Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2022, Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine how an organization's public communication like a website helps visitors understand its culture. Sports organizations were chosen for analysis because of their inclusive nature of the past, present, and future aspects of the game as well as its importance and strong presence in society. The goal of this paper was to apply Organizational Culture Theory to four sports halls of fame's websites to analyze how an organization's public communication illustrates its culture. Based off the assumptions of OCT, three research questions were developed to dive deeper into the concepts of the theory. From there, a code book was developed, and the websites of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, and National Baseball Hall of Fame were individually analyzed. Research Question 1 focused on how a public website communicates an organization's values by specifically analyzing the mission statements, community involvement, visitor information, and official press and media reports found on the organizations' websites. Research Question 2 was based on how a public website communicates an organization's inclusive criteria of who is and who is not a member. The coding and analysis focused on organization information, employee information, and nominee and inductee criteria which are the factors as to how inclusive criteria determine who is a member. Research Question 3 questioned how a public website's use and interpretation of symbols communicate and market an organization's culture. Through the analysis of symbols and performances coded from the websites, the results express that organizations can communicate their culture and market it through the symbols of videos, photos, explanations of induction processes, and slogans, and the performances of explanations of election processes and use of metaphors.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership Studies, Xavier University, 2019, Leadership Studies and Human Resource Development

The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between the dominant academic culture and the nature and scope of programming and services offered by employee assistance programs (EAP) at institutions of higher education in the United States. Data analysis explored whether the dominant academic culture predicts which institutions have expanded EAP services to include organizational development programming, to increase the human resources footprint on campus. The three phases were: Academic Cultures Inventory (ACI) (Bergquist & Pawlak, 2008) to measure the dominant culture; interviews to gain EAP directors' perspectives; and comparative analysis of programmatic data based on the dominant cultural themes of participating institutions. The data revealed one dominant culture, collegial culture, and a variety of hybrid cultures which were combined into one comparison group. A major theme in the interview data revealed EAPs at institutions with a collegial culture were more defined in their departmental roles and did not support departmental overlap with organizational development or wellness while EAPs at institutions with a hybrid culture welcomed the collaboration. Institutions with a collegial culture reported a lower utilization rate and greater flexibility in number of visits permitted than institutions with a hybrid culture. Although only one of the six cultures defined in Bergquist & Pawlak's taxonomy was sufficiently represented to permit comparative analysis in this study, the themes exposed in the data implied how academic culture may impact employee assistance programs and the services offered to the institution. Suggestions for further research include conducting a larger scale replication and utilizing alternative methods of assessing academic culture to address limitations identified in the ACI.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

The persistent tension and power struggle between healthcare executives and physicians is a prevalent issue in healthcare organizations, often leading to a culture of organizational mistrust. This dynamic stems from perceived conflicting goals: executives are frequently seen as primarily focused on financial outcomes, while physicians are viewed as resistant to change. This study explored how physician fulfillment is experienced at work, with the ultimate goal of identifying potential interventions to bridge the gap between these groups. There is vast research and literature available regarding burnout in healthcare; this research focused on understanding what physicians find fulfilling in their work and identifying actionable factors healthcare system leaders can address to enhance their fulfillment. Key factors identified from the literature include meaningful patient contact, quality of professional relationships, and organizational decision-making input. At the same time, challenges such as administrative burden and loss of autonomy were noted as detriments to fulfillment. After conducting and transcribing semi-structured phenomenological interviews with physicians, the data were coded for meaning, resulting in 169 codes. The prevalence of these broad themes varied concerning each research question, reflecting the complex and multifaceted nature of physician fulfillment. By identifying patterns and connections in the physicians' experiences, this study highlighted the importance of addressing both systemic and individual factors to enhance professional fulfillment. Key findings of the study include the importance of humanizing healthcare goals and several directions for iv healthcare organizations: addressing moral injury, improving patient outcomes, obtaining and utilizing physician input consistently, fostering a supportive culture, and creating time and space for peer support. Targeted interventions to enhance physi (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Leadership Studies

