Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Organization study'

A nation-wide study of the leadership requirements for combined emergency management and fire departments from medium-sized municipalities was conducted. It has been widely recognized by the emergency management community and the federal government that emergency management should be professionalized. The first step in professionalization is standardization. The study disclosed that there was an extremely high variability in the training, education and experience requirements for each of the leadership ranks. Not only was there high variability in the requirements for holding each of the ranks, the ranks themselves varied greatly from department to department. The single rank present in all departments was that of chief, and even for that rank, 30% were appointees with no concrete position requirements. Furthermore, the actual requirements for each of the leadership ranks was compared to recommendations from three professional organizations, the International Association of Emergency Managers, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Fire Protection Association. Not only did the actual requirements for each rank vary greatly from the recommendations from each organization, the recommendations between the organizations varied greatly. It is quite clear that even the professional organizations have not come to a consensus of opinion or agreement on requirements, nor are they even close to doing so. Two departmental models were also examined, and once again there was a high variability of requirements for each leadership rank. Although standardization is the first step in professionalization, there has been little movement in that direction. Emergency management has a long way to go if it is to be professionalized, and the safety of the public and nation stand in the balance.

Research and development (R&D) innovation has become an important competitive advantage that is essential to the biopharma industry and critical to drug development (Bennani, 2012; Cuatrecasas, 2006; Douglas, et al., 2010; Garnier, 2008; Hine & Kapeleris, 2006; McKelvey, 2008; Pisano, 2006, 2010). Cultivating R&D innovation carries a distinct challenge of balancing between fostering conditions for creativity while at the same time managing for technical, scientific and operational efficiencies. However, the trend in the industry is toward using more process management techniques focused on formalization, standardization, control and efficiency in order to accelerate drug discovery efforts (Brown & Svenson, 1998; Cardinal, 2001; Cuatrecasas, 2006; Hine & Kaperleris, 2006; Johnstone et al., 2011; Paul et al., 2010; Scannell et al., 2012; Sewing et al., 2008; Ullman & Boutellier, 2008).

This study was designed to explore how early drug discovery scientists experience creativity in a highly coordinated and managed work environment. The research questions were as follows: How do scientists working in the early discovery phases of the R&D pipeline experience creativity; and how does a highly managed and coordinated work environment influence scientists’ experience of creativity? The basis for understanding their experiences was captured through detailed stories and reflections about their personal background, early influences and professional experiences as a scientist.

The sample included 10 early drug discovery scientists who work for either a pharmaceutical, biotech or bio-pharmaceutical company based in the United States of America (USA). A basic qualitative study was conducted with in-depth interviews as the primary method of data collection. Data were analyzed using multiple iterations of coding, describing and classifying to interpret what creativity means, how scientists experience creativity within their work environment and what factors influence this experience. Conclusions and implications about what creativity means, how scientists experience creativity and the various dynamics that shape this experience are presented in the following pages.

This study investigated the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements necessary for understanding the implications of happiness on performance in the workplace. Using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis, a set of knowledge, motivation, and organizational assumed influences were documented based on the support of literature and generated hypotheses. Subsequently, data was collected through interviews and surveys and triangulated via observations. A subset of the assumed influences were validated based on collected data, indicating that while happiness is not a clear indicator of performance, it does have a direct correlation with an individual’s desire to go above and beyond expected responsibilities, particularly as it relates to embedding creativity in assignments.

Diffusion of innovation across cultures is a broad field of study, especially when considering the adaptation of organizational development (OD) innovations into multicultural environments. Although OD interventions are often adapted to fit unique circumstances of each organization’s culture, this study explored whether there were specific adaptations that occur when OD interventions are applied to Indian organizations by Indian practitioners. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how appreciative inquiry (AI) as an OD intervention was received and adapted by OD practitioners in India with particular focus on for-profit organizations.

A thematic analysis of 17 implementations shared by Indian practitioners was conducted to examine the fidelity and extensiveness of AI adaptation. Toward this end, the study was tailored to ensure the intervention was localized and situated more specifically in the organizational and leadership contexts. Results revealed that AI, when applied to India-based for-profit organizations, exhibited a level of adaptation that could be applied on a global scale. It is anticipated that understanding the factors that drive AI adaptation in India will assist scholars and practitioners to establish guidelines for successfully transferring organizational innovations.

