Browsing by Author "Chermack, Thomas J., advisor"
Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Nurse manager Psychological Capital as a predictor of perceived nurse manager ability to foster a healthy work environment(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Derksen, Marlo, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Feller, Richard W., committee member; Makela, Carole J., committee member; Steger, Michael F., committee memberThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a nurse manager's level of Positive Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and his or her ability to foster a healthy work environment as perceived by nursing staff. Studies have shown PsyCap to be positively correlated to improved work-related outcomes including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and employee performance, as well as, negatively related to employee stress and anxiety (Avey et al., 2011). ). The literature has cited the central role a nurse manager plays in fostering a healthy work environment, which in turn allows nurses to function at their best and deliver quality care to patients (Leiter & Laschinger; 2006; Manojlovich & Laschinger, 2007; Twigg & McCullough, 2014; Warshawsky & Havens, 2011). This research intended to discover whether a nurse manager with higher levels of PsyCap would be perceived by their staff as a more effective manager and able to foster a healthier work environment. The researcher wanted to validate this relationship to provide scholars and practitioners with new insights into how PsyCap could enable nurse manager effectiveness, as well as, the health of their teams. To examine this relationship, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), a survey instrument measuring individual PsyCap, was administered to 102 nurse managers who supervise departments within a multi-hospital healthcare system. The PCQ data were compared to previously collected organizational survey data measuring the health of the work environment and nurse manager effectiveness as perceived by nursing staff. Three research hypothesis were tested to understand the relationship among nurse manager PsyCap, the health of the work environment and nurse manager ability, leadership, and support of nurses as perceived by nursing staff. Findings from the study indicated there was no statistically significant relationship between a nurse manager's level of PsyCap and the health of the work environment as perceived by nursing staff. Moreover, there was no statistically significant relationship between a nurse manager's level of PsyCap and their ability, leadership and support of nurses as perceived by nursing staff. There was, however, a statistically significant relationship between a nurse manager's level of efficacy and their ability, leadership and support of nurses as perceived by nursing staff. The study offered some alternatives to better understand the relationship between these factors, as well as, develop nurse manager self-efficacy. These included; using other ways to measure nurse manager PsyCap and nurse manager effectiveness, structuring the data collection to account for the time it takes for the cognitive state of PsyCap to manifest into desired performance and enabling a deeper exploration of the role self-efficacy plays in predicting nurse manager effectiveness. Recommendations for developing nurse manager self-efficacy included structuring activities that enable practice and mastery of the job-related tasks for creating a healthy work environment.Item Open Access Organizational longevity as a predictor of organizational learning, organizational identity, organizational innovation, and fiscal conservatism(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Weitzman, Felix, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Glick, Margaret B., advisor; Nimon, Kim F., committee member; McCambridge, James A., committee memberThe purpose of this study was to investigate the claims in the literature that some organizations have developed mechanisms that have increased their chances of surviving in a changing environment. The literature claimed that organizations are living entities that could learn and adapt to their business environment, have their own identities, be innovative, and exercise fiscal conservatism. The literature claimed that the organizations that could best employ these four mechanisms increased their chances of surviving the changes in the business environment that might otherwise spell their demise (Cefis & Marsili, 2005; de Geus, 2002; Elsbach & Kramer, 1996; Musso & Schiavo, 2008). This research intended to uncover whether long-lived organizations exhibit higher levels of the four factors described above, and in addition, provide analysis and synthesis of the results in the hope of helping companies live longer. This researcher hoped that a confirmation that these four factors were more pronounced in long-lived organizations than in short-lived organizations would provide both scholars and practitioners with methods to help organizations live longer. To investigate these claims, a survey instrument was designed that combined a short version of the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire-A (Yang, 2003), the organizational identity questionnaire part designed by Albert, Ashforth, and Dutton (2000), and innovation inventory questions. Fiscal conservatism was measured by analyzing publically available data on current ratios and long-term debt. The study focused on 703 companies that were publically traded and were listed in Fortune Magazine's top 1,000 lists as of 2012. The survey was sent by e-mail to 3,900 directors and senior managers who worked in these 703 Fortune 1,000 companies. Five research hypotheses were tested to understand the relationships between organizational longevity, organizational learning, organizational identity, innovation, and fiscal conservatism. The lack of statistically significant findings, and