of a low or high LMX frequency has on this relationship and on staff morale. Management is for the most part responsible for communication frequency and is in a position and has the means to change such frequency or to add additional communication channels. The research was based on a program introduced in a South African retail company three years ago. Data was collected from 64 stores in the Western Cape and the results were statistically analysed on the SPSS16 program. The results clearly supported the hypotheses that, in a low-communication frequency area, an increase in communication frequency has a positive effect on staff morale and that the proximity to head office (or lack of it) does not have a negative effect on staff morale.

This research aims to provide a theory of enterprise social networking that generates and/or sustains a culture of employee engagement within a chosen South African private sector company. Based on an extensive review of interesting literature and the application of a grounded theory process in a chosen case, this research work provides a theory of enterprise social networking sustaining and growing employee engagement together with an explanatory theoretical framework that makes the theory more practical. Employee engagement is defined as “the harnessing of organisation member’s selves to their work roles; in engagement people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.” This research regards employee engagement as a three part concept composed of a trait (personality/cognitive) aspect, a state (emotional) aspect, and a behavioural aspect. Research has shown that employee engagement has an unequivocal positive impact on business outcomes, such as profitability, business performance, employee retention and productivity. Employee engagement can be regarded as a culture if it is abundant within the organization’s employee population. Gatenby et al. (2009) propose that employee engagement is fostered by creating the desire and opportunity for employees to connect with colleagues, managers and the wider organisation. This standpoint is supported by Kular et al. (2008) who state that the “key drivers of employee engagement identified include communication, opportunities for employees to feed their views upward and thinking that their managers are committed to the organisation.” Further indicators of employee engagement include strong leadership (particularly in the form of servant leadership), accountability, a positive and open organisational culture, autonomy, and opportunities for development. One of the key facets of employee engagement is connection. A complementary definition of social media, an umbrella under which enterprise social networks fall, is that “(it) is more of a relationship channel, a connection channel. Each and every tweet, update, video, post, is a connection point to another human being. And it’s the other human being who will determine your worth to them.” Social media provides participants with access to a larger pool of resources and relationships than they would normally have access to. This enlarged relationship/resource pool is a result of expanding human and social capital enabled through social media tools. In order to produce a theory of enterprise social networking sustaining and growing a culture of employee engagement a rigorous grounded theory methodology coupled with a case study methodology was applied. The case study methodology was used to identify a suitable research site and interesting participants within the site while the grounded theory process was used to produce both qualitative and quantitative data sets in a suitability rigorous fashion. The corroborative data was then used to discover and define the emergent theory.

The present study – employing psychometric meta-analysis of 92 independent studies with sample sizes ranging from 26 to 322 leaders – examined the relationship between EI and leadership effectiveness. Overall, the results supported a linkage between leader EI and effectiveness that was moderate in nature (ρ = .25). In addition, the positive manifold of the effect sizes presented in this study, ranging from .10 to .44, indicate that emotional intelligence has meaningful relations with myriad leadership outcomes including effectiveness, transformational leadership, LMX, follower job satisfaction, and others. Furthermore, this paper examined potential process mechanisms that may account for the EI-leadership effectiveness relationship and showed that both transformational leadership and LMX partially mediate this relationship. However, while the predictive validities of EI were moderate in nature, path analysis and hierarchical regression suggests that EI contributes less than or equal to 1% of explained variance in leadership effectiveness once personality and intelligence are accounted for.

Introduction At the start of 2020 Sweden gets their first documented case of Covid -19. On March 16th the Public Health Agency of Sweden recommended that schools and universities should conduct their education on distance mode. These recommendations would also apply to businesses all around Sweden where it is possible to work remotely. Previous studies have shown that working remotely requires that leadership must take more responsibility. Additionally, the need for clear management control and communication. Purpose The purpose of this study is to research how management control and communication works and have changed within knowledge intensive organizations where daily operations has gone on distance mode due to the corona pandemic. Method The research has been conducted using a qualitative method where both managers and employees have been interviewed. The interviewed people represent three different organizations, a management company, the industrial unit within the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and a legal unit within Swedish Public Employment Service. Result and contribution According to our research, remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to informal meetings on the workplace has been heavily reduced or completely seized. This change has affected managers ability to retain a healthy relationship to their employees. The study show that a management control based on trust and a leadership based on trust has been an advantage, especially within knowledge intensive organizations. The underlying challenge for the managers has been missing communication and knowledge sharing.
