Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'International leadership'

This study is a comparative investigation of organizational leadership internationally in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. The thesis developed is largely based on the "PM" (Performance/Maintenance) model of leadership developed by Misumi over the last three or four decades in Japan.The Misumi model sets a precedent interesting for its Eastern juxtaposition with Hofstede and for the tension it recognizes between behaviours general to all situations of organizational leadership and those which are context-specific. In addition to the focus on this theory in particular, the study examines the relationship of national and personal values to perceptions and interpretation of organizational leadership behaviour. The underlying purpose is to increase understanding of cross-cultural variables in the field of organizational leadership.For its premise, the research undertaken makes the suggestion that leadership behaviours are influenced by national cultural variables and therefore national similarities or differences are, at least to some extent, culturally determined. It is the scope of this cultural imperative which becomes the focus for the thesis. Hypotheses developed, and the data gathered to test them, centre on the perceptions of consistency between organizational leadership in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Diplomová práce se zabývá analýzou mezinárodního úspěchu společnosti Starbucks. Příčiny tohoto bezprecedentního úspěchu jsou nejprve detekovány ve vnějších faktorech a v odvětví samotném. Následuje pozorování strategických kroků společnosti od založení až po mezinárodní expanzi a podrobná deskripce interních praktik společnosti. V analytické části je pak vymezen a aplikován model, který byl vyvinut na Bocconské univerzitě v Miláně. Jednotlivé předpoklady modelu jsou porovnávány s postupem společnosti Starbucks. Vyhodnocením shodností a odlišností reality a modelu se pak dochází k závěrům, které vysvětlují příčiny extrémně pozitivních výsledků společnosti Starbucks a její schopnosti přeměnit stagnující neatraktivní odvětví na lukrativní obor s vysokými maržemi.

The thesis focuses on the role of leadership communication within a multinational business organization. It aims to confirm the critical importance of communication provided by leaders to their team members. The literature review will focus on the existing communication flows within organizations and the current research results and insights in the field of leadership communication, which is a new, emerging domain of study. Thanks to recent quantitative research (Men, 2014b), it has been already confirmed that leadership communication has a direct effect on employee-organization relationships and overall internal communication. However, qualitative research has been suggested for validation of how the discovered model works in concrete environments (Men, 2014b). Thus, the research section will reveal the findings of in-depth semi-structured interview analysis within a global internal IT services provider which is part of a Group enterprise operating in the logistics industry world-wide. The thesis will culminate in defining logical reasoning for adding communication skills to the company's core competencies for organizational managers and leaders.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders’, and for that reason, it is considered important by researchers and practitioners alike to understand how to develop effective leadership skills and characteristics. The purpose of this research was to explore concepts of leadership including leadership development (LD) within an international development through sport context. The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada’s (CGC) International Development through Sport (IDS) administration team created a program called the Capacity Support Program (CSP). The CSP is an internship program offered to recent university graduates to assist in various initiatives intended on building sporting capacity within partnering Commonwealth countries. Participants also known as Capacity Support Officer’s (CSO’s) were immersed within an international environment with a host sport organization (e.g., Barbados National Olympic Committee) for approximately fourteen-months. In this study, interviews were conducted with IDS administrators to clarify and provide further detailed information about the program. In addition, archival material (e.g., pre-departure training manual, website articles, DVDs), interviews with CSO’s, and a debrief focus group session with the CSO’s which discussed their experiences and the various concepts of leadership and LD within an international development through sport context was conducted. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. A grounded theory approach, specifically the inductive coding technique was utilized throughout the content analysis procedure. Findings showed that concepts of leadership and LD were 1) a fundamental component of the program and 2) linked to various existing literature on leadership theories (e.g., authentic leadership). Further, findings demonstrated the program design and training were significant components of LD and that the cross-cultural context accelerated LD. These findings and others will culminate in a discussion regarding future studies of leadership and LD.

Thesis (M. Arch.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.
Thesis research directed by: Architecture. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Change is critical in most organizations. International schools attempting to redefine 21st century education for their students are innovating pedagogies and schools’ structures. However, the leader of an organization or school may be the most influential advocate for or barrier to change. International schools’ leaders continue to play a role in the diffusion of distance education. This study identified the knowledge and experience of international school leaders and identified themes that are related to the likelihood distance education would or would not be adopted by the schools they lead. This applied dissertation describes international school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory in adopting distance education into kindergarten-Grade 12 East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS). International schools are a unique niche in the global educational environment. Triangulating data from EARCOS school leaders collected through individual innovativeness surveys and coding open-ended interview transcripts provided insight to school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory when applied to adopting or rejecting the use of distance education within their schools. Data collected in this study indicated that EARCOS school leaders’ use of formalized planning when diffusing innovations, including distance education, within their schools varied depending on the scale of the innovation and the stakeholders involved. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves higher on average in individual innovativeness when compared to other innovativeness survey normative groups. Several other key themes emerged from the data including the following: Opinion leadership and change agents play a vital role in diffusing innovations in EARCOS schools. School leaders need to be adaptable and recognize opinion leadership within their schools to diffuse innovations efficiently. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves as highly innovative but were reluctant to explore innovative ways of delivering instruction, including distance education. Distance education was not seen as relevant in EARCOS schools, even though school leaders recognized their students would be exposed to online learning upon matriculation. Barriers to the diffusion of distance education exist in EARCOS schools including cost to develop distance education programs and courses, existing school structures, and the perceived absence of need.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an ambitious and challenging academic high school program. However, the IB program is not without its difficulties and shortcomings. Many IB students appear to sense various levels of social dissonance from the general student population. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate why nonacademic socialization is a significant problem between high school IB students and AP/traditional students. IB student/graduates and former/retired IB faculty members were used exclusively for this qualitative study. The focus of this qualitative study required analyzing the IB student nonacademic socialization lived experience. This qualitative study used a grounded theoretical methodology that included open-ended interviews. All interviews conducted were face-to-face, phone, or with the use of Skype technology. The coding analysis resulted in the emergence of four themes and sixteen subthemes. The four emergent themes generated a theoretical model that supported the central research question and two secondary research questions.