nonresponse bias analysis, indicated that the claims that are made in the literature should be considered with caution. Until empirical evidence is found, acting on these claims, although they may have some face validity, could have serious unintended implications. The study offered some alternatives that could better predict organizational learning, organizational identity, innovation, and fiscal conservatism.Item Open Access Relationship of transformational leadership and organizational readiness for change as mediated by leader-member exchange and work engagement(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Hutt, Mark Joseph, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Chai, Dae Seok, committee member; Makela, Carole, committee member; Conroy, Samantha Ann, committee memberThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational readiness for change as mediated by the quality of the leader-member relationship and employee work engagement. Organizations face unprecedented cycles of change, which are ever-present during company merger and acquisition events. Research has shown that between 70% and 90% of mergers fail to deliver a realized benefit to companies and shareholders. This research proposed merger and acquisition events fail partly due to a lack of organizational readiness for change due to leadership practices and poor employee engagement. There is a gap in the scholarly research on what practical actions practitioners can take to improve the likelihood of success in merger and acquisition events. Research has shown a connection between organizational readiness for change and organizational performance. Previous research has also shown there are relationships with transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, employee work engagement, and organizational performance. While this research has shown the individual relations of these theoretical constructs on organizational performance, more research needs to be done to understand the relation of these constructs with each other and their ability to improve organizational readiness for change and, therefore, organizational performance. This research hypothesizes a positive relationship between transformational leadership and organizational readiness for change and sought to answer the question of what the relation of transformational leadership and organizational readiness for change is as mediated by leader-member exchange (LMX) and work engagement. The context used to study this question was a biotechnology firm in the Pacific Northwest that had experienced the announcement of two separate significant acquisitions within 12 months. A non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional survey research design was used to investigate this research question and hypotheses. The population for this study was 1,145 employees of a bio-pharmaceutical company in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Well established in the scholarly research, the following surveys were used to study transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, work engagement, and organizational readiness for change. Transformational leadership was measured using the 7-item Global Transformational Leadership (GTL) scale. The quality of leader-member exchange relationships was measured by administering the 12-question LMX-MDM survey. Work engagement was measured through the administration of the 9-question UWES-9. Organizational readiness for change was measured using the 14-question OCQ-R. The hypotheses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses and the hypothetical model. The model's fit was evaluated using root mean square error of approximation, standardized root mean square residual, comparative fit index, normed fit index, and the goodness of fit index. The mediation hypotheses of this research were analyzed using bootstrapping in combination with Baron and Kenny's established regression test for mediating factors using macros for SPSS & R. The outcome of this research found a relationship between the transformational leadership styles and actions managers and leaders take and the readiness of employees for organizational change in support of organizational performance and the success of change events. Specifically, this study provided insights to scholars and practitioners on the actions organizations can take when faced with large-scale organizational change events, such as merger and acquisition events.Item Open Access Relationships between organizational performance and change factors and manufacturing firms' leanness(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Stone, Kyle Bradley, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Gilley, Jerry W., committee member; Kraiger, Kurt, 1957-, committee member; Makela, Carole J., committee memberThe purpose of this non-experimental research study was to examine relationships between organizational performance and change (OP&C) factors and the perceived leanness and objective performance measures within a medium-sized manufacturing organization engaged in lean transformation. Burke (2008) suggested successful transformational change is often predicated upon an organization's ability to understand dimensions influencing change interventions as outlined in the Burke-Litwin model of OP&C. To better understand why lean interventions succeed in some instances and not in others, it is important to study relationships between OP&C dimensions and their impact on the leanness an organization achieves. To investigate relationships between lean and the OP&C model, two instruments were used to gather perceptions of leanness and an overall assessment of 14 variables from the OP&C model. The Lean Organization Self Assessment Manufacturing Survey (LOSAMS) was administered to leaders of nine different plants within the same organization to determine a leanness score. The Burke-Litwin Organizational Assessment Survey (OAS) was administered to employees in