732 research outputs found
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Middle Managers Working beyond Senior Management’s Expectations: A Phenomenological Study of the Managed Healthcare Industry in Southern California
No full textPurpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle managers and senior managers working in the managed healthcare industry in southern California perceive what factors motivated middle managers to work beyond senior management’s expectations.
Methodology. A qualitative phenomenology study was chosen because it allowed the researcher to acquire a firm understanding of the nature of everyday lived experiences. This methodology was used to capture the meaning of experiences that motivated middle managers to work beyond expectations. The researcher conducted semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of the participants. Participants were six middle managers and six senior managers.
Findings. The data analysis resulted in 106 themes with 890 references across the two research questions. Twenty key findings emerged from the data relating to the lived experience of middle and senior managers working in the managed healthcare field.
Conclusions. Examination of the key findings resulted in seven conclusions demonstrating actions that should be taken to motivate middle managers. Findings focused on recognition, management support, a positive work environment, exceeding expectations through motivation, improved productivity through enhanced communication, a collaborative work environment, transparent communication, and a sense of pride.
Recommendations. How senior managers motivate middle managers to exceed expectations is in the early stages of research development. There are recommendations to conduct further research to broaden the scope and add to the current body of literature available
Leader Impact on Vision/Mission
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the lived experiences of how a subsequent human social services nonprofit leader navigates, negotiates, and/or modifies the original vision/mission of the founding leader. Subsequent leaders for this study included leaders in place after the founding leader moved on. In the world of nonprofit organizations, leadership changes are as common as in the for-profit field but hold additional challenges regarding what drives the organization. For profit businesses bottom line is profit, and nonprofit organizations have a bottom line of changed lives, two very different reasons for being in business. The transition of leadership within nonprofit organizations can cause the organization to follow new paths and journey into areas not present in the original founding vision/mission, ending in chaos and sometimes even terminating the organization. The study premise of vision/mission being critical to the foundation of the nonprofit, went further to look at what happens during leadership transition and how the new leadership might impact the original vision/mission. The number of nonprofits in California is upwards of 165,000. This study was limited to a four-county area in Northern California and was based on human social service nonprofit organizations either participating in their local HUD (Housing and Urban Development) required Continuum of Care (CoC), or similar causes, ranging from small to medium in size
A Study of the Global Job Satisfaction and Motivators of Job Satisfaction Among Long-Tenured Protestant Pastors in Southern California
No full textPurpose: The purposes of this study were to determine the global job satisfaction of long-tenured Protestant pastors in southern California; to determine what are the facets of job satisfaction that motivate them to remain in their job; to discover what personal characteristics they perceive to have contributed to their long tenure.
Methodology: This study utilizes an explanatory, mixed method design. It is explanatory because it utilizes quantitative methods first, then seeks to better understand those results through qualitative methods (McMillan & Schumacher, 2010).
Findings: The subject pastors are very satisfied with their jobs; report high global job satisfaction; substantially higher global job satisfaction than both managers and non-managers; express higher satisfaction with their pay, work, coworkers, and supervision than managers and non-namagers; report scores slightly lower than managers and slightly higher than non-managers for the job facet of promotion. Long-tenured Protestant pastors: (a) prioritize their family, (b) don’t interpret problems as an indication they should quit, (c) their “calling” is central to their longevity, (d) they are comfortable evolving as people and pastors, and (e) they are planning for an extended ministry career.
Conclusions: Job facets are not the cause of job satisfaction among long-tenured Protestant pastures and they are not just predisposed to job satisfaction. Their job satisfaction arises from a combination of who they are as people when they arrive at the job and the way they practice or experience the job
Self-Efficacy of Early Childhood Teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
No full textPurpose. The purpose of this study was to identify the self-efficacy of early childhood teachers toward STEM subjects as measured on the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) and to explore factors that influence this confidence.
Methodology. A quantitative approach with two open-ended items was selected for this study, seeking to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data from participants. This approach allowed for multiple viewpoints to be expressed, with the qualitative data collected simultaneously with the quantitative data, and the former designed to illuminate reasons influencing the latter in a complimentary approach. The population for the study included teachers working at schools affiliated with the Northwest Association of Independent Schools who taught children aged three to eight years.
Findings. Examination of data revealed ten major findings. Three of these, a tendency toward neutrality, indications of low levels of self-efficacy of early childhood teachers in teaching STEM subjects, and a resistance to evaluation by a colleague, were identified by the survey. Three of these, a lack of experience/education/training, a lack of time/resources/materials, and the diminished value of the role of STEM were identified as barriers to feelings of self-efficacy. The final four findings, collaboration, professional development opportunities, opportunities for integration and hands-on practice across the school day, and access to curriculum and materials were identified as positive influences on self-efficacy.
