Business Commons^™

A Field Study: An Examination Of Managers’ Situational Leadership Styles, Thomas G. Henkel, Debra T. Bourdeau

Publications

The present study explored the applicable situational leadership styles of experienced military managers attending an advanced leadership educational program. While attending this program, these managers were requested to reveal the results of their situational leadership self-assessment in which they participated. A total of 620 managers agreed to reveal their results, and descriptive statistics were conducted to determine the findings of their situational leadership self-assessments. The study research results revealed two situational leadership styles were predominating: (Telling and Participating). The findings of research study have significant implications for managers when leading individuals and teams for organizational success. These findings also may …

Are The Recent Restatements Of Financial Institutions 10k’S Due To The Perceived Earning Volatility Caused By Sfas 161?, Veliota Drakopoulou

Publications

The goal of this research was to investigate the controversy surrounding the inability of SFAS 133 an amendment of SFAS 161 to portray the economics of hedging. This research examined whether or not BHCs’ design of hedge effectiveness tests was determined by the concern of the additional earnings volatility possibly evolved from economic hedges that do not qualify for hedge accounting. The results implicate that most BHCs after the amendment of SFAS 161 reassessed their risk management approach to one that is more accounting responsive to ensure that most hedges are highly effective to qualify for hedge accounting. The findings …

Open Skies Agreement Between Brazil And The United States: Regulations, Alliances, Economic Impacts And A General Long Term Projection, Diego Alvim, Jose Simi, Mathias Gitahy, Rebecca Meadows

Graduate Student Works

This research has been developed based on the new United States and Brazil open skies agreement signed in 2018 with the goal to analyze regulations, alliances, economic impacts and a general long term projection. As a result, the model proposed indicates 14 potential new routes, 6 coming from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and 8 from other cities. The new routes create a new axis of air transport, with new direct flights programmed for the northeast, center-west and south regions. These new weekly frequencies allow an increase of 151 weekly frequencies between the two countries, going from the current …

Evaluation Of The Application Of Double Taxation On International Services Transactions From Brazilian Airlines, Franco Daffos Torres, Raquel Sa Brito Rojas, Ricardo Araujo Kurokawa Bico, Rodrigo Saldanha Marinho

Graduate Student Works

Globalization tends to stimulate transactions between different countries by offering products and services with different quality and prices. During the negotiations, there is a tax over payment remitted abroad that involves agreements between countries. This research project aims to understand all the double taxation agreements between Brazil and foreign countries inserting them into the decision making process of hiring a service abroad. Using the Business Process Management methodology it could be seen that double taxation is not considered today on the study of hiring a service abroad, which can lead to an increase on company’s costs. This project proposes a …

Financial Evaluation For A Brazilian Airline To Conduct Aeronautical Components Repair In Brazil, Ana Moreno Sandoval, Enzo Canavesi Luizetto, Joao Paulo Panssiera, Klaus Goulart Brum

Graduate Student Works

The current economic world volatility, as well as the increasing cost of fuel and security procedures established by the worldwide authorities, force the air carriers to search for alternatives to reduce their operational costs. The maintenance costs are a significant subject for the air carriers, therefore, any cost reduction obtained without maintenance service disruption, may provide an opportunity to enhance the airline competitiveness (Fritzsche, 2014).

The purpose of this research is to evaluate and compare the technical and financial aspects of performing aircraft components repair in house for a Brazilian airline versus outsourcing the servicing to a homologated company outside …

Optimization Of Organizational Design, Dyin Ogawa, Guilherme Esmael, Manoel Burg, Patricia Soares

Graduate Student Works

This study aims to present new techniques that airlines can use in order to gain efficiency through human resources allocation, to keep up on track with the challenging and constant-moving environment of aviation industry. As the classical hierarquical structure that dominates most of the airlines today is not a prone environment for the changes proposed, researchers will explore human resources optimization using the optimization software Lindo, mixed with concepts and techniques of Agile Methodology, such as evaluation score and talent mapping to develop a model for the best match between employees’ and tasks of Avianca Brasil Project Department, considering productivity …

How To Reduce The Tax Bill Of A Multinational Technology Company?, Dimitrios V. Siskos

Publications

It is said that nothing in this world is certain except for death and taxes. For those with clever accountants, however, the latter can be kept to a minimum. Particularly, companies seek to minimize their tax liability through "tax planning", adopting deductions, rebates, exemptions and other “legal” tools that the domestic tax system provides to them. However, while tax planning is considered to be quite logical in the terms of making profit, there is a grey area between this and "tax avoidance”. This paper suggests a legitimate tax plan for a multinational technology company that minimizes its tax obligations1, without …