This study was designed to determine what it is that Chief Learning Officers do to build the learning organization by examining interview data from current Chief Learning Officers using the constructs of change and leadership. The study sample included current Chief Learning Officers who work for U.S. based organizations within the U.S. and have been in their current Chief Learning Officer position for at least two years.

The study used a qualitative, exploratory methodology combined with phone or face-to-face interviews in order to gather data. The data was analyzed using the Systems Learning Organization Model (Marquardt, 2011). 20 Chief Learning Officers were interviewed for approximately 60 minutes each and asked the same series of questions in order to further explore how Chief Learning Officers use leadership and change to build the learning organization.

The study findings show that Chief Learning Officers do four things to build the learning organization: 1. They themselves collaborate with others inside and outside of the organization, and encourage others to do so as well; 2. They assess and measure their learning and development programs on a consistent basis; 3. They seek and secure funding and other resources for their learning and development opportunities; 4. They have a vision for their learning organization, and realize that vision through strategy development and implementation.

There is ample discourse regarding the need for changing nonprofit performance measurement, but there is little consensus within the field on how best to evaluate while maximizing performance, outcomes, and mission achievement. This Q methodology study documented the perceptions of 22 nonprofit leaders in the United States about effective performance measurement and the characteristics necessary to create an effective model to measure nonprofit performance. The study involved analyzing the nonprofit leaders’ responses to create three distinct views on effective organizational performance measurement called (a) Road Map, (b) Management Tool, and (c) Weakest Link. Despite differences in the viewpoints, three themes emerged as a starting point to inform the shift in measuring nonprofit effectiveness: (a) the need for larger performance management systems, (b) eliminating the unfunded mandate for performance measurement, and (c) the desire for organization-specific mission-based outcome measurement. Insights from the nonprofit leaders revealed the characteristics of a new system for generating meaningful nonprofit performance data. The implementation of these characteristics could strengthen performance management, promote organizational learning, and inspire collaborative partnerships with funders and beneficiaries. Nonprofit leaders must create a culture of performance management that facilitates performance measurement and performance improvements if they are to advance the mission of the organizations they lead.

The purpose of the current research is to contribute to the VE community’s understanding of how the dynamics of temporary teams may influence participant engagement, by answering the question, “what factors impact individual team member engagement on a VE study team?” In today’s business environment, the traditional permanent work team is no longer a reality for many employees (Jacobssen & Hallgren, 2016). Even those who do maintain membership in a permanent team are often tasked with serving on additional committees, task forces and decision-making teams to aid their organization in developing new products or navigating change. Value Engineering (VE) study teams present a unique scenario in which small, in-person teams of technical subject matter experts must solve complex problems in just a few days, having had no previous interaction. These teams can be classified as “temporary.” To understand what factors contribute to a participant’s engagement during a VE study, ten, semi-structured interviews were conducted with VE study team members. Themes from the interview data aligned with the literature’s framing of intellectual, social and affective engagement (Soane et al., 2012). Technical expertise, direct engagement by the facilitator, clear roles, prioritization of teambuilding, and viability of the project, were among the factors cited as impacting team member engagement. Recommendations were made related to prioritizing pre-study activities, creating a VE team member cadre for continued team member development, and setting the tone for engagement. These findings and recommendations may be applied to temporary team settings other than VE teams as well, in terms of the importance of context setting, early team member interaction, psychological membership and psychological safety for team success.

The purpose of the research study was to predict managerial resistance to status quo bias given the presence of dissatisfaction, vision, and a process outlined for change in the environment. According to the 79 participants surveyed in the study, dissatisfaction, vision, and a process outlined for change provided a statistically significant model for predicting manager resistance to status quo bias for the sample studied. Leaders may be able to use the results of the study to determine manager readiness for change. However, at best the study found only 45.3% of the reasons that predict managerial resistance to status quo bias, providing an opportunity for future researchers to validate empirically other factors that may predict manager resistance to status quo bias.

By 2030, almost every entry level role in the United States will be filled by a member of Generation Z (born after 1995). Researchers have noted an unclear understanding of the Generation Z perspective on leadership; despite Generation Z’s increasing presence in the workforce. This knowledge gap is detrimental to organizational viability and can negatively impact organizational performance and strategy. The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership preferences of Generation Z based on their lived experience in the workplace; and discuss to what extent Generation Z prefers a transactional or transformational leadership style. A theoretical frame that links generational identity (generational cohort theory) to leadership theory supports the exploration of these preferences phenomenologically and establishes the significance of generational leadership preferences on organizational performance. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted and analyzed using a modified version of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). IPA revealed six (6) emergent themes in the phenomenon under investigation (specifically Generation Z’s workplace experiences); the themes were described and their implications interpreted. The findings were validated using a relatively novel tool for phenomenology: freelisting (a cultural domain analysis tool). The findings describe Generation Z’s ideal leader and their introspective thoughts on their workplace identity and experiences. It was concluded that Generation Z tends to prefer transformational leadership more than transactional leadership, supported and predicted by the literature. Understanding Generation Z’s leadership preferences will provide insight on better methods for organizations to recruit, train, and develop employees. Such insights will also be beneficial to future Generation Z research.

