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Title: Investigating Healthy Organizations: Development and Testing of a Public Organization Wellness Quotient (WQ).
Creator: McLean, Wilson C., Sementelli, Arthur, Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: This dissertation investigates and further develops organization health theory in the context of public organizations. This is an important line of inquiry for two reasons. First, the healthy organizations literature and healthy organization theory is inchoate and lacks overall coherence (Dejoy et al., 2010), especially in public organization theory and research. As such many organization theorists have called for expansive solutions and insist this requires consideration of the collective...
Show moreThis dissertation investigates and further develops organization health theory in the context of public organizations. This is an important line of inquiry for two reasons. First, the healthy organizations literature and healthy organization theory is inchoate and lacks overall coherence (Dejoy et al., 2010), especially in public organization theory and research. As such many organization theorists have called for expansive solutions and insist this requires consideration of the collective and systemic interactive levels of analysis (Salanova et al., 2012; Schein, 2006). Second, we notice organizations now devoting considerable resources to nurturing individual and organizational health and wellness (Dale & Burrell, 2014; Parks & Steelman, 2008). Ostensibly, this is because health has been demonstrated to enhance or compromise a myriad of organizational outcomes including satisfaction, performance, sustainability, and survival (Pfeffer, 2010; Cooper, 1994). Moreover, organizational health and individual health share a vicarious and interdependent relationship (McHugh & Brotherton, 2000). In response to this “healthy exigency” and in effort to enhance the health of our public organizations, this dissertation employs an interdisciplinary lens to investigate healthy organizations at the systemic interactive level of analysis. The overarching purpose of the study is to provide theoretical contributions and empirical evidence concerning the key factors necessary for the development of healthy public organizations. To accomplish this, I assemble a holistic organizational wellness (HOW) theoretical framework. The HOW framework supports development of a Wellness Quotient (WQ) with data from the 2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The WQ represents the dissertations main contribution, as currently no standardized measure of public organization health (or wellness) exists. Through a process of discovery and analysis which includes multiple iterations of confirmatory factor analyses and a regression analysis, it is found that the WQ has a significant impact on organization performance and satisfaction. The results also confirm this studies hypotheses the WQ may be useful as a proxy for future healthy public organizations research. In sum, the HOW framework and WQ not only contribute to theoretical and empirical development of healthy public organizations, respectively, but they both may serve as useful tools for public organizational health design and development.
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Date Issued: 2019
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013241
Subject Headings: Organization--Research, Wellness, Organizational effectiveness, Health
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An analysis of voluntary annual report disclosures of outsourcing: determinants and firm performance.
Creator: Premuroso, Ronald F., Florida Atlantic University, College of Business, School of Accounting
Abstract/Description: Outsourcing has become a significant factor in the U.S. economy over the past two decades. Annual report disclosures made by a firm related to outsourcing are voluntary disclosures. Understanding the determinants and firm performance implications of initial outsourcing annual report disclosures is important to capital market providers, standards developers, and to the firms themselves. I identify and study firms making initial voluntary disclosures of outsourcing in their annual reports on...
Show moreOutsourcing has become a significant factor in the U.S. economy over the past two decades. Annual report disclosures made by a firm related to outsourcing are voluntary disclosures. Understanding the determinants and firm performance implications of initial outsourcing annual report disclosures is important to capital market providers, standards developers, and to the firms themselves. I identify and study firms making initial voluntary disclosures of outsourcing in their annual reports on Form 10-K between 1993 and 2003 after they make non-annual report related public disclosures. Specifically, I investigate if determinants of the initial annual report disclosure decision and subsequent performance are associated with the initial disclosure. This study contends managers disclose information related to outsourcing in their annual reports to reduce information asymmetry and to minimize agency costs. I hypothesize and develop a firm-related variable commonly used in agency theory to test this assertion. Signaling theory and voluntary disclosure theory also explain the determinants for firm voluntary outsourcing annual report disclosures. I develop several hypotheses defining determinants potentially associated with the likelihood of initial annual report outsourcing disclosure decisions, and test these determinants using a conditional logistic regression model and a matched-pair group of firms making public outsourcing disclosures but not making annual report disclosure. Using signaling theory, I also develop hypotheses testing if the initial outsourcing annual report disclosure sends a signal regarding future firm performance--specifically testing firm performance measures related to profitability and cash flow. I test these hypotheses using OLS models and the same matched-pair group of firms. I find firms with high levels of debt, high total cost ratios, and high returns on assets are more likely to make initial annual report outsourcing disclosure., I also find firms may signal improvements in future levels of profitability when making the initial annual report outsourcing disclosure.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77650
Subject Headings: Offshore outsourcing, Contracting out, Economic aspects, Managerial economics, Organizational effectiveness
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The interrelationships of organizational commitment, trust and participatory decision-making practices in public organizations.
