A Cross-Sectional Study of Union Operator and Front-Line Supervisor Perception of Culture and Leadership in a Northeast Petrochemical Refinery by David A Durbano A dissertation to the faculty of Wilmington University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration Wilmington University December 2018 A Cross-Sectional Study of Union Operator and Front-Line Supervisor Perception of Culture and Leadership in a Northeast Petrochemical Refinery by David A Durbano I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standards required by Wilmington University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration. Signed _______________________________________________ Amy Danley Ed.D, Chairperson of Dissertation Committee Signed _____________________________________________________ Robert W. Rescigno Ed.D, Member of the Dissertation Committee Table of Contents Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi Dedication .......................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments................................................................................................................x Abstract .............................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Background ...................................................................................................................3 Importance...................................................................................................................15 Description of the Problem .........................................................................................18 Research Questions .....................................................................................................18 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................19 Definition of Terms .....................................................................................................20 Plan for Using Study Results ......................................................................................21 Methodology ...............................................................................................................22 iv Survey Design ………………………………………………………………………25 Possible Data Collection/Quality Problems…………………………………………30 Assumptions and Delimitations…………………………………………………..…31 2 Study Approach .........................................................................................................33 Scope of Study ...........................................................................................................33 Reliability ...................................................................................................................34 Analysis Plan for Research Question One and Two ..................................................35 Analysis Plan for Research Question Three and Four ...............................................36 Analysis Plan for Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire ..........................................37 Ethical and Human Subjects Consideration ...............................................................38 Demographical Review ..............................................................................................38 Cultural and Leadership Results ................................................................................47 Cultural Views and Demographic Factors .................................................................54 Leadership Style and Demographic Factors ..............................................................66 Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Data ...............................................................71 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................74 v 3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................77 Recommendation One: Create a Sense of Urgency to Drive Expeditious Change ....77 Recommendation Two: Form a Guiding Coalition to Lead Change Efforts ..............78 Recommendation Three: Create a Vision Statement to Communicate Preferred Culture and Leadership……………………………………………………………..79 Recommendation Four: Formalize a Training Program for Leadership Development………………………………………………………………………..80 Recommendation Five: Create a Mentorship/Coaching Program for Continued Leader Cultivation ......................................................................................................81 Implementation Plan ...................................................................................................82 Future Areas of Research ............................................................................................94 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................95 References ..........................................................................................................................96 List of Appendices ...........................................................................................................122 Appendix A: Survey Demographics……………………………………………….122 Appendix B: Survey Instrument Instructions………………………………….......123 vi Appendix C: Survey Cover Letter………………………………………………....124 Appendix D: OCAI Instrument Use Approval…………………………………….125 Appendix E: Graphical Representation of Preferred Culture….…………………..126 Appendix F: Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Example..……………………127 Appendix G: MLQ Permission Use………………………………………………..128 Appendix H: Supervisor Culture Perspective Radar Chart………………………..129 Appendix I: Union Culture Perspective Radar Chart…………………………...…130 Appendix J: Supervisor Leadership Perspective Radar Chart………………….....131 Appendix K: Union Leadership Perspective Radar Chart………………………...132 vii List of Tables Table 1 Demographics .................................................................................................. ..39 2 Mean Value & SD: Age ..................................................................................... 40 3 Mean Value & SD: Position .............................................................................. 42 4 Mean Value & SD: Education ........................................................................... 45 5 Supervisor Mean Scores & SD .......................................................................... 49 6 Operator Mean Scores & SD ............................................................................. 51 7 Operator Questions with Significant Differences .............................................. 56 8 Supervisor Questions with Significant Differences ........................................... 57 9 Combined Questions with Significant Differences............................................ 58 10 Supervisor One-Way Anova: Age ..................................................................... 60 11 Supervisor Tukey Test: Age .............................................................................. 60 12 Operator One-Way Anova: Age ........................................................................ 62 13 Operator Tukey Test: Age ................................................................................. 63 14 Supervisor T-Test: Education ............................................................................ 65 viii 15 Operator T-Test: Education ............................................................................... 66 16 Combined Leadership One-Way Anova: Age ................................................... 67 17 Combined Leadership Tukey Test: Age ............................................................ 68 18 Operator Leadership One-Way Anova: Age...................................................... 69 19 Operator Leadership Tukey Test: Age ............................................................... 69 20 Union Operator Leadership T-Test: Education.................................................. 70 21 Supervisor Leadership T-Test: Work Group ..................................................... 71 22 Operator Leadership T-Test: Work Group ........................................................ 71 23 MLQ Means & SD ............................................................................................. 72 24 MLQ Self-Rating Percentiles .............................................................................. 73 ix Dedication I dedicate this achievement to my parents, Vincent and Alice Durbano. Without their commitment and sacrifices while raising me, this would not have been possible. x Acknowledgements I owe many people a “thank you” for their support throughout this journey including my classmates, friends, family, and dissertation committee. Dr. Amy Danley, committee chair, embraced my idea to start the process earlier than usual as the research was time sensitive. Many e-mails, phone calls, and meetings helped drive me into producing