Organizational success and outcomes rely on good teamwork. The study question asked if teams can be more successful with a greater number of socially skilled team members? Evolving research indicates composing teams based on intrinsic social skills, such as personality, values, and psychological roles may generate greater team outcomes than teams based solely on vocational roles, competencies, and cognitive ability. When teams are first formed, people connect instinctively and warm to other team members using their social skills. Only later do people appraise others for competencies and skills. This study examined whether the number of strong emotive connectors (SEC) can increase team outcomes. The study hypothesis tested whether teams with a greater number of high SECs, a socioemotional role construct, would increase their team task-completion rates (TTCR). Regression analysis showed the low and high SEC with an adjusted R² = .52 correlation were both predictive of the TTCR. Additional analysis using 2 one-way ANOVAs for high and low SECs showed between-team (groups) and within teams (groups) results were statistically significant at the p = .00 level. The study found teams having 2 of 5 high SECs made a difference in team performance. Additional high SECs had no impact on team performance. An interesting study result found 2 of 5 low SECs had an adverse impact on team performance. Additional low SECs did not harm team performance. Ensuring at least 2 of 5 high SECs on teams can lessen gaps, diminish conflicts, and elevate team outcomes.

The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to describe the Washington, District of Columbia and metropolitan (DMV) area-based federal government employee perspectives on the adoption of enterprise information technologies. The sample size of this study consisted of 132 participants. The inability to accept or reject the hypothesis in this research was determined by descriptive statistics (means and standard deviation). Drawing from theoretical frameworks involving leadership, culture, human and organizational behavior, and decision-making, this study involves the introduction of an integrated model to describe the complexities of technology adoption in a single, comprehensive view. The comprehensive model attempted to emphasize interrelationships between key elements involved in organizational technology adoption, including how innovation spreads from various sources to influence organizational perceptions for both members and leaders. Additionally, this study also introduced a new survey tool (Employee Perceptions on Adoption of Enterprise Information Technology), and attempted to determine to what extent different factors affected enterprise information technology adoption. Data collected from this research effort suggested that government employees believe leadership represents the main factor influencing technology adoption in government organizations, with cost as the second leading factor. Government employees, however, did not believe that culture represented a key influence on technology adoption. Findings from this study may offer new insights on how to conduct technology adoption more effectively, and provide the foundation for recommending ways to create a successful enterprise system implementation. The main recommendation for future study is exploration of the Integrated Technology Adoption Model (ITAM) and the Employee Perceptions on Adoption of Enterprise Technology Survey.

Assessing and developing organizational or collective resilience capacity is a strengths-based approach to managing continuous and unexpected change as a strategic capability. In this study, organizational resilience capacity is defined as a vital readiness that is built up by employee beliefs and behaviors. Human resource and management interventions have been recommended to strengthen this capacity. These are described as antecedents, enablers, and inducements designed to foster vital conditions that support relevant employee beliefs, feelings, and actions. Yet, there is little empirical evidence about which specific beliefs and behaviors to foster and no tool for assessing their strength. Interventions, then, cannot reliably be said to strengthen organizational resilience capacity. To address this gap, an exploratory, quantitative study was designed with two objectives: (a) identify specific employee beliefs and behaviors associated with this capacity from the organizational resilience literature and (b) design a scale using these items to explore how collective resilience capacity is constructed. After testing the Organizational Resilience Capacity Scale with employees in a manufacturing company (n=223), results suggested that there are specific beliefs and behaviors associated empirically with organizational resilience capacity. These can be assessed to support organizational understanding, direct evidence-based interventions, and provide a measure of accountability for impacting a latent, yet strategic, capability. The relationship between individual resilience capacity and organizational resilience capacity was also assessed, showing a small, but significant effect. That is, resilient individuals may contribute to vital conditions, but they do not create a resilient organization.

