Joyce W. Fields, Karen C. Thompson and Julie R. Hawkins
Robert Greenleaf’s principles of servant leadership are relevant to the helping professions, including empowerment and development of others, service to others, and open and…
Abstract
Robert Greenleaf’s principles of servant leadership are relevant to the helping professions, including empowerment and development of others, service to others, and open and participatory leadership. The study of servant leadership was infused into an undergraduate senior capstone experience (an internship) for emerging helping professionals (social work and child and family studies majors). Students read and discussed Greenleaf’s work and applied it to their internship experiences through weekly written reflections. Analysis of student reflections revealed an internalization of servant leadership principles and an understanding of their application within a professional context. Field supervisor evaluations of students indicated professional development consistent with servant leadership ideals. Analysis of servant leadership self-evaluations by students recorded at the beginning and end of the capstone experience revealed increases in empowering and developing others and serving others. These findings support the value of servant leadership education in the training of future leaders within the helping professions.
Yogarajah Nanthagopan, Nigel Williams and Karen Thompson
The purpose of this paper is to understand and identify the nature of evaluation criteria, levels and associations among levels of project success in development projects by NGOs…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand and identify the nature of evaluation criteria, levels and associations among levels of project success in development projects by NGOs in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
The setting for this study is Sri Lanka, a country currently recovering from civil war and natural disasters and host to a large number of national and international NGOs involved in development projects. Data collection was conducted using a quantitative survey which obtained 447 responses. Multivariate analysis of data was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.
Findings
The study confirmed that overall project success in NGOs could be assessed in three levels: project management (PM) success, project success and NGO success. The results conclude that there are strong associations among the three levels of project success; moreover, PM success and project success are indispensable for achieving NGO success.
Originality/value
This study extends existing research to confirm the presence of the three levels of project success and the interconnections among them. These findings can support subsequent research on development projects and also support the design of holistic evaluation tools to support project practices in NGOs.
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Carolyn Rogers, Karen Thompson and Sally Robinson
Discusses the process of introducing a breast health strategy into schools through multi‐disciplinary working. Although breast screening plays an important part in the early…
Abstract
Discusses the process of introducing a breast health strategy into schools through multi‐disciplinary working. Although breast screening plays an important part in the early detection of breast cancer, up to a third of women do not take up their invitation for screening. It is argued that breast health education is a vital step towards normalising discussions about breasts, promoting breast awareness and countering misconceptions about breast cancer and breast screening. The breast health strategy evolved from a motivation to introduce an educational intervention into schools through a collaboration between school and community. The process included some informal research and evaluation at each stage which helped the team to reflect, and to inform the next stage of the project. This indicated that many teenage girls have misunderstandings, and may benefit from breast health education in schools. Having established the beginnings of a feasible strategy, the need for more systematic research and evaluation is recognised.
Using participatory action research, this paper explains how the Service Employees International Union and community groups collaborated to organize home care workers in Oregon…
Abstract
Using participatory action research, this paper explains how the Service Employees International Union and community groups collaborated to organize home care workers in Oregon. The tactics used include policy borrowing and tinkering, a ballot initiative, coalition building, lobbying, and legislative politics. This approach to organizing low-wage human service providers has important implications for other unions. Home care workers are similar to many other human service providers because the funding stream for their jobs is public. In essence, they are quasi-public sector employees. The tactics employed by the SEIU may serve as a “handle” for organizing other human service workers, who are employed by nongovernmental organizations, but are paid through federal, state, and local government funds.
Janeen E. Olsen, Karen J. Thompson and T.K. Clarke
Wine marketers realise that to increase the overall size of the wine consuming population they must make wine more approachable and easier to understand. As it now stands, many…
Abstract
Wine marketers realise that to increase the overall size of the wine consuming population they must make wine more approachable and easier to understand. As it now stands, many consumers lack confidence in their ability to select a wine for either their own consumption or to share with others. Therefore, understanding the role played by consumer self‐confidence is especially relevant to marketers of wine, and the need to accurately measure the construct is important to scholarly research. Recently, the development of a scale to measure consumer self‐confidence has appeared in the consumer behaviour literature (Bearden, Hardesty and Rose, 2001). This study first adapts this consumer self‐confidence scale for use in wine‐related research. Next, the impact of six distinct dimensions of consumer self‐confidence on three different wine purchase situations is demonstrated. Results show the scale has the potential to inform both researchers and marketers about consumers' self‐confidence related to wine purchases.
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Elizabeth Thach and Karen J. Thompson
The purpose of this paper is to identify differences, if any, that exist in leadership style, behaviors, and competencies to drive performance between public/non‐profit and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify differences, if any, that exist in leadership style, behaviors, and competencies to drive performance between public/non‐profit and for‐profit organizational leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The study describes the results of in‐depth interviews with leaders in small to medium‐sized organizations in California. Approximately half of the leaders work in non‐profit and public organizations, while the other half work in for‐profit companies.
Findings
The findings reveal both similarities and differences between the two groups.
Originality/value
The results are a first step in examining the key leadership competencies required for success in each sector and serve as a springboard for future research.
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Mary Keating and Karen Thompson
International human resource management (IHRM) research is becoming an increasingly important topic in light of the relentless pace of globalisation. Three strands of research…
Abstract
International human resource management (IHRM) research is becoming an increasingly important topic in light of the relentless pace of globalisation. Three strands of research contribute to our understanding of IHRM, the most dominant being research on human resource management in multinational companies. This paper categorises the literature in the field, highlighting disciplinary introspection within and between each strand. Argues that, by neglecting to embrace the contributions of research from cross‐cultural management and comparative human resource management, the field lacks the necessary conceptual and methodological tools to advance. Concludes by suggesting areas where collaboration and cross‐fertilisation between disciplines can occur before embarking on the integrative process of theory building.
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To date, higher education frameworks for teaching and learning are not designed to focus on interdisciplinary subject matters like sustainability. Consequently, based on an…
Abstract
To date, higher education frameworks for teaching and learning are not designed to focus on interdisciplinary subject matters like sustainability. Consequently, based on an in-depth literature review, this chapter presents a theoretical framework for teaching and learning about sustainability. Within this framework, it is posited that opportunity to learn (OTL) about sustainability can directly influence promising practices of teaching and learning about sustainability (including both cognitively responsive teaching and teaching for sustainability) along with transformative sustainability learning outcomes. Additionally, it is posited that OTL can indirectly affect transformative sustainability learning outcomes by directly influencing promising practices of teaching and learning about sustainability. This in turn directly influences transformative sustainability learning outcomes. Implications from this framework offer a distinctive way to frame sustainability-specific subject matter and teaching practices. With respect to practice, this framework can provide critical information to instructors about how to teach sustainability. With regards to conceptual contributions, this framework can guide further research through this precise framing of discussions, as well as guiding data collection and analyses. Also, scholars can continue to examine the framework for facets that are most important, and continue to fine-tune it as it further develops and demonstrates its viability.