A500.6.3.RB_RuggerioSteven

Title: Qualitative Research: Real Life Experiments

Throughout my academic journey, I’ve completed two quantitative methods courses, also known as management science and/or operations research courses.  The use of Excel solver, regression analysis, linear programming, and the various modeling techniques were very useful in finding solutions to complex problems and scenarios.

In addition to quantitative, the emerging method known as qualitative research is an effective and useful way to uncover hidden truths about complex problems as well.  Marie Hoepfl’s article, Choosing Qualitative Research: A Primer for Technology Education Researchers defines qualitative research, as “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification.”  She also said, “with qualitative research, the researcher seeks to observe and interpret meanings in context.”

I like her statement, "observe and interpret." One of the premier benefits of qualitative research is being exposed to a number of deep and rich insights from professionals, researchers, and a vast array of personal experiences.   Where quantitative research provides scientific results; qualitative research provides real-time, front row seats to life lived by people from all different backgrounds.  You can have all the raw data and results a research experiment can offer; however, it will never provide the level of access that an invitation to someone’s life can impart.  Hoepfl discussed this truth when she elaborated on the characteristics of qualitative research.  She said, “Naturalistic (qualitative) researchers are asking participants to “grant access to their lives, their minds, and their emotions.”

When developing and presenting the “access to people’s lives,” researchers must maintain the following four elements to be accepted as “trustworthy.”  They are:

      
Credibility: is the information rich; what are the researchers abilities?
Transferability: is the original situation similar to the transferred situation?
Dependability: does the measurement study remain stable over time?
Confirmability: realizing the information will be presented in a subjective manner?

When stories are presented with these elements they provide coherence, consensus, and instrumental utility to the data and allow the readers to understand and ultimately embrace the truths uncovered by qualitative research.

Steve

A500.5.3.RB_RuggerioSteven

Title: A Florida Point of View

I spent this past week at my parent’s house comfortably located within a quaint community of adults fifty-five and older outside of Orlando. This five-day visit would change my life. One week before I was scheduled to depart, I found out my mother was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.  As you can imagine, I traveled to Florida with a heavy heart. Prior to leaving, I assumed my mother would move to New York to live closer to family. Contrary to my initial thoughts, her choice was to stay in Florida. Even though both parents spoke highly of their close-knit community and the overwhelming support, I was somewhat skeptical. No one could care for my mother like we could.

In Learning to Think Things Through, Gerald Nosich wrote about critical thinking and said, “Whenever we reason through something, we do so within some point of view. So it always makes sense to ask, ‘From what point of view am I addressing this issue?’” (p. 60). Prior to this course, I would have stuck to my guns and argued my case to relocate my mother to New York. By integrating the circle of elements in my thinking, I learned to collect data (what is being offered at Florida, what kind of support does she have, etc.) along with evaluating my many assumptions (we can provide better support, she will be better off in New York, etc.).

Nosich also said, “Part of being a critical thinker is having the ability to bring to bear a variety of relevant points of view” (p. 60). Before the end of my first day in Florida, I realized I made a false assumption and perceived my mother’s situation through a lens of limited knowledge. Viewing the situation from her perspective, witnessing the overwhelming support from her community, and experiencing the love and understanding of her neighbors, I immediately knew she made the right decision. What I witnessed in Orlando was an incredible collection of men and women celebrating the final season of life with fellow sojourners. Similar to military members overseas, these seniors create a family environment with encouragement, life experiences, and enough food for the 22^nd Airborne.  

On the way home, I purchased John Maxwell’s new book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth in the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta. Coincidentally, chapter four is titled, “The Law of Reflection.” Maxwell (2012) started the chapter by stating, “There are many different ways of growing and an infinite number of lessons to be learned in life. But there are some kinds of growth that come to us only if we are willing to stop, pause, and allow the lessons to catch up with us” (p. 51). Stopping, pausing, and allowing these truths to sink in by opening myself to a variety of other points of view will continue to develop the lasting change in my thinking that this course has started.

At the beginning of this class, I believed I’d learn tools to help me make better decisions at work and when leading men. What I didn’t know were the implications these critical thinking elements would have on such personal and life-altering situations. While I recognize the next few months are going to be difficult for my family, it helps to know in our absence my mother will be surrounded by people who love her.

Steve

References:

Maxwell, J. (2012). The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.

Nosich, G. (2012). Learning to Think Things Through. Boston, MA: Pearson.

A500.4.3.RB_RuggerioSteven

Title: Choose Wisely

Watching Sheena Iyengar’s video on the Art of Choosing proved insightful and inspiring.  Being a regular consumer of Starbucks’ coffee, I found it interesting that she mentioned one of their mottos: “Happiness is in your choice.”  Facing reduced sales and a declining stock price for the first time, Starbucks found themselves in unfamiliar territory.  In his book, Onward, Howard Schultz (2011) said, “There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make wise choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust.  But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do.  We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.  This is the kind of passionate conviction that sparks romance, wins battles, and drives people to pursue dreams others wouldn’t dare.  Belief in ourselves and in what is right catapults us over hurdles, and our lives unfold” (p. 7).