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental descriptive study was to examine the relationship between servant leadership and job within a multicultural hospitality organization. The theoretical foundation of the study, servant leadership, was supported by the premise that servant leaders within multicultural organizations value the job satisfaction of their employees. Thirty-nine employees completed the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) survey instrument, and the data were analyzed through the utility of SPSS v. 20. The results revealed that a statistically significant relationship existed between servant leadership and job satisfaction as perceived by culturally diverse employees within a hospitality organization (r = 0.635; p < 0.0005). Thus, the discovery of this new knowledge contributed to the fields of cross-cultural leadership, servant leadership, and hotel management regarding the potential utility of servant leadership principles within a multicultural hospitality organization.

Trust is consistently identified as a key factor in the success of organizations. Despite its importance, public trust of U.S. institutions has fallen steadily over six decades. One exception is public trust of the U.S. military, which has increased. This qualitative Delphi study sought to answer the question: What are the perceived characteristics of the trust relationship between the U.S. military and the general public at the point interface where senior military leaders, their public affairs advisors, and national-security media representatives directly facilitate the relay of information between the military and the public? This study also sought to identify which, if any, of those perceived characteristics are unique in the literature, or if they are uniquely prioritized in the trust relationship between the U.S. military and the general public. The purpose of the study was to explore a favorable trust relationship in an effort to identify characteristics that might be beneficial to other leaders in their effort to establish, preserve, or strengthen public trust in their own institutions. The Delphi methodology was used to achieve consensus of opinion among three groups of subject matter experts who, in accordance with joint U.S. doctrine, act as a point of direct interface between the military and the public. Retired senior military officers, retired or former military public affairs officers (PAOs), and journalists who cover the national-security beat for national and international media organizations participated in the study. During three survey rounds, members of two independent groups identified, prioritized, and defined characteristics they perceived as contributing most to the favorable trust relationship between the U.S. military; anonymously reviewed input from other group members; and modified their own input. Overall consensus was reached among these two groups of subject-matter experts that prioritization of honesty, integrity, and credibility contributes most to a favorable trust relationship. Summative content analysis of the respective group’s definitions of those terms revealed key themes of open communication and the critical importance of an organization’s members doing and saying the right thing, regardless of consequences.

Problem. As demonstrated by strategic miscalculations since World War II, national security and military strategy development often do not integrate understanding of a range of possible future conditions in the national security environment. Scholarly research lacks examination of the role foreseeing plays in strategy development in the national security, or military, context. Foreseeing as a cognitive process, to include its application in sectors other than the national security establishment, is a much-discussed but not empirically researched topic within the strategy and management fields.

Research question. This study addressed one primary research question: How does the process of foreseeing possible future conditions inform development of national security strategy?

Method. This research was a case study of foreseeing, viewed as it occurred within the organizational strategy development process initiated by the commanding officer of a large U.S. military organization and key senior members of his staff. The researcher conducted interviews of the commander and his staff, observed a strategy review session, and reviewed working documents and published strategy documents produced by the organization.

Conclusions. The study resulted in three conclusions. The first and most fundamental conclusion was that foreseeing was observed in this case of strategy development through eight properties that describe the foreseeing process, and they were dynamically interrelated to generate enactive inputs to strategic decision making. Next, the data clearly illustrated that foreseeing was shaped by several factors, including individual characteristics of the participants, external environmental conditions, and internal aspects of the organization that impacted the organization’s strategic resource allocation decisions. Finally, foreseeing and sensemaking, as described by Dr. Karl Weick and his colleagues over several years, are inextricably linked as distinct but complementary processes; foreseeing is sensemaking forward.

The purpose of this two-phase, sequential mixed methods study was to examine and explain factors relating to leadership in diversity-oriented churches in the United States by obtaining quantitative results from a sample of 65 senior pastors and 92 top-management team members, then follow-up with a multiple case study to explain the results in more depth. The instruments used for quantitative data collection were the 20-item four-factor Cultural Intelligence Scale, the adapted 8-item Openness to Diversity Scale, and the Leadership Practices Inventory. The study's sixteen findings establish significant relationships between leader cultural intelligence, top-management team openness to diversity, and leadership practices, and elucidate how those relationships contribute to a positive organizational diversity climate. In addition, openness to diversity and church polity were discovered to influence TMT perceptions of the senior pastor's leadership practices. Therefore, the findings support the conclusion that investigating intercultural leadership in a domestic organization could reveal new theoretical insights while having implications for leadership practice and organizational effectiveness.