Inledning  Den 31 januari 2020 får Sverige sitt första konstaterade fall av Covid-19. Den 16 Mars presenterar Folkhälsomyndigheten rekommendationerna om att svenska gymnasieskolor, universitet, högskolor och övrig utbildning att ske på distans. Dessa rekommendationer kommer även att gälla för samtliga verksamheter i Sverige som har möjlighet att arbeta på distans. Under distansarbete visar tidigare forskningen på ett ökat behov av en medveten och välutvecklad arbetsledning, samt behovet av en tydligare styrning och kommunikation.  Syfte  Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera hur styrningen och kommunikationen fungerar samt förändrats inom kunskapsorganisationer där verksamheten har gått över till distansarbete, som en följd av pandemin.   Metod  Undersökningen är utförd med en kvalitativ metod där vi har intervjuat chefer och medarbetare. De olika kunskapsorganisationer vi undersökt är ett managementbolag, Industrienheten inom Naturvårdsverket och rättsavdelningen på Arbetsförmedlingen. Resultat och bidrag Distansarbetet har enligt samtliga respondenter, lett till att informella möten på arbetsplatsen minskat eller helt upphört. Det har påverkat chefernas förmåga att upprätthålla en viktig relation till medarbetarna, men även inverkat på informationsflödet. Denna studie visar att en tillitsbaserad styrning och ett tillitsbaserat ledarskap är fördelaktigt under distansarbetet, speciellt inom kunskapsorganisationer. De stora utmaningarna för de chefer som intervjuats kan härledas till bortfall av kommunikation och kunskapsdelning.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to assess the needs for a Resource Centre (RC) run by Community Connections (CC), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Philippi, Cape Town. The overall objective of the RC is the empowerment of Community Based Organisations (CBOs). Community Connections’ mission is to support community development in South Africa by building the capacity of CBOs to initiate, manage and sustain local empowerment and self help initiatives. Research paradigms for the study were critical theory with its aim of emancipation and an approach that favours transformative action, as well as postmodernism with its appreciation of local contextualised knowledge and value based action. The research problem was addressed through action research and a case study approach. The researcher did an internship at CC between March and November 2008. During this period data was collected through participant observation as well as interviews, namely thirteen semi-structured interviews with CBOs and four additional interviews with practitioners of the NGO and external stakeholders. The study was motivated by an approach to development that aims at transformation to increase social justice and the strengthening of vulnerable and marginalised groups. The transformative potential of development is discussed through an analysis of related concepts such as social capital, participation and empowerment. It was found that discourses and social practices can shape the way people participate and that the environment also influences participation through the availability of space for participation and debate. Empowerment needs the critical consciousness of people and takes place when the inequality in power relations is addressed. Development therefore needs to be people centred, value meaningful participation and aim at inverting existing imbalances in access to assets and resources in society. The review evaluates suggestions for civil society practice that supports a transformative, learning and partnership based approach to development. To address the research question of how an NGO Resource Centre can most effectively contribute to creating empowering linkages between CBOs and other stakeholders, their external relationships were assessed. Relevant stakeholders include CBO funders, NGOs and government departments and institutions. The findings of the research describe those relationships with a focus on the imbalances in power and how they manifest themselves in practice. The relationship