same nine manufacturing plants gathering perceptions related to 14 factors of OP&C. While a number of statistical significant findings were found with small effect sizes among the LOSAMS and Burke-Litwin OAS variables, some statistical significant findings with much larger than typical effect sizes between LOSAMS scores and objective financial data were discovered. However, the reliability and validity of the LOSAMS is questionable rendering the implications of the findings weak. Other practical implications for this research study are many. The conceptual development of a Lean Transformation Model promoted the use of sound organizational development, organizational change, and human resource development principles and practices that could benefit the well intentioned but ill-informed change agent. A systematic literature review explores four decades of scholarly lean literature in an effort to present a reliable history and shared language for future researchers. Reliability and validity of the Burke-Litwin OAS confirmed consistency but the LOSAMS revealed a promising but weak measure of leanness. Conclusions and a research agenda for future studies in lean transformations are offered in the final section.Item Open Access The effects of employer compensation, liquidity management, and employee productivity on profitability: the failed case of Washington Mutual(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Ljubenko, Bojan, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Mumford, Troy V., committee member; Korte, Russell, committee member; Venneberg, Donald L., committee memberThe purpose of this study was to determine if the effects of three variables—employee productivity, liquidity management, and employee compensation—on employer's profitability performance might have predicted the 2008 organizational failure of Washington Mutual Bank. Researchers have noted that human expertise (that is, people and their skills) is the most important element of organizational strategy. In this study, salaries and employee benefits were used to measure employee compensation. Total loans to assets ratio was used to measure bank liquidity. Return on average asset was used to measure bank profitability. In addition, the human capital return on investment ratio was used to measure employee productivity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the three variables could predict bank performance and ultimately, bank failure. To investigate these relationships, historical data for Washington Mutual Bank were selected from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) database and compared to standard data from the FDIC's peer banks. The study’s findings indicated that WaMu's return on human capital correlated with the return on average profitability. In the FDIC standard peer group data, both the salaries and employee benefits and total loans to assets variables correlated with return on average profitability.Item Open Access The effects of leadership behaviors on organization agility: a quantitative study of 126 U.S.-based business units(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Gagel, Gretchen, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Korte, Russell, committee member; Gloeckner, Gene, committee member; Mumford, Troy, committee memberOrganizations 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.Item Open Access The effects of scenario-based learning on motivation and performance: a case study of multiunit managers in a Fortune 500 retail organization(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Elwell-Chalmers, Stacy, author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Korte, Russ F., committee member; Folkestad, James E., committee member; Conroy, Samantha A., committee memberThe purpose of this study was to assess the effects of scenario-based learning on motivation and performance in the workplace. The primary focus was whether scenario-based learning can increase motivation by using a training process designed to add value to the concepts being taught, shifting motivation to part of the integrated self, and therefore creating more of a basis for "self-determined behavior" (Deci & Ryan, 2005, p. 15). The suggestion that scenario-based learning could promote self-determined behavior also supports the potential for improved performance (Deci & Ryan, 2005). The study findings were intended to help scholars, human resource employees, and organizational development professionals develop complex leadership skills in their employees more efficiently and effectively to get faster results. The successful practice of performance development in today's workplace requires the integration of a wide range of complex skills that extend beyond the explicit to tacit, such as change leadership, portfolio management, team building, and high-level problem solving. Although there is abundant psychological literature on performance development, surprisingly little of this research examines the possibility of leveraging scenario-based learning to move motivation from amotivation to more intrinsic motivation to improve employee performance in the work setting (Deci & Ryan, 2002). Rather, development research has been conducted and governed in the field of human resource development and organizational development (HRD/OD) and focused primarily on performance improvement and on-the-job training. Current organizational training programs cannot provide complex situational development (Lynham, 2002) to accelerate internal employee performance. Given the complexity of development in today's workplace, a development method that could build employee performance by improving motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2005, p. 15) to keep employees developing in their learning would be particularly valuable. The implied link between scenario-based learning and motivation must first be described, understood, and substantiated before it can be assumed to be of strategic utility