Creator: Nyhan, Ronald C., Florida Atlantic University, Martin, Lawrence L.
Abstract/Description: This research study seeks to link empirically organizational commitment, trust and participatory decision making (PDM) practices and test their interrelationships. The research uses the Meyer & Allen (1984) Affective Commitment and Continuance Commitment Scale (ACCS) to measure organizational commitment and develops new scales to measure trust and PDM practices. The study hypothesizes multidimensional components for organizational commitment and trust; statistically significant associations...
Show moreThis research study seeks to link empirically organizational commitment, trust and participatory decision making (PDM) practices and test their interrelationships. The research uses the Meyer & Allen (1984) Affective Commitment and Continuance Commitment Scale (ACCS) to measure organizational commitment and develops new scales to measure trust and PDM practices. The study hypothesizes multidimensional components for organizational commitment and trust; statistically significant associations among organizational commitment, trust and PDM practices; and trust as a preceding and intervening variable between PDM practices and organizational commitment. The research uses Pearson correlations, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. The research results support the multidimensionality of organizational commitment and trust; interrelationships among organizational commitment, trust and PDM practices; and the temporal role of trust. However, the research results do not support trust as an intervening variable between PDM practices and organizational commitment. The study concludes with opportunities for future research.
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Date Issued: 1994
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12387
Subject Headings: Management--Employee participation, Organizational effectiveness, Interpersonal relations, Industrial relations
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The relationship between organizational culture and effectiveness in university residence hall associations: a competing values study.
Creator: Faerman, Lawrence B., College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description: This study examined organizational member and housing staff perceptions of organizational culture and effectiveness of residence hall associations. Two instruments, the Residence Hall Government (RHA) Effectiveness Instrument designed by Tucker (2001) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) designed by Cameron and Quinn (1999, 2006) were utilized to gather quantitative data, while individual interviews and focus groups were conducted utilizing selected questions from the...
Show moreThis study examined organizational member and housing staff perceptions of organizational culture and effectiveness of residence hall associations. Two instruments, the Residence Hall Government (RHA) Effectiveness Instrument designed by Tucker (2001) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) designed by Cameron and Quinn (1999, 2006) were utilized to gather quantitative data, while individual interviews and focus groups were conducted utilizing selected questions from the Interview Questions for Doing a Competing Values Organizational Analysis (Quinn 1988) to collect qualitative data. A mixed methodology was utilized to collect and analyze data from three sites yielding 217 assessments, 27 interviews, and 6 student focus groups with members of residence hall associations during the spring 2008 semester. The study indicated that there is a positive relationship between all ideal culture type scores identified by the OCAI and effectiveness constructs identified by the RHA Effectiveness Instrument. Additionally, there is a difference in the perceptions of Clan and Hierarchy ideal culture type scores and Housing Relationship and RHA Effects effectiveness construct scores based upon housing staff membership or RHA Legislative Body membership. Furthermore, the research indicated that level of student involvement, emphasis on leadership development and training, patterns of communication and teamwork, financial resources, implementation of rules and procedures, roles in program planning, student voice, member evaluation, collaborative partnerships with host housing departments, and relationships with university Student Government were constructs for the development of organizational culture and influenced the organizational effectiveness of RHAs. Recommendations are provided for the organizational development and evaluation of residence hall associations.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186329
Subject Headings: Student housing, College students, Conduct of life, Organizational effectiveness, Evaluation, Organizational behavior
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Earnings management around IPO lockup expiration and the role of auditors.
Creator: Hao, Lizhong., College of Business, School of Accounting
Abstract/Description: I examine the presence of earnings management at pre-IPO and lockup periods. Motivated by significant post-lockup insider sales documented in prior research, I investigate whether insiders (managers and venture capitalists) inflate earnings around the lockup period in order to increase share price and maximize personal wealth from selling shares at lockup expiration. I also compare levels of earnings management in the pre-IPO and lockup periods with those in the post-lockup period. Prior...
Show moreI examine the presence of earnings management at pre-IPO and lockup periods. Motivated by significant post-lockup insider sales documented in prior research, I investigate whether insiders (managers and venture capitalists) inflate earnings around the lockup period in order to increase share price and maximize personal wealth from selling shares at lockup expiration. I also compare levels of earnings management in the pre-IPO and lockup periods with those in the post-lockup period. Prior research also documents that auditor quality mitigates earnings management behavior. I explore the impact of auditor quality in the unique setting of IPO lockups. ... Cross-sectional analysis reveals that my sample IPO firms also utilize real-activities manipulation, but only in the early pre-IPO period. The results are robust with respect to alternative abnormal accruals and real-activities measures. I also find that IPO firms that hire prestigious auditors experience less earnings management in the lockup period than firms with lower-quality auditors, after controlling for the monitoring role of venture capitalist and underwriter reputation.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362378
Subject Headings: Going public (Securities), Business forecasting, Organizational effectiveness, Investment analysis, Portfolio management
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Improving methods of communication based on culture in the business environment.