between CBOs and Community Connections was assessed as well as the relevance of specific services that the RC would provide. The recommendations focus on how the RC can support the strengthening of CBOs in their specific environment, and how they can be enabled to act upon their environment through access to relevant information, knowledge and capacities. Specific recommendations for the RC focus on the learning in Community Connections through the integration of services, making the NGO more accessible for CBOs through the constant availability of certain services, and further research that can strengthen the work of Community Connections and the empowerment of CBOs.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het ten doel gehad om ondersoek in te stel na die vereistes en behoeftes van ʼn Hulpmiddel Sentrum (HS), bedryf deur Community Connections (CC), ʼn nieregeringsorganisasie (NRO) gebaseer in Philippi, Kaapstad. Die oorkoepelende doelwit van die HS is die bemagtiging van gemeenskapsgebaseerde organisasies (GGO‘s). Community Connections se missie is om gemeenskapsontwikkeling in Suid Afrika te ondersteun deur die uitbouing van die vermoë van GGO‘s om plaaslike bemagtiging en self-help inisiatiewe te inisieer, te bestuur en te onderhou. Die navorsingsparadigmas vir die studie was kritiese teorieë met hulle kenmerkende klem op emansipasie en ʼn benadering wat voorkeur gee aan transformatiewe aksie, asook postmodernisme, met waardasie van plaaslik-gekontekstualiseerde kennis en waardegedrewe aksie. Die navorsingprobleem is aangespreek deur aksie-navorsing en ʼn gevalle studie-benadering. Die outeur het ʼn internskap by Community Connections deurloop vanaf Maart tot November 2008. Gedurende hierdie tydperk is data bekom deur deelnemende waarneming asook onderhoude, naamlik dertien semigestruktureerde onderhoude met GGO‘s en vier addisionele onderhoude met praktisyns van die NRO‘s en ander eksterne belanghebbendes. Die studie is gemotiveer deur ʼn benadering tot ontwikkeling wat gerig is op transformasie ten einde sosiale geregtigheid te bevorder en kwesbare en gemarginaliseerde groepe te versterk. Die transformatiewe potensiaal van ontwikkeling word bespreek deur ʼn analise van verwante konsepte soos sosiale kapitaal, deelname en bemagtiging. Daar is bevind dat diskoerse en sosiale praktyke deelname kan beïnvloed en ook dat die omgewing ʼn impak uitoefen op deelname as gevolg van die beskikbaarheid van ruimte vir deelname en debat. Bemagtiging vra vir ʼn kritiese bewussyn by gemeenskappe en vind plaas wanneer die ongelykheid van magsverhoudings aangespreek word. Ontwikkeling moet dus gemeenskapsgesentreerd wees, erkenning gee aan betekenisvolle deelname en daarop gemik wees om die wanbalans in die toegang tot bates en hulpbronne om te keer. Die studie evalueer voorstelle vir gemeenskapsgebruike wat ʼn transformatiewe, kundigheidsvormende en vennootskapsgedrewe benadering tot ontwikkeling ondersteun. In ʼn poging om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord van hoe ʼn NRO hulpmiddel sentrum optimaal kan bydra tot die daarstelling van brûe tussen GGO‘s en ander belanghebbendes, is hulle eksterne verhoudings geëvalueer. Relevante belanghebbendes sluit GGO-befondsers, NRO‘s en regerings-departemente en instellings in. Die bevindinge van die navorsing beskryf hierdie verhoudings en fokus op die magsongelykhede en hoe hulle in die praktyk beleef word. Die verhoudings tussen GGO‘s en Community Connections is ondersoek asook die toepaslikheid van spesifieke dienste wat die HS sou voorsien. Die aanbevelings fokus op hoe die HS kan bydra tot die versterking van GGO‘s in hulle spesifieke omgewing en op watter wyses hulle bemagtig kan word om ʼn invloed op hulle omgewing te hê deur die toegang tot relevante inligting, kennis en vaardighede. Spesifieke aanbevelings t.o.v. die HS fokus op die opleiding van CC deur die integrasie van dienste, ʼn poging om NRO‘s meer toeganklik te maak vir GGO‘s deur die konstante beskikbaarheid van sekere dienste en verdere navorsing wat die werksaamhede van Community Connections kan versterk en die GGO‘s kan bemagtig.