This research emerges from a deep personal interest in the leadership of Hong Kong international secondary schools. It seeks to understand the perspectives of school Principals. Some of the challenges they face are the same the world over; others are contextual and reflect a distinctive educational sector. What are the strategies that are used to meet these challenges and do they reflect expectations from the theoretical literature about school leadership? The dissertation adopts a qualitative, interpretivist epistemology and develops an "alongsider" research methodology which includes semi structured interviews with 22 participant Principals and their subsequent involvement in developing meaning from the interview data through two participants workshop conferences. This approach is intended to make the research authoritative, relevant and accessible to school leaders and policy makers to influence their practice. Two themes run through the research. The first theme reveals how Principals distribute their leadership in practice to build the capability of their schools. Many of their actions are seen as cultural as well as structural as they attempt to build a unifying vision and negotiate an appropriate pace of change in their complex cultural contexts. The research shows how the chosen theoretical lenses of distributed leadership; human, social and organisational capital investment; and leverage strategies can be used to represent the actions of participant Principals. The analysis concludes with the presentation of a generic model to describe how key processes are mutually supportive in a school's strategic journey towards building capability. The second theme focuses on the peculiar cultural context of the Hong Kong international secondary school sector. Five features of international schools are identified and evaluated leading to a conclusion that discusses how this particular context is distinctive. The tension between homogenising globalisation forces and the need to develop local strategies is discussed. Although cultural diversity is sometimes perceived as a challenge it is also identified as an opportunity for leaders to develop situational hybrid responses. A particular issue that emerges from the narratives is governance. The relationship between a Principal and the wider community through the mechanism of governance is a contextual challenge as it reflects two interfaces. The first is contextual, as often the Principal and the governing community in these schools emerge from different cultural backgrounds; the second reflects a generic challenge for all Principals to manage the internal professional world of their school within the wider political world. The research conclusions emerge from the discussions with participant Principals. They reflect a shared understanding as well as my own interpretation of the narrative themes. This wider ownership is used to generate reflection and debate within the educational sector with the aim of contributing to the development of school leadership practice.

International education is an area of education that, over the last forty years, has grown in size and significance. International schools are one of many vehicles for the delivery of international education and are growing in number and variety. In addition, the value placed by society on an international education and those curricular programs that promote international education continue to develop. International schools are, therefore, becoming an important and growing area of education. In general terms the amount of research on such schools is limited when compared to national education systems and national schools. The growth in the number of international schools has been accompanied by a growth in the variety of such schools and the diversity of foundations, governance models and missions that support them. This diversity and my experience in international school leadership, allied to my interest in school improvement and school effectiveness as it pertains to the field of international schools, led to an interest in how models of governance impact on international school leadership and – through the leadership – on school improvement and development. This research enquiry is a case study, based on evidence produced through three different research methods; individual school studies, a questionnaire and expert interviews. The use of three methods of data gathering allowed for a complex area to be examined and the results to be triangulated. The results of the case study serve to illuminate the area and to suggest future avenues of research. One area of particular interest that was identified through the study was the interaction within the leadership structures of the schools and the relationships between the head of school, governors and model of governance. It would appear from the results of the study that those models of governance that relied on high numbers of elected parents of students currently attending the school produced a much higher turnover of heads and chairs of boards than did others. The interaction between head, chair of the school board and overall board members also appeared to affect the length of time people served in these posts. Following discussion of such issues, the implications of governance model and rate of turnover for the leadership, development and improvement of international schools are further examined and discussed. The process of conducting this enquiry, while time consuming and demanding, has been of huge benefit to me both personally and professionally. I have enjoyed the challenge and particularly gained from the greater professional insight developed during the study.

This thesis offers a rare insight into senior leadership in International Baccalaureate (IB) international schools. The IB international school profits from the perceived quality and consistency of the IB brand, however, international schools suffer from an endemic culture of change and reinterpretation. The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile (IBLP) offers scope for consistency and an overarching ethos, and previous research suggests that ‘buy-in’ to the IBLP, and modelling of it in all aspects of school life, are essential in achieving this. The IB itself promotes the IBLP as a valuable tool for leadership. It emerges that buy-in to the IBLP in directors is split between the personal and the operational. This interpretive study investigates international school leadership in the Western European context through six IB directors. It is noteworthy in its multi-phase research over two years, employing an aspect of critical phenomenology. It explores directors’ relationship to, and operationalisation of, the IB Learner Profile (IBLP) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE). All but one director show strong personal connection to the IBLP, however, only one of the six directors uses the IBLP in leadership. Generally, directors attribute the IBLP limited status; of use in teaching at junior and middle school, and helpful for new IB teachers. Analysis through Bourdieu finds IB directors have higher loyalty to (loosely defined) GCE through their Christian values. A foregrounding of individual values, over the secular IBLP, places IB directors as primary catalysts for the change culture unravelling the consistency of the IB international school, confirming the value of the IBLP in leadership. Societal values emerge as a key commodity in the character of leadership, steering leaders’ organisational values. IB directors’ uptake of IB organisational values is not given, whilst directors’ own ‘English’ Christian, values are significant, with one exception - Collegial views of leadership are the normative outlook for most participants. However, descriptive leadership is characterised by change and analysis finds this driven by participants’ societal values. Change is endemic and a commodity in itself. This manifests in a transformational model of leadership, usually accompanied by episodes of transactional leadership. In the main, IB international school senior leadership is characterised by permanent transformation linked with transactional episodes.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) organization promotes distributed leadership as the ideal leadership model for implementation of all of its 4 programs, and researchers have noted that this leadership model in private international schools with multiple IB programs has been vital to school wide success. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how distributed leadership influenced the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) in a public middle school that has been successful in meeting academic goals. Spillane's distributed leadership model served as the basis for identifying the organizational structures, routines, and tools that influenced the implementation of the IBMYP and improvement in students' academic achievement. Data included interviews with 2 administrators, 3 teachers, 2 support staff, and 1 coordinator, and documents collected from participants, a district leader, and the school's website. Data analysis entailed coding to identify emerging patterns and themes. Findings from this study indicated that distributed leadership had a positive influence in the implementation of the IBMYP. Major themes included effective distributed leadership practices of positional and informal leaders; collaboration amongst faculty members; positive relationships between administrators and others; shared academic vision; effective organizational structures, routines, and tools; shared learning; and students' behavioral challenges. Positive social change may come from providing leaders in the IB organization, as well as district leaders, strategies for distributing leadership that were found in this study that may increase successful implementation of the IBMYP in public schools and improvement in student academic achievement.

