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Choose Potential Topics and Reference Management System
BTM 7300, Assignment 1 DuBose, Justin Z. Dr. Antoinette Kohlman 26 March 2017 My name is Justin DuBose and I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Northcentral University. Prior to enrollment at Northcentral, I received a Bachelor of Arts from North Georgia College & State University (since renamed the University of North Georgia) with a major in history and a minor in political science. I subsequently enrolled at Luther Rice Seminary and received my Masters of Divinity degree in 2013. Since 2013 I have been serving as the Senior Pastor of Missionary Alliance Church in Whiteville, NC. Included in my area of responsibility is the oversight and management of a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade Christian school, Columbus Christian Academy. It was this particular responsibility of overseeing an organization with an annual budget of approximately $750,000, multiple management structures, and twenty-five employees which initially sparked my interest in the further study of the subject of not-for-profit organizational leadership. While each of my interests in doctoral research centers around this area of not-for-profit organizational leadership, there are a few areas within that umbrella which are of particular interest to me, and which a literature review will most assuredly benefit my studies. One area which I am particularly interested in researching and writing about is the religious, not-for-profit sector of business and the unique challenges of rallying volunteers around common objectives and a shared mission and vision. I am very interested in studying the organizational leadership required in rallying volunteers of not only various socio-economic demographics, but also volunteers of various generational demographics. Recent studies are highlighting the fact that members of different generations internalize and demonstrate different values. For example, in a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, and reported on by Larry Lettau, of National American University, and Ahmed Al-Asfour, of Oglala Lakota College, the values of each working generation were determined to be quite different. (Al-Asfour, 2014) This pressing challenge to organizational leaders is one of tremendous interest to me, and particularly within the scope of not-for-profit organizations where corporate reliance upon volunteers is proportionately high. Another particular interest of mine within the field of not-for-profit organizational leadership is the unique leadership challenges presented by modern technology. In the traditional, brick-and-mortar workplace environment, leaders regularly interacted with their employees and volunteer base. In an increasingly technological environment, the modern organizational leader has less personal interaction, and yet still must clearly communicate to those within their organization. When these leaders address the members of their organization, every word from their mouths, pens, tablets, or keyboards serves the purpose of informing employees and clients of the "state of thinking" within the organization. (Sarros, 2014) This "state of thinking" not only informs others of the direction in which leadership is headed, but also paints a mental picture for them of the identity and values of the organization itself. This, in turn, will influence their own "state of thinking" about their present and future as a part of the organization. In this sense, communication and trust must be a conscious priority for twenty-first century organizational leaders. This is another particular area within the realm of not-for-profit organizational leadership which would merit further research and academic study. For this assignment, several hours throughout the week were spent combing through both the Northcentral University library site as well as the World Wide Web in general. Specifically within the Northcentral library, the academic resource of EBSCO Host was utilized most frequently in the gathering of literature for the assembly of a scholarly literature review on the subject. Key search terms while searching EBSCO Host included “organizational leadership”, “leadership styles”, and “organizational development”. The search results for these three terms included hundreds of academic resources, several of which merited a thorough reading of the contents. Two particular sources, which have already been referenced above, were extremely helpful and insightful in this area of study. The first of which, a journal article on “Strategies for Leadership Styles for Multi-Generational Workforce” dealt with the challenges faced and competencies required by the organizational leader in a multi-generational workforce. (Al-Asfour, 2014) The second of these helpful sources appeared in the Leadership & Organizational Development Journal. The article was written by four authors and dealt with the subject of how organizational leaders leverage their mastery of language to motivate their employees. (Sarros, 2014) This article was very insightful in the area of communication and trust from leader to employee and volunteer base. Outside of the Northcentral library resources, which were incredibly vast and wonderfully beneficial, were Google searches within the "News" search function of the search engine. Key search terms here included “values-based leadership”, “organizational culture”, and “organizational transformation”. As with the EBSCO Host search, hundreds of search results were populated within a matter of seconds. The first source that caught my attention was an article from Forbes