Organizations face challenges related to swiftly and successfully adapting their products and services to meet the changing demands of the external environment to achieve long-term success. These challenges have prompted the study of organization agility, an organizational capability defined as the ability to swiftly and successfully change in order to achieve long-term financial success (Worley, Williams, & Lawler, 2014). Researchers have theorized that the behaviors and attributes of organization leaders impact organization agility (Worley et al., 2014; Holbeche, 2015). The purpose of this study was to conduct an inferential quantitative research study to determine if leadership behaviors predict organization agility.

The research sample included 126 U.S.-based business units within 47 organizations with greater than 1,000 employees. Organization agility was measured using the Agility Survey (short-form) developed by Worley, Williams, and Lawler (2014) to generate a Total Agility Score. The leadership behaviors and attributes of the business unit leaders were measured using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X; Avolio & Bass, 2004). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis determined an alternative five-construct model of leadership behaviors and attributes for this data set. Simultaneous linear regression determined that the leadership behaviors found to predict higher levels of organization agility included (a) exploratory behaviors that support a culture of discovering new ways to solve problems and conduct business, (b) latitude behaviors that provide employees with a high degree of freedom and responsibility in achieving work results and resolving issues, (c) visionary behaviors that create a clear organization purpose and mission that define the “why” of the organization’s existence, and (d) reflective behaviors that cause leaders to challenge their own assumptions and create mechanisms for the organization to do so as well. Simultaneous linear regression analysis also determined that leadership behaviors related to power and structure predict lower levels of organization agility.

In addition to the original research question, results were reported comparing the Total Agility Score for organization groups divided by type of organization, size of organization, and year founded; and for business unit groups divided by business unit leader gender and size of business unit. Inspection of these results’ means indicated that the Total Agility Score for for-profit organizations (M = 3.97) was significantly higher than the Total Agility Score for nonprofits/government agencies ( M = 3.67), a difference of .30 on a 5-point Likert scale ( p = .009) and with a larger than typical effect size (d = .77). Inspection of the results also indicated that the Total Agility Score for organizations with 1,000 to 6,000 employees (M = 3.99) was significantly higher than the Total Agility Score for organizations with greater than 6,000 employees (M = 3.83; p = .038) with an effect size between smaller than typical or medium ( d = .37).

This research study contributes to the body of knowledge of organization agility by informing scholars, practitioners, and organization leaders as to the leadership behaviors and attributes that predict both higher and lower levels of organization agility. Several additional research studies are suggested that would enhance knowledge related to the conceptual frameworks and theories of organization agility and leadership.

This multi-site case study explored the role that a global nonprofit organization plays in decreasing the gap of inequality and contributing to the greater society. This research identified what processes were used to implement, increase, or alter the global CSR efforts. This research identified how global CSR efforts impact and is impacted by the organizational culture. In addition, the study explored how CSR efforts have changed or expanded to meet the demands of a globalized society, with a particular focus on the mutual relationship between these expanded efforts and the organizational culture. It studied the internal impact of the CSR efforts as well as how the organization relates externally. This qualitative study made use of three sources of data: semistructured interviews, document and artifact analysis, and observations. The use of various methods of data collection ensures reliability and trustworthiness and adds to the thick description of the case. The findings in this multi-site case study provided an understanding of how a global non-profit organization implements or expands social responsibility efforts.

This exploratory study yielded seven major conclusions. The conclusions operationalize to meet the organizational needs and the processes used to implement. The seven conclusions are 1) The organization's CSR efforts impact organizational culture including artifacts espoused values and basic assumptions 2) The impact was reciprocal as the organizational culture impacted their CSR efforts 3) CSR efforts reflect the needs of society and adapt to meet societal needs to balance the organization's internal culture and external image 4) Senior leadership and policy volunteers are instrumental to the implementation of CSR efforts throughout the organization as well as to the organizational culture 5) Partnering with organizations increases their CSR efforts and result in better serving their community and organizational needs 6) CSR processes increase awareness and impact to promote goodwill locally and globally and 7) CSR efforts need to be included in the organization's strategic plan and align with the mission and vision of the organization.

