Congratulations to the Class of 2004!

Join us in congratulating the following ILA members who completed their degree programs this spring. When available, thesis and dissertation abstracts are reprinted below. Learn more about the leading-edge work done by these graduating members!

Bachelor’s

Lilia Bright, Bachelors in Arts & Humanities from the University of Southern Maine at Lewiston Auburn College.

"A Multicultural Approach: Maintaining Heritage Language in the United States"

Abstract: In this age of globalism, the need for multiple languages and cultural awareness has grown. However, in the United States many school districts lack elementary language learning programs. This can be traced to assimilationist attitudes toward non white ethnicities prevalent in U.S. history. In this scholarly article, assimilationism is compared to a multicultural approach which embraces and empowers ethnic minority groups. Also, the important connection between a heritage language and racial identity development will be reviewed as it pertains to first generation U.S. citizens who struggle to define themselves in the dominant culture.

Kathryn Goodson, B.A. Human Resources and Leadership Studies, Peace College.

Kurtis Mayz, B.A. Political Science & B.S. Biology, American University. Kurtis is moving on to the University of Illinois to complete a six year J.D./M.D.

Selim Tansung, Bachelor’s in Manufacturing Systems/ Industrial Engineering with a Minor in Mathematics, Sabanci University, Turkey.

Master’s

Tracey Barnett, Master’s in Leadership and Management, University of La Verne; “Contributing factors to the success of African American women in leadership roles in corporate America.”

Vincent Mikolay, Master’s of Education in Human Resource Development, Xavier University; “A Correlation of Cross Cultural Training for Expatriates to on the Job Success.” This project was an empirical literature review of the studies of cross-cultural training.

David J.D. Rae, Master’s of Education in Human Resources Development, Xavier University; "The Effects of Managerial Leadership on Job Satisfaction and Employee Retention."

Lori J. Rand, M.A. in Sport and Recreation Administration, University of New Brunswick.

“The Leadership Practices of Residence Student Leaders.”

Universities have a critical role in the development of future leaders and therefore must have leadership development programs in place (CAS, 2001; Miller, 2001; Posner & Brodsky, 1992; Roberts & Ullom, 1989). There must an understanding of differences in behaviours among student leaders in order to tailor programs (Komives, 1996; Roberts & Ullom, 1989; Zimmerman-Oster & Burkhardt, 2000). The purpose of this study was to obtain data on the behaviours of student leaders in a residence community, and factors affecting their behaviours. Data were collected using the S-LPI designed by Kouzes and Posner based on their Leadership Challenge model (2002). Participants included 260 student leaders in a residence community at a medium-sized Atlantic Canadian university. There were significant differences between female and male student leaders, and gender of the living environment was found to have an impact on leader behaviour. There were no significant differences between elected and selected student leaders, and incoming student leaders differed on one practice compared with current student leaders. In addition, significant differences were found between the student leaders in this study and those in comparable US studies (Kouzes & Posner, 1998). The results of this study have both practical and theoretical applications.

Richard Twiss, M.A. in Organizational Leadership, Chapman University. Richard completed a comprehensive examination and used his graduate program to build a new task force program with the California Department of Justice’s Firearms Division.

John Warner, Master of Business, University of South Australia, Whyalla Campus.

“Leadership for Regional Economic Development”

This thesis focuses on what constitutes leadership for regional economic development in each of three regional cities in South Australia through investigation and analysis of themes and patterns of local economic development policy adoption and consideration of the role leadership plays in local government and regional economic development boards.

The research method employs in-depth interviews and a focus group research supported by analysis of public documents. Analysis of the data identified and discussed the important dimensions to effective leadership. A consistently emerging aspect from all participants was the perceived importance of community involvement in regional economic development, and the need for leaders and for collaboration between leaders existed as two of the key ingredients for success. Respondents and participants also highlighted the importance of our civic and community leaders to be working cooperatively towards a shared vision in conjunction with other stakeholders in the regional economic development process.

Major findings show that in the light of declining social capital and lack of leadership in regional areas, it is important to institute processes through which potential leaders are developed and that such development often occurs best through active participation by creating expanded opportunities for involvement to provide a wide range of learning opportunities and through formal and informal training.

Ph.D.’s

Harold L. Arnold, Jr., Ph.D. in Social & Organizational Psychology from Temple University.

“Transformational Leadership Among People of African Descent”

The present study utilizes Bass’ Full Range of Leadership model to examine transformational leadership among Black leaders in eighty private and public sector organizations. One hundred and twelve Black leaders and 530 of their subordinates completed the MLQ 5X form which assesses the extent to which the leader is perceived as effective, satisfying, and engendering extra effort while also measuring transformational, transactional, and passive leadership strategies.

