3 research outputs found
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A qualitative case study : how an organization implements management practices that enable minority employees to become managers.
The interview method was used to conduct a qualitative case study in a large business corporation to discover the organizational culture that supports moving minority employees into management positions, the management practices that enables the phenomena to occur, and the experiences of minority employees who have become managers. The literature was reviewed to explore studies that presented data from African American\u27s perspective about corporate life in America and the specific themes that emerged during this research project. Those themes are culture, learning organization, motivation, leadership, goals, reward, group development, and mentoring. This researcher found little empirical work existing on mentoring and few adequate models that utilize mentoring as a legitimate management development strategy. Therefore the researcher created theoretical constructs and the MENTOR model to improve practice in this area. The findings of this investigation are that organizational culture is based on the assumptions, values, and norms shared by organizational members, that a company can create a culture that values all employees including minorities, and that the company can implement management practices that result in positive work experiences for minority employees which enables them to become managers. The minority managers interviewed have the ability to fit into the IBM organization and they have gained acceptance. An invisible barrier or glass ceiling does not prevent minorities from advancing beyond lower or middle management positions. Today, there are already minorities at the executive level and the current focus is on moving minorities into the Corporate Officer positions that manage the business. The study creates new knowledge about the value and legitimacy of mentoring as a management development strategy and it produces knowledge directly relevant to managing a diverse work force. Suggestions are offered for future research
Rethinking place-making: aligning placeness factors with perceived urban design qualities (PUDQs) to improve the built environment in historical district
Understanding the concept of place is critically important for urban design and place-making practice, and this research attempted to investigate the pathways by which perceived urban design qualities (PUDQs) influence placeness factors in the Chinese context. Twelve hypotheses were developed and combined in a structural equation model for validation. The Tanhualin historical district in Wuhan, China was selected for the analysis. As a result, place attachment was verified as a critical bridge factor that mediated the influence of PUDQs on place satisfaction. Among the five selected PUDQs, walkability and space quality were revealed as the most influential factors associated with place attachment and place satisfaction. Accessibility was actually indirectly beneficial to place-making via the mediation of walkability. Corresponding implications and strategies were discussed to maintain the sense of place for historic districts