magazine dealing with the subject of organizational culture. (Bersin, 2015) The author, Bersin, posits that this subject is, as it should be, at the forefront of the modern leader’s agenda. This is due to the fact, he argues, that organizational culture sets the tone for every aspect of employee engagement and involvement. The second article which merited further reading, also from Forbes magazine, dealt with the important topic of values-based leadership. (Gleeson, 2017) Gleeson, a former Navy SEAL, persuasively suggests that values, and those clearly articulated and communicated, provide the basis for successful organizational transformation. Referring to his time in the SEALs, Gleeson says that, “everything we do is guided by our ethos.” Organizations, he recommends, should learn from this military approach to mission and vision and adapt similar principles. In organizing the research required for the pursuit of this degree, I spent several hours exploring the various citation management tools offered by Northcentral University. This process and terminology were both wholly unfamiliar to me as a research student, so it did take some time to familiarize myself with the concept. After first reading through and exploring the library resource, “Organizing Research”, I then began to explore the citation management tools of “EndNote” as well as “RefWorks”. These resources both seemed to accomplish the same purpose in making the management of citations and research sources easier to keep track of, and both seemed very similar in most every respect. In fact, in exploring each of the citation management systems it seemed that one resource was just as useful and valuable as the other. However, I then began to explore the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the Northcentral library. In my exploration, I discovered a section which specifically addressed the comparison of these two citation management tools. While navigating this section, I discovered that RefWorks was recommended over EndNote. The reasoning was simply due to the fact that RefWorks continued to be available for utilization to alumni after graduation while EndNote did not offer that same benefit. In other words, while conducting research on the subject of not-for-profit organizational leadership as an active student, both resources were deemed equally valuable. However, all the time and energy spent on that research would be rendered inaccessible after graduation with EndNote, but this was not the case with RefWorks. For this reason, the citation management tool of RefWorks was recommended over EndNote by the Northcentral library, and my own judgment on these two citation management tools lines up with their own. As I continue to accumulate scholarly resources, and examine more and various types of scholarly literature on the subject of organizational leadership in the area of not-for-profit organizations, I plan to regularly utilize the citation management tool of RefWorks. In conclusion, as I continue to study and examine the scholarly literature available on the subject of not-for-profit organizational leadership, I hope to progressively continue to narrow my focus on either of the two aforementioned topics. I am looking forward to the skills that will be developed during the course of this class as I can already see the benefit of these skills to the overall process of dissertation study and composition. References Al-Asfour, A., Lettau, L. (2014) Strategies for Leadership Styles for Multi-Generational Workforce. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 11(2), 58-69. Retrieved March 26, 2017. Bersin, J. (2015, March 13). Culture: Why It's The Hottest Topic In Business Today. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2015/03/13/culture-why-its-the-hottest-topic-in-business-today/#616eec69b6e2 Gleeson, B. (2017, March 10). How Values-Based Leadership Transforms Organizational Cultures. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2017/03/10/how-values-based-leadership-transforms-organizational-cultures/#17aee2ff1fbd Sarros, J. C., Luca, E., Densten, I., & Santora, J. (2014) Leaders and their use of motivating language. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 35(3), 226-240. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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Formulating a Summary Response and Realistic Expectations
BTM 7101, Assignment 8 DuBose, Justin Z. Dr. Joe Direnzo 19 March 2017 The world of business in the twenty-first century is a dynamic environment which is in a constant state of change. Businesses must never settle into a state of contentment, but must constantly evaluate their products, processes, and people. The demands of society on twenty-first century businesses are also changing, and this adds an even greater level of demand to this constant state of change and evaluation. The issue of corporate social responsibility, for example, is a huge contributing factor to the dynamic environment of businesses. Organizations of all sizes must ask themselves what they are doing to meet this demand of demonstrating a positive impact on society at large. Small businesses across the country are increasingly investing in their own employees, and this investment in paying dividends in multiple ways. This business research is leading us to discover that the corporate embrace of this single trend is markedly changing workplace culture in a positive way. These companies, now being identified as "culture-driven companies," demonstrate to their employees that their most valuable and cherished asset is the employee. As one author phrased it, "culture-driven companies explicitly put