The Ramifications of Covid-19 Within the African American Community

The coronavirus (Covid-19) perplexed many aspects of everyday life. Sadly, Covid-19 took a greater toll on African Americans. As Covid-19 developed, medical professionals, health care authorities, and advocates recognized several day-to-day living situations and intrinsic medical conditions that distressed African Americans with higher mortality rates during the pandemic. It is imperative that healthcare leaders understand the ramifications that have occurred and that may continue to surface from the Covid-19 affliction, which could be utilized to adjust and amend current policy surrounding the adversely affected African American population. We explored several substantial questions regarding this pandemic: the perceived reasons for the vast impact of Covid-19 within the African American culture; and what recommendations are needed to aid healthcare leaders in the fight against Covid-19 within the African American community. There are six ramifications that the authors address in this general article, including- employment, poverty, deaths, mental illness, and distrust. We offer suggestions to implement, prevent, and educate the African American public to circumvent these ramifications for present and future pandemics.

A Review of Culbert’s Book “Get Rid of the Performance Review”: An Impractical Suggestion

When selecting my topic focused on leaders recognizing employee contributions during performance reviews for my doctoral dissertation and post-doctoral research and publications, one book continued to appear in my reviewed article file Samuel A. Culbert’s: Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing-and Focus on What Really Matters. Although I cited this book in my dissertation and a subsequent journal publication to substantiate at least one dissenting perspective of the need for employee performance reviews, I struggled to fully understand Culbert’s perspective of this organizational process. A recent re-read of “Get Rid of the Performance Review!” prompted me to write a review and explain why I disagree with 99.9% of Culbert’s now antiquated opinion and why I believe his suggestion is impractical for organizational wellbeing.

A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Millennial Motivational Profiles and Leadership Preferences

Existing research on leadership and motivation generally focuses on how leadership styles impact employee motivation with little consideration of how the employee’s characteristics can influence their preference in a leader. Motivational profiles comprising concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and employee preferences towards transformational or transactional leadership styles were examined. Seventeen Millennials who have entered the workforce in the Western United States participated in a screening questionnaire and interview process designed answer research questions 1) How do Millennials in the Western United States describe their motivational profile once they have entered the workforce? and 2) How do Millennials who have entered the workforce in the Western United States describe their preferred leadership style? A thematic analysis revealed that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are significant predictors of transformational and transactional leadership style preferences. Findings provide merit in both academic and organizational sectors. The findings contribute empirical evidence and practical value. Thus, these results can influence more informed leadership decisions to recruit, retain, and motivate Millennials in the workforce. Keywords: Leadership, Motivation, Millennials, Organizational Development, Human Resources.

Mortal Man: A Book Review About The Inner Thoughts Of Kendrick Lamar Through His Rap Lyrics

Are you a music lover? A fan of hip hop? Do you enjoy wordplay? If so, this book might interest music and hip-hop fans alike! Lewis shares exciting insight about a modern hip-hop star. Although the times have changed, the definition of perseverance and determination remains the same. Lewis explores the ups and downs of life and fame associated with Kendrick Lamar's rise to fame in the hip-hop world. The story centralizes a young kid from Compton, California, named Lamar, who becomes aware of his influences upon his generation. Lamar wants to become successful and does what he can to ensure he takes care of himself and his community. Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar examines the life and words of Lamar. Lamar is known as a prominent rapper of his generation. In addition, he uses his words as a weapon to combat his circumstances.

Empowerment: A Book Review About Fulfilling Your Destiny Using Eight Personal Steps

Many of us want to improve, grow, and succeed in life. Although we cannot change our circumstances, our circumstances should not stop us from reaching our destiny (Hall, 2020). Everything we want out of life is within our reach. We just cannot give up. These topics are the essence of what Hall discusses as she takes us on a journey through eight steps of personal empowerment. We have to go through trials to come out on the other side. Based on these eight steps of empowerment, Hall discusses how these steps will guide us to our next chapter in life. We have the power: the power to choose how personal experiences can ultimately impact our personal, work, and professional relationships.

