Business Commons^™

The Philanthropic Process Of Private And Publicly Traded U.S. Companies, Carla Woodson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The author looks at the essence of corporate philanthropy, analyzing the drivers of why corporations give and how these organizations assemble themselves within the face of crises. While there is significant research on the different types of corporate philanthropy and its drivers, there is very little known about the way decisions are reached by committee members and executives who oversee allocating these funds. Using a qualitative method approach with semi structured in-depth interviews of respondents who currently work in the field of corporate giving for a US based private or publicly based company. A case study of three companies reveals …

Covid-19 And Work-Family Conflict: A Gendered Lens Required For Developing Organizational Benefits And Programs, Qendresa Isniqi

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted people's work and family lives. The work-family conflict has seen an increase with the onset of the pandemic as families have found themselves in complex roles such as family sustainers, teachers for their children, and family caregivers while quarantined with the same individuals for months. Concurrently there have been expectations grown from the employers to introduce effective programs or services to support employees so that an expected amount of productivity is maintained while also maintaining a sense of care for their employees. Some of the strategies suggested in the literature include flexible scheduling, leadership communication, …

The Relationship Between Organizations' Response To Customer Complaints, Customer Trust, And Loyalty, Abimbola Ajibola

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between organizations’ responses to customer complaints and their effects on customer loyalty and trust. Four hypotheses were established for this study to help us gain a greater understanding of the dynamics of the responses to customer complaints and their relationship with trust and loyalty. Five independent variables (apology, timeliness, explanation, compensation, and dialogue/active listening) and two dependent variables (trust and brand loyalty) were used to test the hypotheses. An online survey was conducted through Qualtrics and data were collected from participants who were students at a Midwestern University. Facebook …

Too Illegit To Quit: The Impact Of Illegitiate Tasks On Turnover Intentions And Well-Being, Jacob Wessels

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Illegitimate tasks are a contemporary workplace stressor characterized by perceived violations of norms about what can reasonably be expected to do in the workplace. Based on the “Stress-as-Offense-to-Self” (SOS) theory, the assignment of illegitimate tasks lead to feelings of disrespect and threatening to one’s professional identity, which is inherently stressful. The stressor has been linked to numerous strain outcomes, but the underlying mechanisms explaining how or why these relationships occur has seldomly been addressed in the literature. The present study examined whether illegitimate tasks were positively related to intentions to quit via organizational identity, negatively related to work engagement via …

Developing A Commercial Product Using A Consumer Grade 3d Printer, Calvin Smith

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The development of affordable, quality, consumer grade 3D printers has allowed entrepreneurs to develop new products and start small businesses. As the print quality of consumer grade printers has improved entrepreneurs have been able to develop consumer quality products without the traditional expense of mass manufacturing. This change from mass manufacturing to small scale and custom production has allowed for the growth of small businesses. Websites such as www.etsy.com show hundreds of small businesses based on 3D printing, these businesses showcase thousands of products ranging from useful household items to cosplay. This thesis covers the process of a small business …

Work-Related Values, Preferences, And Expectations Of Millennials: Implications For Long-Term Care Administrators, Cheryl K. Derynck

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to examine millennials’ work-related values, preferences, and expectations and to understand the impact for administrators in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Supervisors at LTC facilities must understand millennials’ work behavior, and strive to meet their needs, so as to effectively recruit, train, and retain these millennial employees. Allowing for management understanding of millennials work-related values, preferences, and expectations and how these support or detract from employment within LTC settings may pinpoint how facilities may retain these workers. This study will also provide information about work satisfaction of millennial employees and how employers can improve to …

A Study Of The Soft Skills That Contribute To The Success Of Newly Graduated Business Students In The Workplace, Promeet Jaswant Singh

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study is focused on assessing the soft skills that newly graduated business students possess. Using the first and only skills inventory in the United States that has been endorsed by Department of Labor, the study seeks to determine what sets employees apart based on their level of performance on the job. The main purpose was to assess and interpret the soft skills that employees bring to the workplace soon after graduating. The population for the current study was human resources professionals from a variety of industry sectors in the state of Minnesota. The businesses represented a range of …

The Vendor In A Retail Setting: A Survey, Jesse Laporte

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

We consider the problem of managing nonperishable inventory as a vendor in a grocer setting. To manage inventory effectively, we must meet the demand of our customers as closely as we can. Too much inventory results in holding costs and ties up a large amount of capital and too little inventory results in lost sales or substitution. It is typical in a retail setting for the vendor to have access to past ordering data, but this data is only representative of the demand when we have sufficient inventory. Otherwise, the demand exceeds the inventory on hand and we lose, in …

