Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Organization effectiveness'

In contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small, local nonprofit organizations. This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how board members of small, local nonprofits in the focal community perceive organizational effectiveness. Understanding the nature of nonprofit organization effectiveness according to board members contributes to understanding how those accountable meet their organizational objectives. A review of the literature revealed that nonprofit effectiveness involves the action of contributing and the motivation behind the action, both of which are associated with trust and reciprocity. Guided by social constructivism, this study employed a qualitative analysis of repeated iterations of semiotic data from board members (n = 30) and text analysis of organizational mission statements (n = 21), generating thick descriptions of the board members' understanding of effectiveness. Findings were derived from successive coding iterations starting with the raw data, through locating text related to specific codes, to verifying relationships among codes, and incorporating researcher reflection. The analysis revealed that strategies focused on developing reciprocity and mitigating mistrust among board members contribute to board members' perceiving their organizations as effectively achieving their objectives. The study's findings support positive social change by informing social scientists and members of local nonprofit boards of the perceived gap between services demands and the resources to meet them among board members.

This qualitative research study examined detailed reports by senior organizational leaders linking mindfulness to improved leadership effectiveness. Extensive research supports the existence of a relationship between mindfulness and cognitive, physiological, and psychological benefits that may also have a positive impact on leadership effectiveness. Currently, however, little is known about the processes potentially enabling mindfulness to directly influence leadership effectiveness, and as a result this study was designed to explore this gap in the literature. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with forty-two organizational leaders in North and South America and Europe, many with a history of leadership roles at multiple global organizations. Participants credited mindfulness for contributing to enduring improvements to leadership capabilities, and data analysis revealed new findings clarifying the perceived relationship between mindfulness and tangible results for organizational leaders. Specifically, the results indicate that mindfulness is perceived to contribute to the development of behaviors and changes to awareness associated with improved leadership effectiveness. A potential relationship between mindfulness and the development of emotional intelligence competencies linked to increased leadership performance was revealed as well. The contribution of this study to current literature is also discussed, as are recommendations for future research.

Keywords: mindfulness, organizational leadership, emotional intelligence, leadership effectiveness, leadership development, mindful leadership, leader empathy, leader emotional self-awareness, leader emotional self-management, leader social awareness, leader relationship management

The study of leadership in wide range of organizational settings has demonstrated the advantage the Full Range Leadership (FRL) of transformational leadership approach over other leadership styles in predicting organizational performance and other outcomes. Research has found that leadership is one of the most significant contributors to organizational performance. However, very little research has been completed on the link between FRL and organizational performance at American Muslim Organizations (AMOs). This lack of empirical research, the increase use of FRL in assessing pastoral leadership (Rowold, 2008), and its positive and strong association with effective organizations as shown in literature were the primary motivators for this study. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), a proven leadership assessment test, was administered to 320 congregants at 12 AMOs in the greater Dallas area, TX, USA to determine preferred leadership styles and whether there is a significant correlation relationship between senior leadership styles and organization performance. Created and updated by Bass and Avolio (2004), the questionnaire measure three objective indicators of organizational performance: congregants’ satisfaction with leadership, motivation toward extra effort, and perceived leadership effectiveness. Results of descriptive analysis showed that senior leaders at AMOs scored relatively high in the average of all responses and in six of the nine leadership factors, suggesting that Full Range Transformational Leadership Model (FRLM) was the style practiced by senior leaders at targeted organizations.

The results of multiple regression analysis of aggregated leadership factors scores revealed that blended specific elements of the (FRLM) led to higher satisfaction, motivation toward extra effort and perceived leadership effectiveness among congregants.

Multiple regression analysis for separate leadership factors scores revealed the following findings: (1) Contingent Reward leadership style (CR), which requires performance measurements to reward achievement beyond meeting standards, is inextricably linked with the Transformational leadership style. (2) FRLM consisted of nine hierarchal factors on a continuum basis and strongly proffered as the most effective leadership approach at the studied context. (3) Idealized influence, attribute and behavior, did not reach significance, suggesting that AMOs are shifting from religious leadership to secular one. (4) Intellectual stimulation did not reach significance either, suggesting that leadership at AMOs does not empower followers nor facilitate creativity and independent thinking among them.

