Catch My Fall: The Importance of Developing a Leadership Philosophy Statement in Sustaining Original Values and Leadership Direction

This article draws attention to the need and importance for chief executives to formulate a Leadership Philosophy Statement (LPS) as an aid to guiding them as they execute their duties of leadership. As companies adhere to mission statements (MS) which are developed to light the pathway to success, so too does the leader need a leadership philosophy to pursue that mission. The interconnectedness of organizational mission statements and individual leadership statements is highlighted to emphasize the importance of having related goals between leader and organization. The structure of the LPS as well as its content is discussed to better inform leaders of the best approach to writing a LPS

Components of Ethical Leadership and Their Importance in Sustaining Organizations Over the Long Term

This article identifies components of ethical leadership and then aligns them with the style of leadership that includes them. The importance of such an article comes at a time when ethical practices or lack thereof seems to be increasingly prevalent in many organizations’ execution of their business practices. These organizations quite often have an ethics statement outlining required behavior of employees and tout their commitment to employees, society, and the customer, yet we continue to see major infractions of these codes of ethics. All this comes at a high financial cost to organizations. In order to avoid such fines, and damage to brand equity we propose ethical components which must permeate the organization to ensure appropriate behavior which neither breaks legal requirements, disengages the employee, or alienates the customer

Academic Service-Learning: Current Findings and Future Directions

This paper seeks to provide university administrators and faculty who may be considering the implementation of Academic Service Learning (ASL) with a comprehensive 360 degree viewpoint so as to aid in the decision making of whether ASL may be appropriate as a learning tool for their particular college or university. The article does this by exploring the research literature on Academic Service Learning (ASL) and identifies the prevalent streams of current research. The initial stream deals with the reasons and evolution for the creation of academic service-learning. Further streams of research identify factors that make academic programs a success, reveals the benefits students and community organizations derive from service-learning as well as the drawbacks of service-learning. In discussing each stream examples are provided on how colleges have used ASL. A preponderance of methodological deficiencies are identified in terms the current research and recommendations for improvement are proposed with the utilization of better quasi experiments that will reduce the number of threats to internal as well as the external validity. Eight research proposals are stated to guide future academic service-learning research

Give me What I Want but here’s What you Need: An Exploration of the Juxtaposition of Mid Level Managers as both Follower and Leader

The catalyst for this study was the emergence of repeated statements by mid to senior level banking mangers about what they wanted to see in their supervisor and what they thought their employees wanted from them while attending an advanced degree program for senior bankers. These managers are questioned to ascertain if what they want from their managers coincides to what they feel their direct reports want from them as leaders. 574 mid to senior level managers are asked two open-ended questions and the results are categorized into four distinct areas: maturity, task engagement, relationship engagement, and personality. Responses provide an overview of similarities and misconceptions these managers hold in terms of understanding their relationships with both their subordinates and senior executives. It becomes clear that mid level managers are challenged by the duality of their roles. The pattern of responses give rise to the recommendation of management approaches to assist in keeping the mid level manager seamlessly connected to both senior executives and subordinates

Academic Service Learning and Society: From Individual to Institutional

This paper examines how Academic Service Learning (ASL) has gone from being an initiative by individual faculty to being institutionalized by universities as means to promote learning, pursue mission, and impact society. It outlines various uses of ASL by individual faculty and examines its progression into a university sponsored service-learning vessel of vision and mission. Its use acknowledges the interconnectedness of universities and society and emphasizes the need and obligation that universities feel, or should feel, in contributing to the betterment of the world we live in. In terms of being a university-sponsored initiative it highlights its use in the business curriculum of a large university in the northeast United States. This article recommends that ASL is an easily instituted method of teaching in many disciplines and is of benefit to multiple constituents both internally and externally to academic institutions

Study of the Impact of Working at Home and the Fears of Returning to Work Among Managers and Professionals Who Are In Virtual Congruent Jobs and Who Are High Growth/Achievement Oriented

Using two surveys, this article examines employee opinions on working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2020 we chronicled the experience and reactions of 478 managers and professionals to the mandate they work at home. We found that a large portion of the respondents felt no significant loss in productivity and no reduction in job satisfaction. Most of the challenges they faced had involved efforts required to establish a facilitating home working environment and disruptions in the ease of collaboration with others. The opportunities overwhelmingly focused on the benefits of having more time to rebalance their work and home life coupled with enhanced autonomy. Eighty percent of the respondents feel that their organizations should continue to offer the work at home alternative and 50% of our sample prefer to return to the workplace. In a second survey in March 2021, 178 managers and professionals responded to questions regarding their fears about returning to work. Not only did many fear the consequences of catching the virus for themselves and their loved ones but the impact on their career, mistrust of management’s ability to ensure safety in the workplace, and the price they may have to pay for their career aspirations were important issues. We conclude that this growth/achievement-oriented segment of the working population have been significantly humanized by their Covid experience and that a hybrid working model, appropriately designed, could offer important psychological benefits that would be mutually beneficial to the individual and the organization

The Measurement of Student Motivation: Does one Scale do it All?

