Business Commons^™

Cedar Falls Community Main Street: A Gap Analysis Of Customer & Business Owner Perceptions, Cassie Evers

Honors Program Theses

Cedar Falls, Iowa is a small town of approximately 40,000 people, which has a traditional Main Street district, lined by historic buildings filled with shops, restaurants, offices, and apartments alike (“Current Cedar Falls, Iowa Population, Demographics and Stats”). This main street district is managed by an organization called Community Main Street. Cedar Falls Community Main Street (CMS) has done extensive research to gain an understanding of their market by surveying customers. However, they lack information on their business owners and managers’ opinions. This study focused on surveying area business owners to provide valuable information about business leaders’ opinions to Community …

The Secondary Interview : Ethical Concerns Regarding Social Media Scanning In The Commercial Hiring Process, Christopher Pollpeter

Honors Program Theses

As more and more of our daily lives take place online, it is becoming critical for our society to decide how we deal with ethical issues in an online context. The study of ethics has existed for millennia, but only recently have two people on opposite ends of the globe been able to communicate and collaborate on a project in real time. One of the most prominent places this change has affected the daily lives of Americans is in the world of business.

Quality Costing Knowledge, Attitudes, And Perceptions In A Small Manufacturing Company, Adam M. Benner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research was to identify and assess employee knowledge, attitude, and perception of quality costing in a manufacturing company. The company selected for this research was a small manufacturer of agricultural processing equipment with an undeveloped quality management program. A quality costs questionnaire was discovered from a review of the literature and was slightly modified to gather data from a sample of company employees. The following information was collected from employees: knowledge of common quality costing terminology, attitude towards quality and non-quality concepts, and perception of departments associated with quality costs and the scale of quality costs …

Design And Evaluation Of A Pdf Print Estimating System, Mengtsung Tai

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research consisted of designing and evaluating portable document format (PDF) print estimating system to commercial systems. Taking into account functionality, reliability, standardization, and integration, the conventional design method (Pressman, 1997) was used to develop the print estimating system. Considering the printer's viewpoint, added features make the system function online and offline and compatible with all common computer platforms. After the system was developed, experts and entry-level users evaluated the system for software usability (Nielsen, 2000; Shneiderman, 1998). A total of 26 experts and 38 entry-level users responded to 14 questions about usability in a personal interview survey. Statistical analysis …

Use And Effectiveness Of Decision Support Systems (Dss): Study Of The Saudi Private Sector, Ibrahim A. Alhunaishel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In the industrialized world today, management is characterized by extensive use of computers to manage rapid change, information overload, and complex decision-making. Literature suggests that Decision Support Systems, computer packages offering information retrieval, problem-structuring models, decision alternatives, and other types of decision support, are effective extensions of human decision-making and offer substantial benefits to organizations utilizing them.

In spite of overwhelmingly positive reviews for DSS, empirical literature has produced inconsistent results regarding DSS effectiveness, and definitions of “effectiveness” and of DSS itself are varied and sometimes contradictory. Distinguishing DSS from MIS (management information systems) and other types of managerial computer …

Groupwork In Business, Michelle Laird

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The purpose of this article was to review studies concerning the effects of group design on groupwork in business. It begins with a short overview of definitions of work groups and group phenomena, and follows with a literature review of the effects of size, group goals, sharing of information, diversity, gender, age, individual differences, familiarity among members, and techniques on decision making effectiveness. Next, difficulties and possible solutions are covered and finally, types of work groups used today are discussed. It has been found that there is no one team design that makes a team most effective. The most appropriate …

Self-Directed Teams: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Autonomy Level, Jennifer L. Duncan

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This paper will present a review of current SDT literature. First, characteristics of SDTs as well as their benefits, costs, and barriers will be examined. The importance of planning for appropriate autonomy levels will follow. Cost-benefit analysis as a planning instrument will be presented. A case study of a U.S. assembly plant having performed a cost-benefit analysis prior to instituting an SDT organizational structure--John Deere Commercial Products, Inc.--will be provided. Finally, a discussion of how the case study findings can be applied to other organizations will conclude.

Effects Of Electronic Mail On Staff Communication Satisfaction And Computer Anxiety, Donald D. Luck

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research indicates teacher isolation and computer anxiety are significant problems effecting teachers. This study examined the influence of electronic mail on these two problems. The research hypotheses questioned whether electronic mail installation positively effected a staff's level of communication satisfaction and/or lowered their level of computer anxiety.

Three sites were used in the study. Site One had electronic mail at the time of both measurements, Site Two implemented electronic mail immediately following the first measurement, and Site Three never used electronic mail. Ten months separated the measurements.

The study used the Computer Satisfaction Questionnaire to measure eight components of communication …

The Role Of Multinational Corporations In The Transfer Of Management Technology To Nigeria, Liwhu Undiandeye

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The development of an active and viable managerial cadre in the developing nations is necessary for the initiation and sustainment of industrial growth and productivity. Management is not only able to recognize profitable opportunities but also possess sufficient entrepreneurial skills that can be organized for technological growth. Managerial skills are abundantly present in the West and significantly lacking in the developing nations. One of the ways to stimulate industrial growth in the developing nations is to transfer these abundant skills from the West. The transferability of western management technology to non-western cultures has been characterized by uncertainty as regards its …

The Relationship Between Management Training And Other Predictor Variables And Managerial Performance Among Selected Industrial First-Line Supervisors, Joseph Thomas Martelli

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between industrial first-line supervisors' participation in management training programs and subsequent job related performance as assessed by the subjects' overall management by objectives (MBO) performance appraisal rating .

Also, the relationship between managerial performance and predictor variables (age, years of supervisory experience, formal education level, self development, prior management training, and professional society involvement) was assessed.

Twenty-three first-line supervisors from a medium sized manufacturing organization participated in the study. A questionnaire was designed which extracted measures on the predictor variables from the subjects. Corporate management supplied the measure …