Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Sarah Matthey

Abstract

Business leaders are challenged with sustaining an engaged workforce to achieve economic prosperity in their organizations. The implementation of effective strategies to increase employee engagement can mitigate the challenges of employee disengagement. The purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to explore the strategies that department store managers used to increase employee engagement. The conceptual frameworks selected for the research were Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation and Kahn's engagement theory. The research participants consisted of 5 department store managers, from the northeastern United States, who successfully used strategies to increase employee engagement. Data were collected from the participants in semistructured interviews and from company archival documents about the strategic efforts that department store managers used to increase employee engagement. Data analysis consisted of compiling the data, coding for emergent themes, disassembling the data into common codes, reassembling the data into themes, interpreting the meaning, and reporting the themes. The 9 themes that emerged from the data were manager and employee relationship, employee motivation, rewards and incentives, expressing appreciation, ensuring employee wellbeing, health and safety, employee empowerment, employee feedback, and establishing employee expectations. The study results could contribute to positive social change by providing department store managers with strategies to increase employee engagement, which may reduce employee turnover and create community-wide employment opportunities for community members.

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