In her video, Dr. Iyengar’s identified an American approach toward decision-making by elaborating on three assumptions of choice.  First, she said Americans believe they should make their own choice; second, they believe the greater number of options available, the better choice they will make; and lastly, they believe when given the opportunity, one should never refuse to choose.  When it comes to leadership, choices are the fuel that drives the success of an organization and the growth and development of its people.  Each of Iyengar’s assumptions has significant consequence for leaders.

First, in leadership, most decisions are not made unilaterally.  Believing “if a choice affects you, you should make it” is a dangerous mindset with costly consequences.  Some decisions require minimal deliberation whereas others require gathering input from many sources.  Iyengar said, “When two or more people see their choice as similar and affecting the whole, they join together in making choices.” By combining efforts and gathering subject intelligence from many sources, a leader’s decision-making process will be greatly enhanced and the end result is normally greater efficiency.

Secondly, the assumption that states “the more options one has, the better choice they make” is a fallacious mindset.  Whether a leader is limited to a handful of choices or has an innumerable number of options, making decisions using the critical thinking process will lead to selecting the best way forward.  As Iyengar said in her video, “The value in choice is in our ability to perceive differences between the options.”  Great leaders are able to weigh the options in front of them by viewing their choices in light of possible successes and failures, regardless of the number of possibilities.

And lastly, operating under the premise of never refusing a choice could cause leaders to select a choice without having the benefit of experience, knowledge, or information.  In their book, The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner (2007) said, “Leaders make choices about where they spend their time and attention” (p. 79).  With that being said, there are times when leaders need to allow their constituents to make decisions while they manage the overall direction of the organization.

I believe people are the sum total of their choices.  While there are an incalculable number of variables and unforeseen influences regularly shifting and maneuvering our decisions, I’ve found my successes and our failures have risen and fallen on our daily decisions.  At the end of the day, the domain of leaders is the future.  The most significant contribution leaders make is not simply to today’s bottom line; it is to the long-term development of people and institutions so they can adapt, change, prosper, and grow (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. xvi).  This development occurs through accurate and the well-planned selection of choices.  I believe Dr. Iyengar summed it up best when she said, “We all have a responsibility to open ourselves up to a wider array of what choices can do and what they represent.”

Steve

References:

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass.

Schultz, H. (2011). Onward. New York, NY: Rodale.

A500.3.4.RB_RuggerioSteven

Title: ERAU Hunt Library and Internet Credibility 

           In their book, The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner (2007) identify their first law of leadership as “If you don’t believe the messenger, you won’t believe the message” (p. 38). Credibility matters. Whether you’re a parent, a child, an employer, and employee, a friend, or a student. Reporting false information, whether intentional or unintentional, can derail a person’s career and capability in a moment’s notice. In their textbook, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, Hughes, Grant, & Curphy (2002) define credibility as “the product of expertise and trust” (p. 522). For students and leaders, expertise and trust start small but carry great growth potential.

            The weight of accurate and credible research within the M.S. in Leadership program cannot be understated. With that said, having access to the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Hunt Library has proven to be a godsend. Online education offers its own set of unique challenges. By creating the Hunt Library, the staff and volunteers at ERAU have equipped students with a wide selection of books, article, professional journal’s and DVDs. The material accessible within the Hunt Library consists of research-based, scholarly submissions presented by experts in their field.

Marcia Clemmitt (2008) from CQ Research, in her article Internet Accuracy said, “Wikis—user generated online publications—like Wikipedia are edited by staff and other users only after they’ve been published online, unlike in traditional media, where editing comes before publication” (Clemmitt, p. 627). While Google, Bing, and Yahoo public search engines offer a vast selection of research possibilities, students must take extra precaution to ensure the accuracy, precision, and truth behind the articles are well founded.

Having immediate access to the Hunt Library, Google Scholar, and other Internet activities has eased much of the requirements of traditional research methods. The Internet isn’t going away; in fact, it is developing. As a student, it would be wise to keep up with the technology and proper research. To assist students, the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) identified five questions for determining website credibility:

1. Who is the author?

Authors respected in their fields of study write credible sources. Responsible, credible authors will cite their sources so that you can check the accuracy of and support for what they've written.

2. How recent is the source?

The choice to seek recent sources depends on your topic. While sources on the American Civil War may be decades old and still contain accurate information, sources on information technologies, or other areas that are experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more current.       

3. What is the author’s purpose?

When deciding which sources to use, you should take the purpose or point of view of the author into consideration.

4. What type of sources does your audience value?

If you are writing for a professional or academic audience, they may value peer-reviewed journals as the most credible sources of information.

5. Be especially careful when evaluating Internet sources!

Never use Web sites where an author cannot be determined, unless the site is associated with a reputable institution such as a respected university, a credible media outlet, government program or department, or well-known non-governmental organizations.

Leaders are challenged to present accurate, factual, and relevant information. By utilizing the ERAU Hunt Library, retrieving and verifying actual Internet sources, and following the five guidelines presented above, students will be better equipped when verifying information as fact.

 Steve

References:

Clemmitt, M. (2008). Internet Accuracy. CQ Research, 18, (27), 626-648. Retrieved from

http://www.cqpress.com/docs/CQ_Researcher_V18-27_Internet_Accuracy.pdf

Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., & Curphy, G. (2002). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Weida, S. & Stolley, K. (2012). Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from

            http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/