This thesis examines middle leadership in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on five main areas; roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement. Data were collected through observations, documentary analysis and 52 semi-structured interviews with four principals, 12 heads of department and 36 teachers. The empirical data indicate that the middle leaders’ roles suffer from lack of clarity, with managerial tasks dominating their job scope. Different role interpretations have led to the development of misunderstanding and uneasy relationships between and among the participants. Despite this, and in contrast to the literature, there is more coordination between the middle leaders and the senior leaders, mainly due to the nature of accountability in private international settings. The empirical findings show teaching and learning to be the most powerful feature of the four case-study schools. Among all the themes identified, lesson observations are conducted and taken seriously in all the schools. Criticisms about monitoring persist but the general trend is positive. Time constraints, as suggested by international literature, continue to hamper the work of the participating middle leaders. This thesis holds that autonomy to take and implement decisions is an essential component of distributed leadership. Broadly speaking, the empirical evidence suggests that opportunities for middle leaders and teachers to participate and influence key decisions in their schools are limited. While they claim great autonomy in the domain of the classroom, they report limited satisfactory experience outside it. The observational findings indicate four departmental models; ‘island’ & ‘shopping mall’, in which isolation prevails; ‘solar system’, with its asymmetrical balance of attention; ‘magnet’, where a few are attracted and the rest repelled, and ‘bicycle wheel’, with a hub to which all ‘roads’ lead. The main significance of this thesis is inter-sectionality, which occurs at the interface between autonomy and expertise. This model suggests that the transition from middle management to middle leadership is contingent upon the proportional provision of these two constructs. A lack of equilibrium between autonomy and expertise can influence the extent to which middle-level practitioners can be described as leaders.

Business leaders require the appropriate strategies and knowledge to successfully grow their companies through international expansion. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the West Bank in Palestine often encounter complex barriers as the executives of the firms explore business opportunities in foreign countries. The objective of this single case study was to explore, in depth, the perspectives of business leaders from a population of executives of an MNE in the West Bank. The conceptual framework used in the study was cultural intelligence. The selected multinational business leaders participated in semistructured, face-to-face interviews followed by member checking. The 2 executives of the MNE shared their experiences and knowledge concerning the internationalization processes of their company. The data analysis process followed Yin's 5-phase analysis cycle; it entailed an analysis of interview responses followed by member checking and a review of administrative documents of the MNE under study. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: international knowledge and adaption of local conditions, strategic partnerships, and diversification and specialization. The findings from the study could contribute to positive social change by encouraging executives to explore business opportunities in the West Bank, resulting in an increase in employment rate and better living standards for the residents.

El liderazgo y el emprendimiento son reconocidos cada vez más por desempeñar un papel esencial en el desarrollo social y económico. En consecuencia, académicos, gestores de políticas públicas, directivos y emprendedores, han mostrado un interés particular en la comprensión de este fenómeno. La investigación en torno al liderazgo y el emprendimiento ha abarcado factores como la personalidad, los atributos, conocimientos, habilidades y comportamientos. Dichos elementos son básicamente determinados por el entorno sociocultural. A pesar de que se ha avanzado en la identificación de estos factores, menor atención se ha mostrado en el análisis y la integración de estudios empíricos destinados a incrementar la capacidad y el desarrollo del liderazgo y el emprendimiento en el ámbito mundial. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la relación entre el liderazgo y el emprendimiento desde una perspectiva sociocultural. Así, los objetivos específicos son: 1) explorar el contenido y evolución de la investigación sobre los factores socioculturales (instituciones informales) que influyen en el liderazgo y el emprendimiento; 2) analizar las instituciones informales que influyen en el liderazgo emprendedor; 3) estudiar las instituciones informales que afectan el liderazgo (considerando tanto el contexto internacional como el contexto de países en desarrollo); y 4) analizar las dimensiones del liderazgo que influyen en el emprendimiento. Este estudio se basa en dos marcos teóricos. La teoría económica institucional (North, 1990) se utilizará para sustentar el estudio sobre emprendimiento y la teoría de la organización social y económica (Weber, 1947), para el estudio del liderazgo. Los principales hallazgos de la investigación revelan que las instituciones informales, tales como las creencias, los valores y actitudes de una sociedad (independencia, toma de riesgos, religión, tolerancia, creatividad, poder, responsabilidad, resiliencia, red social y capital social) determinan el comportamiento de los miembros de la sociedad y en consecuencia, la decisión de convertirse en líderes. Además, la presente investigación señala que el liderazgo tiene un fuerte efecto sobre el emprendimiento, especialmente el liderazgo carismático y transformacional. La metodología desarrollada es cuantitativa y se basa fundamentalmente en datos internacionales obtenidos de la encuesta mundial sobre valores (World Values Survey), el proyecto GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) y el proyecto GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), así como información a nivel nacional del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) en México. Otras fuentes como el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), el Banco Mundial (BM) y los indicadores de gobernabilidad en el mundo (The Worldwide Governance Indicators) complementan las fuentes de información. Asimismo, esta tesis combina varias técnicas estadísticas: análisis de correspondencias, análisis factorial, modelos de regresión y análisis de datos de panel. Por último, el presente estudio sugiere tanto implicaciones académicas como prácticas. Por un lado, la investigación posiciona la economía institucional como un marco conceptual adecuado para integrar el análisis de los factores socioculturales que contribuyen a la promoción del liderazgo y del emprendimiento. Por otro lado, desde el punto de vista práctico, este estudio puede ayudar a los responsables educativos a generar programas de capacitación que promuevan y desarrollen liderazgo y emprendimiento para la creación de una mejor sociedad. Asimismo, los resultados podrían ser útiles para desarrollar una política gubernamental destinada a cimentar iniciativas emprendedoras. En definitiva, la investigación sobre liderazgo y emprendimiento tiene el potencial para descubrir nuevas formas que mejoren la práctica empresarial, la educación y las políticas públicas en el siglo XXI.
It is increasingly recognized that leadership and entrepreneurship play an essential role in economic and social development. Consequently, researchers, educators, policy makers, and practitioners have shown particular interest in understanding these phenomena. Leadership and entrepreneurship research has encompassed factors such as personality, traits, knowledge, skills, and behaviors. These elements are shaped by the sociocultural environment. While both disciplines leadership and entrepreneurship, have shown progress in identifying these factors, there has been far less focus on proposing their joint analysis and on integrating empirical research to increase the capacity and performance of leaders and entrepreneurs all over the world. The main objective of this investigation is to analyze the relationship between leadership and entrepreneurial activity from a sociocultural perspective. Thus, the specific objectives are: 1) to explore the content and evolution of the research on the sociocultural factors (informal institutions) that influence entrepreneurship and leadership; 2) to analyze the informal institutions that influence entrepreneurial leadership; 3) to study the informal institutions that affect leadership behavior (considering the international context and also focusing on developing countries); and 4) to analyze the leadership dimensions that influence entrepreneurship. This research is grounded in two theoretical frameworks. Institutional economics (North, 1990) will be used as the theoretical framework for the study of entrepreneurship. The theory of social and economic organization (Weber, 1947) will be introduced as the theoretical framework for the study of leadership. The main findings of the research reveal that the informal institutions, such as the beliefs, values, and attitudes of a society (independence, risk taking, religion, tolerance, creativity, power, responsibility, resilience, networking, and social capital) determine the behavior of that society’s members, thereby affecting the decision to become a leader. It also shows that leadership has a strong effect on entrepreneurship, especially charismatic/transformational leadership behaviors. The methodology used is quantitative and is fundamentally based on international data from the World Values Survey (WVS), Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE), and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), along with national data from the National Institute of Statistic and Geography (INEGI), Mexico. This data is complemented by other data sources of information such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project. This thesis combines several research techniques: correspondence analysis, factor analysis, regression models, and data panel analysis. Finally, this investigation suggests a series of implications at the academic level, as it positions institutional economics as an appropriate conceptual framework for integrating the analysis of the sociocultural factors that contribute to the promotion of leadership and entrepreneurship. From the practical perspective, this study may help managers and educators to generate training programs that promote and develop leadership and entrepreneurship that contribute to a better society. Equally, the results could be helpful to government policy that is meant to support entrepreneurial initiatives. Research on leadership and entrepreneurship has the potential to reveal many new ways to improve business practice, education, and public policy in the twenty-first century.