A New Framework For Securing, Extracting And Analyzing Big Forensic Data, Hitesh Sachdev, Hayden Wimmer, Lei Chen, Carl Rebman

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Finding new methods to investigate criminal activities, behaviors, and responsibilities has always been a challenge for forensic research. Advances in big data, technology, and increased capabilities of smartphones has contributed to the demand for modern techniques of examination. Smartphones are ubiquitous, transformative, and have become a goldmine for forensics research. Given the right tools and research methods investigating agencies can help crack almost any illegal activity using smartphones. This paper focuses on conducting forensic analysis in exposing a terrorist or criminal network and introduces a new Big Forensic Data Framework model where different technologies of Hadoop and EnCase software are …

Eagle Aero Sport: Student-Built Aircraft, Rachael Bradshaw, Nick Bartholet

Undergraduate Research Symposium - Prescott

Eagle Aero Sport (EAS) is the first student operated aircraft build team at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Our team allows students to gain hands-on experience in all aspects of aircraft production including: aircraft assembly, design engineering, management of production operations, finance, marketing, and team building skills. Through research, and consulting with the Experimental Aircraft Association, our airplane of choice is the Van’s RV-12. EAS is modifying the airplane to add real time flight test instrumentation for research. These instruments will gather data for aerodynamic, structural, as well as aircraft performance experiments. Presently, EAS is progressing with Build Team 60% complete and …

The Impact Of The Miles Trade Business In The Brazilian Airline Industry, Daniela De Araujo Pereira, Evandro Magno Vianna Goncalves, Fabricio Benato Jeronimo, Renato Luiz Furquim De Mendonca Bellomo

Graduate Student Works

This study analyzes the impact of the Miles Trade business in the Brazilian airline industry. This is linked some factors: economy recession, cultural traces, legal flaws and new technologies that led to the creation and growth of the Miles Trade business in Brazil. The impacts over airlines are related to loyalty weakening between customers and airlines and revenue dilution due to the lower prices of air tickets sold in miles. This project analyzes the qualitative impacts using the SWOT analysis, Porter’s 5 forces, Cause and Effect Diagram and the quantitative impacts comparing public available information about the Miles Trade business …

Business Ethics, Stephen M. Byars, Kurt Stanberry

Open Access Textbooks

Business Ethics is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester business ethics course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including case studies, application scenarios, and links to video interviews with executives, all of which help instill in students a sense of ethical awareness and responsibility.

Project Financial Distress: Early Signs And Ways To Overcome, Dimitrios V. Siskos

Publications

Financial distress is a hot topic these days in finance and the project’s health is very important for investors as well as management. Investors posit money in those projects which are financially healthy as the risk of default is minimized for them, while management must be able to identify causes of distress which can be controlled by taking different measures (Khurshid, 2013). However, the fact that many projects encounter financial distress requires further investigation. This paper deals with the elements of project financial distress as its major signs and sources as well as it suggests ways to eliminate the consequences. …

Aviation Cybersecurity: An Overview, Gary C. Kessler, J. Philip Craiger

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Information security—aka cybersecurity—is the most rapidly growing threat to critical infrastructures, including the aviation industry. Due to the plethora of digital devices, ubiquity of the Internet and other networks, and the rapid growth in the adoption of technology, everyone is an information system security manager. Every professional in the aviation and aeronautics industry use computers, mobile devices, tablets, GPS devices, and/or other hardware on a daily basis, as well as go online for a variety of reasons.

Attacks on information have been ongoing since the inception of the industry a hundred years ago, in such forms as intellectual property theft …

Uas Maintenance: A Critical Component In Maintaining Airworthiness, Bettina M. Mrusek Ph.D., Patti J. Clark Ph.D., Kristy W. Kiernan Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Over the last several decades, the notion of traditional aircraft design has significantly changed. While there are many modern aircraft that resemble earlier models, their components, systems, and overall architecture have evolved, including the introduction of small unmanned aircraft systems. Despite the growing consumer attraction to own and operate these aircraft, the subsequent impact on safety is an area of intense concern. The requirement of an established maintenance program for manned aircraft is rooted in ensuring that all aircraft are deemed safe for flight. Preventive maintenance schedules are based on component reliability data, which minimizes unnecessary maintenance while preventing maintenance-related …

Oliver Wyman 2018 Flight Operations Survey, Jeff Green M.B.A., Geoff Murray Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Oliver Wyman would like to share training-related insights from its inaugural Flight Operations Survey, canvassing leaders from across the aviation industry, including airline flight ops departments, OEMs, and 3rd-party training & services companies. We will address topics such as technology & disruption, integrated planning, safety & compliance, leadership, and of course training.