Gender Differences In Development Center Performance In A Healthcare Organization, Samuel Lawson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over the past 50 years, the assessment center has evolved into a tool used for making selection and job placement decisions, as well as for identifying development areas among incumbents to promote skill and competency development where gaps exist. The present study examined the latter, that of development centers, to address potential gender differences in performance on a variety of exercise and competency areas within a development center context. Research efforts were also directed toward the exercises and competencies themselves and the relationships between them. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate exercise-competency relationships, while t-tests were conducted to investigate …

Operational Research: Multi-Period Stowage Policies Within A Multi-Zone Storage Framework., Joseph Loeffler

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper will be extending the single period stowage decision model presented by [Yuan, 2017] into a multi-period stowage decision model. The stowage decision determines how incoming items are distributed and stored across multiple storage zones. The amount of items that can be picked in any given storage zone is finite within a single time period. With this constraint, this research attempts to optimize how items are stored across many zones to meet uncertain demand requirements. A simulation study will be performed to compare the stowage policies given by [Yuan, 2017] to see how well they generalize to multi-period model. …

Selection Portfolio: Applying Modern Portfolio Theory To Personnel Selection, Eric Leingang

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) is a framework for building a portfolio of risky assets such that the ratio of risk to return is minimized. While this theory has been used in the field of financial economics for over sixty years, the method has not yet been applied to compensatory personnel selection. A common method for personnel selection is multiple regression to maximize the predicted performance of the selected group given a cut-off score on the predictor(s). Recognizing that maximizing the performance of the selected group is not the only consideration, and that, for many jobs and organizations, the outcomes of …

Participant Self-Assessment Of Development Center Performance, Ryan Powley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In order to navigate the political and cultural realities of modern organizations, individuals must possess an accurate self-perception (Ostroff, Atwater, & Feinberg, 2004). One way to gauge the accuracy of a person's self-perception is to compare that individual's self-assessment against other people's assessments of him or her. This technique is known as self-other rating agreement (SORA). Heneman (1980) posited that development centers are an ideal setting in which to study self-assessment and SORA. The present study examined self-assessment and SORA in development centers. Particular attention was paid to exercises, competencies, and gender differences in self-ratings and SORA. Correlations and t-tests …

911,What's My Emergency? Emotional Labor, Work-Related Rumination, And Strain Outcomes In Emergency Medical Dispatchers, Jessica Lee Deselms

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The work of Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) is filled with a variety of stressors, and one of those being emotional labor. Despite research on emotional labor, few studies have quantitatively examined this construct within EMDs. Compared to the plethora of emotional labor literature that focuses on the display of positive emotions, EMDs are required to suppress or neutralize any negative reactions they may experience. Hence, this study was concerned with the further examination of emotional labor, physical health outcomes, burnout, and job satisfaction in a unique population. Additionally, the construct of work-related rumination is in its infancy. It can be …

Assessing The Effect Of Personality Characteristics Of Minnesota Golfers On The Brand Equity Of Golf Drivers, Eric Schinella

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Although many researchers have focused on the attributes of a product that affect brand equity, this study focuses on the attributes of the consumer that affect brand equity. More specifically, the current study examines how a variety of golfer personality characteristics affect the equity they assign to various brands of golf equipment. The results of the survey showed that as golfers are more skilled, they are willing to pay a higher premium for their preferred driver. This may be because golfers who are more skilled tend to take the sport more seriously and will probably have no problem spending more …

Why Do Some Employees Readjust To Their Home Organizations Better Than Others? Job Demands-Resources Model Of Repatriation Adjustment, Yukiko Yamasaki

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The present study applied the Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) to investigate factors related to repatriate adjustment. Specifically, this study proposed three organizational factors (role ambiguity, lack of work autonomy, and absence of pre-training) as job demands, which would inhibit adjustment of repatriates. The second part of this study identified three personal characteristics (openness, cultural intelligence, and proactivity) as job resources and examined whether these characteristics would minimize the negative effects of the job demands on repatriate adjustment. Repatriate adjustment was assessed as expatriate adjustment (Black & Stephens, 1989), job stress (Lambert, Hogan, & Griffin, 2007), job satisfaction (Warr, …

