Business Commons^™

International Special Projects Internship--Mauritius, Jace Reese

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explains my international internship in Mauritius. During the internship, we surveyed Mauritian residents to help them battle food insecurity using the USDA's food security survey. Food security is very prevalent in our world, especially after COVID. Included are the results as well as what we learned from surveying the residents.

Hospitality Highway Career Fair: An Exploratory Study, Lilly Miller

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The goal of this creative project is to conduct research on career fairs and hospitality events to successfully host the first ever Hospitality Career Fair at the University of Arkansas. The lack of career advancement opportunities on the campus for hospitality management students continued to increase despite the rapidly growing industry across the community, so the creation of the career fair would allow improvement for the students and the companies. With a creative project, it allows more creativity and research to develop the overall plan for the event.

The project studies hospitality career events hosted at other universities to gain …

The Alumni Base Holds The Institution In Their Heart: Alumni Decision Making And Communication Strategies During University Leadership Change, Brandy Cox Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the research was to understand how alumni executives make decisions and formulate communication strategies during university leadership change. The research was based on the trends found by the American Council on Education that the tenure of the college president has been on the decline since 2006 and is currently 5.9 years. Multiple factors have been identified in the literature that have led to this decline. The research focused on the largest constituency of most universities, its alumni base, and provides context and a description of decision making and communication strategies for alumni executives navigating leadership change. The …

Navigating Leadership Pathways: Learning Module Development, Alana Skogen

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Navigating Leadership Pathways is an innovative learning initiative designed to address the challenges and barriers faced by women in their pursuit of mid to high-level leadership positions. Comprising three self-paced modules, this project delves into the intricate landscape of gender bias, second-generation biases, and cultural norms that hinder women's progression in the workplace. Drawing on extensive research and real-world insights, each module provides a dynamic and interactive learning experience.

Module 1: Introduction to Gender Bias in Leadership

This module lays the foundation by exploring second-generation biases, leadership style differences between men and women, the glass ceiling, diversity, and inclusion. Participants …

Beyond Boarders For First-Generation Students, Nayeli Ortiz

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

1. Tabeling at TRIO and Multicultural Center events

2. Require academic advisors to have at least one conversation with every student about studying abroad (never assume a student is not interested or unable to go)

3. Overtly feature first-generation study abroad students in social media and Hogs Abroad website.

4. Network interested students with students who have completed study abroad

5. Offer a promotional study-abroad program for first-generation students

6. Promote funding information and add more first-generation specific scholarships

Turbocharge Tutoring Business Plan, Daniel Rugen Haller

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

College tutoring business plan.

The Cost Of Organizational Change For Rural Community Colleges, Randy Clayton Scaggs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study will investigate the unintended consequences of implementing structural change in a rural community college in the mid-South region of the United States. Specifically, this study will examine the unanticipated outcomes of merging student affairs and academic affairs into one division. Scant empirical evidence exists about the benefits of this structural change or literature reviewing assessments of the unanticipated financial and nonfinancial costs to the institution. This critical case study is situated in a rural community college that recently changed its organizational structure by combining the academic and student affairs divisions. A purposeful sample, from different levels of …

Informal Education Experiences Of Black Women-Owned Healthcare Small Businesses In Mississippi, Timothy E. Lampkin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small businesses are critical to the economic success of the United States, and several states, such as Mississippi, have a strong reliance on small business development. Through small, individually owned businesses, the overall economy is enhanced, and the quality of life for many is improved. A growing trend within the small business community is private ownership by Black women. This population segment has dramatically grown in their presence within business ownership, and it is necessary to describe elements of their success. The proposed research focuses on informal education as an enabler of this small business success. Informal education is a …

An Investigation Of Tax Assessors’ Perception Of The Relationship Between Proactive Career Management Behaviors (Pcmbs) And Career Success: Determining The Most Valuable Career Management Behaviors, Daniel K. Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate government and private-sector tax assessors’ perceptions of the relationship between proactive career management behaviors (PCMBs) and career success. The findings of the study established a foundation to assist government and private-sector tax assessor organizations with developing the human capital within and the careers of their employees. The study’s findings revealed that all four of the PCMBs (career planning, career self-exploration, environmental career exploration, and voluntary human capital development) had significant relationships to career success when tested with a multiple regression model. The study’s findings also revealed that there was no significant difference …