Innovation Ambidexterity And The Three-Legged Stool: The Value Of Business Processes, Janet Tinoco

Publications

Successful accomplishment of ambidexterity in innovation was, and remains today, a perplexing and challenging task for many firms, especially those in the competitive high-technology climate. Ambidexterity in this context is the ability to create radical product innovations for the future while also developing incremental product innovations for short-term return. Each type of innovation requires different—often opposing—structures, cultures, and processes. Thus, to become ambidextrous, companies must create a balanced mix of all three, each a leg in a three-legged stool.

Implications Of Short Scheduled Ground Times For European Carriers, Johannes Waltenberger, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Low-cost carriers are applying hybrid business strategies in Europe to compete with traditional airlines for more customers. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between low-cost and non-low-cost carriers on an operational basis in terms of on-time performance, turnaround scheduling, turnaround performance, and block time setting. Data was retrieved from flightradar24.com and analyzed for three major European low-cost carriers and two hub-and-spoke operators for the airport of Valencia. Results indicate that the combination of turning around aircraft quickly and sufficient time on ground to absorb delay is a key factor for success. The findings are relevant for …

An Optimal Airline Revenue Management Seat Pricing Plan Model, Constantine M. Koursaris, James W. Marion Jr.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The goal of an airline is to sell tickets at the highest fare possible, thus yielding maximum profit for the stakeholders. As airline seat pricing is divided into different fare classes, a revenue management system is created and maintained to identify opportunity costs where the airline may sell an optimum number of available seats in both discounted fare and full fare classes. Ideally, under perfect conditions, the airline will sell all available seats at full capacity for each leg of a trip. Under non-ideal conditions for the airline, not all available seats may sell at either full fare or discounted …

Award Winners: 2018 Atrs Global Airport Performance Benchmarking, Tae Oum, Chunyan Yu

Publications

The ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Project measures and compares the performance of several important aspects of airport operations: Productivity and efficiency, unit costs and cost competitiveness, financial results and airport charges. The report also examines the relationships between various performance measures and airport characteristics as well as management strategies in order to provide a better understanding of observed differences in airport performance. The 2018 report includes 204 airports and 24 airport groups of various sizes and ownership forms in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. This presentation highlights the top efficiency award winners.

Book Review: Fundamentals Of International Aviation, Alan Bender

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Not applicable.

Competitiveness Of Hybrid Electric Aircraft On Short Range Scheduled Flights, Johannes Anton, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Hybrid electric aircraft are expected to enter the small regional aircraft market within the next two decades. The aim of this study was to investigate if a hybrid electric passenger aircraft with 50 seats can be competitive against the established 100 seat aircraft on short range scheduled flights. The Embraer EMB 145 and EMB 190 regional jets were chosen as benchmarks for that market. A hypothetical hybrid version of the EMB 145 with increased fuel efficiency was tested on a cost per available seat mile (CASM) basis. The t tests confirmed significant (p < 0.05) competitiveness of the hybrid version, while in contrast the conventional 50-seater was significantly more expensive compared to the 100seat aircraft. This indicates that hybrid aircraft could enter the short haul market with a competitive advantage, even against the established 100 seat regional jets.

A Field Study: Managers’ Work Behavioral Styles, Thomas G. Henkel

Publications

Over the years, personality assessment tests have allowed employers and managers to discover the personal types regarding strengths and weaknesses of their employees and themselves. This includes how they process and organize information, make decisions, and interact with team members and other stakeholders (PMBOK, 2017). The present research study explored the applicable work behavioral styles of experienced managers attending an advanced leadership educational program. Seven hundred and fifty-three experienced managers agreed to reveal their results, and descriptive statistics were conducted to determine their behavioral work styles. The results may provide a better understanding of managers’ behavioral work styles, which characterize …

Leveraging Engagement Through Diversity, Gordon Haley

Publications

• Through dialogue and interaction, members begin to characterize their world. They may see it as malleable or fixed, filled with opportunities or threats. As with external adaptation, there are important issues.
• These include a series of membership issues: Who is a group member, what behavior is acceptable, who is a friend?

