Business Commons^™

A Total Cost Approach To Supply Chain Risk Modeling, Brian J. Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

The modern supply chain is long, complex, interconnected and global, and plays a fundamental role in business competitiveness. These conditions, along with various supply chain management trends in recent years have increased risks in supply chains which threaten supply chain performance. Greater impact, especially on cost, from an increased threat of supply disruptions is one area of particular concern. Companies today are struggling to find effective means to manage this increased risk and avoid adverse financial impacts. An approach to managing supply disruption risk in supply chains based on the minimization of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the …

Essays On Product Acquisition For Value Recovery, Dwayne D. Cole

Business Administration - Dissertations

This dissertation studies decision problems facing the manufacturer that offers cash incentive to encourage a fraction of its install base to return end-of-use devices. Marketing managers often use such tactics as a promotion tool to motivate sales of new products. Supply chain managers often use such tactics to obtain used products for profitable recovery operations. The first essay, "Product Acquisition for Remanufacturing: A Dynamic Analysis," analyzes the performance of buyback and trade-in policies for acquiring products to be remanufactured. A key distinguishing feature of this analysis is the consideration of time dynamics. In particular, both the quantity-condition profile of used …

Human Resources: A Key Aspect In Company Innovation, Kristin Hall

HIM 1990-2015

Innovation is a key factor for companies. It is also essential on an individual scale for employees. To ensure they are utilizing employees to the utmost efficiency, companies must implement practices to ensure the attraction and retention of top employees. Human resource practices can help to define and explain essential techniques to help employees gain satisfaction from their work, creating intrinsic motivation, and allowing them to ultimately perform more efficiently and perhaps even creatively for the company, helping to generate significant profits. The intent of this thesis is to analyze human resource practices on an empirical study of eight companies …

The Role Of Leadership In Facilitating The Performance Of Dispersed Teamwork, Jaime Beth Newell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A mature body of research on leadership has investigated the impact of a variety of leadership behaviors and styles on team performance. This corpus of work is built on an assumption that team leaders can motivate, direct, and monitor teams by way of sustained, personal contact with team members. However, this assumption is being challenged by recent advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs). Use of ICTs has altered traditional team-based structures, enabling organizations to employ teams composed of members who are dispersed across geographic boundaries, while severing the direct, personal ties leaders have to team members. Recent reviews of …

Use Of Preventative Health Care Services In Hispanic Workers In Manufacturing Sector In South Texas, Pooja Chopra

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study analyses the factors that determine the intensity of use of preventive health care services for a sample of Hispanic manufacturing workers in South Texas (RGV). Logistic regression is used to estimate the effect of health insurance, age, income level and education on the use of preventive health care of Hispanic workers in the manufacturing sector in South Texas (RGV). The outcome variables are vaccinations, tests and screening for women and men. The sample includes 228 manufacturing workers from the RGV. People with health insurance were more likely to use preventive care services such as vaccination for flu, hepatitis, …

Crafting A Career Using Cps And Foursight, Morgan E. Milovich

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

ABSTRACT OF PROJECT

Crafting a Career Using CPS and FourSight

The purpose of my project is to develop a case study of how I will use Creative Problem Solving (CPS) and an attention to my Foursight preferences to grow my existing craft business into a viable career, rather than having it as just a hobby.

By utilizing the CPS Thinking Skills Model and having a greater awareness of my Foursight preferences, I was able to move from a dream to a reality and come out the other end of this project with a fully functioning, profitable business rooted firmly in …

The Ceo Effect: A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis Of The Relationship Between Executive Orientation And Corporate Social Strategy, Daina D. Mazutis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic issue. Yet, research in this area has primarily focused on establishing a link between CSR and financial performance, with significantly less attention given to the antecedents of CSR at the individual, firm or industry levels. Notably, despite popular anecdotal examples that link the personal values, beliefs or characteristics of business leaders to the socially responsible nature of their companies, very little is actually known empirically about the relationship between executive orientation and the corporate social strategy pursued by the firm.

