Digital Commons Network^™

Preparing And Executing An Effective Sales Call, Mackenzie Wright

Honors Theses

This thesis is written in a business document format. It will have four main sections: Introduction, Preparation, Execution, and Conclusion. Each section will include subsections. I will be discussing my involvement in the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC), which was my thesis project. I will be comparing my participation in the ICSC to the knowledge I gained during my tenure as a Sales and Business Marketing student in the Haworth College of Business.

Any data or information was taken from WMU’s website, the ICSC website, and my knowledge from WMU sales classes.

Competing In The International Collegiate Sales Competition, Christina Cook

Honors Theses

The following report aims to analyze the process that is involved in competing in the International Collegiate Sales Competition. There will be an overview of the selection process and the competition itself and an analysis of the overall performance at the competition. In addition, there will also be an overview of lessons learned by competing along with general suggestions to future competitors and competition coordinators.

Before examining the details of the competition, this thesis will address the Sales and Business Marketing program at Western Michigan University. In addition, there will be models referenced within Western Michigan University’s sales program that …

Does Social Media Help Create Brand Loyalty?, Ali Russo

Honors Theses

Throughout my time at Haworth College of Business, Social Media has been a big topic of discussion. The issue has not been if companies should use it as a tool to reach consumers but how do companies effectively utilize Social Media sites. Companies have two important ways to utilize these sites: the first is to collect data from users, and the second is to create a platform where they can interact and influence purchasing decisions. I wanted to create a thesis that focused on the interaction side of Social Media. Initially, I wanted to see if Social Media would create …

For The Fund$ Of It: Product Development, Josie Marshall

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparing Online And Traditional Interview Techniques: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of Researchers And Participants In The Malaysian Context, Diyana Kamarudin

Dissertations

The study employed an innovative simulation of interview conditions using both face-to-face and online techniques that facilitated both emic and etic perspectives. The dissertation utilized both micro and a macro levels of study. At the micro level, 10 researcher participants interviewed 30 parent participants utilizing two different interview techniques: online face-to-face interviews via Skype, and traditional face-to-face interview. The interviews focused on parental mediation on children’s television habits. At the macro level the researcher coordinated the study and conducted interviews with the researcher participants, after they completed their own interviews in the simulation. Both online and face-to-face interviews were video …

Private Labels Related To Time & Risk Preferences, Darryn Taylor

Honors Theses

Purpose: This paper explores the linkages between demographics, time preferences, and risk preferences of private label food products.

Design/methodology/approach: More than 600 adults were surveyed on their perceptions of private labels, hedonic traits, and impulsive consumption along with their time and risk preferences.

Findings: Time preference and hedonic trait are relevant to consumer’s private label preferences.

Originality/Value: By developing measures on time and risk preferences relating to demographics, this thesis provides more detailed explanations of the consumer’s willingness to use private label brands. The scales that were developed for measuring time and risk preferences have not been previously used in …

Mud Volleyball Tournament Fundraiser Event Supporting The Water Project, Morgan Deboer

Honors Theses

The WMU Mud Volleyball Tournament took place on September 26, 2015 as Autumn Gammon and Morgan DeBoer’s honors thesis project for the Lee Honors College. The tournament was a fundraising event that helped bring awareness to The Water Project, a non-­‐profit organization that is dedicated to bringing clean water systems to communities throughout Sub-­‐Sahara Africa. Held at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center and Fairgrounds, the event brought together Western Michigan University students and surrounding community members for a fun-­‐filled day in the mud supporting a deserving cause.

The event took a great deal of organizing, with planning starting in the …

Mud Volleyball Tournament Fundraiser Event Supporting The Water Project, Autumn Gammon

Honors Theses

The WMU Mud Volleyball Tournament took place on September 26, 2015 as Autumn Gammon and Morgan DeBoer’s honors thesis project for the Lee Honors College. The tournament was a fundraising event that helped bring awareness to The Water Project, a non-­‐profit organization that is dedicated to bringing clean water systems to communities throughout Sub-­‐Sahara Africa. Held at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center and Fairgrounds, the event brought together Western Michigan University students and surrounding community members for a fun-­‐filled day in the mud supporting a deserving cause.