Creator: Burton, Walter N., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: The ability to understand the individuals that we deal with on a daily basis can give anyone who focuses on this knowledge a competitive advantage in today's business world. In today's fast paced and globally expanding business world, it is critical to explore innovative approaches that will facilitate the process and time it typically takes to establish business relationships. When it is imperative to quickly create a business relationship between individuals that are unknown to each other,...
Show moreThe ability to understand the individuals that we deal with on a daily basis can give anyone who focuses on this knowledge a competitive advantage in today's business world. In today's fast paced and globally expanding business world, it is critical to explore innovative approaches that will facilitate the process and time it typically takes to establish business relationships. When it is imperative to quickly create a business relationship between individuals that are unknown to each other, identifying the city or region of the individual with whom a relationship is being formed and understanding that culture will help build a common ground which will facilitate and enhance the newly established working relationship. This paper shows how this can be achieved.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/165671
Subject Headings: Business communication, Communication in management, Organizational effectiveness, Interpersonal relations, Relationship marketing, Corporate culture
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Policy entrepreneurship: a descriptive portrait of higher education leaders.
Creator: Felsher, Rivka A., Pisapia, John, Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description: As the gap between the haves and have-nots widens, the call for reform in higher education in the United States intensifies. Policy actors, philanthropists, and academics from across the political spectrum work on various policy solutions, creating a policy environment that is complex and often contentious. Incrementalists claim that major policy reform is unlikely since unknown variables and inexplicable events can stall or dismantle policy initiatives. In such environments, policy...
Show moreAs the gap between the haves and have-nots widens, the call for reform in higher education in the United States intensifies. Policy actors, philanthropists, and academics from across the political spectrum work on various policy solutions, creating a policy environment that is complex and often contentious. Incrementalists claim that major policy reform is unlikely since unknown variables and inexplicable events can stall or dismantle policy initiatives. In such environments, policy entrepreneurs—those individuals who advocate for policy innovation, work for change, and help shape policy solutions from within and without government—try to break through the barriers of incremental politics. As important as this role is to the influencing and structuring of higher educational policy, it has not yet been explored. This study fills this gap in the extant literature by cataloging the characteristics and skills that enable higher education policy entrepreneurs at the state and national levels to persevere and accomplish sustainable and innovative higher education reforms over time.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004367, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004367
Subject Headings: Education, Higher -- Aims and objectives, Educational leadership, Entrepreneurship, Organizational effectiveness, Policy sciences, Strategic planning
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The impact of IT security psychological climate on salient user beliefs toward IT security: an empirical study.
Creator: Warner, Janis A., College of Business, Information Technology and Operations Management
Abstract/Description: There is a growing need to better understand what influences user behavior for developing comprehensive IT security systems. This study integrates two prominent bodies of research, the theory of planned behavior used to frame the factors influencing user behavior and individual level climate perceptions used to frame organizational environment influences, to develop a multidimensional IT security user behavior model. The model is then used as the basis for a survey based research to...
Show moreThere is a growing need to better understand what influences user behavior for developing comprehensive IT security systems. This study integrates two prominent bodies of research, the theory of planned behavior used to frame the factors influencing user behavior and individual level climate perceptions used to frame organizational environment influences, to develop a multidimensional IT security user behavior model. The model is then used as the basis for a survey based research to empirically test the hypotheses whether the perceived IT security climate of an organization significantly influences the users beliefs regarding the use of IT security. The intent of the study is to extend the theory of planned behavior and IT security literature by investigating salient IT security beliefs and environmental influences on those beliefs. First, anti-spyware was identified as an appropriate target IT security artifact, and then incorporated into a multi-phased research approach. Second, a semi-structured interview process was used to elicit salient beliefs regarding use of the IT security artifact. Third, IT security psychological climate was conceptualized based on the extant literature on organizational climate, safety climate and IT security in order to examine the organizational environment influences on these beliefs. Finally, a survey was used to collect data to validate the constructs and test the hypothesized relationships., The study found that there was a significant positive relationship between IT security psychological climate and 1) the belief that anti-spyware will protect organizational interests such as privacy and data, 2) the belief that anti-spyware will prevent disruptions to work, 3) the belief that the approval of anti-spyware use by the technical support group is important, 4) the belief that monetary resources are needed to enable the use of anti-spyware, and 5) the belief that time is a facilitating condition for the use of anti-spyware. A discussion of the findings and their implications for theory and practice is provided.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186772
Subject Headings: Security (Psychology), Electronic commerce, Security measures, Web sites, Design, Consumer behavior, Mathematical models, Organizational effectiveness
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The role of advertising and information asymmetry on firm performance.