Closing The Gender Gap In Entrepreneurship Education, Carolyn J. Rodeffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurship education in higher education has been cited as a key strategy in filling the entrepreneurship talent pool, preparing students with the skills and confidence needed to start new ventures (Westhead & Solesvik, 2016). However, outcomes of entrepreneurship education for female students are less positive than for their male counterparts (Shinnar et al., 2012; Westhead & Solesvik, 2016; Wilson et al., 2007). Working within the frameworks of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1977), Azjen’s theory of planned behavior (1991), and Steele and Aronson’s stereotype threat theory (1995), this quantitative study utilized an experimental research design to assess the impact of role model …

Exploring Women’S Sizing Chart: A View Into Psychosizing, Patience Billingsley

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The apparel industry lacks a universal sizing system and has created tactics to group consumers under a few generic sizes. The inconsistency in sizing has led to a struggle of consumers trying to find pieces of clothing that are not only their size but fit their measurements as well. An analysis of the sizing charts of 5 different women’s clothing private labels ranging from sizes 0-16 within two major department stores was assessed. The sizing charts within each individual store were evaluated, and then compared to one another. After calculating the sizing differences, an average of both store A and …

How Bad Do You Want It?: The Personal Motivation Of Joining A Sorority, Garry Butler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

College campuses provide students with endless opportunities to become members of various student organizations that provide leadership, accountability, a sense of belonging, personal growth, and development. Many colleges have provided students with the opportunities to join social Greek fraternity and sorority organizations. The foundation of social fraternity and sorority organizations are built on principles such as sisterhood, brotherhood, scholarship, service, philanthropy, and leadership. Many traditional college-age women who desire to become members of a social sorority organization all participate in a formal recruitment process. There are various motivations that traditional college-age women have for joining social sororities on college campuses …

Stress Among Ncaa Division Ii Head Coaches, Dee Gerlach

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify factors that create stress among head coaches at the National Association Athletic Association Division II level. Data was collected through a demographic questionnaire and the Coaching Issues Survey (CIS), a tool used to measure specific factors that may create stress among coaches. The factors of the CIS include four subscales: Athlete-Concerns, Time-Role, Program-Success, and Win-Loss. Participants (N=416) consisted of head coaches representing the following sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s and women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s tennis. The independent variables for this …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Compassion Organizing And The University Advancement Workplace, Christina Marie Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compassion organizing has been described within positive organizational scholarship as an organization’s response to pain and suffering in organizational behavior and also the ability for organizations to flourish and promote joy and fulfillment in the workplace. Compassion organizing has been examined in organizational life through the four areas of noticing, feeling, acting, and sense-making. Previous research has focused on business and healthcare workplaces and has shown that compassion organizing is both an organizational and interpersonal social process. Because of the limited existing research on compassion organizing in the higher education workplace (and none with respect to the university advancement workplace), …

Remixed, Remastered: Investigating Organizational Adaptation In Higher Music Education, Jacob Bruce Hertzog

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher music education presents a unique opportunity to examine change within higher education due to the digital revolution in the music industry over the past two decades. The purpose for conducting this study was to describe, map, and explain the strategies that higher music education programs are using to adapt to the digital revolution in the music industry. This study was grounded in organizational adaptation theory, drawing upon nine well-established theories: population ecology, life cycles, strategic choice, isomorphism, symbolic action, resource dependence, cybernetics, and network theory. Critical concepts of the turbulent environment, environmental perception, and organizational adaptation strategy emerged from …