The event took a great deal of organizing, with planning starting in the …

The Effects Of Tourism In Jamaica, Natalie Kearns

Honors Theses

Tourism is a fast and continuously growing industry throughout every region of the world. The effect that tourism has on a location usually isn’t the first thought when vacationers enter their destination location. In order to understand the effect of tourists and the tourist industry have had on Jamaica, I examined Jamaica’s historical development, including the tourist industry and the racial inequalities that developed as slaves were brought to the island. Then, using theories on place, identity, and authenticity, I conducted a content analysis of images tourists see while researching vacations to Jamaica.

This analysis confirmed that tourism to Jamaica …

The Difference Between The On Premise And Off Premise Craft Beer Experience: Implications For The Craft Beer Category, Karen Kalinski

Honors Theses

The differences between the on-premise and off-premise craft beer experience was researched in this study. The original research question was whether there is a relationship between on-premise and off-premise sales of craft beer. After initial research through semi- structured interviews the research questions were revised to three related questions: 1. What are the on-premise and off-premise craft beer experiences?, 2. Is there a significant difference?, and 3. Does the one behavior affect the other in purchasing behavior? Participants included 12 consumers of craft beer ranging from individuals with extensive craft beer experience to relative newcomers to the craft beer segment. …

Learning From The Past: A Comparative Analysis Of The Influences Of The Great Depression On The Recent Financial Crisis., Shirish Bade Shrestha

Honors Theses

The Great Depression and the recent financial crisis are events that have changed the lives of many American and global citizens. In hopes of preventing similar mistakes in the future, we should study, analyze, and learn from these past events. This investigation attempts to do just that through a rigorous study of the past Great Depression and recent financial crisis. We will explore the two events separately, analyze their similarities and differences and then discuss what we have learned from the Great Depression and see how that knowledge has been used to combat the recent financial crisis. The Great Depression …

Residential Property Values And Historic Districts: A Kalamazoo Case Study, Curtis Aardema

Masters Theses

Historic districts have been a point of contention in political, economic and community circles since their inception in the early twentieth century, but their impact has grown since the 1966 passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. Often cited by proponents as a productive tool for preserving the cultural and physical elements of the American built environment, historic districts are alternately branded as burdensome and regressive to future development by critics. In order to provide a quantitative assessment of the economic impact of historic districts, this project compares property values from 1990, 2000 and 2010 in both a historically designated …

Managing The Credibility Of A Nonprofit Organization In The Face Of Unexpected Publicity, Regan Crowell

Honors Theses

Ethical conduct of a nonprofit organization was suspected to impact the credibility of the organization as perceived by its stakeholders. This study uses secondary research for three nonprofit organizations in order to gain a closer look at the ethical issues of compensation, conflicts of interest, and the combined issues of accountability and strategic management. The nonprofit organizations discussed are United Way, Susan G. Komen, and The ALS Association. Each faced unexpected publicity, either positive or negative, and managed the organization’s credibility through dealing with one of the named ethical issues. Based on the case studies conducted for the three nonprofit …

Western Client: A Business Plan, Connor Makowski

Honors Theses

Western Client was created to simplify electronic communications. We believe that we can challenge standard communication processes and revolutionize how smartphones disseminate media. We can help our users to foster better relationships and communicate more effectively. We are achieving this by streamlining user interfaces, compiling data, and minimizing unproductive intervals on electronic devices.

Western Client will offer an easy to navigate, well designed application that integrates information from many sources. We are currently focusing our efforts on designing an application for iOS and Android devices that provides universal inboxes. Every contact will have a dedicated universal inbox that will place …

Cross-Examining The United States And Germany's Education And Employee Treatments In Relation To The Unemployment Rate, Natalie Cook

Honors Theses

The unemployment rate has been a constant battle in the United States, especially in the last five years. In 2010 the unemployment rate was at a high of 9.7%, in 2011 it was at 9.0%, in 2012 is what at 8.2%, in 2013 it was at 7.4%, and in 2014 it was at 6.6% (Unemployment, total (% of total laborforce) (modeled ILO estimate), 2015). This is relatively high compared to other countries, such as Germany. Germany in the last five years has had lower unemployment rates in the last five years, their highest rate in the last five years was …

Effects Of Minimum Wage Changes On The Development And Use Of The Student Employee Pay Rate Structure At Western Michigan University, Kristin Kinney

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to present a thorough analysis of the current utilization of Western Michigan University’s student employee pay scale that has been performed to provide useful information for the decision of how to best restructure the student employee pay scale. This analysis shows the average of how many student positions were paid at each of the sixteen set hourly wages and how many were paid at Level Q (a range of wages between $9.58 and $20), or above level Q during the Fall 2014 semester. The results can be effectively used to determine how many student …