Law-related job training and development at Moody Bible Institute : a qualitative single case study of employee motivation.

In Chicago, a small private Bible college navigated increasingly complex laws and regulations in education, radio, and publishing. These expanding legal challenges have prompted the institution to engage its legal department more extensively and to increase its focus on legal review. As a result, the legal department has increasingly relied on outside counsel to manage critical issues. This trend highlights the current capacity of the in-house legal team regarding student affairs, intellectual property, accreditation, contract management, and litigation. Consequently, outsourcing legal counsel has driven legal expenses beyond historical allowances. Without a viable solution, the institution risks compliance failures, the neglect of necessary legal review, and potential litigation that could threaten its mission. To explore these challenges, I conducted a single qualitative case study aimed at understanding employees' perspectives on how a law-related job training and development program related employee motivation. I applied the basic self-determination theory model in the workplace (Deci et al., 2017) to explore participants’ descriptions of autonomy, competence, relatedness, well-being, and performance before and after attending the training. Data collection included pre- and post-training questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. This approach provided insight into participants’ views about managing law-related aspects of their jobs and their assessment of how law-related training addressed those responsibilities. Participants described experiencing improved confidence, reduced anxiety, improved vocabulary and understanding, strengthened connection and community, and a sense of pride and motivation to accomplish law-related tasks. The findings offer practical considerations for human resource professionals, general counsel, and university administrators aiming to strengthen employees' intrinsic motivation by improving their legal knowledge and analytical skills. The study supports the implementation of law-related job training and development programs within organizations and institutions of higher education. Such programs may serve to educate participants on the relevant law-related aspects of their jobs, promote proactive law-related issue identification, and encourage discussion of these implications within their departments. Ultimately, these law-related programs should be designed to align with the broader goal of cultivating employees’ competence, autonomy, and relatedness in their workplace environments.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Andrew R., 1983-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Guerra, Jennifer J., 1970-

• Qualitative.
• Single-case.
• Self-determination theory.
• Motivation.
• Law-related job training and development.
• General counsel.
• University.
• Training and development.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13971

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13971