Factor analysis findings (PCA) suggested that the nine factors of FRLM can be represented by three main factors to explain 75.4 of the variability in the original data. The findings of this study provided strong support for FRLM to work well with the senior leadership at AMOs. Discussion of the implications and recommendations was provided.

Complexity and turbulence create intensifying pressures on 21 ^st-century organizations seeking growth through globalization and operating efficiencies. Organizations are responding by engaging dispersed teams in expanding operations and enabling efficiencies from “anywhere, any time, any form” teaming. The use of dispersed teaming enables new opportunities for organizational growth; however, may introduce the need for change in the organization’s leadership mindset and approach to leading. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research study is to explore and seek a deeper understanding of the emergence of leadership in dispersed teams and the resulting points of tension that potentially affect the process of leading and team effectiveness as organizations address complexity. Findings from the study are based on the lived experiences of virtual team leaders and members and provide insights on the theoretical and practical guiding practices exploring the supportive and hindering forces that enable an ideal environment for the act of leading shifting from an entity or person to a shared process with members of dispersed teams. The findings explore the importance of relational leadership and the role of appointed leaders when fostering shared leading. The outcomes of the research provide insight to organizations, leaders, and members of dispersed teams on the importance of operating collectively in an environment where individuals can maximize their capabilities despite geographical separation; while understanding the importance of situational readiness and adaptability when seeking team effectiveness. The research study provides theory describing the ideal aspirational environment that will enable shared leading and guiding principles that introduce practical considerations reflecting the situational realities, ambiguities, and humanistic complexities influencing today’s organization when seeking growth and effective outcomes through dispersed teaming.

- Summary -

- Is it possible to find an ideal leader that would be perceived as effective in four different countries? -

- What characteristics would this ideal leader have if taking the cultures and the countries’ different perspectives of effective leadership into consideration? -

The purpose with this thesis is to find an ideal leader that would be perceived as effective in four countries; Sweden, Great Britain, France and Germany. Due to the globalization of today it is not enough to be perceived as effective in one company or by one nation. An effective manager must have skills that are perceived as effective by many different people, despite cultural differences.

In order to find characteristics for this ideal leader our focus have been on finding similarities within the four countries and to determine what effectiveness means in each country. A questionnaire containing 41 questions about leadership effectiveness was formed and sent out to approximately 200-300 employees within the private sector in each country, whereas they needed to answer the questions with their current manager in mind. The result of this was 58 respondents from Sweden, 35 from Great Britain, 53 from France and 77 from Germany. To be able to develop this questionnaire and include as many aspects of leadership effectiveness as possible, three theories about leadership effectiveness were used as a ground base. A fourth theory represents cultural dimensions and thereby characteristics of the four countries, together with a general description of the stereotypical characteristic in each country. When the answers from the questionnaire were compiled, the theory and the descriptions concerning the cultural aspects were used as a comparison to the answers in order to get as legitimate facts as possible about the characteristics from each country.

The analysis mainly focus on correlations between certain questions, as this provide us with a better understanding of what aspects are important in relation to whether the manager is perceived as effective or not. The last question in the questionnaire, Q 41 if the manager is perceived as effective by others in the organization, has been seen as the most important question in relation to our topic and therefore it has been correlated with the rest of the questions (except for one question). The questions have been placed in different categories depending on what aspects they concern, and also in relation to what similarities the questions have, and this resulted in 13 indicators. Another group was added, which contained of three questions that did not fit anywhere in the 13 indicators. These indicators includes, among other things, charisma, structuring, communication skills, participation etc. In order to understand what aspects that were important in each country, correlations between Q 41 and the indicators where made and thereby a clearer picture appeared to us, about what characteristics the ideal leader should have.

After analyzing back and forth, three aspects/indicators were concluded to be the most important for a leader to be perceived as effective in all the four countries. These aspects concern the human aspect as well as concern for task, and an ability to lead the followers in a way that make them perform their best. The final characteristics that our ideal leader must have, among others, is to lead by setting an example, be optimistic, create team spirit and communicate information in an understandable way. We believe this information and the results from this thesis will provide us with useful and valuable knowledge in our future working life. However, the journey has been though and we have met several set-backs on the route. The hardest thing has been to get in contact with companies in the different countries and even harder to get the employees to answer our questionnaire. Still, we consider that the amount of respondents from each country have been enough to regard our results as valid.