An Analysis Of Reinforcers Maintaining Caregiving Behaviors Of Long-Term Care Facility Staff, Sandra Garcia

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Traditionally, the medical model has been the standard level of care in long-term care facilities. However, many facilities are transitioning from the medical model to a person-centered approach. The core of person-centered care is the relationship between frontline staff and residents. Empirical research has found person-centered care to reduce depressive and behavioral symptoms, levels of loneliness, and increase quality of care in residents; person-centered care has increased job satisfaction in nursing staff. Unfortunately, little is known about what motivates caregiving behavior in nursing staff and whether these motivators are consistent with principles of person-centered care. The current study attempted to …

Examination Of The Antecedents, Reactions, And Outcomes To A Major Technology-Driven Organizational Change, Ngoc Dinh Nguyen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The goal of this study was to test a multi-level model of organizational change that examined how various antecedents, employee reactions, and organizational and personal outcomes relate to one another. The research was conducted via online surveys and as a longitudinal study. Participants were employees at a large supply distribution company, and were a part of the Pilot implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Results from the study revealed that job stress was closely related to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being, while change commitment was associated with higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Positive training …

It Centralization And The Innovation Value Chain In Higher Education: A Study For Promoting Key Innovations Through Innovation Management And Organizational Design, Edmund Udaya Clark

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of organizational centralization in higher education technology support units on institutional innovativeness. The centralization tools used for the present study included measures developed by Hage & Aiken (1971), Kaluzny, et al. (1974), and Ferrell & Skinner (1988). The innovativeness measures were established by Hansen & Birkinshaw's (2007) tool for evaluating innovation value chain activities in organizations. Data were gathered from a nation-wide sample (n = 303) of IT workers at 38 research one institutions in the United States. The results indicated that innovation value chain activities (idea generation, conversion, …

Can You Hack It? Validating Predictors For It Boot Camps, Courtney Gear

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Given the large number of information technology jobs open and lack of qualified individuals to fill them, coding boot camps have sprung up in response to this skill gap by offering a specialized training program in an accelerated format. This fast growth has created a need to measure these training programs and understand their effectiveness. In the present study, a series of analyses examined whether specific or combinations of predictors were valid for training performance in this coding academy. Self-rated, daily efficacy scores were used as outcome variables of training success and correlation results showed a positive relationship with efficacy …

Process Improvement By Lean Thinking In Trucking Industry, Abhiram Reddy Ramasahayam

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Manufacturing industries with complex production systems are struggling with designing optimal process to increase throughput. Companies will require high amount of labor and process improvement resources to sustain growth and delivery quality products to its customers. A chain of value added activities when designed and deployed with help of lean based methodologies can create high efficiency process. In this paper we have studies and implemented value added process based on the lean manufacturing methodologies which was adapted on the shop floor.

In many traditional truck body production industries have facing many problems like low production rate, big lead times, material …

Employees' Interests And Preferences Regarding Worksite Exercise Programs, Amber Butcher

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In order to address the problem of an unhealthy workforce, employers often implement disease prevention and health promotion strategies, referred to as worksite wellness programs. The purpose of this study was to examine employees' interests and preferences regarding worksite exercise programs. To collect data, a 12 item survey was developed and administered to employees from a company based in Rochester, Minnesota. A total of 21 participants completed the survey (66.7% male, 28.6% female). The mean age was 51 years old. The findings of the study indicated an interest in worksite exercise programs and that incentives may motivate employees to participate …

Direct Care Staff And Influential Factors, Michelle Jean Ryan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The shortage of direct care workers will continue to influence the quality of care that the elderly population will receive. With the projected increase of worker shortages there will be not enough direct care workers to take care of the growing elderly population. With the baby boomer population's need for long term care, the need for qualified staff is also growing. Staff training development and consistent staffing, along with employee friendly benefits and policies will be needed to recruit and retain employees. The growing aging population, along with the increase in demand for quality care drives a need to find …

Organizational Trust As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Burnout And Intentions To Quit, Glenn Trussell

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This research explores an individual's trust in his or her organization and an individual's perceptions of the level of organizational trust he or she receives as potential moderators of the relationship between burnout and intentions to quit. Reciprocal trust, as defined by high levels of both individual and perceived organizational trust, was also examined as a potential moderator. Research was conducted in partnership with a regional consulting firm. Survey data was collected through MechanicalTurk. A total of 2,922 participants from eighteen business sectors across the United States and Canada were represented. Level of trust was shown to significantly impact intentions …