Communication And Trust In Virtual And Face-To-Face Teams, Anthony Lee Baker

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Virtual teams (VTs) accomplish shared goals by relying on technology-mediated communication to counteract geographic disparities. Rapid advances in technology have led to the near-ubiquity of VTs within modern organizations, but gaps in existing research designs afflict extant empirical VT research. This experiment evaluates the constructs of trust, communication, and effectiveness in VTs. Two-hundred six participants (103 teams) completed an interdependent task either face-to-face, mediated by a videoconferencing telepresence robot, or mediated by a voice call. I collected measures of cognitive trust, trust propensity, communication quality, and team effectiveness, and conducted in-depth communication analyses. Results suggest that while virtual teamwork does …

A Tale Of Two Airlines: A Comparative Case Study Of High-Road Versus Low-Road Strategies In Customer Service And Reputation Management, Donna L. Roberts, John C. Griffith

Publications

Customer surveys from Ryanair and Southwest Airline passengers were examined to determine their perceptions on customer service for the period of 2012-2013. Southwest Airlines (n=149) was rated significantly higher than Ryanair (n=165) in overall rating (p=.0228), seat comfort (p<.0001), cabin/staff service (p<.0001), and value (p=.0004). Additionally, passengers would recommend Southwest Airlines at a higher rate than Ryanair (p=.0006). Open area comments emphasized that customer service and policies had a large impact on the ratings. Specifically, 53% of Ryanair customers complained about inefficient or unwelcome processes and discourteous or unfriendly service compared to 29% for Southwest Airlines. Ryanair customers complained about check-in procedures, open seating policy, and fees ranging from oversized carry-on bags to fees for printing out boarding passes. The largest area of complaint for Southwest customers concerned how customers were treated for flight delays.

Low-Fare Flights Across The Atlantic: Impact Of Low-Cost, Long-Haul, Trans-Atlantic Flights On Passenger Choice Of Carrier, Jennifer Nicole Hunt

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Full-service carriers (FSCs) have long ruled the trans-Atlantic market, due to the absence of low fare competition, which has kept airfares high. However, renewed interest in low-cost, long-haul (LCLH) flights was prompted by efficient aircraft, low fuel prices, liberalization of air markets, and low-cost carriers’ growth opportunities. Since 2013, multiple LCLH carriers have commenced trans-Atlantic operations, and their market share has grown to 8%. In response, FSCs are establishing their own LCLH subsidiaries and/or introducing basic economy airfares to more effectively compete in the trans-Atlantic market. The purpose of this dissertation was to further the understanding of LCLH and FSC …

Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse, And Harassment In Fire Departments, John C. Griffith, Donna Roberts

Publications

Firefighters are heroes who save lives and protect property. They are highly revered in societies all around the world and perform under the most stressful of conditions. Drawing on literature from the United States (USA), this chapter reviews the culture, demographics and changing mission of the fire service as a backdrop to workplace harassment and bullying issues. The fire service has unique organizational dynamics that can lead to harassment and bullying and, at the same time, are the critical reasons for working to eliminate intentional and unintentional unfair treatment of women and minorities. Recent literature and studies show that the …

Airline Quality Rating 2018, Brent D. Bowen, Dean E. Headley

Airline Quality Rating Report

The results of the 28th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR). The most comprehensive study of the performance quality of the 12 largest airlines in the United States, the AQR is conducted by researchers at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Ariz., campus. Airline performance, as presented by AQR researchers, encompasses a multifactor look at the overall quality of the airlines. It includes on-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints. AQR is the longest running and most established measure of airline quality. AQR researchers use a combination of …

Building Small Commercial Airport Clusters To Increase Marketing Capability, Dixie Button Phd, Rachel M. Vigness, Patti Clark

Publications

Building Small Commercial Airport Clusters to Increase Marketing Capability was presented at MBAA International, Chicago, IL in April, 2018.

Airline Customer Satisfaction 2015-2017 Results, Michelle M. Bennett, Brent D. Bowen, Erin E. Bowen, Z. Bowen, Dean Headley, Timothy B. Holt, Jacqueline R. Luedtke

Publications

Previous research on perceptions, satisfaction, and attitudes regarding the major commercial air carriers in the United States has provided little more than an interesting descriptive representation of the average air traveler. This study moves beyond basic descriptive information of air travelers to identify attitudinal patterns and relationships in the way consumers at varying levels of travel frequency view the commercial air industry. The Airline Passenger Survey (APS) elements developed via the utilization of rigorous scientific methodology, with the intention of capturing the most important data from passengers while reducing confusion or variability in comprehension of questions. APS items are a …