Creator: Fine, Monica B., College of Business, Department of Marketing
Abstract/Description: Research linking marketing to financial outputs has been gaining significance in the marketing discipline. The pertinent questions are, therefore: how can marketing improve measures of firm performance and draw potential investors to the company, and where is the quantitative proof to back up these assertions? This research investigates the role of marketing expenditures in the context of initial public offerings (IPOs). The proposed theoretical framework comes from marketing and finance...
Show moreResearch linking marketing to financial outputs has been gaining significance in the marketing discipline. The pertinent questions are, therefore: how can marketing improve measures of firm performance and draw potential investors to the company, and where is the quantitative proof to back up these assertions? This research investigates the role of marketing expenditures in the context of initial public offerings (IPOs). The proposed theoretical framework comes from marketing and finance literature, and uses econometric models to test the hypotheses. First, we replicate the results of a previous study by Luo (2008) showing a relationship between the firm's pre-IPO marketing spending and IPO underpricing. Next, we extend the previous study by looking at the IPO's long-run returns, types of risk, analyst coverage, and market/industry characteristics. The results of this study, based on a sample of 2,103 IPOs from 1996 to 2008, suggest that increased marketing spending positively impac ts firm performance. We examine different measures of firm performance, such as risk and long-run performance, whose results are important to the firm, its shareholders, and potential investors. This study analyzes the impact marketing spending has on IPO characteristics (IPO underpricing in the short-run and cumulative abnormal returns in the long run); risk characteristics (systematic, unsystematic, bankruptcy risk, and total risk); analyst coverage characteristics (the number of analysts, optimistic coverage, and forecast error) and market characteristics (market volatility and industry type). We control for variables such as firm size, profitability, and IPO characteristics. In this paper, the results show that increased marketing spending lowers underpricing, lowers bankruptcy risk, lowers total risk, leads to greater analyst coverage, leads to more favorable analyst coverage, and lowers analyst forecast error. For theory, this paper advances the literature on the, marketing-financ e interface by extending the market-based assets and signaling theories. For practice, the results indicate that spending more money on marketing before the IPO and disclosing this information produces positive bottom-line results for the firm. KEYWORDS: Marketing-Finance, Risk, Financial Analysts, Marketing Spending, Firm Performance, Marketing Strategy Meets Wall Street, Long-Run Firm Performance, Underpricing, Stock Recommendations, Initial Public Offering, Marketing Strategy, Econometric Model.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3342050
Subject Headings: Investment analysis, Organizational effectiveness, Measurement, Advertising, Financial services industry, Marketing, Financial services industry, Computer network resources
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Integration disconnect in police agencies: the effects of agency factors on the production andconsumption of crime analysis.
Creator: Seigel, Jamie L., Santos, Rachel, Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Abstract/Description: Poorly integrated crime analysis may be a detriment to crime reduction efforts and financial resources. The purpose of this research is to identify deficiencies and successes in crime analysis integration and to understand which agency factors are related. Using the Stratified Model of Problem Solving, Analysis, and Accountability and data from a national PERF survey of police agencies, this study quantifies the levels of production and consumption-based integration disconnect as well as...
Show morePoorly integrated crime analysis may be a detriment to crime reduction efforts and financial resources. The purpose of this research is to identify deficiencies and successes in crime analysis integration and to understand which agency factors are related. Using the Stratified Model of Problem Solving, Analysis, and Accountability and data from a national PERF survey of police agencies, this study quantifies the levels of production and consumption-based integration disconnect as well as other important agency factors. To determine which agency factors contribute most to integration disconnect, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses are used to examine the relationships, while controlling for agency type, centralization, officers per analyst, crimes per officer, and agency size. Findings indicate that production- and consumption-based disconnect are positively related to one another and that passive patrol-analyst interactions, an agency’s analysis integration disconnect.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004329, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004329
Subject Headings: Crime analysis, Crime forecasting, Criminal justice, Administration of, Criminal statistics -- Mathematical models, Organizational effectiveness, Police administration
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Large shareholder heterogeneity: the effect on firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry.
Creator: Trainor, Joseph E., College of Business, School of Accounting
Abstract/Description: I investigate the association between large shareholder heterogeneity and firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. Specifically, I construct three measures of ownership heterogeneity based on the type, size, and monitoring aggressiveness of large shareholders present in a firm. Applying these three measures of heterogeneity, I examine whether large shareholder heterogeneity is associated with the variation in firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. I also examine new...