The quantitative study tested the reliability and validity of the Organizational Traction (OT) Survey, an original instrument created to operationalize the Spinning Wheels Model. The OT Survey used three factors—Change, Culture, and Continuity--that contribute to organizational performance, from organizational decline (Spinning Wheels) to peak organizational performance (maximum traction). A separate three-item factor was utilized to measure Organizational Performance. The Spinning Wheels Model was developed by categorizing nearly forty causes of organizational decline into three internal factors—Resistance to Change, Dysfunctional Culture, and Assumed Continuity. Spinning Wheels purports that an organization is in decline if the factors exist inside the firm. The Model is the first known to simplify and categorize the extensive literature on organizational decline into something useful for practitioners and researchers. The OT Survey was administered to independent insurance agencies, a segment of small business in the United States. As such, it is the first known survey that examines factors related to the organizational performance of small businesses. Participants who completed the survey received an Organizational Traction score, which ranked their responses on a spectrum from Spinning Wheels to Maximum Traction. Study results indicated that the factors significantly predicted Organizational Performance and the OT Survey was reliable. More research is needed for a reliable measure of Organizational Performance. Factor analysis suggested a two-factor model of Culture and the combined factor of Continuity & Change. Additionally, the study indicated that leaders and employees view change differently (leaders positively and employees negatively). Unfortunately, generalizability is limited due to the low response rate that generated a sample of 88.

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2019, Communication

In the 1970's, Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman were among the first to identify culture as playing a fundamental role in an organization's success. Since then, research has supported their findings and consistently shown how an organization's commitment to the development of a strong culture was directly related to positive outcomes - establishing organizational culture as a significant theory within organizational communication. However, its application in research has been mostly limited to for-profit organizations. Using a modified version of the Organizational Culture Survey, organizational culture theory was applied to nonprofit organizations in the sorority context (Glaser, Zamanou, & Hacker 1987, as cited by Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 1994, p. 263). While often the recipients of negative media attention, fraternal organizations have been shown to have a positive impact on their members, making application of organizational culture theory in this context of a potential benefit to these unique organizations. Survey results in this study showed that measures of organizational culture such as teamwork, morale, information flow, involvement, and meetings, were positively correlated to member's overall satisfaction with their sorority experience. Further analysis revealed that cultural elements inherently existed within the sorority experience and were directly related to membership satisfaction. The meaningful insight provided in this data could be used as a foundation for the creation of improved practices within women's fraternities, thereby enhancing the overall membership experience.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

Organizational storytelling was used within Tri Fit, a Canadian health promotion and fitness company, to explore relational leadership practices. Through 27 confidential one-on-one interviews and an interview of the four-person leadership team, the research attempted to examine how relational agility, a new leadership construct, exists, how it is defined, and to describe its organizational impacts. Two hundred and forty unique stories were shared through this process, out of which nine storylines emerged. The distillation of these revealed three cultural themes: a culture of relational connection; a culture of nice and a culture that values positivity. Demonstrations of transformational leadership, authentic leadership, aesthetic leadership, emotional and social intelligence, servant leadership and stewardship were frequent amongst many of its members. Four leaders were described by their colleagues as being relationally agile, as demonstrated through the application of a unique collection of relational qualities. This research has also established evidence that relational agility can be learned, and when present, confers positive benefits to the organization including enhanced loyalty, commitment and productivity. Developing relationally agile leaders will therefore likely serve organizations as they navigate change. Furthermore, this may be the first empirical description of relational leadership as a triadic experience where the relationship is personified as a unique product of leader and follower co-development that ultimately serves the higher purposes of the organization. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd . This dissertation is accompanied by two mp4 video files

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Higher Education Administration

Employment conditions for higher education faculty have been changing due to shrinking budgets and demands from the public for accountability: their adaptation to these pressures is influenced by their organizational culture. Denison (1990) and Kuh and Whitt (1988), among others, define organizational culture as the shared beliefs, values, assumptions, and ideologies of the members of the organization. The purpose of this study was to assess the organizational culture of full-time arts and sciences faculty across five state- supported universities in Ohio, three of which were unionized, with respect to seven attributes: unionization, tenure status, years teaching, content area expertise, academic rank, gender, and race/ethnicity. The faculty organizational culture across these universities was evaluated using the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS), which measured the perceptions of the faculty on four organizational traits: Involvement, Consistency, Adaptability, and Mission (Denison, 1990). The survey was administered online during January/February 2013 to full-time arts and sciences faculty at the following universities: Kent State University, Miami University, Ohio University, University of Akron, and Wright State University. The survey data were analyzed by several statistical methods – t-test of independent samples, analysis of variance, and factorial analysis of variance – to determine the significance of the differences in the mean trait scores with respect to the seven attributes. The similarity of these results across the participating universities indicated that the DOCS was an appropriate instrument for assessing the organizational culture of higher education faculty. Analysis showed that faculty, across all five universities, in their first four years of teaching, regardless of tenure track status and academic rank, had a greater congruence with the organizational culture of their campus than the rest of the faculty. This may be du (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2007, Leadership and Change

