Business Commons^™

Call For Papers

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Looking Towards The Sky: Cloud Computing From A Conceptual To An It Industry Game Changer, Jordan Bani

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Cloud computing is highly embraced and identified as one of the major innovations in the computing field in recent years. The main goals of this article, which is based on literature reviews and personal work experience, are to present an overview of the conceptual idea of cloud computing, the cloud computing delivery paradigms, common roles in cloud computing, the most mentioned advantages of adopting cloud computing in enterprise environments, the main criticisms facing cloud computing, and recommendations for ensuring the success of cloud computing implementation and adoption, in order to inform and educate business managers, IT managers, and higher education …

Ransomware - A Strategic Threat To Organizations, James Frost, Alan R. Hamlin

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Ransomware is a strategic threat to government, business, and academic organizations. It has both short term and long term consequences, requiring strategic planning to create defenses, assess options, and create policies.

The purpose of the study is to answer three questions: What is the strategic risk of cyberattack to organizations? What are the current attitudes and practices of executives who are vulnerable to such threats? What are specific options that organizations should consider to prevent and deal with possible incidents in the future? The article is thus comprised of the following components: A) a history of the development and complexity …

Walmart Impact On The Finance And Insurance Industry, Steven C. Hall, Suzanne K. Hayes, Laurie Swinney

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Purpose

This paper investigates the effect of Walmart presence on professional service firms within the finance and insurance sector. This paper also discusses the finance and insurance industry’s place within the Walmart ripple effect—changed retail sector leads to changed professional support services resulting in altered levels of social capital within the community.

Design/Methodology

The study uses county-level data from the state of Nebraska to examine the relationship between cumulative Walmart exposure and the number of firms, number of employees, and payroll levels within the finance and insurance (F&I) sector. These same variables are also investigated within two specific F&I industries—insurance …

Monetary Impact Of National Exchange Carrier Association Tariffs On Internet Access Cost In Rural Areas, Tim Obermier, Angela K. Hollman

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

This study examines the monetary impact of tariffs on consumer internet access via a digital subscriber line (DSL). Historically, the Communications Act of 1934 mandated that telephony services be provided to everyone, without exclusion. With the rapid emergence of the internet, the Connect America Fund was recently implemented to ensure equal access to both voice and broadband services. Since many telephony companies have emerged as internet service providers, DSL internet service is often bundled together with a landline telephone, especially in rural areas. This study examines the total cost of such bundled DSL internet service across the classes of cities …

Letter From The Editors

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Editors And Reviewers

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Age-Specific Posting: Tailoring Social Media Post To Audience Age, Owen Bridges

Undergraduate Research Journal

With social media becoming the best way to get the word out about something, advertisers have been trying to break the code on how to market their products successfully. The hard part about social media marketing is figuring out what the target audience is for said product. In this study, women’s fashion brands are examined to see if big companies are taking advantage of age targeting through their social media posts. After doing some research, a study like this couldn’t be found. The hypothesis for this study was that each brand would tailor all of their posts towards different social …

Call For Papers

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Mike Ettore, Trust-Based Leadership: Marine Corps Leadership Concepts For Today's Business Leaders, Noel F. Palmer

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Mike Ettore, Trust-Based Leadership: Marine Corps Leadership Concepts for Today's Business Leaders (Fidelis Press, 2019), 576 pages, $30 paperback.

An opportunity to read about trust and its importance in leadership piqued my interest in this book. I expected content in the manner of Dirks & Ferrin’s (2002) seminal work on trust in leadership, or follow-on work by Colquitt, Scott, & LePine (2007) who examine trust and the influence of leaders as trust referents. Yet, the book is less about trust-based leadership and more about “Marine Corps leadership concepts.”

Carson Sublett, Bosses Are Hired…Leadership Is Earned, Susan Jensen

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Carson Sublett, Bosses are Hired…Leadership is Earned (Silver Tree Publishing, 2019), 223 pages, $19.95 paperback.

This compilation of instructive stories offers helpful lessons about everything from how to handle a crisis, navigate office politics, and diagnose organizational culture.

With extensive leadership experience in the textile and pharmaceutical industries to draw from, Carson Sublett uses the storytelling method to share what he has found to be the foundation for effective leadership. Those beliefs are centered around the need for a leader to “walk the talk” and consistently demonstrate integrity, view feedback as a gift, and create an environment that fosters creativity. …

Daphne Scott, Waking Up A Leader: Five Relationships Of Success, Susan Jensen

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Daphne Scott, Waking Up a Leader: Five Relationships of Success (Lioncrest, 2019), 280 pages, $15 paperback.

Daphne Scott’s engaging self-help book argues that effective leaders operate from a position of trust rather than fear and offers practical exercises to enhance mindfulness.

Scott describes her own ‘awakening’ that radically shifted her perspective, enhanced her quality of life, and strengthened her ability to connect with and inspire others. Drawing largely from her personal experiences, Scott asserts the key to effective leadership is mindfully addressing key relationships with time, money, ourselves, friends, and the unknown. She argues that mindfulness is a core leadership …

Leadership After A Tornado Strike: Supply Chain Management Triage, Gregory Benson, Susan Jensen

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

An F2 tornado had tracked less than 100 feet from the Caldwin manufacturing plant, the largest producer of an essential engine value train component in the United States. Bob, Materials Manager at the plant and a member of the senior management team, was at home when the evening storm hit. Bob immediately headed to the plant when he received word of the emergency situation. On his way to the factory a rush of questions nearly overwhelmed him. How bad was the situation? How prepared was his team of employees to handle the situation? What should customers and suppliers be told …

Halliburton Whistleblower Tony Menendez - An Accountant With Moral Courage, David S. Christensen, Gerald Calvasina

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

This case describes the experience of accounting whistleblower Tony Menendez. It is both inspiring and cautionary. This case is most appropriate for use in graduate and undergraduate courses in ethics and management accounting. Students apply the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice (SEPP) and advice from ethics gurus Gentile and Badaracco to analyze Tony’s experience to learn how to blow the whistle. They also identify character traits that helped Tony report the suspected fraud and fight retaliation from Halliburton. This case empowers students with a roadmap that illustrates how to blow the whistle and identifies potential roadblocks. Teaching notes are …

Managing Millennial Turnover In The It Industry: Leading With An “Inside-Outfluence” Approach, Travis J. Hollman, Kyle W. Luthans

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

This paper proposes a new perspective and approach for leaders to strategically manage millennial turnover problems in the Information Technology (IT) industry. Using a combination of interviews from experienced IT managers and existing literature, our goal was to identify and synthesize the problems and best practices for managing and retaining millennial IT talent. Based upon qualitative data, emergent themes were identified and then reviewed against the existing body of literature covering millennial employees’ retention and turnover in the IT industry. Areas of common ground were integrated to develop a new hybrid approach that we call the “Inside-Outfluence” model. In particular, …

Leadership On The Plains: Vignettes From Nebraska, Douglas A. Kristensen

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Leadership is a popular topic. It is often viewed as a mechanism with which to blame someone when matters don’t go their way. Others see it as just positions of power and self-promotion. Leadership to me is an essential skill that is developed by experience. Leadership is not a mathematical calculation with a correct answer nor a science with a data-driven set of principles. Leadership is a responsibility taken on to achieve an agreed-upon mission of a group. The membership and description of a mission varies with each group. Thus, leadership is not monolithic; some groups are very quiet while …

Letter From The Editors, Srivatsa Seshadri, Larry Carstenson

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Tim Jares

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.

Editors And Reviewers

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

No abstract provided.