Today’s pressure of change, innovation and shorter life-cycles have created a projectification in nearly every industry. Especially international projects are more frequently used to meet the global competition. However, it is common that project managers despite impressive track record, fail when posted internationally due to inability to adapt to foreign cultures. Only half of all international projects reach expected results and many of them are not completed at all, which indicates that the complexity of international projects is underestimated. This study aims to explore how cultural differences increase the project complexity and challenge the leadership of the project manager. Furthermore, the project manager’s leadership ability is studied in terms of qualities required to lead international projects and achieving project objectives. Leadership is a well explored area of research but existing theories are foremost based on functional leadership and few on project leadership, fewer still in an international context. General management leadership theories are not applicable on leadership within project management because of the different circumstances since a project is defined as a unique task based on a flexible organization and limited time frame. Additionally, the knowledge of how national culture influences project management is limited and therefore underestimated. Today, global corporations invest billions of dollars in international projects and by gaining understanding of the qualities required to succeed leading international projects, corporations could better utilize resources, decrease costs and improve project outcome. Therefore this study explores both the cultural challenges that arise in international project, what qualities the project manager should possess and whether the human resource department recruits project managers with necessary qualities. This has been done through qualitative dialogues together with a theoretical framework. With this study, I hope to enlighten the reader of the meaning of international projects and how culture must be acknowledged as an influencing factor on project leadership. Furthermore, I hope to trigger reflection of the selection processes of project managers and who is suitable for the role.

Le leadership est un processus d’influence sociale à travers lequel un acteur qui préconise une position sur un enjeu international entraîne d’autres acteurs à converger vers cette même position. Cette conception du leadership comme un processus de coopération a été négligée dans l’étude de la politique internationale. De plus en plus de faits empiriques révèlent que les États-Unis ne sont pas le seul État qui puisse produire des leaders internationaux, et que les décideurs d’autres États peuvent aussi s’ériger en meneurs. Pourquoi est-ce qu’une personne est motivée à devenir leader? Pourquoi est-ce que les autres acceptent de suivre ce leader, et non quelqu’un d’autre, ou encore choisissent de refuser la position du meneur? Pour expliquer comment le processus de leadership fonctionne, je développe une théorie cognitive-affective du leadership international. Mon argument est que les meneurs ont la volonté de prendre les devants à cause de leurs fortes convictions, et cherchent à persuader les autres acteurs que leur position est représentative de la communauté dont ils font partie. Ceux et celles qui suivent le meneur se rallient à sa position lorsque leurs croyances émotionnelles sont alignées avec celles du leader, lorsque la position et le comportement du leader sont représentatifs de la communauté, et lorsque des mécanismes de persuasion et de résonance émotionnelle les amènent plus près de la position du meneur. Pour vérifier cette théorie, je me concentre sur le processus de leadership entre les puissances transatlantiques : les États-Unis, l’Allemagne, la France, et le Royaume-Uni. J’étudie la coopération entre les décideurs transatlantiques sur des enjeux cruciaux lors de quatre cas de conflits intraétatiques internationalisés: la reconnaissance de la Slovénie, la Croatie et la Bosnie comme États souverains, la médiation pour la paix lors de la guerre entre la Russie et la Géorgie, les sanctions économiques contre la Russie pendant le conflit en Ukraine, et la construction d’une coalition pour réaliser des frappes aériennes contre l’État islamique en Irak et en Syrie.
Leadership is a process of social inflence through which an actor advocating for a position on an international issue induces followers to converge on the same position. Leadership in this sense, as a process of cooperation, has been neglected in the study of international politics. An accumulating body of evidence reveals that the United States is not the only state that can produce international leaders, and that policymakers from other states can also take the lead. Why is someone willing to take the lead? Why are other actors willing to follow this leader and not someone else, or just refuse to agree with the leader’s stance? To explain how the leadership process works, I develop a Cognitive-Affective Theory of international leadership. My argument is that leaders are willing to take the lead because of their strong convictions, and seek to persuade their followers that their position is representative of the wider community of which they are part. Followers rally behind the leader when their emotional beliefs align with the leader, when the leader’s position and behavior are representative of the community, and when mechanisms of persuasion and emotional resonance bring them closer to the leader’s position. In order to test this theory, I concentrate on the leadership process among transatlantic powers: the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. I study the cooperation between transatlantic policymakers on crucial issues that emerged during four cases of internationalized intrastate conflicts: recognition of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia as new sovereign states, peace mediation in the war between Russia and Georgia, economic sanctions against Russia during the Ukraine conflict, and construction of a broader coalition conducting air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

International expatriate schools require educational leaders to guide culturally diverse stakeholders as they prepare students to address world problems. In the United States, effective educational leadership has been demonstrated as necessary to implement research-based practices. However, researchers have not yet established the leadership needed from expatriate kindergarten through Grade 12 school leaders seeking to develop global citizens. This gap leads to the question of how international expatriate educational leaders demonstrate empathetic, emotionally self-managed, or interculturally sensitive skills when meeting a school's global-minded strategic plan. The purpose of this case study was to describe expatriate school leaders' perceptions of how they and their peers demonstrate these skills. The conceptual framework included distributed leadership, emotional intelligence, and intercultural sensitivity in the context of global citizenship. Data from an expatriate middle school in China included interviews with school leaders, documents, and researcher notes. The results indicated that expatriate leaders demonstrated empathy through social responsibility, emotional self-management through personal and professional competence, and intercultural sensitivity through active civic engagement. International expatriate schools may benefit if educational leaders demonstrate support and concern and provide examples of the global-mindedness expected of students. These results can guide faculty members' professional competencies toward implementing instructional programs that target the development of global citizens. Social change could result from international expatriate schools applying described models of distributed leadership toward a unified and socially just purpose.