Show moreI investigate the association between large shareholder heterogeneity and firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. Specifically, I construct three measures of ownership heterogeneity based on the type, size, and monitoring aggressiveness of large shareholders present in a firm. Applying these three measures of heterogeneity, I examine whether large shareholder heterogeneity is associated with the variation in firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. I also examine new block formations to provide evidence on the consequences of large shareholder investment on firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. I find that the monitoring aggressiveness of large shareholders is positively associated with firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry. These findings suggest that large aggressive shareholders constrain earnings management, but contribute to firms' overall information asymmetry. Further, using new blockholder data, I find that investments by large aggressive shareholders are positively associated with firms' accounting quality and firms' information asymmetry in the post investment period. This finding provides additional support to my hypotheses that large shareholders play an important role in firms' accounting quality and information asymmetry.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3322515
Subject Headings: Investment analysis, Financial services industry, Organizational effectiveness, Measurement, Total quality management
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Regenerative leadership : an integral theory for transforming people and organizations for sustainability in business, education, and community.
Creator: Hardman, Guillermo [John], College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description: This study examined and compared the developmental experiences of leaders who have successfully developed their capacities to engage in and maintain a vision and practice for sustainability over time in themselves and others in business, education and community. Through the application of grounded theory as a systematic comparative method for the analysis of qualitative data, the study generated a substantive theory of leadership called regenerative leadership. This leadership approach is...
Show moreThis study examined and compared the developmental experiences of leaders who have successfully developed their capacities to engage in and maintain a vision and practice for sustainability over time in themselves and others in business, education and community. Through the application of grounded theory as a systematic comparative method for the analysis of qualitative data, the study generated a substantive theory of leadership called regenerative leadership. This leadership approach is especially relevant at a time when humankind is faced with accelerating change and increasing evidence that numerous natural and social systems at the global level have reached or are rapidly approaching points of overshoot and collapse. Among the major findings, the study revealed that the more evolved sustainability leaders are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the construct of sustainability, and indicate the need for a profound cultural shift towards regenerative human systems. In this framework, regenerative organizations are driven by a sense higher purpose, and leadership is exercised heterarchically. Leaders and followers engage in generative conversations to create desirable futures which are then backcasted to eliminate unanticipated consequences. Throughout, participants emphasized the critical importance of engaging in personal and collective consciousness development or "inner work" in order to make regenerative practices possible.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/187212
Subject Headings: Reengineering (Management), Sustainable development, School management and organization, Organizational effectiveness, Social ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Neutral competence, political guidance and administrative autonomy: A structural equation model of the politics-administration dichotomy.
Creator: Demir, Tansu., Florida Atlantic University, Miller, Hugh T.
Abstract/Description: The politics-administration dichotomy has been one of the most disputed theories of public administration. Despite serious challenges and critics, neither the theoretical utility nor the normative power of the dichotomy has totally disappeared over the decades. The dichotomy has been advocated on the grounds that the dichotomous division of labor and authority between elected leadership and administrative leadership is prerequisite for autonomous (and effective) public administration. This...
Show moreThe politics-administration dichotomy has been one of the most disputed theories of public administration. Despite serious challenges and critics, neither the theoretical utility nor the normative power of the dichotomy has totally disappeared over the decades. The dichotomy has been advocated on the grounds that the dichotomous division of labor and authority between elected leadership and administrative leadership is prerequisite for autonomous (and effective) public administration. This dissertation (1) conceptualizes the politics-administration dichotomy, (2) specifies a theoretical model, and (3) tests and evaluates the theoretical model with empirical data collected from a nationwide sample of city managers serving in council-manager local governments. Results of structural equation modeling demonstrate that the internal theoretical logic of the politics-administration dichotomy could not be confirmed with empirical data. The dissertation then discusses implications of the findings for the field of public administration.
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Date Issued: 2005
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12177
Subject Headings: Public administration, Organizational effectiveness, Representative government and representation--United States, Bureaucracy--United States
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The economic consequences of auditor industry specialization.
Creator: Almutairi, Ali R., Florida Atlantic University, Skantz, Terrance R., Dunn, Kimberly
Abstract/Description: This paper examines the association between the employment of industry specialist auditors, and the degree of information asymmetry and the cost of debt of a client company. Unlike auditors without industry expertise, auditors with industry expertise can better improve the credibility of financial statements (Krishnan 2003; Balsam et al. 2003) and verify management forecasts, thereby minimizing management's discretion in applying accounting principles and standards (Kwon 1996). This suggests...