The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to understand leadership behaviors that motivate internal stakeholders to trust a leader’s vision, embrace change, facilitate employee willingness to passionately implement actions needed for an organizational change initiative and willingly sustain a change initiative. A sample of 20 internal stakeholders was studied, five leaders and 15 followers within an organization of 800+ employees, located in the southwestern region of the United States, which is currently undergoing a change initiative. The research questions were based upon Kurt Lewin’s three-step model of change: unfreezing, transitioning, and refreezing. This research asked how leadership behaviors facilitated employee willingness to trust a leader’s vision and embrace change, passionately implement actions needed for a change, and sustain a change initiative, making an implemented initiative the new normal for the organization. Three themes emerged to address the research questions: 1) know your audience and walk your talk; 2) communication, vision, trust, and buy-in; and 3) residual passion and perseverance. Findings suggested that leadership behaviors influence internal stakeholders in relation to a change initiative and that leaders who are hands-on, consistent, and demonstrate a clear vision increased the possibility of gleaning passion and trust to increase the potential for success during an organizational change initiative.

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify and describe the perceptions of open educational resources (OER) higher education experts regarding the activities needed at colleges and universities in the United States in order to advance faculty adoption of OER over the next 10 years. Also, this study examined those activities that were most important and had the greatest likelihood of being implemented.

Methodology: The researcher utilized a mixed-methods Delphi study technique to identify and describe activities to advance faculty adoption of OER. The target population for the study consisted of a group of OER higher education faculty experts from postsecondary institutions within the United States. This study utilized a purposive criterion sampling method to identify 16 experts. The Delphi method employed questionnaires over 3 successive rounds to gather data from and build consensus among the expert panel. In Round 1, the researcher asked the expert panel for activities to support faculty adoption of OER. In Round 2, the expert panel rated the 35 activities for degree of importance and likelihood of implementation. In Round 3, the panel had an opportunity to revise their score, if desired, in order to move toward consensus.

Findings: Analysis of the quantitative data from the study revealed 17 OER activities that received consensus for importance and 11 OER activities that indicated consensus concerning likelihood for implementation. Finally, there were 6 OER research findings on which the expert panel came to consensus concerning equally importance and likelihood of implementation.

Conclusions: Based on the data and research findings, 6 conclusions were drawn related to faculty adoption of OER within colleges and universities over the next decade.

Recommendations: There were 8 recommendations for further research covering these topic areas: (a) replication of the study within different higher education arenas and across other stakeholder groups; and (b) examination of faculty receptivity and resistance to adopting OER, utilizing a change theoretical framework; (c) a model for open pedagogy; and (d) an examination of K-12 educators’ OER adoption practices.

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

Although there are many organizational culture studies that have been conducted, very few have been conducted in the context of a human service organization (Jaskyte, 2010). Organizational culture has been described as a neglected area of exploration as it relates to the enhancement of quality of life for persons with disabilities (Gillet & Stenfert-Kroese, 2003).

This research took the form of a qualitative case study of the culture of one human service organization. This study may make three specific contributions to the organizational culture literature. These include: (a) providing an empirical study of a human service organization's culture, (b) attempting to describe and understand specific mechanisms that may contribute to culture formation and maintenance, and (c) identifying aspects of a human service organizations culture that may help or hinder their effectiveness. Fourteen participants were be engaged in the research. The participants were associated with three different position levels.

The participating organization presented a strong and unified culture. The espoused theories and the theories-in-use of the organization's founders were highly congruent. The founders of the organization conveyed a sense of mission that was readily adopted by initial hires. The mission of the organization was formulated around principles of highly individualized support, community inclusion, quality of life, and a consistent regard for the dignity and respect of the individuals supported by the organization. Potential contributions of this research include: (a) being one of the few qualitative studies related to the culture of an organization that provides services for persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD); (b) a research design that provides a relatively comprehensive approach to the study of a single organizational culture; (c) a rich account of how human service workers, from multiple position levels, experience their culture; (d) a preliminary analysis of how leadership may influence culture in the context of a human service environment, and (e) an exploratory investigation as it relates to discovering additional approaches that may assist in evaluating the relationship between culture and organizational effectiveness. The following is a listing of potential future directions for research related to this type of study: (a) a replication of this study, or an approximation thereof, with one or more human service organizations; (b) additional research related to the congruence of, or lack thereof, between espoused theories and theories-in-use held by staff members of human service organizations; (c) the development of mixed methods approaches (quantitative/qualitative) to assessing and measuring congruence between espoused theories and theories-in-use; (d) the relationship between specific types of organizational cultures and effectiveness as it relates to supporting persons intellectual/developmental disabilities and perhaps more specifically, challenging behavior; and (e) research related to various leadership models and behavior as it relates to culture formation in human service organizations.