This dissertation analyzes the development of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a Muslim-American religious association, from the Iranian Revolution to the inauguration of our nation's first African-American president. This case study of ISNA, the largest Muslim-American organization in North America, examines the organization's institution-building and governance as a way to illustrate Muslim-American civic and religious participation. Using nonprofit research and theory related to issues of diversity, legitimacy, power, and nonprofit governance and management, I challenge misconceptions about ISNA and dispel a number of myths about Muslim Americans and their institutions. In addition, I investigate the experiences of Muslim-Americans as they attempted to translate faith into practice within the framework of the American religious and civic experience. I arrive at three main conclusions. First, because of their incredible diversity, Muslim-Americans are largely cultural pluralists. They draw from each other and our national culture to develop their religious identity and values. Second, a nonprofit association that embraces the values of a liberal democracy by establishing itself as an open organization will include members that may damage the organization's reputation. I argue that ISNA's values should be assessed in light of its programs and actions rather than the views of a small portion of its membership. Reviewing the organization's actions and programs helps us discover a religious association that is centered on American civic and religious values. Third, ISNA's leaders were unable to balance their desire for an open, consensus-based organization with a strong nonprofit management power structure. Effective nonprofit associations need their boards, volunteers and staff to have well-defined roles and authority. ISNA's leaders failed to adopt such a management and governance structure because of their suspicion of an empowered chief executive officer.

The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of organizational communication in collaborative interorganizational relationships (IORs) in the nonprofit sector. The specific communication practices of leadership and stakeholder participation were investigated during a 10-month ethnographic field study, which included meeting observations, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Results indicate that collaborative IORs demonstrate a form of leadership that is distributed throughout the collaborative partners that mediates between common and competing interests and is sustained through communicative practices of casting vision, translating, asking, & listening. This enables collaborative IORs to foster collective action, despite the absence of formal authority structures. Additionally, this study demonstrates the reciprocal process of stakeholder participation needed to sustain collective action in collaborative IORs. Authentic participation is both provided to collaboration members through voice and opportunity, and provided to collaborative structures by collaboration members through contribution and commitment. Furthermore, the participation of multiple stakeholders in collaborative IORs gives rise to three communicative tensions: focus/inclusion, talk/action, and sector discourse/collaborative discourse. These tensions are balance through interaction between collaboration members as the continually negotiate the social order that constitutes collaborative IORs. Overall, these findings help us better understand the practices of human interaction that foster collaborative relationships among organizations, particularly health and human service organizations. This gives much-needed attention to the process of interorganizational collaboration, which complements the literature's dominant focus on antecedent conditions and outcomes. This research also draws more attention to the important social issues of communication and interaction in interorganizational collaboration, beyond the economic and resource-based theories so prevalent in past research. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.
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The research study examined the leadership training practices: sense of urgency, envisioning, influencing, communicating, team building, risk taking, and anchoring among volunteer mentors in nonprofit Christian organizations. The study was approached with the assumption that many leadership practices were not present in the volunteer mentor training and their inclusion would enhance the performance or efficiency of the volunteer mentor as they serve the at-risk population. The researcher used a two phase methodology which allowed for assumptions that any inherent biases in particular data sources, investigator, and methods were neutralized. The leadership training practices were viewed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In Phase 1 (qualitative) eight respondents were interviewed; and in Phase 2 (quantitative), one hundred and two respondents participated by responding to a Likert scale questionnaire. The volunteer mentor population and the sample were described with great precision. Protocols used to select and delimit the samples were described in detail. Limitations in the generalizations of the findings of the study to other samples and/or populations were stated. The development and validation of the data instruments to be used to collect data from the samples were described (see Appendix 1). Based on the responses of the volunteer mentors, the leadership practices: sense of urgency, influencing, communicating, and team building were perceived to be significantly present during training. Risk taking, anchoring, and envisioning were the leadership practices perceived by the volunteer mentors as not significantly present in the training. There were more leadership practices present in the training of volunteer mentors than the researcher assumed.