From the middle of the 1970s, an increasing amount of scholarly analysis centred around the concept of leadership in international relations at a time when US post-Second World War leadership began to decline. As a major beneficiary of this decline, Japan assumed the mantle of a replacement in the burgeoning field devoted to the study of changes in the international political economy. A major problem became the way in which the study of leadership in international relations became hostage to the singular example of the United States. The conflation between leadership on the one hand, with US interests and responsibilities on the other, rendered much of the analysis flawed. The growing disparities between the supply of international public goods and narrowly conceived US foreign policy interests undermined the overall study of international leadership. Japan, as the country during the 1980s perceived most likely to supplant the US as the largest and most influential capitalist economy, became the centre of interest in this field. This thesis seeks to more comprehensively measure and analyse Japanese leadership in a more contextual and thorough means through the comparative use of case studies between 1960 and 2000. Through noting the differences in country and regional reactions to Japanese foreign policy, this study demonstrates that leadership perceptions are more often than not driven by national self interest rather than an ideal type of responsible leadership.

This quantitative study took place at a private international school in East Asia. The purpose of the study was to investigate United States college admission trends comparing International Baccalaureate Diploma Program candidates and International Baccalaureate non-Diploma Program candidates from the same school. Descriptive data was collected for the Classes of 2007-2012 and the two groups were compared based on the number of college acceptances for each group by year and as a whole, and the eventual collegiate success of the two groups once they matriculated to college, as measured by college persistence and graduation rates. The results of this study show there was a statistically significant difference between the mean number of college applications and the mean number of college acceptances per group, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the college acceptance rates for the two groups of students. There was a statistically significant difference between the matriculation rate of diploma and certificate students, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the graduation rates for the two groups of students. The information analyzed provides school stakeholders valuable data to explore the final educational outcomes for its graduates and determine if there is a significant difference in the college success of the two groups.

By the 20th Century, tax codes made a distinction between for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. The distinction was that not-for- profits were to supply a service to society like hospitals, churches and museums. The distinctions are no longer clear. There is a demand for 'new breed' or hybrid directors in an environment favoring economic capital and searching for people who can be champions for social capital. This international cross-disciplinary research explores the leadership challenge through personal interviews and survey feedback with 72 museum directors or associate directors across Australia, the United States, England and Canada. Organisation psychology and management theory is brought to the field of art history. Art history is the traditional breeding ground for museum directors. In concluding, the thesis argues for a range of propositions to address the current leadership crisis in art museums based on a new understanding of leadership and leadership development
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A new organization often encounters the “liability of newness” that increases its chance of failing as a start-up enterprise (Freeman et al, 1983). New organizations located in a foreign country also face the “liability of foreignness” (Zaheer & Mosakowski, 1997). By gaining legitimacy, organizations can obtain the resources they need to become sustainable. The liabilities of newness and foreignness aptly describe the international branch campuses that have been set up in China.

Scott’s (1995) institutional legitimacy pillars and Suchman’s (1995) legitimacy theory are combined to form a new conceptual legitimacy framework to understand legitimacy issues in China. This qualitative study selects seven cases to answer this research question: What strategies do the international branch campuses use to gain social support from different constituencies? The institutions studied are: The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, New York University Shanghai, United International College Shenzhen, Dongbei University of Economy and Finance Surrey International Institute, Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School (Suzhou), and The Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies.

Fifty-two interviews were conducted with senior institutional leaders, faculty, staff, students, parents, scholars, and employers. The research found that these international institutions did face the twin liabilities of newness and foreignness. However, being new and foreign could actually give these institutions legitimacy as well. The international institutions used all four strategies identified in the literature to gain the four pillars of legitimacy. An important caveat of the study is that the environment is significant in institutions gaining legitimacy, but the primary factor in acquiring legitimacy is the quality of their product.

This study has several limitations, including one missing case, fewer foreign interviewees, the uneven amount of information available at each institution, translation difficulties between two very different languages and cultures, and data provided by the institutions might be self-serving. The results indicate four avenues for further research. They are legitimacy thresholds; legitimacy from the perspective of the home institutions; the failed international branch campuses; education quality at these IBCs; and the evolving political dynamics in China.

Toastmasters International (TI) is a well-known worldwide association focused on communication skills and leadership development. TI clubs are designed to build confidence in public speaking. Despite the benefits that members gain from joining Toastmasters clubs, the organization is concerned with the factors that affect members' retention in TI.

This mixed-methods study of TI clubs in Southern California included member surveys completed at club meetings, interviews with club leaders, and the researcher's extensive field notes. A stratified purposeful sampling method was used to ensure that the sample size included each club category and quota of the target population of TI club members and leaders. One hundred twelve members completed the members' survey, representing a 56% response rate of the paid members in the clubs surveyed. Twelve club leaders participated in long semi-structured interviews.

The findings revealed that members join TI for self-improvement and development in speaking: the purpose of the TI curriculum. The surveys revealed that 45% of the members join TI to improve communication skills and advance their career. Fifty-six percent indicated that constant participation and attendance at TI meetings helped them to overcome their fear of public speaking. Fifty-seven percent of the members stated that they continue their membership with TI to alleviate their fear of public speaking, improve their communication, and participate in speech contests.

The survey indicated that 64% of the members enjoyed activities that allowed them to speak during the club meetings. Thirty-nine percent of the members surveyed were able to achieve their competent communicator (CC) and competent leader (CL) awards. Another 39% of the members were also in progress of completing these awards.

The convenience and location of the club was important for members in terms of their attendance. Members attended meetings when there were enough parking spaces, the club was centrally located and accessible to public transportation, and the club was comfortable as well as conducive for club meetings. It is recommended that TI develop facilities requirements to meet the needs of members and encourage them to remain in the club.