Black leaders are perceived as more transformational than primarily Caucasian leaders in a meta analytic examination and these transformational attributes augment transactional characteristics in accounting for the leader’s effectiveness. These Black leaders exhibit a “transracial” leadership style may be most efficacious in ethnically plural contexts. Public sector leaders were perceived as more transformational than private sector leaders although this does not appear to translate into more effective leader outcomes.

The congruence between self and subordinate ratings of transformational leadership and effectiveness in the present study suggests that Black leaders may be among the more successful leaders because they exhibit the flexibility to dynamically alter behavior based on feedback. Feedback is a central feature of leadership success among Black leaders since contingent reinforcing behavior correlates with effectiveness outcomes at levels similar to transformational attributes.

Lynn Hertrick Leavitt, Ph.D. Education with a focus in Higher Ed. Admin and Adult Learning, George Mason University

“A Study of the Relationship Between Learning Styles of Freshmen in a Coordinated Studies Learning Community and Their Academic Achievement and Retention”

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between preferred learning styles of freshmen enrolled in a cohort based, cross curricular, coordinated studies (CBCCCS) learning community curriculum and their academic achievement (GPA) and retention in a learning community based college. The instrument used in this study was Kolb's Learning Style Inventory.

The population studied consisted of undergraduate freshmen enrolled in the CBCCCS learning community curriculum during the 2002 2003 academic year. Relationships were represented by the significance of students' course achievement (GPA) based on preferred learning style during the fall 2002 semester, spring 2003 semester, and cumulatively for the 2002 2003 academic year. Also, relationships were represented by preferred learning styles and retention in the fall 2003 semester.

The findings from this study revealed that Convergers had a significantly higher mean GPA during the fall 2002 semester than Divergers and Assimilators, but not compared to Accommodators. In addition, Westerners (Accommodators and Convergers) had a significantly higher mean GPA than Easterners (Divergers and Assimilators) during the fall 2002 semester and cumulatively for the 2002 2003 academic year. Also important to note is that Westerners approached statistical significance (higher mean GPA) for the spring 2003 semester.

Only eight students did not return for their sophomore year in the learning community based college beginning in the fall 2003 semester. Therefore, results about retention based on preferred learning styles were not meaningful.

Terri Swetnam, Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.

“Application of Role Theory to Nonprofit Organization Executives: A Case Study.”

The purpose of the study was to examine the applicability of role theory to executives in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations are fraught with ambiguity with respect to outcome measures and delineation of leadership roles, especially between the board and executive director. Job-related membership associations (JRMAs), a subset of nonprofit organizations, are unique with respect to requirements for leader background, board approach used, and organizational identity issues. These variables have not been explored in role theory.

A case study methodology was used for this study to provide a richer understanding of organizational relationships and behaviors as they relate to role theory in this context. Particular attention was given to understanding the interplay of leader characteristics, board approach, and organization factors such as identity, structure, and culture and how these dynamics affect role ambiguity and conflict for the executive. Data were collected over a 2-year period and included review of archival information, structured interviews, and a survey instrument. The findings suggest that the ambiguity inherent in this environment create specific challenges for executive directors of JRMAs. Importantly, the study provided a deeper understanding of the constituent representative board approach—its advantages and disadvantages, how this approach affects role ambiguity for a JRMA executive director, and its impact on organizational identity, structure, and culture. Furthermore, the findings suggest that executive experience gained in the for-profit sector may not be directly transferable to the nonprofit sector. This study provides insight into role ambiguity and conflict for executives in JRMAs and provides a basis for future research into how leadership models may need to be adapted for the specific challenges of these organizations.

Geoffrey R. Tumlin, Ph.D. in Communication Studies, University of Texas at Austin.

“Communicating Negative Feedback in Performance Appraisal Interviews: An Experimental Study”

This study examined the communicative transmission of negative feedback in a performance appraisal context and experimentally tested how subordinate account making influenced a supervisor's ability to deliver negative feedback and how those same accounts interacted with subordinate evaluation ratings. Results indicated that: (1) supervisors did not mention positive observations about the subordinate significantly more than negative observations, (2) 81.10% of supervisors self reported that they delivered all of the negative feedback they felt obligated to deliver to the subordinate, (3) 83.00% of supervisors positively distorted their feedback during the appraisal interview when the subordinate offered an internal excuse account for performance failure; 79.20% of the supervisors positively distorted their feedback when a concession account with external excuse was offered, (4) subordinate evaluation scores were more positive after the appraisal than before the appraisal, (5) the subordinate was evaluated more positively when an external excuse was given as compared to when a concession account with an internal excuse was offered, (6) supervisors who received an external excuse first in the experimental sequence gave significantly higher evaluation scores across both conditions of the study, and (7) the subordinate's satisfaction with a supervisor's communication consistently increased as the supervisor's feedback become more specific.

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