A Multicase Study Exploring The Motivation Of Support Staff In The Office Of The Registrar, April M. Martin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although a large body of research exists within higher education that focuses on factors related to faculty motivation and student motivation, there is limited research concentrated on the motivation of college and university administrative staff. This study examined how job duties, work processes, elements of the work environment, and leadership styles are related to employee motivation, specifically the motivation of front-line support staff who work in the Office of the Registrar. Additionally, I aimed to identify any disconnect between what support staff need and want from supervisors in the Office of the Registrar pertaining to motivation and supervisors’ behavior to …

Understanding The Importance Of Ambition In The Workplace, Jeff Bean

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Though a common term, ambition is a multifaceted concept that is vastly under researched despite it being labeled necessary for success in the workplace. Of even greater irony is that several sources indicate a significant majority of the reason that employees leave organizations is due to a perceived lack of career development or opportunity, a problem that speaks directly to talent management practices. In light the costly nature of this problem and the presence of sophisticated talent management professionals in large and medium-sized organizations which comprise half or more of the workforce, it causes one to question the assumptions that …

Naturalistic Decision Making In First Sales Calls: A Narrative Study Of Experienced Technical Sales Professionals, Douglas Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first conversation between business-to-business sellers and new customers comes with the potential for both opportunity and risk. Sellers spend substantial effort gaining the right to engage in a first call with a potential customer. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring the role of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) and how it impacts the way experienced technology sales professionals navigate first conversations with new customers. NDM explores how experienced professionals make decisions in high-stakes, real world situations that are ambiguous, time-pressured, and have poorly defined goals. While NDM studies have been performed in other professional disciplines, none …

Centropoly: The Structure Of Educational Failures In The U.S., Martha Bradley-Dorsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How did a country birthed in individual liberty and voluntary associations create just the opposite in its inflexible, layered, government-controlled public education system? Here, using public choice theory, I explain how near-sighted and unrelated reforms, often based in private motives, gave us what I call the public education centropoly – a hybrid government organization consisting of a set of monopolies layered beneath two additional government levels that especially fails disadvantaged students.

After defending the use of public choice theory (Chapter 1) and summarizing the U.S. public education system formation (Chapter 2), in Chapter 3 I examine the Elementary and Secondary …

Social Media Preferences Of Individuals Seeking Graduate Business Degrees, Peyton N. Boxberger, Hannah C. Lee

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide actionable insight to the Walton MBA Programs Office for a cohesive social media strategy that is inclusive of all audiences. This research hopes to help the Walton MBA program better understand potential and current students based on their social media behavior and learn how social media use has changed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This report will analyze the results of a survey crafted to better understand the social media preferences of individuals seeking graduate business degrees. From these, a social media marketing strategy can be created to tailor content to …

Student-Run Agencies: A Guideline For Agency Survival, Brooke Borgognoni

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to study 110 student-run agencies (including advertising, public relations, integrated/digital marketing, communications, and graphics and/or design) in the U.S. by analyzing how they currently operate, what practices exist in the agencies for learning, growth, and continuation and how leadership roles of students and advisors influence the agency. This project built upon past studies of student-run agencies and expanded on the topic using the evolutionary theory of a firm by analyzing factors that determine whether it appears that a student-run agency might dissolve or last. This was determined by measuring the faculty advisor involvement level, …

Maximizing The Academic And Professional Success Of First-Generation College Students In Biomedical Engineering, Mona Ahmed

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although efforts to increase the inclusion, retention, and success of first-generation college students (FGCSs) in research universities have resulted in noticeable progress, FGCSs still feel academically challenged, isolated, and show more anxiety and depression compared to non-FGCSs. Moreover, FGCSs may possess additional underrepresented identities that exacerbates the problem. There is more risk of dropping out of academic programs for FGCSs enrolling in STEM degrees, especially those of more multidisciplinary nature such as Biomedical Engineering. From the overall population of the State of Arkansas, only 23.3% have a bachelor’s degree or higher which is the third least percentage in the United …

Perception Of County Extension Agents’ Organizational Fit After Participating In The Mentoring Component Of The Cooperative Extension Service Onboarding Program, Angela Blacklaw-Freel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the perception employees of the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (CES) after participating in a mentoring program. The CES implemented an onboarding program in 2010 which included a yearlong mentoring component for county extension agents because they were resigning at an alarming rate. The study aimed to illuminate if the mentoring program increased the county extension agents’ perception of fit after completing the program by determining if they felt they possessed characteristics that were compatible with the organization.