Stories abound in the business world. They may be called "success stories," "best practices sharing," or even simply "stories," but however they are referred to, these tales not only become part of the organizational culture, but they also help define it. This study examines storytelling among for-profit organizations to demonstrate how stories are selected, told, and related to employees for the purposes of either changing the organizational culture or helping to maintain the existing one. Four companies have been chosen to capture the nature of storytelling as it relates to the sharing of cultural information within these firms. Using the qualitative research methodology known as portraiture, four portraits have been be crafted and emergent themes concerning the relationship of storytelling and culture are identified: organizational culture is not easily defined, culture emanates from the top, stories about culture are numerous, histories of organizations are stories, maintaining or changing culture is difficult, and stories about culture are real. The purpose of this study is to deepen our understanding about how and why stories function in for-profit cultures. The electronic version of the dissertation is accessible at the OhioLINK ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/.

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2024, Business Administration

Cultural competency has gained significant attention in the past two decades, particularly within human services nonprofits. These nonprofits often operate under the governance of white, affluent, college-educated individuals while providing services to minority populations with limited financial resources and education. These differences may create cultural understanding challenges. This study endeavored to shed light on the effective cultural competency approaches employed by these organizations in serving a diverse population. Using qualitative comparative analysis, this research examined the disparities among human services agencies in terms of successful strategies for fostering cultural competency within their board of directors. The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 28 directors from human services agencies categorized into two groups based on their annual revenue: agencies with an annual revenue between $100,000 and $999,999 and those agencies with $1 million and higher. The findings showed that 25 of the 28 agencies described themselves as successful and implemented cultural competency building efforts among their board members. Of the 25 successful agencies, 13 directly linked their success to their cultural competency building efforts. The other 12 successful agencies stated they could not directly link their success to their cultural competency efforts. These results implicate the need for additional research that looks at a larger sample with broader demographics and other approaches that allow for deeper probing of cultural competency training efforts.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, History

The Airborne Mafia analyzes the creation and transmission of values, beliefs, and norms from one subculture to the larger US Army bureaucracy and its impacts on Cold War institutional development. This project demonstrates the capacity for a military subculture to have an enormous effect on the behavior of its parent service and national strategic policy. I explore the impact of small groups within the military establishment on shaping military and national strategy—particularly during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations through such general officers as Matthew B. Ridgway, Maxwell D. Taylor, and James M. Gavin. As this group ascended to control the US Army, they brought three key cultural tenets: operational flexibility, decentralization, and the efficacy of the aerial delivery of combat power. Most scholars have focused on the wartime exploits of parachute units while eschewing their impact on the post-war army. Others have posited that the atomic army, the Strategic Army Corps, and helicopter warfare are indicative of institutionalization and a fight for relevancy without developing the cultural origins of these ideas. Exploring the development of a distinctive airborne mindset through the lenses of organizational culture, psychology, and sociology, this dissertation argues that this tactical-level subculture thrust its leaders to prominence and undergirded significant policy and doctrinal changes during the Cold War.

Master of Science, Miami University, 2022, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health

Having a strong team culture is often considered to be a key component to any successful sports team and it is known that leaders of all kinds play a unique role in making that success a reality (Cole & Martin, 2018; Schein, 2017; Schroeder, 2010). Utilizing quantitative methods developed by industrial/organizational psychology (Glaser et al., 1987), this exploratory study aimed to investigate the relationship between the perceptions of leadership behavior of both coaches and peer leaders and perceptions of team culture. A sample of athletes (n= 118) from 18 teams from various NCAA divisions and their head coaches participated in a quantitative survey. Multivariate multiple regression and canonical correlation analyses, found that the perceptions of leadership behaviors (for head coaches and/or peer leaders) significantly influenced perceptions of team culture. Athletes' perception of leadership was shown to be influential in their perception of team culture and differed depending on the type of leadership being reflected upon.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