International expatriate schools require educational leaders to guide culturally diverse stakeholders as they prepare students to address world problems. In the United States, effective educational leadership has been demonstrated as necessary to implement research-based practices. However, researchers have not yet established the leadership needed from expatriate kindergarten through Grade 12 school leaders seeking to develop global citizens. This gap leads to the question of how international expatriate educational leaders demonstrate empathetic, emotionally self-managed, or interculturally sensitive skills when meeting a school’s global-minded strategic plan. The purpose of this case study was to describe expatriate school leaders’ perceptions of how they and their peers demonstrate these skills. The conceptual framework included distributed leadership, emotional intelligence, and intercultural sensitivity in the context of global citizenship. Data from an expatriate middle school in China included interviews with school leaders, documents, and researcher notes. The results indicated that expatriate leaders demonstrated empathy through social responsibility, emotional self-management through personal and professional competence, and intercultural sensitivity through active civic engagement. International expatriate schools may benefit if educational leaders demonstrate support and concern and provide examples of the global-mindedness expected of students. These results can guide faculty members’ professional competencies toward implementing instructional programs that target the development of global citizens. Social change could result from international expatriate schools applying described models of distributed leadership toward a unified and socially just purpose.

Under the background of the competitive and dynamic international market, many enterprises started or intended to develop international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) as a strategic posture. For achieving this kind of orientation, leadership behaviours are necessary and shared leadership is put forward to support enterprises to adapt to the fast-changing global market. Moreover, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an essential type of business enterprises, especially in China. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to study how shared leadership contributes to the development of IEO in a Chinese SME. As a qualitative research, data were collected by interviews and processed by content analysis. The findings of this research are: (1) shared leadership contributes on the establishment of common IEO thinking at the phase of building the IEO awareness; (2) shared leadership plays a role as explicit support and implicit support on implementing IEO; (3) these contributions of shared leadership are mutually reinforcing and complementary, which result in the reinforcement and complementation between the awareness and the implementation of IEO. These findings contribute to the research in the combination of shared leadership and IEO through studying the effects of shared leadership and the process of IEO development. Moreover, this research enriches the study on the field of SMEs and provides guidance for SME leaders who intend to develop IEO.

Institutions of higher education are increasingly faced with global forces. Consequently, colleges and universities must internationalize in order to stay relevant when faced with global forces. One means by which post-secondary institutions are internationalizing is by offering students international service-learning experiences. During these experiences, students acquire intercultural competencies and a more in-depth understanding of the educational content delivered throughout their educational career. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the acquisition of intercultural competencies by twelve participants attending the University of Montana and Montana State University. Participants were interviewed, utilizing questions about the understanding of intercultural competencies, the acquisition of said competencies, institutional preparation for and follow-up of international service-learning experiences, and the impact of international service-learning experiences on subsequent coursework. The results of this study show that participants’ home institutions offered very little preparatory and follow-up intervention. Despite the lack of institutional intervention, participants acquired six intercultural competencies associated with this study and utilized self-guided reflection exercises to make sense of their shared experience after having returned to their home institution, which resulted in a more robust post-experience education. Additionally, participants re-evaluated professional and academic ambitions based on their exposure to social inequities and drastically different gender norms from those of their native cultures. The results of this study have implications for colleges and universities wishing to facilitate international service-learning opportunities for undergraduate students. Despite a lack of institutional interventions, participants were greatly impacted by their international service-learning experience, suggesting that the impacts might be more profound with additional institutional intervention.

As the number of international students studying in the United States continues to grow, there’s the need to know how they cope in a host country and the challenges they encounter both in the classroom and outside in order improve education and prepare students for the future. The purpose of this study is to know how international students relate with one another both inside and outside the school setting. The study findings were taken from observation and interview from both graduate and undergraduate classrooms.

Recent years have seen large-scale growth in the international school sector, with schools reporting increasing competition to recruit and retain expatriate teachers, particularly in hardship locations. Using a gap analysis framework (Clark & Estes, 2008), this study seeks to identify the knowledge, motivational, and organizational factors necessary for principals to be successful in their efforts to retain expatriate teachers in international schools in the sub-Saharan region of East Africa. Assumed causes were generated from a review of the research literature in this area and validated with data collected through interviews with principals, teacher surveys and principal surveys. This study suggests that, although principals possess understanding of the knowledge and motivation factors that contribute to teacher retention, they lack understanding of the relative importance of these factors. Furthermore, though principals are motivated to invest time and effort in the retention of teachers, this study suggests that organizational policy gaps exist in how the principals approach teacher retention in a strategic manner. The study concludes with a range of proposed solutions and a detailed implementation plan designed to assist schools in addressing the challenges that they face in seeking to leverage the work of principals in retaining expatriate teachers.

The research on the topic of leadership has long been the area of interest for scholars for many decades. Despite the extensive amount of literature available there is still a gap when it comes to research about the role of student organization in the leadership development of an individual. This thesis project, therefore, is designed in order to gain deeper understanding of the potential effect of a student organization on the leadership development of a student who took leadership position within student organization.  This ambition was accomplished through qualitative research with semi-structured interviews conducted in a case study of Erasmus Student Network. The results of the research have revealed certain link between the leadership development and person’s participation in the activities of student organization. Additionally, cultural aspect has been identified as the important factor of the organization. As the result of our findings, we may conclude that there is a positive correlation between student organizations providing a good opportunity for students to test their leadership abilities in a safe environment, while it was not possible to identify the extent of that impact on the leadership development of an individual.  We believe that our research may add value to the theoretical knowledge on the leadership topic in the context of student life while giving an opportunity for the reader to use the findings of this study as a practical information and guidelines for potential of student organization to have an impact on the future of an individual.

The European Union has gained a reputation in recent years as a ʻgreenʼ leader, especially within the UNFCCC. That reputation perhaps amplified the perceived failure that occurred at the 15th Conference of Parties in December 2009 in Copenhagen. Why was Copenhagen such a disappointment? The post-modern character of the European Union—as a polity somewhere between a federal state and a international organization —has often made it difficult for the organization to take on a leadership role, nay operate, within the traditional international relations structure. The reasons for the EUʼs recent difficulty within the climate change regime may reside with two factors. First, an undeveloped sense of ʻactornessʼ on the part of the EU and, second, systemic problems within the regime itself. Here we analyze what happened at the Conference by looking at the development of the EUʼs role and polices within the climate change regime

This study offers an understanding of the emotional challenges encountered by AGIS (Association of German International Schools) head teachers in the course of their role; the consequences and impacts these challenges have on their personal and professional lives and the strategies they use to cope. This mixed methods study employs a questionnaire survey of 34 AGIS leaders, plus semi-structured interviews with eight of them, to explore their lived experiences in relation to the emotional demands they face. The findings show that, in addition to the challenges experienced by heads in wider contexts, AGIS leaders face demands specific to the multi-cultural context and transitional nature of international schools. They also highlight how school leaders may contribute to the challenges they encounter through their poor understanding of the cultural contexts that they operate in. The demands that heads face, may lead to a range of negative consequences and impacts for many. The coping strategies upon which they draw, reflect the context in which heads operate and their individual resilience capabilities. The study suggests a range of strategies by which leadership-training providers, school boards and regional and local networks may better support international school leaders. It is also suggested that international school leaders take greater initiative for both their own cultural literacy and the development of personal resilience capabilities. Such steps should reduce the demands placed on heads and enable them to better withstand the challenges they face.