The empirical research study presented in this dissertation is designed to fill this …

Influence Tactics Used By Information Services Project Managers, Gail R. English

Professional Projects

This case study explored the influence tactics used by successful information services project managers at Harley-Davidson. The participants were chosen via purposeful sampling for this study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted, which brought out some themes on the qualities needed to be successful as an information services project manager. The predominant skills sets included active listening, effective communication, relationship building and organization. The influence strategies primarily mentioned by the participants were consultation and bargaining, which was similar to what was found in the review of prior research. Other findings from this research included the challenges faced by project managers and the …

Developing An Employee Training Addendum For A Sustainable Hospitality Operation, Devonne A. Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As sustainability has become an important part of everyday life for American consumers, it is important that the hospitality industry do whatever it takes to meet their needs. Consumers expect businesses that they patronize to have policies in place for waste reduction, air and water conservation, and improved air quality and environment. Without the support of the front line employees, however, a hospitality operation has no chance to obtain sustainable success in these arenas. By creating addendums to previously existing employee handbooks, businesses are able to provide their employees with new policies and expectations of sustainable behaviors. This professional paper …

Chinese Culture And Casino Customer Service, Qing Han

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the tightened competitive conditions in the gaming industry, it is essential for casino management to focus on customer service. Chinese customers are very important for the Las Vegas gaming market. Even though the games offered by the casinos are the core value that Chinese customers seek when visiting a casino, a warm, comfortable and intimate service will enhance their gaming experience as well. Understanding important Chinese culture factors such as superstitions, gaming characteristics and communication styles can help casino employees enhance the quality of the service they are able to offer to Chinese customers, thereby increasing satisfaction and retention.

Lean And Six Sigma In Hospitality Organizations: Benefits, Challenges, And Implementation, Justin M. Lancaster

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper to provide a plan and framework to successfully implement Lean and Six Sigma into a hospitality organization.

Attracting And Retaining Quality Managers: The Critical Factors, Ketan Shah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose

The purpose of this professional paper is to develop options and a plan of action for what it takes to obtain and retain quality hotel management in the Midwest. Typically when we find quality general managers, they don’t want to move to the Midwest and don’t like smaller towns. More specifically, I hope to come up with a plan of action that I can present to my father and his partner to help the company obtain and retain quality general managers.

Rct Hospitality Consultants, Llc: The Making Of The Business Plan, Rachel C. Tyler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction

Owning a small business is the dream for many Americans. Now more than ever this is true as many people have been laid off and are looking to utilize their skills while being their own boss. The focus of this paper is to determine if the author should start a consulting company full-time.

A hospitality consulting business with a focus on sales and marketing has been a goal of this author’s and as we emerge out of a recession. As possibility of a double-dip recession exists it is important to have a business framework that leads a small business …

Vegas Keys Vip Business Plan, Michael Ferreira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to create a business plan for Vegas Keys. The business plan will focus on ways in which the company can generate revenue/profit while establishing it for years to come. Through research the paper will determine who are the main competitors, how much investing is needed to fully establish the company in Las Vegas and how much revenue would the company have to generate to be considered in the top five of companies in Las Vegas. The problems the paper will solve is how to solve the disconnect between groups and nightlife companies, …

Transformational Leadership For Conflict Management Between Leaders And Employees, Yang Guo

Theses & Dissertations

This study empirically investigates the dynamics and outcomes of leader-member conflict. It validates the values of cooperative conflict and damages of competitive conflict between leaders and employees, testing the effectiveness and universality of Deutsch's (1973) cooperation and competition theory. By bridging leadership and conflict management literature, it also identifies the role of transformational leadership in managing conflict effectively. Specifically, transformational leadership induces cooperative conflict and undermines competitive conflict between leaders and employees, which in turn increases task performance and leader effectiveness.