This single, exemplar case study explored the context and social processes that shape person- and family-centered culture in a long-term care (LTC) home, using grounded theory and situational analysis for the data collection and analysis. Findings revealed one core dimension: needing to be heard, valued, and understood, and five key roles: personal support workers (PSWs), executive director (ED), senior leadership, nurse managers, and residents and families, which informed five dimensions, each focused on enhancing care for residents: (a) attending to residents' daily care needs (PSWs), (b) advocating strategically (ED), (c) translating vision into programs and policies (senior leadership), (d) ensuring quality of care on the unit (nurse managers), and (e) seeking social connection and meaningful stimulation (residents and families). These interactions left PSWs with little autonomy, feeling rushed, focused on tasks, and prevented from building relationships with residents. The PSW perspective was often missed in decision-making, as decisions were made for this group rather than with them. A complex theoretical model of the interactions and the systemic blind spot they have unintentionally created is presented in the discussion. The results suggest that empowering PSWs is pivotal to improving quality of care in the LTC sector. Further research is needed to determine which methods of empowerment are most meaningful and effective. Future studies could also explore LTC homes of different sizes and with different types of governance, the competencies required by the different roles to foster a person- and family-centered LTC culture, and the criteria for relational practice and leadership in LTC. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/, and is accompanied by one supplemental file.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2016, Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to explore students' experience of the Catholic and Marianist culture at the University of Dayton. Higher education institutions hold a unique niche in United States culture and colleges transmit culture. Student development theories suggest that students progress through stages of development and there is a hierarchy of environmental influence of students' development. Both bodies of knowledge were backdrops for this study of the meanings one group of 23 seniors at a Catholic and Marianist University made of their four-year experiences. Transcripts of individual, face to face interviews and written follow up questions were analyzed in this qualitative study grounded in frameworks of life history and ethnographic interviewing. Findings include students' trajectory of experience, their perceptions of the culture at UD, and the values and ideals their experience reflected. Dominant were the dynamics of diversity, strong cultural mores based on the values of respect, and the perception of UD's culture as a bubble. Implications for the University of Dayton's role in a competitive higher education market are drawn. Students' voices revealed UD's Catholic and Marianist mission is distinct, it shapes the culture and students' learning, and it remains an ideal which has not yet been fully realized.

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2016, Educational Administration (Education)

The purpose of this study was to explore the organizational culture of two high schools in Ghana, examine the unique influence of cultural components on the schools' outcomes, identify the exceptional contributions of the schools' subcultures, investigate the emergent leadership styles of the schools' leaders, and determine how these approaches promoted their work. This qualitative dissertation examined the various ways that the schools defined culture; how the schools' subcultures participated in school governance; and how school leaders approached school governance. The description of the cultural components focused on the physical structures, symbols, behavior patterns, and verbal expressions, beliefs and values; and expectations. These descriptions were based on Edgar Schein's diagnosis of the levels of culture. Efforts to improve school outcomes have not considered school culture, as a strategy in Ghana, neither has any educational research focused on the organizational culture of schools. This study was based on the premise that the inclusion of the cultural approach to school reform produces more sustainable results than the technical or political approaches, used in isolation. The sample size for this study was 26 and comprised two school leaders, six teachers, two PTA chairpersons, two alumni, and 14 students. The study employed the case study tradition and garnered data through one-on- one interviews, focus group interviews; observation at morning devotions/assembly, Sunday church services, classrooms, dining halls, orientation, sports festival, staff and academic board meetings, and the physical environment; and review of relevant documents. Results indicated that although the Ghana Education Service managed both schools, and the schools were similar in some ways, they each demonstrated some unique characteristics. The major factors that influenced the achievement of school outcomes included the tangible and intangible cultural components; the in (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2015, Agricultural and Extension Education

The culture of an organization can affect its daily functions, overall performance and effectiveness (Cameron & Quinn, 2011; LaGuardia, 2008; Morrill, 2008; Schein, 2010). Assessing and working to understand an organization's culture is widely accepted as a tremendous asset for an organization and can be used as a tool for organizational improvement. One aspect of an organization that can affect its culture is the generations present in the workplace. Knowledge of these different generations and their different perceptions of the values and beliefs of the organization can aid in building the ideal culture for that organization (Morrill, 2008). The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the relationship between the generation one belongs to and perceptions of the organizational culture of Ohio State University Extension. Employees were the participants, who provided their perceptions of organizational culture using the Denison Organizational Culture Survey. The survey includes a total of 60 items that are grouped together in to 12 management practices and then four organizational traits. The 60 items use a 5 point Likert-type scale (1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree and 5=Strongly Agree). Data analysis for this study included percentile scores against Denison Consulting's globally-normed database for each of the four organizational traits, 12 management practices and 60 individual items. ANOVA analysis with post hoc comparison was used to compare mean responses by the different generations to the 12 management practices and 4 organizational traits. The largest percentage (58%) of respondents were Baby Boomers followed by Generation X (27%), Millennials (14%), and a very small percentage of Traditionalists (.01%). To protect anonymity, traditionalist data was excluded from analysis. Responses revealed higher percentiles (against a globally-normed database) on the internally focuse (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2015, Educational Leadership