Nos travaux de recherche se proposent d’apporter de nouveaux éléments conceptuels dans la littérature du « leadership » des CdP. L’existence, la position et le rôle de « leader » seront mis en perspective par rapport aux théories existantes sur le « leadership » dans d’autres domaines (science de l’éducation notamment) et le concept de communautés de pratique. Nous proposons donc le concept de “leadership distribué” et évaluons différentes approches, notamment les routines organisationnelles susceptibles de répondre à notre question de recherche. Enfin nous discutons des implications du “leadership distribué” au travers d’une étude empirique. En conclusion, l’application du modèle de leadership distribué que nous avons proposé (et en considérant ses multiples facteurs), a mis en lumière l’importante influence des routines dans la pratique quotidienne des apprentissages en tant que levier principal dans la distribution du leadership
This research claims that the current, literature of “Communities of Practice” is deficient concerning its key feature: leadership. We seek to expand the focus by underlining the key elements that influence the leadership practice in CoPs, and recommending a promising path for further investigation, which involves the “distributed leadership” theory. Drawing from an extended literature review on the subject of leadership in CoPs, the study proposes that predominant descriptive and conceptual perceptions of the topic should be supplemented by more field observation studies – evidence-based research - to support and validate the theoretical literature. During past three decades, several scholars have extensively studied this concept (CoPs) in a variety of disciplines. However, there have been very few studies of the influence of routines in these communities. The aim of this study is to analyze the notion of routines in CoPs, in light of the literature on distributed leadership theory. We focused on one particular feature of distributed form of leadership – the routines – and applied this element on the knowledge-based learning environment: the CoPs

This study investigates the effect of transiency on leadership practices in two international schools experiencing different rates of student and faculty turnover. Specifically it looks at different ways in which continuity of practice is achieved in the leadership area of regulation of student behaviour. The study draws upon the literature related to distributed leadership in particular the work of Spillane and models his approach of taking a distributed perspective of leadership. This is used as a lens to examine the ways in which leadership becomes embedded in the everyday practices of the school. Using data generated from document analysis, observations, interviews and artefacts, a comparison is made between School A (experiencing relatively high rates of student and faculty turnover) and School B (which has a much more stable student and teaching population). The study focusses on the role of 'institutional memory' in processes of continuity and investigates whether or not schools with transient populations do things differently. Data is analysed in three categories: Values and Purposes, Arrangements and Tools, and Routines. Activities that contribute to processes of consistency and continuity in the schools are identified. The discussion draws conclusions regarding the effects of transiency on practice and the significance of context when considering leadership decision-making processes. In general, the study found that in School A, continuity of practice was achieved through the materialisation and routinisation of processes and systems, and relied on the communication of expectations to all stakeholders and the distribution or embedding of practice at multiple levels. In School B, continuity of practice was achieved through the institutional memory of the people in the school and relied on longevity of staff and a strong, longstanding commitment to the school community on the part of the faculty. Finally, the implications of the findings for future research are presented.

This research explores leadership development in the Church of God Mission International (CGMi), Nigeria, from its beginnings in 1968 to date, and the leadership challenges of the future of the Church. The thesis examines the charisms of leadership in Benson Idahosa’s life as the founder of the movement, and subsequent developments – its expansion and emergence as a major Pentecostal denomination. A biographical narrative of Benson Idahosa’s ministry along with a historiographical account of CGMi, up to the present time of transition from a charismatic missional movement to a more settled institutional denomination. This narrative raises the primary research question: Can the charism of the founder be continued in CGMi as a more settled Church? The thesis is an interdisciplinary study that brings together Church leadership, missiology and Pentecostal studies with the sociology of routinization in order to explore the importance, aspirations and reality of leadership in a mission movement turned settled Church. This analysis reveals a leadership tension situated in the struggle between charismatic and institutional emphases. The sociology of routinization is used to interpret the current state of CGMi as a Church in transition, reflected in the changing nature of leadership. It is argued that a more settled institutional approach to leadership is currently steering CGMi, which may divert the Church from its original charismatic and missional emphasis. The thesis offers a challenge to the sociological inevitability of routinization, by exploring a theological approach to leadership renewal guided by the charism of the founder. The concept of leadership renewal provides a framework for discernment by distinguishing between the essential and non-essential elements of the founder’s charism. This also requires discernment about the transmission or non-transmission of those elements in order to meet the contemporary demands of the Church, while preserving the original essence of the movement. It is argued that a theology of leadership renewal is needed in order to provide a corrective measure to the pressures of institutionalisation, through a charismatic emphasis on leadership development. The aim of the thesis, therefore, is to propose a theology of leadership renewal, fit for the future of the Church, in which the charismatic and institutional dimensions work cooperatively, and without collapsing the tension that exists between them.

Institutional accreditation in the last decades has been studies as an important assessment that ensures the quality of higher education institutions. The growth of the economy around the world has placed value on evaluating universities’ accountability and effectiveness. Therefore, one of the most significant current discussions in higher education institutions is obtaining international accreditation. Consequently, Saudi Arabia’s institutional accreditation system is seeking to improve higher education institutions’ quality assurance and accountability by preparing them for international accreditation. However, only 12 universities out of 34 have been accredited at the institutional level by the NCAAA. As a result, one of the major challenges facing Saudi institutions is their ability to meet accreditation standards concerning institutional effectiveness, governance, and leadership. Therefore, this quantitative study examined the extent to which Saudi universities prepare for international accreditation in the areas of governance and leadership. A comparison of accredited and non-accredited universities was done using a Mann-Whitney U test based on faculty and administrators’ perceptions of leadership and governance. The study concluded that Saudi universities are prepared to meet international institutional accreditation standards in the areas of governance and leadership. An effective strategy is needed to promote the accreditation process successfully.