- An ideal leader must, in order to be perceived as effective in the four different countries, be charismatic, have good communications skills, and put emphasis on team building among her or his employees. -

In this study, the effectiveness of customer service training was estimated using Donald Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model and the Learning Transfer Model. There were 105 Human Resource Leaders and Trainers that completed an online study concerning the training requested and provided within non-profit community healthcare organizations. The study found that The Learning Training Model, when used with Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation model provided adequate information to suggest a roadmap for designing strategies to achieve improved customer service in non-profit community healthcare sectors.

The quantitative correlational research study addressed the problem of a lack of knowledge on the predictive nature or strength of the independent variables; trust in immediate supervisor, trust in top management, and organizational trust precursors for producing organizational effectiveness (OE) that can also lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. The study was conducted on a research division of a federal government agency via electronic survey format. The study revealed that in addition to significant and positive correlations among the trust and OE variables, the results of a multiple regression analysis for the model as a whole showed an adjusted R² value of .6630, indicating that 66.3% of the variation in the dependent variable, OE, was explained by the independent variables. An F-value of 134.8, significant at the .05 level (p-value < .0001), indicated that the overall regression model was a good fit. All three levels of trust experienced by subordinate employees were positive and significant predictors of OE. Hierarchical multiple regression also showed that organizational trust precursors (B^a = .379, β^b = .573, t-value = 8.310, and p-value < .0001), and not trust in top management (B^a = .096, β^b = .128, t-value = 1.970, and p-value = .0508) or trust in immediate supervisor (B ^a = .120, β^b = .245, t-value = 5.370, and p-value < .0001) was a stronger positive predictor of OE. Managers and supervisors will be able to gain practical knowledge that will aid in positive and productive interactions with subordinate employees within organizations.

Research suggested that multicultural team performance is influenced by several variables, but research on the topic has produced conflictive results. It has been suggested that bicultural individuals, due to their dual cultural schemas, can be very competent in mediating the effectiveness of bicultural teams through the use of boundary spanning and conflict perception competencies. Many studies on the topic of multicultural team effectiveness have been performed with college students or under simulated environments, which limits the generalizability of the. To address this research gap, this study provided empirical evidence on the effectiveness of multicultural teams in a real working scenario. A set of validated questionnaires previously published in peer review journals were used to survey 337 bicultural individuals that have been part of a multicultural team for more than one year. The individuals were surveyed on their experience using boundary spanning and conflict perception bicultural competencies and on their rating of the multicultural team effectiveness. Multiple regression analysis indicates that both boundary spanning and conflict perception bicultural competencies have a significant effect on the effectiveness of multicultural teams. Perception of conflict shows the most significant predictive relationship, with immediate conflict resolution, emotional conflict and disagreements on who should do what the most strongly related items to the effectiveness of multicultural teams.

The objective of this study was to investigate leadership in nonprofits. Specifically, the goal was to contribute to the empirical literature on the relationship between pastoral leadership styles and the organizational effectiveness of their churches. This quantitative ex-post facto study investigated the explanatory power leadership styles have upon the overall organizational effectiveness among Baptist pastors in a Southern Baptist Association in a Western state. Leadership styles was measured by Avolio, Bass, and Zhu’s 2004 Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5x Short [MLQ] and organizational effectiveness was measured by a Southern Baptist Association in a Western state’s annual church profile, respectively. This explanatory research encompassed the comparative relationship between the variable of pastoral leadership styles and how they influence the variable of organizational effectiveness in churches, as defined by church membership, the number of baptisms, and financial giving. A sample of 28 pastors self-reported their leadership styles in an online survey. This was followed by a comparison of the organizational effectiveness statistical data sets collected from a Southern Baptist Association in a Western state to the pastoral leadership styles. SPSS, v. 22 was used for data analysis. The findings state pastoral leadership styles as transactional and transformational. A t-test was conducted to compare the means of the leadership styles. Based upon the t-test results, it was determined there is a difference between the leadership styles of pastors and the organizational effectiveness measures of their churches. The difference was significant.