Investigation of Undergraduate Multidisciplinary Engineering Programs

The constantly growing need for an engineer skilled in multiple engineering disciplines calls for an investigation of new undergraduate engineering degree programs at WPI. Interviews with WPI administrators, faculty, and industry engineers, accompanied by a review of programs at peer institutions, served as the sources of information for the investigation. The result is a set of recommendations prepared for the WPI faculty and administration

Spartan Daily, May 3, 1967

Volume 54, Issue 112https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/4978/thumbnail.jp

Am I a Good Leader? How Variations in Introversion/Extraversion Impact Leaders’ Core Self-Evaluations

Leaders across the introversion/extraversion (I/E) spectrum may comparatively view themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to developing effective developmental relationships with their direct reports. This study investigated how a leader’s I/E typology, the number of direct reports (NoDR), and learning goal orientation (LGO) were related to their core self-evaluation (CSE) rating of their talent development role, through the lens of implicit leadership theory. An online survey was administered to 146 U.S. leaders (50% female) with an average age of 40 (SD = 11.5) who self-reported they had at least one direct report. The first hypothesis, that leaders would report higher CSE at low NoDR if introverted, and at high levels if extraverted, with a curvilinear effect at the highest levels, was not supported in either the linear analysis [R2 = .06, ΔF(1,142) = 1.97, p = .16] or the curvilinear analysis [R2 = .07, ΔF(1,140) = 1.37, p = .25]. The second hypothesis posited that learning goal orientation (LGO) would buffer the proposed interaction between I/E and NoDR, such that stronger LGO would result in elevated CSE ratings across all levels of NoDR; again, a curvilinear effect was expected. Hypothesis two was partially supported. Results indicated that LGO significantly moderated this relationship [R2 = .15, ΔF(1,138) = 7.36, p = .008], but a curvilinear relationship was not sufficiently detected [R2 = .18, ΔF(1,134) = 3.79, p = .054]. Introverts reported higher mean CSE scores than extraverts when LGO was weak, while the reverse relationship was found when LGO was strong, suggesting that both typologies interact with their environments in different ways. The approach/avoidance framework was suggested as a possible theoretical framework to explain these variations in motivation that leaders experience when developing their direct reports. Results indicated that extraverts tend to report higher CSE across most LGO scores, which may influence practical implications for organizational outcomes for which CSE is an antecedent. Future research might examine how leadership positions (e.g., senior, mid-level, first level) impact CSE within this same context

Tomorrow\u27s Leading Ladies: How Core Self-Evaluations, Leadership Perceptions, and Social Support Influence Young Women\u27s Leadership Aspirations

Given that women are an underrepresented population in organizational leadership, the purpose of this dissertation was to understand the forces driving college-aged women’s leadership aspirations. Using a two-study design, the current research sought to understand the influence that internal (psychological) and external (social) factors can have on a young woman’s desire to lead. In Study One, which included 228 college-aged female participants, results indicated there was a significant, positive between Core Self Evaluations (CSE) and leadership aspirations and provided partial support for the mediating effects of leadership fit on the CSE-aspiration relationship. Results from Study One failed to support the hypothesized mediating effects of mentor presence on the CSE-leadership aspiration relationship. In addition, results of Study One failed to support CSE as a mediator of the relationship between role model status and leadership aspirations. Thus, Study One supported the importance of CSE in aspirations and suggests that the fit between self-perceived leader traits and stereotypes of a successful leader may also be important in understanding aspirations. Study Two, which only included those participants that indicated they had a mentor within the last 12-months, again supported the relationship between CSE and leadership aspirations, but failed to support the mediating effects of mentor quality on the CSE-aspirations relationship. Overall, results support the influence of internal factors on leadership aspirations, highlight the importance of a woman’s self-identification as a potential leader, and provide insight to help better understand how to best utilize mentoring to increase young women’s desires to reach leadership positions within their careers. A discussion of the results, limitations, and potential future directions for research are also provided