This study was founded on the mentees’ viewpoints of their perceptions of person-organization (PO) fit, …

Follow The Leader: A Followership Perspective In Restaurants, Courtney Troxtel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While leadership has been a popular research topic in the hospitality industry, followership has a limited amount of research contributing to the body of knowledge. Followers are a key aspect of the leadership equation; therefore, it is important to understand their role in the industry. The purpose of this study is to explore the leadership theory of followership in restaurants to examine the connections between followership training, voice behavior and employee turnover rates. The study adds to the existing knowledge of followership in the hospitality industry and provides ideas for future research and practical implications.

A descriptive survey was made …

Choosing Information Systems As A Major: Factors That Influence Selection, Carole L. Shook

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of factors affecting the decision to select information systems as an undergraduate major. Additionally, information systems students were compared to other business students to see if significant differences existed between groups. The four factors studied included: (a) personal interest in the major, (b) student competence, (c) value and utility, and (d) external influences of other people and academic experiences.

A convenience sample was used at a public university in the Southeastern region of the United States. Two hundred junior/senior students were selected as participants. One hundred of the students were …

Footprints Of Resilience: Tracking The Career Development Steps Of African American Male Musicians, Patrice Tiffany Leshay Bax

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For African American (AA) male musicians, the road toward career advancement in the entertainment industry is particularly arduous. Despite many difficulties on the journey to career success, the history of gospel, R&B, jazz, and funk music is evidence that many AA male musicians find their way to develop and advance their careers. Many AA male musicians find career development and advancement opportunities through religious and sacred institutions. However, the journey to become a professional musician for AA males is fluid and not formalized causing ambiguity in the steps taken to enter this career field and sustain growth in a rapidly …

Philosophia Soteria: How Occupational Safety And Health Professionals Influence Decision Makers, Daniel Jay Snyder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify ideas about how occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals influence decision-makers on matters impacting occupational health and safety management systems. A modified nominal group technique was used that involved 67 participants in ten nominal groups and identified the most important ideas about how OSH professionals can influence workplace safety and health decision making. The research produced themes of communication, scientific, professionalism, leadership, adaptability, and business acumen that resulted in six domains of occupational safety and health professional influence.

The Impact Of Coaches' Character On Youth Basketball Players, Natasha Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If utilized effectively, recreation and sports can serve as major tools for developing youth, improving the educational environment, and increasing the number of productive adults that are healthier physically and mentally to positively impact society. Most research targeting recreation and sports developing youth has the perspective primarily of parents and youth. Evaluating the character strengths of coaches and youth athletes who actively participate in team basketball is vital.

An exploration of the value of basketball and character strengths of (n = 64) youth athletes, between the ages of 12 to 16 years, and the impact of their involvement with coaches …

A Seniors Guide To Finding Success In College, Gabriel Munson

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Incoming college freshmen are bombarded with ways to succeed in the classroom immediately as they inter a college campus. With access to many resources to improve academics it can be perceived that academics are the only success needed to succeed in college. To the contrary, other factors including personal financial management and extracurricular activities will have a strong affect on students as they graduate and move into their professional careers. This research explores studies and personal accounts of what skills students will need to succeed after college and connects societal functioning and college success.

Quantifying The Return On Investment Of After School Programming, Ayesha Patel

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Each fiscal year, there is a battle on Capitol Hill as lawmakers wrestle with reconciling political promises to financial reality. This process is completed with the goal of efficiently allocating scarce resources, in this case tax dollars and other government revenue, across the needs of the over 325 million diverse residents of the United States. Some budget items garner almost universal support, such as defense funding, infrastructure and education. While individuals may differ on how much funding each of these causes should receive, almost all agree that they should be funded by the federal government. Other budget items, such as …