their people first." (Bersin, 2015) How are companies communicating this value to their employees? Many small businesses are increasingly investing in their people not only in their business practices, but in providing tangible benefits to the employee directly. One business, HubSpot, "gives their staff free books and education and believe[s] so strongly in transparency that they post their board meeting notes and culture manifesto online." (Bersin, 2015) Alongside the benefits of businesses investing in their own employees, a growing trend continues to be a demonstrated commitment to corporate social responsibility. Social responsibility and sustainability initiatives fall under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is a growing trend which is continually being embraced by a wider variety of businesses. In fact, CSR "is a priority item on the agenda of almost every business organization." (Babin, 2011) One of the primary factors driving this business priority is "society’s rising demand for corporations to be more environmentally and socially responsible." (Persons, 2012) With this in mind, business leaders would be wise to adopt a corporate sustainability initiative. One example of this is a sustainability initiative centering on African villages with little or no access to clean water. Organizations can target a specific village and site to install two clean water wells, and then "engage its employees actively in all of its sustainability initiatives." (Thorpe, 2013) Across the entire organization, from top to bottom, every employee should be actively engaged in the sustainability initiative. This provides the necessary spark which will not only motivate employees within the business, but it will inspire the local community as well. One business leader, speaking of such sustainability initiatives, said, "we believe that setting a good example is the greatest benefit in that we inspire other organizations, companies and individuals to 'up their game' when it comes to social and environmental responsibility, which in turn encourages further inspiration in the community leading to a more enlightened perspective on how to run ones business or lead one’s life.” (Thorpe, 2013) In a similar fashion, the adoption of a social responsibility initiative has proven tremendously successful when paired alongside a corporate sustainability initiative. Many companies are donating a portion of their profit to local and national charities and provide a growing presence at local volunteer events. Regarding the example of the aforementioned "Wells in Africa" sustainability initiative, businesses could subsequently set aside a portion of their company profits to a reputable non-profit organization which excels in the area of clean water initiatives. Across the board, business leaders are discovering that adopting such CSR initiatives has attracted clients who "want to work with us because we are focused on a healthier and more productive world." (Thorpe, 2013) Furthermore, these same business leaders are discovering that these initiatives not only have a positive impact on the surrounding community and their clients but also, and, arguably, most importantly, on their existing personnel. In a recent survey of fifty-nine business owners, the results about the benefits of CSR on their own employees were quite impressive. The individual conducting the research noted that, "while each company I interviewed had varying responses for the benefits of CSR and cause marketing for the company, 51 of 59 believe that they have happier employees and 45 of the 59 believe they end up with better employees, either as a result of being able to attract better talent or that the CSR programs help to develop better employees." (Thorpe, 2013) Current business research also indicates that technology is benefiting businesses in their communication and implementation of each of these trends. Technology, while dynamically evolving and changing at increasing rates, consistently allows for these values to be disseminated and embraced at historic speeds. This allows for business to not only communicate regularly with their employees, but also to improve their overall work experience by granting them access to information and resources geared toward their success and empowerment. The use of technology in this way could greatly counterbalance some of the recent negative trends in business. For example, a 2015 study showed that "employees' net satisfaction with their work experience plummeted 28 percentage points in 2014." (PR, 2015) In particular, "employees'...perceptions about the resources and programs that enable them to grow and perform" was a huge contributing factor to that negative work experience. (PR, 2015) Any use of technology in investing in employees, encouraging their feedback in the business, and communicating corporate social responsibility will only benefit you in the implementation of these trends. There are, however, certain risks which accompany the deployment of technology. This growing shift toward a workplace reliant on technology also increases the importance of clearly articulated messages from leaders throughout the organization. As workplaces lose such important elements of communication as body language and other forms of non-verbal communication, clearly articulated messages are absolutely essential to building trust. One CEO aptly remarked that leadership is "communicating vision" and getting employees to "accept and adopt it as their own", and getting them to come together to work toward that communicated vision. (Sarros, 2014) The truth of this statement applies just as much to a virtual workplace and to the