Show moreThis paper examines the association between the employment of industry specialist auditors, and the degree of information asymmetry and the cost of debt of a client company. Unlike auditors without industry expertise, auditors with industry expertise can better improve the credibility of financial statements (Krishnan 2003; Balsam et al. 2003) and verify management forecasts, thereby minimizing management's discretion in applying accounting principles and standards (Kwon 1996). This suggests that industry specialist auditors can enhance audit quality. Consequently, clients of industry specialist auditors are expected to achieve more significant economic benefits than clients of nonspecialist auditors. Based on product differentiation theory and signaling theory, it is hypothesized in this study that clients of industry specialist auditors are more likely to enjoy a lower level of information asymmetry and a lower cost of debt than clients of nonindustry specialist auditors. In addition, this study hypothesizes that the marginal economic value added by auditor industry specialization varies between financially troubled clients and financially healthy clients that seek external financing. The results indicate that clients of specialists experience a lower information asymmetry level than clients of nonspecialists. This economic value provided by specialists is important and more pronounced for unregulated firms than for regulated firms. This inference, however, does not hold when information asymmetry is measured using analyst forecast dispersion. In addition, clients hiring specialists enjoy better credit ratings and lower cost of debt than clients of nonspecialists, and this economic value is more significant for financially troubled firms than for financially healthy firms. However, these findings do not hold for each proxy of auditor industry specialization.
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Date Issued: 2006
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12191
Subject Headings: Financial services industry--Auditing, Corporations--Auditing, Total quality management, Organizational effectiveness--Measurement
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Self-Directed Learning Readiness, Strategic Thinking and Leader Effectiveness in Directors of a National Nonprofit Organization.
Creator: Zsiga, Peter L., Guglielmino, Lucy M., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: Levels of self-directed learning readiness, strategic thinking and leader effectiveness in nonprofit directors were obtained from a sample of YMCA directors who responded to an online survey. The resulting data were analyzed to determine if correlations between the measures were observed and if the relationships were moderated by employment, geographic or demographic variables. Self-directed learning readiness and strategic thinking were highly correlated. Analysis of the questionnaires from...
Show moreLevels of self-directed learning readiness, strategic thinking and leader effectiveness in nonprofit directors were obtained from a sample of YMCA directors who responded to an online survey. The resulting data were analyzed to determine if correlations between the measures were observed and if the relationships were moderated by employment, geographic or demographic variables. Self-directed learning readiness and strategic thinking were highly correlated. Analysis of the questionnaires from 471 respondents demonstrated that the correlations between self-directed learning readiness and strategic thinking were robust (r = .58, p < .001 ). Leader effectiveness was found to correlate with these two constructs at identical and significant levels (r = .1 0, p < .05). These correlations present evidence of positive relationships between self-directed learning levels, strategic thinking levels and leader effectiveness. Correlations were also found for self-directed learning readiness and each of the three subscales of strategic thinking, reframing, reflecting and systems thinking, and the leader effectiveness measure; and for the reframing subscale of strategic thinking with leader effectiveness. Responses to open-ended questions reflected the use of self-directed learning strategies and strategic thinking by the sample in preparing for challenges in education and leadership. Correlations between strategic thinking and leader effectiveness were moderated by ethnicity. Levels of correlation between self-directed learning readiness and strategic thinking were moderated by the variables of years of AYP membership and number of branches supervised, the level of performance rating desired, and years of similar employment. The YMCA directors in this study were determined to be effective leaders who used strategic thinking and self-directed learning strategies to meet the demands of their leadership roles. The results indicate that individuals who exhibit self-directed learning tendencies can be expected to use strategic thinking strategies; that those who are strategic thinkers reflect self-directed learning behavior; and that leader effectiveness is supported by the possession of strategic thinking and selfdirected learning skills.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000718
Subject Headings: Nonprofit organizations--Management, Leadership, Organizational effectiveness, Executive ability, Learning, Psychology of
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An Inquiry into Fire Service Consolidation and the Economies of Scale Debate: The Centralization Versus Decentralization Argument.
Creator: D’Angelo III, Salvatore A., Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: Addressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire...