Conclusions. Based on the data, it was concluded that teachers had low levels of self-efficacy in teaching STEM subjects and explicit instruction in STEM subjects and instructional techniques helped build confidence. The presence of supportive and collaborative colleagues, as well as high perceptions of the importance of STEM in early childhood education also supported feelings of self-efficacy.
Recommendations. Further research is recommended to explore the effectiveness of professional development for early childhood educators in STEM, the role of the collegial relationship, and specifically the mentor/novice relationship. Additionally, further research into the intersection of collaboration and professional development as well as the role of integrated learning in early childhood is recommended
Improving Special Education Outcomes through Policy, Teacher Practice, and Student Support: A Qualitative Study
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this grounded theory qualitative study was to discover the perceptions of special education directors regarding the changes in special education at the policy level, teacher practice level, and student support level necessary to improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities in California.
Methodology: The study employed an emergent approach to grounded theory. Grounded theory utilizes a homogenous sample of participants with similar backgrounds and experiences to allow for theory development. A series of face-to-face and phone recorded structured interviews addressing the research questions were conducted. The researcher transcribed and coded the interviews for emergent themes which answered the research questions and addressed the problem.
Findings: Research Sub-Question 1 generated four policy related interview questions and four major themes emerged from the questions: (a) the topics of funding; (b) due process; (c) decision-making; and (d) SELPA governance. Research Sub-Question 2 prompted the directors to describe five major themes for the teacher practice level: (a) nothing eliminated, (b) inclusion, (c) teacher preparation, (d) professional development, and (e) CDE compliance monitoring. Research Sub-Question 3 focused on the student support level and elicited the response that supplementary aids and services are dependent on individual needs. Two major themes emerged from this section: (a) interventions, and (b) credentialing.
Conclusions: The major conclusions of the study are funding for special education is inadequate, current teacher preparation programs in California are not meeting the needs of special education directors, inclusion of special education students and teachers is still developing, and teachers need on-going relent professional development.
Recommendations: During the re-authorization of IDEA discussion regarding the funding mechanism need to occur to ensure that the funding mechanism positively impacts states to provide for local contributions and inclusion at the state level. Administrators as well as general and special education teachers need to know how to collaborative, accommodate, differentiate and support the learning process for all students. For current teachers offer the courses as a certificate in inclusive education or as part of a master’s degree. Embed an overview of the different disabilities in the mild to moderate program and eliminate the current added authorizations
Factors Affecting Mental Health Seeking Behaviors of Law Enforcement Officers
No full textThe intent of this study was to elicit perspectives from law enforcement counselors, clinicians, chaplains, and peer group leaders for factors affecting law enforcement officer’s (LEOs) seeking mental health assistance. The law enforcement and mental health communities have gone to great lengths to ensure assistance is available to LEOs in an effort to counter the stress and trauma associated with the policing profession. Past studies attempted to elicit LEOs attitudes on mental health services, generating mixed results and were unable to establish why available services were underutilized. This study employed a qualitative methodology to elicit perspectives on this phenomena from Northern California based law enforcement clinicians, counselors, chaplains and peer group leaders. To date, very little research has centered on the counselor’s viewpoint in order to investigate their lived experiences while assisting the subculture of LEOs. Using R. Lazarus’s (1983) theory of stress and coping as well as Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior as the foundations of this study and incorporating Zola’s (1973) help-seeking behavioral model, themes emerged regarding the perceived factors affecting LEOs decision to seek assistance. The rich narratives of these dedicated professionals, both the law enforcement and mental health communities could use these insights to create or enhance mental health services for LEOs to meet evolving societal demands. In addition, more research needs to be conducted to identify factors affecting mental health seeking behaviors in other trauma sensitive professions, such as firefighters and soldiers, to identify prevailing themes these professions may share
Transforming Conflict: A Grounded Theory Study of Six Behavior Domains of Leaders in Five Different Fields
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this grounded theory research consisting of five collective phenomenological studies was to generate a theory that explains how exemplar leaders from five different fields use six domains of conflict transformation behaviors to establish common ground and produce breakthrough results. The six domains of behavior are communication, collaboration, ethics, emotional intelligence, problem solving, and process. Methodology: The sample was composed of 75 exemplar leaders from five different professional fields and included an analysis of over 1,300 pages of interview transcripts as the main data source for the study. Findings: The results found that exemplar leaders establish, build, or repair relationships with traditional oppositional stakeholders as a method of inoculating against, mitigating, or resolving conflict. Communication was also identified as the primary domain for engaging stakeholders in collaboration, process, and problem solving. Exemplar leaders’ communication efforts were influenced by their emotional intelligence skill set, ethical behavior, and enforcement of a positive ethical climate. The greater the number of activities combined and the higher the quality interactions between the activities from the six domains of behavior created the conditions such that a leader had a greater opportunity for successfully transforming conflict, achieving common ground, and producing breakthrough results