With the rise of new technologies, geographical and political boundaries between companies are disappearing. Managers within multinational organizations are faced with the challenge of adapting to new paradigms of leadership while leading employees who may share different backgrounds. With businesses becoming more globalized, it is important to know and understand how to lead and interact with people from other cultures. The purpose of the study is to explore and describe similarities or differences with managers from the United States and managers from Taiwan in relation to the 29 leadership traits overall as well as at individual management levels. As a result, this study also offers practical recommendations for managers of all levels and backgrounds to grow their international business opportunities through deeper knowledge of themselves and their international business partners.

Despite Russia's foreign agent law and a plethora of literature on the deterioration of Russia's civil society, there is a scarcity of research about the breakthroughs and transformation of Russian-and-American (RA) nongovernmental organization (NGO) partnerships. Accordingly, the research goal of this qualitative case study was to explore the tenets of servant leadership theory exhibited by foreign aid organizations for the restoration of RA NGO partnerships. The research questions addressed the influence and dominance of servant leadership tenets within United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its collaborating agencies. A content analysis was conducted using online publicly available data such as annual reports from foreign aid organizations, newspaper articles, fact sheets, recorded interviews, and blogs. Data were deductively coded around the servant leadership attributes: (a) listening, (b) healing, (c) awareness, (d) empathy, (e) foresight, (f) conceptualization, (g) stewardship, (h) persuasion, (i) commitment to the growth of people, and (j) building community. Content analysis findings revealed that some servant leadership tenets (e.g., building community, commitment to the growth of people) were more dominant than others among USAID and its collaborating agencies; however, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that servant leadership had a dominant effect on the restoration of RA NGO partnerships. The implications for positive social change include recommendations involving governmental agencies, NGOs, and nonpartisan groups with understanding and adopting the principles of servant leadership for the restoration of RA NGO partnerships to assist Russian civil society with embedding principles of democratic governance.

Today's global environment poses more and more challenges for higher education institutions to provide learning opportunities that enable students to become globally competent and prepared to face the challenges of an increasingly global society. For many universities, internationalizing their campuses can help students acquire knowledge, skills, and experiences to be able to compete in the global economy and become productive members of a diverse world society. The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which internationalization had been realized in Florida's public universities by determining (1) whether there was a relationship between articulated commitment and the level of internationalization; (2) whether there was a relationship between curriculum and the level of internationalization; (3) whether there was a relationship between organizational infrastructure and the level of internationalization; (4) whether there was a relationship between funding and the level of internationalization; (5) whether there was a relationship between institutional investment in faculty and the level of internationalization; and (6) whether there was a relationship between international students/student programs and the level of internationalization. Data derived from the internationalization survey were used to analyze the six research questions by employing descriptive statistics, Pearson coefficient of correlation, and Chi-Square tests. There were strong positive correlations between the six categories noted above and the level of internationalization efforts in Florida public universities. Implications for practice include the development of various strategies to help internationalize their campuses and the student learning experience.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Research, Technology and Leadership
Education
Educational Leadership EdD

High-tech gadgets is a technology-intensive market that is highly profitable and very dynamic. Competition in this market is very intense and the market winner is unpredictable. In order to remain a market leader or to become one, a company should build a competitive advantage over his market rivals. In this study the authors would like to understand what market strategy make companies successful and what are the constituents of this strategy. To answer these questions a literature study was conducted with the goal to find market strategies that are representative for the dynamic market conditions. As a result several hypotheses for the market strategy and market leadership were derived. The multiple-case study method was used in order to ensure that by comparing single cases the optimal strategy is chosen. Three companies were chosen from the mobile phone market as representative examples due to recent changes in market leading position that involved them all: Apple succeeded mobile phone market leader Nokia in the smart-phone design, and Samsung succeeded Apple in the smart-phone design and Nokia in total mobile-phone market. Data collection was gained from the corporate sources of investigated companies, known financial institutions, and open source and published scientific journals. Subsequently, the hypotheses were verified by verification of internal and external validities, and the final market strategies with their constituents were derived. A major finding of the study is in showing empirically that both strategies [market-driven and driving-markets] can be successful, but they are company profile dependent [in this study: design-based and manufacturing-based]. Market leadership is independent of the market strategy and is highly dependent on the core competencies that are nourished by top-management. Therefore, as core competences are not specifically defined in this study, the managers should seek a way on how to induce the organization change for stimulating the creativity and innovativeness in the company - building an innovative culture. Market strategies proposed in this study can then be used as guidelines, but not as the prescription.

Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the impact of the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) on teachers in Southern California high schools. This study examined the lived experiences of teachers who teach courses in the IBDP. Based on the literature, the specific focus was on the following themes related to the impact: content knowledge, confidence, creativity, relationships with students, and increased workload. The research provided valuable information for teachers and site and district administrators as to what to expect during and after the implementation of the IBDP.

Methodology. Three schools served as the cases for this phenomenological study. There were 11 participants. The researcher conducted one-on-one semistructured interviews to explore the lived experiences of the IBDP teachers. The results were rated on a Likert scale and coded for deeper meaning.

Findings. Four of the 5 themes impacted the implementation. Workload and relationships with students were highly impacted. The theme that had no impact was content knowledge. Two additional themes emerged: increased stress and the love for the IBDP program.

Conclusions. The study revealed that all participants felt an impact, positive and negative, when implementing the IBDP. The data revealed that teaching the IBDP courses takes their entire person, academically and personally. The participants were completely entrenched in the program, which impacted their lives in ways they could not have predicted.

Recommendations: Future studies regarding the impact of the implementation of IB should include middle school teachers who do not need to demonstrate expertise in their content area to teach. Additionally, a longitudinal study of the same participants might yield different results on the variables. This study could be replicated to include only new schools which had at least one graduating class of diploma students. The data may provide a fresh perspective as teachers will have results to refer to and reflect upon when discussing their experiences.

This in-country grounded theory study examined the lived experiences of 24 Chinese returnees who completed advanced degrees in the United States. The study found that the four types of organizations in mainland China determine the social context of the application of Western education of the Chinese returnees. Returnees working in multinational corporations apply their Western education more than the returnees working in the other types of organizations. Themes that revolved around the international educational experiences of the Chinese students, including the development of cultural intelligence and new understanding of the ‘other’, and their realization of the differences between their home and host cultures, are included in the findings of this study. The relationship between these themes has led to the construction of a new concept concerning their self-cultivation that, in the Chinese perspective, is integral to Chinese leadership. This study introduces the concept of the bridger as a role that some Chinese returnees take on within their Chinese organizations and the third space that bridgers occupy.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Civil-Military Relations))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2005.
Thesis Advisor(s): Karen Guttieri. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-95). Also available online.