Show moreAddressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire district (ISFCD) that serve residents on a full-time platform. The concurrent embedded methodology used attempted to unearth which organizational design achieves economies of scale based on quarterly emergency service calls: the centralized county model or the decentralized city/ISFCD models. This study was an inquiry into the centralization versus decentralization argument, with emphases on fire service scale economies and inter-local service agreements Using multiple linear regression modeling accompanied by face-to-face interviews with the respective fire chiefs, this research showed that the county and ISFCD achieve scale economies over 44 quarters, fiscal years 2004-2014. Moreover, the interviews uncovered that response times were the driving factor behind instituting voluntary inter-local service agreements between the three fire departments. Other positive benefits from the service agreements include an increase in personnel and scene safety, dispatch center protocol enhancements, multi-company/jurisdictional training, overtime savings on large-scale disaster incidents, and trust building. The implications of this research for the scholarly and practitioner community include a better understanding of the technical and allocative efficiencies within the fire service arena. Melding public choice theory with strands of inter-local service agreement literature provides policymakers and scholars with a template for uncovering the fire service production/provision narrative. Though the centralization-decentralization argument is not solved within the research scope presented, the future narrative as uncovered in the research requires a citizenry inclusion. The future public choice prescriptions regarding fire service consolidation requires not only statistical modeling, but a normative democratic ethos tone incorporating multiple stakeholders with the citizens’ concerns at the forefront.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004674, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004674
Subject Headings: Emergency management -- Decision making, Metropolitan government -- United States, Municipal services -- United States, Organizational effectiveness, Preparedness -- Government policy, Regional planning
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Executive fire officers' strategic thinking capabilities and the relationship with information and communication technology.
Creator: Penney, Gerri., College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description: This study investigates the relationship of executive fire officers' use of strategic thinking skills and their proficiency using information and communication technology. A non-experimental quantitative study design was employed. The study consisted of 400 graduates of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. The use of strategic thinking skills was measured by the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQv6) (Pisapia & Reyes-Guerra, 2007). The use of information and...
Show moreThis study investigates the relationship of executive fire officers' use of strategic thinking skills and their proficiency using information and communication technology. A non-experimental quantitative study design was employed. The study consisted of 400 graduates of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. The use of strategic thinking skills was measured by the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQv6) (Pisapia & Reyes-Guerra, 2007). The use of information and communication technology tools was measured by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Fluency Questionnaire (Hilberg, 2007). The EFOs' strategic thinking capabilities of systems thinking (3.58 +/- .447) and reflecting (3.82 +/- .445) compared to previously reported samples from the literature, both empirically and theoretically. Depending upon the sample, some means were significantly higher and others were significantly lower. The strategic thinking questionnaire and the ICT fluency questionnaire were not directly correlated to one another ; however, there were some strong correlations within their subscales. ICT fluency and ICT comfort were highly correlated (r = .516), as well as systems thinking and reflecting (r = .688) at the 0.05 level. There was a significant correlation between age and ICT comfort (r = -.235), as well as between years of experience and ICT comfort (r = -.203) at the 0.05 level. Age moderated the relationship between systems thinking*reflection, and ICT comfort. Race moderated the relationship between systems thinking*reflection, and ICT education/training. This research was significant because it was the first time that Executive Fire Officers have been studied regarding their strategic thinking capabilities and their information and communications technology fluency.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2683132
Subject Headings: Strategic planning, Knowledge management, Public administration, Decision making, Management information systems, Fire departments, Management, Organizational effectiveness, Transformational leadership
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Performance: Realizing A Competitive Advantage through Corporate Social Reputation and a Stakeholder Network Approach.
Creator: Peters, Richard C., Golden, Peggy A., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: This study provides an exploratory investigation of the link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Firm Competitive Advantage. It poses two primary research questions (1) What valuable and rare resource does the firm acquire through CSR? and 2) How does the firm's approach to stakeholder management influence its ability to protect and enhance the value of this resource? Corporate Social Reputation, the perception of the firm by its internal and external stakeholders, is argued to...
Show moreThis study provides an exploratory investigation of the link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Firm Competitive Advantage. It poses two primary research questions (1) What valuable and rare resource does the firm acquire through CSR? and 2) How does the firm's approach to stakeholder management influence its ability to protect and enhance the value of this resource? Corporate Social Reputation, the perception of the firm by its internal and external stakeholders, is argued to be the valuable and rare resource that CSR provides. By building positive stakeholder relationships through CSR the firm is able to positively influence stakeholder assessment and gain 'reputational capital'. The value of reputational capital lies in its ability to promote operational efficiency and engender product differentiation, which independently as well as in tandem, grant firms superior performance over their competitors. Corporate Social Reputation is also expected to be positively influenced by the finn's adoption of a 'network' approach to stakeholder management. Two specific network attributes: extensiveness and consistency are argued to promote reputational capital growth. Network Extensiveness is determined by the number and diversity of firmstakeholder relationships, whereas Network Consistency is concerned with the variability of firm behavior across its entire stakeholder network. The hypothesized model was evaluated via a longitudinal study of one hundred and fifty eight firms from multiple industries. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to assess path coefficients as well as the goodness of fit of the measurement and structural models. The results provide support for the positive influence of CSR on Corporate Social Reputation, but no support for a significant relation between either Network Extensiveness or Network Consistency and Corporate Social Reputation. Also, the results indicate that Corporate Social Reputation directly, positively and significantly contributes to a firm's ability to achieve and sustain a Competitive Advantage for both an internal (Return on Assets) and external (Tobin's q) measure of firm financial performance. Further, the findings suggest that the contribution of CSR to financial performance may be indirect and facilitated through a step-wise process which requires the attainment of a positive and superior Corporate Social Reputation before Competitive Advantage can be achieved.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000609
Subject Headings: Social Responsibility of Business, Industrial Management--Moral and Ethical Aspects, Organizational Effectiveness, Strategic Planning, Competition--Social Aspects
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An empirical analysis of factors influencing organizational cultural competence within emergency medical services systems.