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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Nonprofit governing board diversity recently gained attention from scholars, and the changing demographics of the United States' population create urgency around understanding how to diversify nonprofit boards. This study examined nonprofit board diversity in the largest majority-minority city in the United States -- Houston, Texas -- which was also declared the most diverse city in the country in the 2010 Census. GuideStar was used to identify nonprofit organizations in the Houston metropolitan area with annual revenue of $250,000+ and were contactable. 712 executive directors were surveyed electronically; there was a 26% response rate yielding responses from 185 nonprofit organizations. The survey was designed in three sections to study board composition, board processes and whether or not the executive director's perception of the governance model would influence the diversity ratio on an organization's board, and the analyses correspond with those three sections. The study found Houston's nonprofit boards are 9% more diverse than the national average and that Caucasians continue to be overrepresented in governing roles. Other composition findings were that the diversity ratio for board members under 35 years old is beginning to mirror the Houston population and that there was statistical significance between board members being 65 years+ and a lower diversity ratio on the board; however, there was no evidence that suggested nonprofit boards are more diverse in diverse communities. The study identified a gender gap in executive committee service, with a mode of one female serving on these committees despite that fact women make up 46% of all nonprofit board members. No relationship was found between diversity ratios and board procedures or the executive director's perception of the organization's governance model. Other findings were that Houston boards use executive committees at twice the rate of the national average, and that there is direct contradiction between the perceived value of diversity and what characteristics are considered important when recruiting board members. This study ruled out simple solutions for increasing board diversity through board procedures, and it identified areas for future research regarding governance models, the alignment of recruiting characteristics with board diversity and gender equality in leadership.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at New Paltz, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-53). Online version available via the SUNY New Paltz Sojourner Truth Library : http://hdl.handle.net/1951/42567

Employees‟ perceptions regarding the role of powerful partners in developing the managerial leadership of small and recipient organisations are vital, given the research developments regarding partnerships. This research has focused on the power that governs the relationships between large and self-governing funding organisations and dependent recipient organisations. The emergence of developing managerial leadership, linked to powerful partnership systems, appears to be a vital field for research in the developed world. For instance, this is evident in the United States of America but not in Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region. Partnership is simply conceived of as a relationship between one or more NGOs, and in such a relationship, power is understood as being one partner having the ability to influence another partner, or other partners, to do what they would otherwise not do. Intentional and observable power between organisations often results in a diverse and complex managerial leadership and organisational life for small and recipient organisations. In this regard, the recipient partner organisations striving for leadership, management- and organisational growth, and change, commonly struggle with internal and external power influences embedded in powerful partnerships. Sub-Saharan Africa‟s, especially South Africa‟s, development NGOs and funding partnerships are not an exception to this challenge. This dissertation is an embryonic qualitative but objective enquiry into managers‟ and employees‟ perceptions regarding the influences of donors and the University of KwaZulu-Natal on growth at the Sinomlando Centre for Oral History and Memory Work in Africa. The research adopted the narrative and interpretive paradigm, combined with the qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Three data collection methods were used: 1) archival; 2) face-to-face interviews; and 3) participant observation. The Sinomlando Centre is an organisation originally conceived as a research and community development entity, based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. While existing within, and depending on the University, the Centre predominantly relies on international funding partnerships. This environment is solely driven by the founding director, who steers the organisation towards its full cognisance. It is this very environment that inspired the question of employees‟ perceptions regarding the influence of these powerful partnerships, in augmenting leadership and management at the Sinomlando Centre. This research project draws on library-, internet-, and archival searches to explore concepts pertaining to: systems and systems thinking; behaviour and learning in organisations; leadership and management development, and power and partnerships. This research harnesses the findings generated from the interviews and participant observation studies, with the academic studies linked to these concepts. This is done in order to discuss and highlight the fact that the employees at the Sinomlando Centre think and confirm that the donors, the Director, and the University, are all systems that influence their organisation. The research found that the University, the donors, and the leadership, are all system structures that limit the Sinomlando Centre‟s organisational and leadership growth. Thus, in consideration of the existence of the Sinomlando Centre within the University, the dependence on foreign funding partnerships, and the reliance on the Director, this dissertation concludes that developing managerial leadership can be possible only if the organisation considers: 1) re-positioning itself and self-organisation within its environment of existence; 2) openness to change-management; and 3) widening internal opportunities for managing powerful partnerships.
Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the way mindfulness informs how leaders make sense of and navigate paradoxical tensions that arise in their organizations. This study employs a qualitative research methodology, based on synchronous, semi- structured, in-depth interviews of leaders who hold a personal mindfulness practice. Qualitative interviews illuminate how leaders’ communication about paradoxical tensions (e.g., through metaphorical language) reflects the way they experience those tensions. Findings extend the constitutive approach to paradox by demonstrating the way mindfulness informs awareness, emotion, pausing, and self-care. Specifically, this study (1) empirically illustrates how higher-level, dialogic more-than responses to paradox may be used to accomplish both-and responses to paradox, (2) evidences the way discursive consciousness of emotion may generatively inform paradox management, (3) suggests the appropriateness and use of a new paradox management strategy that I term ‘mindful dis/engagement’, and (4) highlights self-care as an others-centered leadership capability.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2019

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Grounded in leadership, cultural, communication, and gender studies, this dissertation investigates the challenges African-American women executives in the philanthropic foundation sector faced as they strive to have their culture legitimated within the culture of the workplace. Through the use of case study methodology, I examined the experiences of participants by conducting oral history interviews that traced their critical path to leadership. I also incorporated my own experiences in the field to further explore the connections between race, gender, and leadership styles in philanthropic organizations. The interviews and my own auto-ethnographic research explored the possible consequences of black executive women in the foundation world not being able to share aspects of their cultural lives in workplace networks and the impact of the critical exclusion of who they really are as whole human beings on the quality of their careers. An analysis of data collected from the interviews revealed key factors critical to the success of study participants. First was the presence of familial or close adults actively engaged in philanthropic activity during the participants’ formative years. Second was a strong influence of a faith tradition. Additionally, the date revealed that participants’ involvement in outside leadership roles, often tied to their racial and gender identities, were not capitalized on by employers. This study achieved several key outcomes. First, it afforded participants an opportunity to develop the personal satisfaction of expanding the body of knowledge related to leadership development within the philanthropic foundation sector. Additionally, by sharing their stories, these individuals were able to develop or strengthen mentorship relationships. Lastly, this study has the potential of being of significant benefit to the greater philanthropic foundation sector, since it worked towards the expansion of the body of knowledge specific to the issues of gender and cultural differences within the foundation sector.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
In 2008, grassroots NGOs formed 13 alliances in response to the need for emergency relief and post-disaster recovery after the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in West China and killed approximately 87,000 people. These alliances served to raise and deliver relief materials, train and supervise volunteers, promote information sharing, and assist victims with mental health and livelihood recovery. However, all alliances were terminated within less than four years. Although plenty of scholarship discusses how corporate alliances evolve or fail, few studies focus on interorganizational collaboration among nonprofits. To explore how NGOs developed collective actions in China’s adverse sociopolitical environment, the author performed three years of observation in four coalitions and interviewed 60 alliance leaders, employees, and volunteers. This paper identifies four types of termination these NGO alliances experienced: three of them failed at their very births, five self-disbanded shortly after the end of emergency aid, three dissolved due to failed institutionalization, and the remaining two evolved into independent organizations. Tracking their life cycles, this study finds four main factors accountable for their terminations: political pressure, funding shortage, short-term orientation, and leadership failure. In particular, the repressive NGO regulation regime and limited funding sources fundamentally restricted all alliances’ capacity and sustainability. Further, the transient nature of disaster relief efforts and the conflict between disaster management and planned work areas contributed to the short-term orientation among alliance members and, thus, led to the closure of some alliances shortly after they provided emergency relief. In addition, though generally exempt from internal rivalry that often undermines inter-firm partnerships, NGO alliances of all types were confronted with leadership challenges—partner misfits concerning resources, strategy, and mission; flawed governing structures, and undesired individual leadership. The four factors interplayed and led to alliance dissolution through different combinations. The paper points out that, in addition to environmental uncertainty, leadership failure has become a major challenge for nonprofit collaborations.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
In order to help individuals feel more engaged within work organizations and more satisfied with their jobs, employers have started to administer stay interviews within organizations, with the end goal being to retain organizational members. Stay interviews have become a proactive solution to the retention problem and have been seen as an alternative to the exit interview. This study proposes that through the use of stay interviews, organizational members will feel more engaged, satisfied, and committed to an organization, which will ultimately result in the retention of organizational members.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
This study examines the essential features of women’s experiences as members of a service association. It uses a qualitative method to understand how women make meaning from their membership in an all-female association and a mixed-gender association. The experiences were examined in comparative contexts. The study finds three common features in each association: joining, volunteering, and leading. In the mixed-gender association, women also experienced a process of assimilating into membership activities. The study provides scholars and association practitioners insights into the complex blend of members’ personal and professional interests with implications for membership recruitment and retention.