twenty-first century business leader as it does to a physical workplace and the traditional leader. In the absence of personal interaction, however, if technology is not used appropriately and cautiously, it can provide a risk for the twenty-first century business leader. Therefore, every word must be carefully measured to ensure that those most basic and essential goals of leadership are met in their electronic communication. As an aspiring organizational leader in this environment of dynamic change, CSR, and technological advances and implementation - and one who is interested in studying this topic at the highest academic level - it is imperative that a differentiation in the consumption and creation of knowledge be understood and maintained. As a Ph.D. student in the field of organizational leadership, a commitment to the creation and unique contribution to knowledge in this field must be maintained. This must be accomplished with continuous research and high-level analysis on this subject while also maintaining a connection to applicability to organizations. Perhaps the greatest contribution to the field of knowledge creation is the doors that are opened to future researchers in that field. As individual knowledge creation is a prerequisite to “collective knowledge creation”, the creation of knowledge in the field of non-profit organizational leadership could potentially lead to knowledge creation of this subject at a broader level. (Kaschig, 2016) Specifically, my own personal hope and aspirations are to contribute to the creation of knowledge in the field of non-profit organizational leadership as it pertains to leading a multi-generational workforce toward a common vision and goal, while inspiring inter-generational relationships centered on leadership development. I have the unique opportunity to research this subject at Northcentral University while simultaneously leading a non-profit organization in which this theoretical framework can be tested in real-world application. In this sense, theoretical framework is an integral component of knowledge creation in that it provides the necessary starting point of the very ideas which form the basis of the particular knowledge being created. As these ideas are researched, tested, and analyzed, they are refined and reformulated. These reformulated theories or concepts are then tested an analyzed, and the process is repeated until useful knowledge is created. In this very real and practical methodology, theoretical and conceptual frameworks are necessary in scholarly work. In revisiting my initial expectations and aspirations at the outset of this course and program, my basic interests have not changed, but they have been refined. I continue to be interested in researching and writing about the religious, not-for-profit sector of business and the unique challenges of rallying volunteers around common objectives and a shared mission and vision. However, the focal point of my interest has shifted from the rallying of adults in the generation commonly referred to as "millennials" to, more broadly, developing inter-generational relationships across all generations in the workforce. A major challenge, however, continues to be communicating a compelling mission and vision to multiple generations, while encouraging the millennial generation to assume personal ownership of the organization. Northcentral has already benefitted me in this endeavor, however, with the subjects covered in this class. The central issues of communication and trust were studied and developed in the research and writing involved in this class. The greatest benefit, however, and one which was completely unsuspected on my part, was the topic of differing values amongst the generations in the modern workforce. Thus far, this has been the greatest scholarly contribution to my own professional growth and development. This is a subject about which I am developing both a passion for and a conceptual framework for the continuing development of this concept within religious non-profit organization leadership. One foreseeable challenge is the specificity required by a terminal doctoral program in the construction and writing of a dissertation. My hope, and my plan of action, includes continuing to refine my own theoretical framework and ideas as subsequent classes are researched and completed. Ideally, by the time I begin writing my dissertation, this idea will be both cemented and workable. When I reflect on the contribution of this six-week course to that process of refinement and specificity, I am hopeful and encouraged that every other class will contribute as much, and much of the “trimming down” will be completed by the time of the construction of the dissertation. In the grand scheme of things, this challenge is neither insurmountable nor overwhelming. I remain, as I was at the commencement of this course, genuinely excited about pursuing a Ph.D. in organizational leadership at Northcentral University. Organizational Leadership in the religious, not-for-profit sector is a subject about which I am not only passionate but also incredibly personally invested. I have been, and will continue to be, investing my personal and professional energy into this field and know that whatever contributions Northcentral University can make to my own endeavors will have lifelong effects and impacts in any current or future organizations in which I am involved. I have grown a tremendous amount in this short, but intensive, six-week course and eagerly look forward to the next course and, ultimately to the completion of this degree program. References Babin, R., Briggs, S., & Nicholson, B. (2011). Emerging Markets Corporate Social Responsibility and Global IT Outsourcing. Communications of the ACM, 54(9), 28-30. Retrieved March 19, 2017. Bersin, J. (2015, March 13). Culture: Why It's The Hottest Topic In Business Today. Retrieved March 19, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2015/03/13/culture-why-its-the-hottest-topic-in-business-today/#616eec69b6e2 Kaschig, A., Maier, R., Sandow, A. (2016). The effects of collecting and connecting activities on knowledge creation in organizations. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 25(4), 243-258. Retrieved March 19, 2017. Persons, O. (2012). Incorporating corporate social responsibility and sustainability into a business course: A shared experience. Journal of Education for Business, 87(2), 63-72. Retrieved March 19, 2017. PR, N. (2015, June 3). Global Employee Engagement Levels Have Plateaued, and Average Employee's Perception of the Work Experience is Deteriorating. PR Newswire US. Sarros, J. C., Luca, E., Densten, I., & Santora, J. (2014). Leaders and their use of motivating language. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 35(3), 226-240. Retrieved March 19, 2017. Thorpe, D. (2013, May 18). Why CSR? The Benefits Of Corporate Social Responsibility Will Move You To Act. Retrieved March 19, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2013/05/18/why-csr-the-benefits-of-corporate-social-responsibility-will-move-you-to-act/#3fb05e775e1c Workplace Engagement, Generational Considerations, and Cultural Differences
BTM 7101, Assignment 7 DuBose, Justin Z. Dr. Joe Direnzo 12 March 2017 Introduction The twenty-first century workforce is an increasingly diverse workforce in more ways than one. Not only does this diversity include a variety of ethnic backgrounds and skill sets, but it is also an increasingly diverse workforce in terms of generational demographics as well. Research continues to show that there are currently four different generations actively employed in the workforce. (Al-Asfour, 2014) The presenting challenge for managers and leaders, in the midst of this diversity, is increasing employee commitment, developing cultural intelligence, and fostering employee motivation. These challenges will be discussed and analyzed specifically within the context of the current work environment of the author. Employee Commitment The challenge of increasing employee commitment remains one which all organizational leaders face. In this increasingly generationally diverse workforce, leaders must first understand and connect with employee values in order to increase employee commitment. In a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, and reported on by Larry Lettau, of National American University, and Ahmed Al-Asfour, of Oglala Lakota College, the values of each working generation were determined to be quite different. (Al-Asfour, 2014) With this in mind, leaders must have a dynamic leadership style fit to change as they seek to increase the commitment of each generation working within their organization. In other words, leaders cannot afford to have a static, unchanging style of leadership that remains constant and inflexible across the spectrum of their workforce. For example, in increasing employee commitment of the “Veterans” generation, leaders must address the core value of their hard work and dedication to the organization, while accomplishing this same objective with the “Baby Boomer” generation in providing them plenty of growth opportunities within the organization. (Al-Asfour, 2014) Similarly, increasing employee commitment of “Generation X” cannot be realized without highlighting a commitment to diversity and creating an informal workplace environment, while “Generation Y” will be committed to a company full of optimism, confidence in their abilities, and recognition of their achievements. (Al-Asfour, 2014) Cultural Intelligence The development of cultural intelligence within a generationally diverse workforce continues to be another pressing issue for organizational leaders. One reliable instrument for data collection in regards to cultural intelligence continues to be workplace surveys, and a recent survey conducted by the Deloitte University Press highlighted a tremendous challenge: only twelve percent of employees surveyed believed that their organizations were “excellent at effectively driving the desired culture”. (Brown, 2015) Leaders must be prepared to create a working environment which provides challenges which are both personally and professionally satisfying, and which are “values-driven” in nature. (Brown, 2015) As with the aforementioned challenge of employee commitment, this is indeed a perplexing task for organizational leaders when their multi-generational workforce holds competing values. However, author and researcher David Brown advises leaders that a culture shaped for the present and poised for sustainment into the future cannot be accomplished without listening to the generation known as the “Millennials”, or “Generation Y”. (Brown, 2015) This is, in large part, due to the fact that the values of this generation will continue to shape the organizational culture as Millennials matriculate into leadership positions. Employee Motivation Fostering employee motivation has always been a challenge for organizational leaders, but this challenge continues to grow in a multi-generational workforce with differing motivating factors. Personal interviews with both leaders and employees continues to be an effective instrument for data collection in connection with employee motivation. V. Kumar created a “scorecard” for measuring employee motivation based upon employee feedback about the company. Unsurprisingly, the