Creator: Diggs, Schnequa, Thai, Khi V., Florida Atlantic University, College of Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines factors with influence on the organizational cultural competence of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems. The purpose of this study was to draw on theories of representative bureaucracy and transformational leadership to assess cultural competence in Emergency Medical Services systems from the perspective of EMS leadership, within careful consideration of the external environment in which EMS systems operate.
Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004439, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004439
Subject Headings: Emergency medical personnel -- Training of, Emergency medical services -- Management, Organizational effectiveness, Outcome assessment (Medical care), Transformational leadership
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: An analysis of the leadership competencies of specialized nonprofit management degree programs.
Creator: Fay, Karen Marie, Bryan, Valerie, Florida Atlantic University, College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Abstract/Description: The field of nonprofit management education is nascent and little of the research has extended into the area of leadership as a requisite competency for nonprofit leaders. Likewise, the research on leadership has not been widely extended to the nonprofit sector. Prior research suggests a broad range of competencies are necessary to lead in the dynamic, complex environment of nonprofits, the exercise of which differs from that in the for-profit sector.
Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004442, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004442
Subject Headings: Leadership, Nonprofit organizations -- Evaluation -- Methodology, Nonprofit organizations -- Leadership, Nonprofit organizations -- Management -- Study and teaching, Organizational effectiveness -- Evaluation -- Study and teaching
Format: Document (PDF)

Organizational effectiveness (18)	+ -
Investment analysis (3)	+ -
Strategic planning (3)	+ -
Corporate culture (2)	+ -
Financial services industry (2)	+ -

Interpersonal relations (2)	+ -
Leadership (2)	+ -
Measurement (2)	+ -
Public administration (2)	+ -
Total quality management (2)	+ -
Transformational leadership (2)	+ -
Administrative agencies--United States--Planning (1)	+ -
Advertising (1)	+ -
Auditing--Standards--United States. (1)	+ -
Benchmarking (Management) (1)	+ -
Bureaucracy--United States (1)	+ -
Business communication (1)	+ -
Business forecasting (1)	+ -
College students (1)	+ -
Communication in management (1)	+ -
Competition--Social Aspects (1)	+ -
Computer network resources (1)	+ -
Conduct of life (1)	+ -
Consumer behavior (1)	+ -
Contracting out (1)	+ -
Corporations--Auditing (1)	+ -
Corporations--Auditing. (1)	+ -
Corporations--Standards--United States. (1)	+ -
Corporations--Valuation (1)	+ -
Crime analysis (1)	+ -

Florida Atlantic University (15)	+ -
College of Business (6)	+ -
College of Education (5)	+ -
Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology (5)	+ -
School of Accounting (4)	+ -

College for Design and Social Inquiry (3)	+ -
School of Public Administration (3)	+ -
Skantz, Terrance R. (2)	+ -
Thai, Khi V. (2)	+ -
Almutairi, Ali R. (1)	+ -
Bryan, Valerie (1)	+ -
Burton, Walter N. (1)	+ -
Cao, Jian (1)	+ -
Carr, Kellie M. (1)	+ -
College of Design and Social Inquiry (1)	+ -
Demir, Tansu. (1)	+ -
Department of Marketing (1)	+ -
Diggs, Schnequa (1)	+ -
Donohue, John J. (1)	+ -
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters (1)	+ -
Dunn, Kimberly (1)	+ -
D’Angelo III, Salvatore A. (1)	+ -
Faerman, Lawrence B. (1)	+ -
Fay, Karen Marie (1)	+ -
Felsher, Rivka A. (1)	+ -
Fine, Monica B. (1)	+ -
Golden, Peggy A. (1)	+ -
Guglielmino, Lucy M. (1)	+ -
Hao, Lizhong. (1)	+ -
Hardman, Guillermo [John] (1)	+ -

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