A total of 112 interviews were conducted in mainland China from 2010 to 2011. Results of structural equation modeling …

An Internship At The National Museum Of Korea, Soyoung Cho

Arts Administration Master's Reports

This is a comprehensive report based on my examination of the National Museum of Korea after completing an internship in the International Relations & PR Division from September 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011. This report is divided into five chapters. Chapter I introduces the overall organizational profile of the museum beginning with its history, mission, vision, goals, management structure, programming, and funding. Chapter II specifically focuses on the International Relations & PR Division, where I have successfully completed a six-month internship. It provides a description of the internship including an overview of the International Relation & PR Division as …

Innovation Practice Transfer And Capability Development Within The Multinational Enterprise, Nathaniel C. Lupton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For many firms, there is no long term effective strategy except to continue to grow and evolve through innovation. Hence, investment in developing these capabilities is a significant managerial priority. The original view within international business research holds that these capabilities are developed in the headquarters of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and are subsequently exploited globally through foreign affiliates. However, as MNEs become established in a multitude of foreign markets, affiliates are now often involved in innovation activities themselves.

Establishing innovation mandates within foreign affiliates often requires the transfer of practices from elsewhere within the MNE network. If, in accordance …

A Resource-Based Perspective On Green Supply Chain Management And Firm Performance, Jon Frederick Kirchoff

Doctoral Dissertations

Due to the perceived performance implications of green supply chain management, research in this area has grown in recent years. However, the literature is limited on the determinants of green supply chain management and its performance implications. Thus, the literature has yet to furnish an accepted explanation for why green practices are manifested in supply chain management and, whether a positive relationship exists between green supply chain management practices and firm performance.

This dissertation responded to these challenges through exploring the antecedents and consequences of green supply chain management. This dissertation built on the theoretical base of the resource-based view …

The Development Of An Effective Recruitment Strategy For Hispanic Males And Females In The Central Florida Region, Barbara E. Zeballos

HIM 1990-2015

This study examines the similarities and differences between males and females from the Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White population in the Central Florida labor force regarding recruitment strategies and techniques of the Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millennial population. The purpose of this study is to identify those Human Resources recruitment practices that are most effective in retaining: (1) males and females from the Hispanic population, and (2) whether or not theses recruitment tactics affect the generation groups differently. The proposed issues will be assessed by collecting information from organizations, current employees, and job applicants. This study will use three …

Three Essays On Opacity, Corporate Governance, And Credit Ratings, Yiwen Gu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, utilizing a more recent and expanded 20-year sample 1991-2010 of dual-rated bonds issued, I confirm Morgan's (2002) finding that banks are relatively more opaque than nonbanks. The likelihood of a rating split is higher, and the magnitude of the rating gap is larger, for banks than nonnbanks. Moreover, rating agency disagreements are more significant for banks with relatively higher loan and trading securities holdings and maintain lower capital, and for banks engaged in mortgage securitization. Importantly, I find that rating agency disagreements reflect market proxies of information uncertainty. Further, opacity makes external financing more costly. Equity …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Environmentally Sustainable Practices In Municipal Government: A Case Study Of The City Of Knoxville’S Department Of Parks And Recreation, Anthony Michael Brown

Masters Theses

Sustainability practices produce programs and services that meet current needs while preserving the environment and natural resources for the future. City parks and recreation departments are facing budget shortfalls and increasing expectations from customers. Governments are now embracing sustainability practices to create financial savings while also fostering relations with customers.

The purpose of this single case study was twofold: (1) to examine the effectiveness of one city department’s strategies in outsourcing its environmental sustainability program through a performance contract with Ameresco; and (2) to examine the perceptions of key department employees about the effectiveness of the sustainability initiative. A …

Sunshine Café: A Breakfast Restaurant Business Plan, Lillian I. Burrow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to create a business plan for the SunShine Café. While the commonly known statistic of 90% of restaurants fail within the first year is false, approximately 60% of restaurants do fail within their first three years of operation (Parsa, Self, Njite, & King, 2005). The problem for entrepreneurs starting a restaurant is how does one reduce this risk of failure.

