13.2 Dissertation Notices

Maloof, A. D. (2018). The moderating effects of ethical leadership and ethical climate on the relationship between employee integrity and workplace deviance. PhD, Alliant International University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 10980425.

Workplace deviance, defined as behavior counter to organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization and/or its members, can be very financially damaging to organizations. To understand and prevent deviance, researchers have generally highlighted either personal or situational variables as antecedents of deviant behavior.

Though the literature has found evidence that both personal and situational variables predict deviance, they are generally studied separately. This research project attempted to understand the joint effects of personal and situational variables in predicting deviance. Results from 675 participants indicated a significant three-way interaction among employee integrity (personal variable), as well as employee perception of manager ethical leadership and employee perception of organizational ethical climate (situational variables) in the prediction of employee workplace deviance. More specifically, perceived ethical leadership and perceived ethical climate together moderated the negative relationship between employee integrity and employee workplace deviance, such that the relationship became stronger the more employees perceived their managers and organizational climate as ethical. Implications, limitations, and future research opportunities are discussed.

Wood, K. L. (2019). An exploration of the effects of ethics training and its relations to ethical decision-making, ethical leadership, moral reasoning, and education among IT specialists. PhD, Trident University International. ProQuest  Dissertations Publishing, 22589147.

Organizations have suffered both financially and socially because of their employees’ unethical behavior. Managers have sought ways to address the problem in their organizations, specifically by information technology (IT) employees. Leaders’ concern has been to define the metric necessary to identify their employees’ unethical behavior. While the current literature addresses unethical behavior in organizations, it does not address IT employees specifically.

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of multiple employee paradigms, including ethical training, educational level, and employees’ perceptions of their organizations’ ethical leadership together with their effects on IT employees’ unethical behavior. The study used a quantitative methodology, employing two surveys administered via email to a sample of 185 employees of three different companies. A group of IT specialists in a variety of occupational fields participated by completing the Defining Issues Test 2 and the Ethical IT survey. Structural equation modeling and multiple regression were used to compare the relations between all variables in the study.

The results from the study confirmed the vital role of ethics training in organizations.

Smith, K. M. (2019). Examining the roles of sacrifice, spirituality, and stewardship in ethical leadership theory from a sociorhetorical analysis of 1 Corinthians 9.
PhD, Regent University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 22618471.

This study examined the roles of spirituality, sacrifice, and stewardship in ethical leadership theory by comparing the leadership principles found in Paul’s letter of 1 Corinthians 9. This study assessed ethical leadership theory from the standpoint of values and virtues that proceed from the inner life of the leader in the form of sacrifice and stewardship while setting the premise in a context of spirituality. This study offered a multidimensional view of ethical leadership by pairing the social scientific aspect of the theory with that of a Christian worldview and the exegetical analysis of the biblical text. This exegetical process was developed in the purview of socio-rhetorical analysis as applied to 1 Corinthians 9, which yielded three themes from which were discovered seven principles for leadership studies. The principles in 1 Corinthians 9 generally support the literature on the principle of leadership as mimetic, leadership core values/virtues framework, and morality in leadership. This study concluded that there is a close connection between Christian Scripture and secular contexts such that the ethical and moral ideals of the Christian faith can engage and influence the ethical values of a secular cultural context and reconstruct them through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Muwina, D. M. (2018). Kenneth Kaunda’s philosophy of Christian humanism in Africa from the perspective of Christian ethics. PhD, Boston University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 10743416.

The future of our world will largely be determined by our willingness and ability to address practices and beliefs that threaten human dignity, promote violence, and impoverish communities. This dissertation develops an African humanist theology as a basis for concrete engagement with social problems (dehumanization, violence, and poverty) by drawing from Kenneth Kaunda’s concept of Christian humanism. This dissertation argues that Kaunda’s concept of Christian humanism is a valuable, multidimensional concept that can serve as a critical resource for addressing the ethical challenges related to human dignity, nonviolence, and economic justice.

This dissertation undertakes four main tasks. First, the dissertation’s critical examination of Christian humanism and African humanism exposes shared yet distinctive emphases on human dignity. Second, the dissertation studies Kaunda’s biography to explore the contextual influences on his life and the development of his thought. Third, the dissertation analyzes the theoretical bases of Kaunda’s Christian humanism. Fourth, the dissertation proposes an African Christian humanist approach embodying the ideas espoused by Kaunda as a framework for addressing the ethical challenges in Africa related to violence and poverty. This study concludes that African Christian humanism in the sense proposed should be an essential component of social ethics.

Serrano, C. A. (2017). An examination of the role of leadership fatigue and trauma in ethical and moral leadership through a socio-rhetorical analysis of 2 Samuel 11:1–27. PhD, Regent University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 10256570.

This study examined the role of leadership fatigue in ethical and moral decision making through a socio-rhetorical analysis of 2 Samuel 11:1–27. The study of ethical and moral leadership was drawn from the literature on ethical leadership as it relates to values-based leadership theories, such as servant leadership, authentic leadership, transformational leadership, and spiritual leadership. The research followed the exegetical methodologies outlined in the relevant textural layers of socio-rhetorical analysis. The data were interpreted for principles connecting to ethical and moral leadership and leadership fatigue. The study results yielded four themes that expanded to five principles for ethical and moral leadership and leadership fatigue, as found in 2 Samuel 11:1–27. The results of the study demonstrate a connection between the presence of leadership fatigue and unethical, immoral decision making and behavior. The five themes summarize the findings of the socio-rhetorical analysis and serve as a practical guideline for future leadership practice and research.

Bunkowske, J. W. (2019). An analysis of Christian transformational leadership in secular organizations. PhD, Northcentral University.  ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 27544006.

The purpose of this qualitative narrative research study was to discover the effects of practicing Christian transformational leadership in secular organizations. Despite the focus of ethics as a positive attribute of Christianity, there continue to be boundaries set on religion in secular organizations due to the concept of separation of church and state being applied to secular organizations.

This study used a narrative inquiry to collect the first-hand experience of Christian transformational leaders who work in secular organizations. From this study, it is now known that the Christian leaders who practiced transformational leadership in secular organizations utilized Christian agape love beliefs and Christian agape love-based behaviors in their leadership practice. The results of the study expand the understanding of the Christian segment of transformational leadership concerning previous research and theory. This richer understanding of Christian transformational leadership developed by adding the element of agape love to the existing elements may help Christian transformational leaders better understand their leadership practices and thereby learn how to achieve excellent results in their leadership practice, be it in Christian or secular settings.