The Role of Servant Leadership in Church Workers’ Commitment

The study was an examination of the role of servant leadership in worker's commitment to the Xander church (Pseudonym). In Xander church, workers' commitment is shallow, as reflected in attendance and service. A cross-sectional design was used to study 38workers using nonprobability purposive sampling. The hypotheses were: H1 Is there a statistically significant relationship between servant leader behaviors and workers' commitment? H2: Is there a statistically significant relationship between the servant leadership behavior of empowerment and church workers' reported commitment due to the length of stay? The eight dimensions servant leadership survey instrument measured servant leadership, while workers' commitment was measured with the 15-item Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. The data were analyzed with Spearman’s Rho correlation because of a small sample size. The results revealed that servant leadership predicted commitment, and the servant leadership survey element, behavior empowerment, was not predicted by the worker's length of stay. I recommend that further research be conducted to ascertain reasons for a low commitment since servant leadership behavior impacted commitment. Keywords: Servant leadership, commitment, church workers, empowerment, and leadership behavior.

What Is In Your Workplace Toolbox? Recognizing And Developing Spiritual Intelligence Through Problem Solving

Performance management frameworks in public educational institutions have not dealt with some of the challenges in creating an environment that reflects organizational commitment, sustainability, productivity, and retention among academic staff. The purpose of this article was to explore the experiences of people of color regarding the challenges they face involving the use of spiritual intelligence in the workplace. Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory served as the foundation for this article. The key research question focused on the perceptions of people of color working in nonprofit educational institutions regarding the role that spiritual intelligence played in their workplaces and career successes. Targeted research included face-to-face interviews with 10 participants older than 18 years old. Two findings revealed spiritual intelligence was viewed as an indirect tool used for career success and there are opportunities for human resources to promote spiritual intelligence to create a sustainable work environment to increase performance. I concluded that the results are useful for human resource management to implement programs for their employees to understand and apply their spiritual intelligence in the workplace environment. Keywords: People of Color, Organizational Culture, Spiritual Intelligence, Organizational Commitment, Human Resource Development

Incorporating Systems Thinking into Local Governments in the United States of America

This is an opinion-based review of other research work on systems thinking paradigms and the possible application to local governments within the United States of America. Systems thinking is a complex interaction of people to generate thoughts, concepts, and ideas for situations involving organizational processes and changes. Using systems thinking can encourage collaboration, participative leadership, and interpersonal relations, increasing organizational effectiveness. Local government organizations may benefit greatly from creating and using systems thinking, incorporating constituent input before making decisions. Taking current organizational theory and design and recognizing a knowledge gap, this specific opinion-based review of using systems thinking emphasizes the importance of maintaining leadership and effective communication, advantages and disadvantages of system thinking paradigms, and ethical considerations. As communities grow and diversity expands, local government organizations should also grow and expand with the changing demands of constituents and economic needs. My theory is that with the incorporation of systems thinking, local government representatives can increase the overall effectiveness of council meetings and decision-making. Keywords: Systems Thinking; Local Government Organizations; Effective Communication; Effective Decision-Making; Participative Leadership

The Voices of the New Majority of Professors: The Adjuncts Speak

The results of this phenomenological study reveal the attitudes of adjunct college and university professors in the U.S. toward grade inflation. The 23 participants encompassed a range of ages, experience levels, geographic areas, education levels, and races. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions are used to explore 23 adjunct’s lived experiences with grade inflation. Three research questions directed the study: What experiences have adjunct faculty members working in a four-year college or university had with grade inflation? How do adjunct faculty members working in a four-year college or university perceive grade inflation? How do adjunct faculty members working a four-year college or university interpret their experiences with grade inflation? Findings substantiated that adjuncts have definite ideas about how to curb grade inflation, including increased training, increased resources, and use of rubrics. We concluded these results are useful for aiding college administrators in determining what the new majority, or adjuncts, believe should change in the area of grade inflation and future researchers should do further qualitative and quantitative research on grade inflation and adjuncts. Key words: Adjunct, grades, grade inflation, higher education, new majority

COVID-19: The Disproportionate Impact on Underserved K-12 Students

The purpose of this content analysis was to show the impact COVID-19 had on K-12 instructional method delivery, technology, learning, and academic achievement. The following questions guided the content analysis: How did COVID-19 impact student and academic achievement, how did the pandemic impact education and instruction method delivery in a virtual learning environment, and how did the pandemic affect teacher & student access to technology? The population consisted of K-12 educational leaders and students who completed surveys in previous studies. The findings via content analysis revealed that online education seems to be deeply rooted in the careful planning of instruction. We found that leaders were having a difficult time making the necessary adjustments with remote learning. Thus, the impact of COVID-19 has changed the way many students come to class. There is a need for K-12 institutions to strengthen their best practices relating to online curriculum and instruction demonstrated during in-person learning. Key Words: Student learning K-12, academic & instructional effectiveness, technology effectiveness, COVID-19, underserved communities