The necessity for innovation in undergraduate course design

Major changes are taking place in the general "marketplace" for universities' undergraduate courses. There are unfavourable demographic trends; perhaps even more importantly, substantial innovations are occuring in the structure and style of school examinations; there are general moves towards widening access to university education; the requirements of employers of the graduates are being seen as of increased importance; and there are political pressures for change . It is argued that all these changes provide both an opportunity and the necessity for major innovation in undergraduate course design. Attention is particularly focussed on mathematics, where the highly sequential nature of the subject causes the problems to be more acute - but the opportunities to be that much greater . This paper is an adaptation of the author's MBA dissertation (Goodall, 1988), which considered also issues of the general management of innovation and the management of universities. Most of this discussion has been removed from the present paper. The work was completed in the autumn of 1988, and has already been overtaken by events in some areas. The concluding chapter provides a brief discussion of these further changes

Spartan Daily, September 22, 2003

Volume 121, Issue 17https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9883/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 6, 1968

Volume 55, Issue 118https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5117/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 6, 1968

Volume 55, Issue 118https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5117/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 6, 1968

Volume 55, Issue 118https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5117/thumbnail.jp

What lies beneath organisational behaviour : the role of hidden and unconscious processes at work

There is much controversy about the value that psychoanalytic theory can add to the study of organisational behaviour, which goes beyond the rational and technological explanations offered by orthodox management perspectives. A key tenet of psychoanalytic theory is that mental processes that are "hidden" and operate at an "unconscious" level can impact employee behaviour, outside of their awareness (Kets de Vries, 2009). (In this thesis such processes are referred to as "below-the-surface" motivation.) Given the value of this knowledge to organisational leaders, it is surprising that so little is known about the potential impact of "below-the-surface" motivation on employee attitude, engagement and performance. This four-study thesis investigates the role of "below-the-surface" motivation in employees' "propensity to resist change", "avoid conflict" and "show less commitment to the organisation", which are implicit processes referred to in this thesis as "below-the-surface" motivation. It does so firstly by describing the researcher’s positioning and philosophical approach, and the theoretical and practical objectives of the thesis. The researcher was guided by the belief that organisations exist as concrete entities, which prompt employees to react to them in psychological ways (Durkheim, 1895). Having adopted a combination of positivist and post-positivist approaches, the process of "operationalising" was used in an attempt to measure "below-the-surface" motivation in a standardised way (Arnaud, 2012). Opportunity sampling was used to select participants from three public-sector organisations in the UK and the Middle East region. Study 1 reviewed two psychoanalytic-informed coaching methods and found evidence of their usefulness for improving self-awareness of implicit processes, and for working/consulting at a "below-the-surface" level. Study 2 examined the relationships between employees' use of "immature psychological defence mechanisms" and their propensity to resist organisational change, finding evidence that employees' level of "core self-evaluation" played a mediating role in this. Study 3 found evidence to suggest that adopting a systems-psychodynamic coaching approach was useful for helping leaders from the Middle East region to develop awareness of their conflict avoidance behaviour. Study 4 applied Winnicott's (1952) "good-enough" care theory and found evidence to suggest that it could further understanding of the relationship between employees' perception of organisational support (POS) and affective commitment (AC) in the context of organisational change. The thesis concludes with a reflective account of the overall findings, which suggest that "below-the-surface" motivation can impact employee behaviour in the workplace. The implications of these findings for the occupational psychology community are that psychoanalysis can offer an alternative and critical perspective of organisational behaviour, which has wide explanatory power. Reflective and reflexive statements are offered throughout to highlight some of the challenges that the researcher encountered during this doctoral journey. For example, despite the philosophical choices made, due to the researcher’s involvement in the process, at first it was a struggle to "step back" from defending the theory, attending to the limitations, partialities and flaws in the evidence base. The underlying reasons for the researcher’s appeal for positivist and post-positivist approaches are also reflected on. Recommendations are made for the design and delivery of development interventions to raise awareness of "below-the-surface" motivation within organisations, and suggestions made around possible areas of future investigations. The thesis adds nuance to our understanding of organisational behaviour, and it evaluates the value and contribution of psychoanalytic thinking to the practice of occupational psychology