One way to minimize this risk is to create a business plan. Thus the main objective of this paper is to create a business plan that will not only help the restaurant develop …

Hotel Front Office Training: Turning Expense Into Investment, Thomas Sanders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The process of employee training is typically looked upon as an expense, but perhaps a more insightful view would be to consider employee training an investment. This becomes possible when employees are taught to execute service-marketing principles during customer interactions. Well-executed interactions then lead to satisfied guests, repeat purchases, and company profitability. The purpose of this paper is to develop a customer focused training guideline integrating service-marketing concepts into the front office employee training process. A literature review was conducted to identify service marketing concepts and best training practices that can be applied to the hotel employee workplace. This information …

Business Plan For U.S. Based Soup And Salad Franchise Restaurant In Beijing, China, Xin Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to build a business plan for American soup and salad buffet style restaurant franchisors who want to expand their business in Beijing, China. It will focus on analyzing the potential consumers, menu, price, location, and local competitors for such a restaurant.

Technology Base Self Service In Hospitality Industry, Wan Chi Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There are more and more technology based self service (TBSS) encountering people’s daily life, even hospitality industry, where people pay to get service, has began to add TBSS as part of their service. Some people believe this TBSS is the trend for the future, but some others who have experienced this service believe that traditional human touch service (THTS) will be remain as the main service providing channel. While people are wondering what kind of service to provide as they want to get a high return on their investment, they need to have a better understanding on self service technology. …

An Exploratory Study Of Casino Customer Loyalty Programs, Cristina R. Crofts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study summarizes academic theories and industry applications related to customer loyalty programs, drawing on literature pertaining to reciprocity and resource theory, attitudinal loyalty, tiered loyalty programs, and reward type and timing. Specifically, this study attempts to understand aspects that have been proven successful in order to design more effective customer loyalty programs. This literature synthesis provides important professional implications for casino executives in effectively designing customer loyalty programs.

A Cultural Perspective On Motivation Factors Affecting Exhibition Participation, Young Ki Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With increasing global competitions, more opportunities transcending national boundaries may exist for the exhibition organizers and participants. This study offered an integrated approach to understanding how various motivation factors affect the participation in exhibition. The literature review included an introduction of push/pull motivation theories as one of the most representative motivation theories. The factor analysis of survey results supported the categorization of push/pull factors in exhibition industry. The paper concluded that the factor analysis procedures yielded the motivation factor dimensions with similar natures and four underlined motivation dimensions of exhibition participation were labeled. Furthermore, the cultural difference between Western and …

The Impact Of Online Influence Strategies On Consumer Response And Privacy Expectations, Jason Aaron Gabisch

Open Access Dissertations

Identifying effective strategies for encouraging individuals to disclose their personal information on the Internet is important for marketers. In today's informationbased economy, access to consumer data is imperative for organizations in conducting marketing activities. However, the extant privacy literature has found conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of safety cues (e.g., privacy policies) and rewards (e.g., discounts) for encouraging consumers to provide their personal information to Web sites (Andrade et al. 2002). There is also scant research on the implications of compensating consumers for their information, and its subsequent impact on privacy control expectations.

This dissertation consists of two essays that …

Transformational Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Non-Supervisory Nurses' Intention To Leave, Audrey Gregory

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The United States is currently experiencing a nursing shortage. To compound the problem, hospital nurses are leaving their organizations and executives are scrambling to figure out the reasons behind the increased turnover. Many factors are associated with nurses' intention to leave their current employment. Among these factors are job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work satisfaction, work setting, control over practice, salary, nurse-physician collaboration, job stress, and leadership style. Effective nursing leadership is an integral factor in the retention of hospital nurses and nurses who perceive their nursing leadership as participative and transformational may be more likely to be satisfied with their …

An Examination Of Unwritten Rule Development In Men’S Ice Hockey, Joshua M. Lupinek

Master's Theses

This research study sought to better understand at what point in the player development process did aspiring professional hockey players learn of, as well as consent to, ice hockey’s unwritten rules. How this process occurred was also under examination. While some research had been conducted relative to the development of unwritten rules within sport, little research to date had focused on ice hockey’s unwritten rules and none had focused on the factors associated with their development. Research in other sport areas has indicated that knowledge and consent of unwritten rules is expected in the development of a professional athlete. As …