Skillful teachers are key to developing good schools. Because of this, understanding the school as a workplace is necessary to investigate why teachers leave and what encourages them to stay. The relationship between the principal, as the boss, and the teacher, as the employee, is one under-researched component of the school workplace which is important for developing a broad understanding of teacher turnover. This cross-sectional study uses a definition of principal mistreatment behaviors from the literature in the development of an original mixed method survey and a random sample of teachers from public schools in the State of Ohio to investigate how often principal mistreatment behaviors are experienced by a random sample of teachers in K-12 public schools. Mistreatment behaviors were paired with an opposite principal support behavior using Likert-style response options and were specifically focused on the 2012-2013 school year. Open-ended questions were included which asked for more general experience with principal mistreatment behaviors, effects on the teachers health, opinions about school culture and student bullying, and the effects of principal treatment behaviors on the teachers sense of efficacy and job satisfaction. The result of the study suggests that principal mistreatment and lack of support behaviors are widely experienced by teachers in the sample; however, these behaviors occur at a low frequency. Almost half of the teacher experienced severe level principal mistreatment behaviors, as defined by past research, during the school year. Mistreatment behaviors experienced by teachers resulted in a variety of teacher's health concerns. A majority of teachers considered the principal-teacher relationship as an important factor in their sense of efficacy and job satisfaction. It is recommended that the education of future teachers and principals include a model of administration leadership which is developed by actual teacher experience. Further researc (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2014, Educational Leadership

This study assessed the perceived differences in organizational culture between patrol officers and their supervisors, specifically testing role ambiguity, trust in supervision, organizational culture and communication, and transformational leadership behaviors. A sample of supervisors and their subordinate officers were surveyed to assess these variables. The data was analyzed using independent sample t-tests and bi-variate correlations to determine: (1) if there is a perceived division of culture between patrol officers and supervisors, (2) the factors that contributed to the perceived cultural division, (3) the role the leader plays in balancing communication culture, and (4) the relationship between perceived communication culture from the supervisors and patrol officers' perspectives. Independent Sample t-tests and correlational analysis were used with results indicating that there is a perceived division of culture between patrol officers and supervisors and the factors that contribute to this division include upward and downward communication, trust, and role ambiguity. Additionally, analysis indicated a positive relationship between perceptions of organizational culture and organizational communication based on the supervisors and patrol officers' perspective.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2007, Social Welfare

Organizational Culture and Retention in Public Child Welfare Services Organizations Abstract By DAVID CHENOT Workforce turnover is a significant problem in Public Child Welfare Services Agencies (PCWS) with estimated rates higher than 20% nationally and retention directly addresses this problem. The research represented in this dissertation focused on the organizational dynamics that affect retention in PCWS organizations following previous research on organizational dynamics and retention. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed with a convenience sample of 767-PCWS employees recruited from 11-agencies in Central California. Multilevel modeling was utilized to investigate relationships between organizational or group level constructs and retention in PCWS agencies and in the field of Child Welfare Services (CWS) as individual level outcome variables. Organizational culture was the primary focus of the study but service quality and organizational climate were included as group level constructs as well. Four individual level variables collectively termed “work attitudes” were also included in several analyses. Findings from the study revealed that hypotheses concerning the effects of organizational culture and service quality on retention were not supported. However, three of the work attitudes variables did have significant relationships with the outcome variables on the individual level. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and commitment to the field of CWS all predicted organizational retention. Job satisfaction and commitment to the field predicted retention in the field of CWS. The relationships between job satisfaction and both retention outcome variables were moderated by organizational climate. Two specific types of organizational climate, stress and engagement, moderated relationships between job satisfaction and both criterion variables. When stress was high the relationships between job satisfaction and both types of retention were we (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2008, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

This thesis will explore the reliance on volunteers by Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, focusing on the perspectives of both the organization and the volunteers, and analyzing the implications for continued reliance on the volunteers.

Master of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 2024, Social Work

Service providers of domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) agencies are particularly at-risk to occupational empathy-based stress. There is limited research in how DV and SA service providers perceive organizational structure and culture regarding their well-being. This study was conducted in the Pacific region of the U.S. and consisted of two phases. In Phase I, a quantitative Qualtrics survey questionnaire was distributed to direct and indirect service providers of DV and SA agencies (N=50). Phase II entailed in-depth qualitative interviews with participants (N=16). Quantitative data revealed that age, work experience and training emerged to be key protective factors for occupational empathy-based stress. Findings also demonstrated that being in the LGBTQ+ community was associated with greater risk for secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Qualitative in-depth interviews revealed inequitable access to supervision, a need for more inclusive leadership decision making, and more diversity in agency staff. Service providers identified the need for quality supervision, increased psychological safety with leadership, and adequate pay. These findings demonstrate the importance of organizational structure and culture, as well as psychological climate in promoting the well-being of DV and SA service providers.