to performance development. The researcher proposed the use of scenario-based learning as a mechanism for improving employee motivation in the workplace and implies that the more fully an employee internalizes motivation, the more it becomes part of the integrated self, and the more it is the basis for self-determined behavior" (Deci & Ryan, 2005, p. 15) and improved performance. Scenario-based learning was therefore positioned as a tool to empower and engage employees by providing an alternative path to new experiences, expertise, and performance. To investigate these assertions, the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS), which was designed to assess constructs of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in field settings, was used as a pre-and postintervention survey (Deci & Ryan, 2002). A series of semistructured interviews were also used to bring more of the subjective aspects of the case study to light. Finally, workplace scorecards were used to assess pre-and postintervention performance according to organizational metrics. The study drew data from 169 managers (61 in the intervention group and 108 in the control group) in a Fortune 500 organization.Item Open Access The role of chief executive officer(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Glick, Margaret B., author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Gloeckner, Gene W., committee member; Lynham, Susan A., committee member; Bond, Jennifer K., committee memberThe purpose of this study was to address the gap between what is reported in the literature and what is known in current practice on the role of CEO. Research on the role of CEO is conflicting and outdated, and the theory deduced by Mintzberg in the 1970s has not been continually refined and updated, a necessary process for maintaining the usefulness of a theory (Lynham, 2002). A major goal of this research was to use the insights provided by CEOs to improve our general understanding of the major roles played by CEOs and how they generally allocate their time in various critical functions. CEOs are known for being a difficult population to research, yet this study has shown they are not inaccessible. This research was also intended to serve those responsible for identifying CEO candidates, recruiting CEOs, coaching CEOs, sustaining an organization's leadership system, and developing performance matrices for Boards of Directors who are ultimately responsible for making sure the CEO is effective and efficient. To investigate the role of CEO a survey instrument was developed based on 31 roles identified in the literature. The survey was sent to CEOs selected from a purchased database by e-mail. The study focused on three research questions with the purpose of understanding the role of CEO, how CEOs allocate their time to roles, and what new roles are identified by CEOs. Eight research hypotheses were tested to understand the impact of gender, company ownership status, age, years in current job, years as CEO, and company size, on the roles agreed with and time allocations. There were a number of statistically significant findings with small effect sizes. The most significant differences were among company sizes, defined by number of employees. Because the survey instrument was developed specifically for this study it does not have a consistent or lengthy track record of valid and reliable survey scores, however, results from a factor analysis reveal high initial scores and a good basis for further instrument refinement and development. This study had implications for CEO role theory. The results provide evidence for adjusting Mintzberg's prior theorizing about the role of CEO, and in this study, many of the roles Mintzberg found were strongly supported, yet some were not. The roles of other researchers and new roles suggested by study participants add depth to Mintzberg's work and serve to update his theory for modern times. The impact of industry on the role of CEO may provide help to CEOs who change industries during their careers. Finally, this study provides implications for practice by providing benchmark data for working CEOs about what their role is and how other CEOs allocate their time to these roles.Item Open Access The role of managerial motivating language in turnover intention of public sector employees(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Brito, Marina M., author; Chermack, Thomas J., advisor; Chai, Dae Seok, committee member; Thomas, Cliff, committee member; Conroy, Samantha A., committee memberThis study examined the relationships between three types of managerial motivating language, including a) direction-giving language, b) meaning-making language, and c) empathetic language, and employee turnover intention in the public sector environment. The mediating effect of public service motivation was also examined. Motivating language theory guided this study, variable selection, and hypothesis development. An online questionnaire was distributed to public sector employees of four local government organizations in Utah, US. Descriptive statistics, reliability, correlation, common method variance, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used in this study. The results of the analysis confirmed that the hypothesized conceptual model was supported by data. The path analysis showed that motivating language was significantly and negatively associated with public employee turnover intention. Public service motivation did not have a mediating effect on this relationship. The findings supported the application of motivating language theory to the public sector environment with some nuances. The significance of the study includes a deeper understanding of motivating language theory, managerial motivating communication in public sector organizations, and practical applicability of results to leadership development training programs that may influence organizational outcomes including employee turnover intention.