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In this chapter, two academics from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan collaborate with the President of their university to present their experiences and ideas about positive strategic leadership. Positive strategic leadership is derived from the juxtaposition of ideas from the growing stream of research on positive organizational scholarship with what is already known from the literature on strategic leadership. The authors embed new views into current theoretical perspectives on strategic leadership to provide an integrative overview and use the president's experiences during the nationally followed Affirmative Action cases as a vehicle for illustrating five themes: (1) A lifetime of experiences shapes who you are, (2) issues commonly choose you before you choose them, (3) begin with a purpose in mind, (4) appreciate divergent views, and (5) be a beacon for the future. Additionally, the authors provide practitioners with some “takeaways” on positive strategic leadership.

Transnational teams (TNTs) - teams whose members are geographically spread across at least two co-ntries - are often plag-ed with s-bstantial member differences. These incl-de the different time zones members work in, their different c-lt-ral c-stoms and norms, and the different native lang-ages they speak. The res-lting interpersonal and task -ncertainty increase the need for member sense-making. Beca-se tr-st is the l-bricant for obtaining collaborative team performance, in this chapter we develop a concept-al model of tr-st-related sense-making in TNTs. That is, we identify factors that may infl-ence the extent to which TNT members sense that they can tr-st each other, and as a res-lt, wish to give the TNT their f-ll collaborative potential (despite the local demands also competing for their time). Importantly, we identify distinctive characteristics of TNTs that seem likely to complicate, even aggravate, the tr-st-related sense-making process described in o-r literat-re review on dyadic-relationships or domestic teams. Drawing from the tr-st and social dilemma literat-res, as well as o-r own research on TNTs, we offer interventions that may be -sed by the leader of the TNT to co-nteract the tr-st-red-cing properties of a TNT. We advocate the -se of “-niversal partic-larism” in TNTs. In so doing, we highlight the importance of eliminating the tendency to ass-me that “one size fits all” when managing people from a variety of c-lt-res. We ill-strate that the c-lt-ral val-es of “-niversalism” and “partic--larism” can co-exist. We concl-de the chapter by noting how the concept-al framework b-ilds -pon and extends prior models of tr-st and teamwork.

This paper defines and explores the concept of intelligent spirituality. It is a deeply-grounded, emotionally-inspiring, spirituality that is human-centered, pragmatic, and intelligent. While the name is new, the idea itself has a well-respected pedigree. The American pragmatist philosopher, educator, and activist, John Dewey, more than anyone else, defined the parameters of intelligent spirituality, demonstrated its usefulness in the modern world, and, perhaps most importantly, exemplified it as a living option in his daily activities.

For those interested in the contemporary “spirituality movement” – advocates, critics, or spectators – and especially how it affects today’s business organizations, the idea of intelligent spirituality, as discussed here, provides a useful set of precise criteria to evaluate some of the many changes which are occurring in corporate America and are defended under the banner of spirituality in business. Can one distinguish, for example, between legitimate and illegitimate spirituality? Are some forms of spirituality more useful than others? To what extent can spirituality play a positive role in contemporary business? Is spirituality necessarily related to coerciveness and intolerance in business? This paper explores the assumptions of intelligent spirituality and attempts to answer these questions.

John Antonakis (PhD, Walden University) is professor of Organizational Behavior at the Faculty of Management and Economics of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His research is centered on individual-difference antecedents of effective leadership, the measurement of leadership, and the links between context and leadership as applied to neocharismatic and transformational leadership models, and the development of leadership.

This paper proposes a framework for understanding the concept of a learning organization from a normative perspective. A questionnaire was developed to operationally measure the described management practice attributes of a learning organization. Using a sample of four organizations and 612 subjects, support was found for three a priori predictive hypotheses derived from a conceptual framework. Implications of the results and further empirical research are discussed, especially for linking learning organization attributes to performance using larger samples and multiple measures.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspects of organizational culture among the nursing staff of public mental health services organizations in Cyprus. Specifically, highlights are provided of possible differences on the attitudes of nurses regarding actual and desired aspects of organizational culture with respect to demographic characteristics such as gender, years of service and experience.

A descriptive explanatory type survey study was conducted in all public mental health services organizations of Cyprus. Specifically, a questionnaire was given to a representative sample of the nursing population, and data were collected and analyzed. The survey questionnaire was based on the organizational culture profile (OCP) methodology. Statistical analysis was carried out using correlational analysis, t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results showed that there are significant discrepancies between the actual organizational culture and what is desired by staff members of public mental health services organizations in Cyprus. Further, significant differences are identified between actual and desired organizational culture moderated by the type of work, which is determined by the workplace.

Even though, organizational culture is a major research topic little has been done in the context of public mental healthcare organizations. Further, for the case of Cyprus, it is the first time that such a study is carried out. The results presented in this paper may provide the foundation for measures to be taken for improving the existing operation of public mental healthcare organizations.

With increasingly precarious work contracts, more remote work, and additional flexibility in the timing of the workday, the new world of work is creating both relational opportunities and relational challenges for modern workers. In this chapter, we pair recent research on human thriving with trends we observe in organizations' efforts to create and maintain a sense of community. Key in these efforts is a new kind of built environment – the coworking space – which brings together remote and independent workers and, increasingly, traditional employees as well. We show that in curating community, or perhaps even the possibility of community, coworking spaces may support the interpersonal learning and vitality that help workers to thrive.

This study examines the relationship between the use of management controls and the perception of meaningful work. Meaningful work is an important driver of individual performance of managers, and employees and can be enabled by sufficient use of management controls. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.

Based on bibliometric analyses and a structured literature review of academic research studies from the organizational, management and accounting literature, the authors develop a conceptual model of the relationship between the use of management controls and the perception of meaningful work.

First, the authors propose that the use of formal management controls in a system (i.e. the levers of the control framework) is more powerful than using unrelated formal controls only. Second, they suggest that the interaction of a formal control system together with informal controls working as a control package can even stretch the perception of meaningful work. Third, they argue that the intensity of the control use matters to enhance the perception of meaningful work (inverted u-shaped relationship).

This study presents the first conceptual model of the relationship between the use of management controls and the perception of meaningful work. It provides valuable implications for practice and future research in the field of performance management.