employee engagement scorecard showed that low employee motivation leads not only to apathy, but also negatively impacts work performance and quality. (Kumar, 2015) Jennifer Mencl and Scott Lester reported that common motivating factors exist across every generation that organizational leaders can implement to fostering employee motivation across a wide-range of generations. Among these factors are included flexible work arrangements, a healthy work-life balance, and adequate financial reward. (Mencl, 2014) High-level Analysis of Current Workplace My current workplace environment is very much reflective of the multi-generational workforce reported in the various articles and sources cited throughout this paper. Currently, I oversee a non-profit organization with approximately twenty-five employees and more than fifty volunteers spanning from “Generation Y”, born from 1981-2000, to the “Veteran” generation, born from 1922-1943. This would encompass the four generations reported about by the cited authors. Employee commitment continues to be a challenge due to the competing and differing values of the various generations. For example, two employees working very closely together include a “Generation Y” employee, who has been with the organization for less than one year, and an early “Baby Boomer” employee, who has been with the organization for more than thirty years. One of these employees demonstrates noticeable irritation with any mention of feedback and development, while the other employee almost demands it as a necessary function of the job. In this small example, an attempt at increasing employee motivation is received very favorably by one employee while the same attempt at motivation is perceived as an insult by another, thereby detracting from employee motivation. Similarly, the development of cultural intelligence is a challenge which must be approached with flexibility and diplomacy. There has existed, for a period of decades, a certain workplace culture shaped entirely by generations of the “Veterans” and “Baby Boomers”. However, as these generations are exiting the workforce and the volunteer base, their slots are being filled by “Generation X” and “Generation Y”, to include influential leadership positions. The result is often a perceived “clash of cultures” and conflict of values, which only detracts from cultural intelligence across the organization. However, as previously noted, the creation and development of cultural intelligence must not be developed and shaped apart from the input of members of “Generation Y” as they comprise an increasing percentage of the workforce and, more importantly, leadership positions within the organization. Likewise, the challenge of developing employee commitment continues to be a perplexing task. Older generations of employees and volunteers have a demonstrated commitment to the organization, but a shift in the realm of culture and motivation often negatively impact that level of commitment. The challenge remains in the task of retaining that high level of commitment, while continuing to find motivating factors which positively contribute to cultural intelligence and increase employee commitment to the vision driving the new culture of the organization. Ideas for a Topic of Study There exist a large number of possibilities which could form a viable topic of study within this topic. However, one interesting topic of study which merits future study and research is the ability of the organizational leader to discover and develop motivating factors and incentives which are multi-generational and positively contribute to both employee commitment as well as cultural intelligence. One possibility exists with the development of cross-generational employee relationships, which one author referred to as “two-way mentoring plans”. (Schullery, 2013) In this methodology, the human relationship is developed and the differing values and competing cultural ideas are no longer a faceless enemy, but rather, are embodied by a co-worker with which a close relationship has been developed. This particular topic of study would, no doubt, yield results which would be beneficial for organizations of any size. Reflection In reflecting on the current state of our organization, it provides a measure of encouragement that the challenges we face are generational challenges being faced by every organization across multiple continents. While these challenges must be addressed, there are ways to address these challenges which have proven and researched ideas and methodology attached to them which can yield positive results. While these must be carried out with diplomacy by the leadership, positive results are certainly possible in each of the three areas discussed above. Conclusion Nick Petrie wrote about an IBM study conducted in 2009 which listed the most important skill for the future leader as simply “creativity”. (Petrie, 2014) The research seems referenced in this paper seems to corroborate with his statement. Leaders must be creative in leading and communicating with a multi-generational workforce, while continually using “all types of motivational language” which speak to each generation and address their unique values. (Sarros, 2014) Current and future leaders must develop this creativity if they wish to see progression in the areas of employee commitment, cultural intelligence, and employee motivation. Without these crucial factors, organizations will suffer and, ultimately, fail. However, creative, dynamic, and flexible leaders who are adjusting their own leadership styles to fit the generations of the individual worker being addressed can see a positive impact in these areas if they are willing to adjust their approach to fit their audience. References Al-Asfour, A., Lettau, L. (2014). Strategies for Leadership Styles for Multi-Generational Workforce. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 11(2), 58-69. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Brown, D., Melian, V., Solow, M. (2015). Culture and Engagement: The Naken Organization. Deloitte University Press, 1-17. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Kumar, V., Pansari, A. (2015). Measuring the Benefits of Employee Engagement. MIT Sloan Management Review, 56(4), 67-72. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Mencl, J., Lester, S. (2014). More Alike Than Different: What Generations Value and How the Values Affect Employee Workplace Perceptions. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 21(3), 257-272. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Petrie, N. (2014). Future Trends in Leadership Development. Center for Creative Leadership, 1-31. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Sarros, J. C., Luca, E., Densten, I., & Santora, J. (2014). Leaders and their use of motivating language. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 35(3), 226-240. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Schullery, N. (2013). Workplace Engagement and Generational Differences in Values. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(2), 252-265. Retrieved March 12, 2017. Examine Theories and Research on Leadership, Culture, and Change
BTM 7101, Assignment 6 DuBose, Justin Z. Dr. Joe Direnzo 5 March 2017 Chenwei, L., Liden, R.C., Meuser, J.D., Wayne, S.J. (2014). Servant Leadership and Serving Culture: Influence on Individual and Unit Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57(5), 1434-1452. Retrieved March 5, 2017. In this article, the authors evaluate the leadership theory of servant leadership. Putting to test the idea of leadership placing the needs of their employees above their own, they inspire employees to not only model their the behavior of their leadership, but also to take ownership of the company vision and mission. They began with eight hypotheses regarding the effect of servant leadership on employee morale and welfare, with each hypothesis predicting a positive correlation between servant leadership and employee performance. Hypotheses were tested using a variety of means from surveys regarding workplace culture to evaluating managers and servant leadership in the workplace. Their conclusion was that each hypothesis was supported by evidence from their battery of tests. Thus, servant leadership displayed and enacted by workplace leadership had an altogether positive impact on workplace culture, employee performance, and employee embodiment of leadership values. In each case, servant leadership had an overwhelmingly positive impact on employees from managers downward. The conclusion of the authors is that the theory of servant leadership has a positive impact on employees and culture. One of the greatest benefits to servant leadership, they concluded, was that a culture of serving becomes self-replicating. In this way, the leaders are not required to continually be present and model this behavior, but employees begin to model this behavior toward one another as the entire culture takes on those values of servant leadership. The authors did a tremendous job of not only formulating hypotheses, but also objectively evaluating and testing those hypotheses through controlled means. This article lends great credibility to the theory of servant leadership and, in a very compelling manner, demonstrates why this model of leadership is effective and worthy of emulation and implementation. Griffin, M. Mason, C., Parker, S. (2014). Transformation leadership development: Connecting psychological and behavioral change. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 35 (3), 174-194. Retrieved March 5, 2017. This article examines the leadership theory of transformation leadership by connecting psychology to behavioral change. The authors followed fifty-six leaders in their journey through a transformational leadership program and monitored the impact of the training on their actual workplace performance. The authors presented a series of three hypotheses, with each hypothesis predicting a positive correlation between transformational leadership training and transformational leadership performance. The training program encompassed one year and primarily involved a series of experiential activities where participants were forced to put theory into practice. During the course of the training program, a series of measures to track self-efficacy, perspective taking, and positive affect were enacted for the purpose of improving transformational leadership behavior. The conclusion of the one-year training program was the affirmation of the author's hypotheses. There was a positive correlation between training in transformational leadership and the impact on leader psychology as well as transformational leadership behavior. Thus, training of leadership in transformational leadership leads to a positive psychological as well as behavioral change for workplace leaders. This article was most beneficial in the subject of training and its impact upon the overall embodiment of transformational leadership attributes by leaders. The article demonstrated the importance of training in the development of leaders is integral to their development behaviorally and psychologically. Furthermore, it demonstrated the importance of psychological leadership development and its connection to performance and behavior. |
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