Depth Of A Salesman: Exploring Personality As A Predictor Of Sales Performance In A Multi-Level Marketing Sample, Colleen Rose Miller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Despite its growing prevalence in the realm of sales occupations, multi-level marketing (MLM) and its primary participants are not very well understood. In particular, there is a dearth of understanding in terms of the differentiating characteristics of individual sellers who are financially successful in comparison to those who perform poorly. This study sought to fill in some of these research gaps by exploring the antecedents of sales success by examining the validity of personality as a predictor of sales performance in the context of MLM. While significant relationships were indeed observed between certain facets of personality (specifically components of conscientiousness, …

Technology Initiative Assessment Through Acceptance And Satisfaction: A Case Study, Virginia Otto

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This case study examines a University-wide tablet program to assess the primary users’ (students) acceptance and satisfaction of the implemented technology. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and user satisfaction research acted as the theoretical foundation that directed how to assess students’ attitudes and beliefs toward this newly adopted technology. Wixom & Todd’s (2005) Integrated Model of User Satisfaction and Technology Acceptance, served as the conceptual model to examine how students’ acceptance and satisfaction of the tablet related. Online surveys were distributed to examine if perceived usefulness and ease of use can predict user satisfaction. Multiple regression tests found that the combination …

Evidence-Based Marketing Strategies To Increase Student Membership In A Professional Association, Laura Aldrich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Membership acquisition and attrition is vital to the survival and growth of a voluntary professional association. The percentage of social work students who are members of social work voluntary professional associations is low (Attinson & Glassberg, 1983). The purpose of this project is to understand the acquisition and attrition of students in order to develop marketing strategies to increase student membership. Voluntary professional associations value student members because they are the future of the profession and the association (NASW, 2013). Student membership in a voluntary professional association is important for students as this participation provides students with opportunities for socialization …

Undergraduate Sport Management Students' Perceptions Of Leadership Behaviors Through Service Learning: A Quantitative, Quasi-Experimental Study, Bryan Romsa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of a service learning activity on the perceived leadership behaviors of sport management undergraduate students at a mid-sized, Midwestern, public university. The participants in the study were 74 undergraduate students who were enrolled in four undergraduate sport management courses. The first research question analyzed how a service learning experience affects the self-reported perceptions of leadership behavior in sport management undergraduate students. The findings indicated that the students who participated in a service learning activity (experiential group) self-reported a decrease in all five leadership practices. The second research question asked how not having a …

Real Jobs, Real Community, Real Wages: A Guide To Customized Employment, Kelsey Christy

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project is to develop a customized employment self-guided training and an in-person training based on evidence-based research. The customized employment guide and in-person training will strive to motivate and educate various entities of Dakota County Social Services, initially implemented with AS/CLS sections, for more individualized approaches to attaining and maintaining employment. The goal of the customized employment guide and training is to have a fluid, consistent, and a readily available training tool for managers, social workers, contracted agencies, providers, and direct care staff within Dakota County AS/CLS. Furthermore, it will embody the AS/CLS value of …

Factors Assocated With Employee Satisfaction In Minnesota Community Action Agencies, Kelsie Peters

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In 2011, the state of Minnesota faced a difficult budgetary decision. At the time of this writing, the state HHS budget had been vetoed by the Governor and State Employees were preparing for a government shutdown. Disagreement between the Republican majority and the Democratic Governor on how to balance the state budget had serious implications for Community Action Agencies that received, on average, 10% of their annual funding from the State of Minnesota in 2010 (MNCAP, 2010). Considering the fact that budget cuts would be imminent, and raises and bonuses unlikely, the researcher wanted to provide CAAs of MN with …

The Power Of Service Work: Developing A Consumer Volunteer Program For The House Of Hope, Inc., Darcy Wennes

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

House of Hope, Inc. (HOH) is a rural residential chemical dependency treatment center serving adults over the age of 18. HOH is a non-profit non-sectarian agency. Many clients at HOH have a dual diagnosis of chemical dependency and mental illness. Consumers at HOH are encouraged to volunteer, but are given limited support to do so. They have several hours in their day where there is no programming, and many consumers feel bored and unproductive. The literature suggests that there is a relationship between volunteer work carried out by consumers and their personal feelings of empowerment (Cohen, 2009) . Consumers’ feelings …