This article focuses on the use of the Academic Motivation Scale in measuring motivation levels in undergraduate business students. The article poses the question whether this scale, which works in tandem with Self Determination Theory is an adequate motivation scale in the measure of student motivation. Other measurement scales are explored which do not have a corresponding motivation theory in order to highlight the complexity of this area of research. 232 undergraduate business students are administered the Academic Motivation Scale and results indicate that these students are severely lacking in subject motivation to such an extent that other options of measurement must be considered before research can validate the scale as being an appropriate measurement of business student motivation

Chinese Students’ Motivations for Studying in the United States

This study examines the presence of Chinese students in U.S., and attempts to explore the reasons why so many Chinese students choose to study abroad and why the United States is their preferred destination. This population is a vital component of university life at many colleges and a much needed source of financial revenue. The results indicate that Chinese students are seeking education with a worldview and opt to break from the Chinese system of learning. This article seeks to offer academicians and university administrators a deeper understanding of the motivation of these Chinese students and contribute to the knowledge area extant on this population

The complete mitochondrial genome of record-breaking migrant Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea)

The analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) base composition, codon usage, and genome arrangement patterns can provide insight into metabolic pathways and evolutionary history. Here, we report on the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) a species notable for undertaking the longest migrations of any species as well as breeding in sub-polar habitats and capable of enduring extreme altitude. The complete mitogenome was 16,708 bp long and was typical of other avian mitogenomes in size and content. The phylogenetic position of the Arctic tern within Charadriiformes based on the coding region on the mtDNA corresponded closely to that based on nuclear loci. The sequence will provide a useful resource for investigations of metabolic adaptations of this remarkable species

Frequency drift in MR spectroscopy at 3T

Purpose: Heating of gradient coils and passive shim components is a common cause of instability in the B-0 field, especially when gradient intensive sequences are used. The aim of the study was to set a benchmark for typical drift encountered during MR spectroscopy (MRS) to assess the need for real-time field-frequency locking on MRI scanners by comparing field drift data from a large number of sites.Method: A standardized protocol was developed for 80 participating sites using 99 3T MR scanners from 3 major vendors. Phantom water signals were acquired before and after an EPI sequence. The protocol consisted of: minimal preparatory imaging; a short pre-fMRI PRESS; a ten-minute fMRI acquisition; and a long post-fMRI PRESS acquisition. Both pre- and post-fMRI PRESS were non-water suppressed. Real-time frequency stabilization/adjustment was switched off when appropriate. Sixty scanners repeated the protocol for a second dataset. In addition, a three-hour post-fMRI MRS acquisition was performed at one site to observe change of gradient temperature and drift rate. Spectral analysis was performed using MATLAB. Frequency drift in pre-fMRI PRESS data were compared with the first 5:20 minutes and the full 30:00 minutes of data after fMRI. Median (interquartile range) drifts were measured and showed in violin plot. Paired t-tests were performed to compare frequency drift pre- and post-fMRI. A simulated in vivo spectrum was generated using FID-A to visualize the effect of the observed frequency drifts. The simulated spectrum was convolved with the frequency trace for the most extreme cases. Impacts of frequency drifts on NAA and GABA were also simulated as a function of linear drift. Data from the repeated protocol were compared with the corresponding first dataset using Pearson's and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).Results: Of the data collected from 99 scanners, 4 were excluded due to various reasons. Thus, data from 95 scanners were ultimately analyzed. For the first 5:20 min (64 transients), median (interquartile range) drift was 0.44 (1.29) Hz before fMRI and 0.83 (1.29) Hz after. This increased to 3.15 (4.02) Hz for the full 30 min (360 transients) run. Average drift rates were 0.29 Hz/min before fMRI and 0.43 Hz/min after. Paired t-tests indicated that drift increased after fMRI, as expected (p &lt; 0.05). Simulated spectra convolved with the frequency drift showed that the intensity of the NAA singlet was reduced by up to 26%, 44 % and 18% for GE, Philips and Siemens scanners after fMRI, respectively. ICCs indicated good agreement between datasets acquired on separate days. The single site long acquisition showed drift rate was reduced to 0.03 Hz/min approximately three hours after fMRI.Discussion: This study analyzed frequency drift data from 95 3T MRI scanners. Median levels of drift were relatively low (5-min average under 1 Hz), but the most extreme cases suffered from higher levels of drift. The extent of drift varied across scanners which both linear and nonlinear drifts were observed.</p