The study responds to calls for research within wider contexts. In particular, it is positioned within the South African non-profitable sector – non-profitable organisations (NPO) – in social care. The non-profitable sector is also called the Third Sector, and this research adopted the strategy-as-practice perspective to explore the strategy in this sector. The study investigates how managers and leaders of these NPOs strategise to sustain their organisations and services in a changing and demanding environment. The survival of NPOs is affected by a range of constraints linked to personnel, finances, resources, volunteering, and continuous increase in demand for social care. These constraints require managers and leaders of non-profitable organisations to devise strategies and practices to ensure success and sustainability. The findings of this study confirm the need for resilience to survive over the long term. The findings indicate that NPOs need to adapt to the external and internal environments constantly. Leadership drives resilience through governance and maintains services that are fit-for-purpose for the ever-changing needs of the society they serve. Adapting practices should react to changes through training and retraining, meticulous reporting to partners and other financiers, and complying with their governing entities by applicable legal statures and strict financial control. Adapting is amongst the most important practices identified through this study. A leadership style that enables sustainability was specifically highlighted. Through semi-structured interviews, the researcher uncovered strategic practices of longstanding NPOs to identify the strategies that contribute to long-term survival. Leaders in different management positions shared detailed descriptions of their practices, which served as the data for this research. The data provided the opportunity to research the strategy from a practical perspective, and were confirmed by secondary documents. Using the strategy as practice paradigm, the researcher identified strategic practices within drivers of value and found them to be contributing toward sustainability. The strategic practices were then organised in themes and assertions toward the theory of sustainability regarding these service organisations. The practices influence the stages of the organisational life cycle in a collective system of practices, leading to identifying a phase within the life cycle that contributes to resilience and renewal to aid survival and sustainability. Implementation strategies in the organisations provide good governance inclusive of reporting adequately. They also provide good leadership to ensure stable personnel committed to working together as a team and establish a culture of fit-for-purpose in service delivery. Most important is adapting towards resilience in the short term and developing resources to provide financial stability.
Business Management

Stakeholder involvement in strategic planning: a strategy to mitigate the effects of HIV and AIDS on secondary education in Botswana. This study explores the involvement of stakeholders in strategic planning to mitigate the effect of HIV and AIDS in secondary education in Botswana. The prevalence of HIV and AIDS-related illness and deaths is high in Botswana and affects both teachers and learners. Education provision has been affected through increased mortality and morbidity and increased absenteeism which affect education-related personnel and the demand for education has been reduced due to growing numbers of orphaned and vulnerable children as a consequence of parent/guardian mortality and morbidity related to HIV and AIDS. The problem was investigated by means of a literature review and an empirical inquiry which combined quantitative and qualitative data collection. Based on the findings, in addition to medical and other interventions, an education management approach is required to mitigate the effects of HIV and AIDS on secondary education in Botswana. The strategies of coping, caring and preventing have been effective in this regard. Some internal stakeholders of the Department of Secondary Education (DSE) are not meaningfully involved in strategic planning. Similarly, most of the selected external stakeholders were not involved in the DSE HIV and AIDS strategic plan. Both external and internal stakeholders should be involved at all stages of planning. Furthermore, inducement-contribution exchanges and teacher credibility should be considered in a strategic plan. To improve the current DSE strategic plan, a stakeholder involvement model to involve internal and external stakeholders was designed. Based on this model and the above findings, recommendations for practice and suggestions for future research are made.
Educational Studies
D.Ed.(Educational Management)