Other Business Commons^™

Common Method Variance: An Experimental Manipulation, Alison Wall

Doctoral Dissertations

Although common method variance has been a subject of research concern for over fifty years, its influence on study results is still not well understood. Common method variance concerns are frequently cited as an issue in the publication of self-report data; yet, there is no consensus as to when, or if, common method variance creates bias. This dissertation examines common method variance by approaching it from an experimental standpoint. If groups of respondents can be influenced to vary their answers to survey items based upon the presence or absence of procedural remedies, a better understanding of common method variance can …

Green Index: Integration Of Environmental Performance, Green Innovativeness And Financial Performance, Ilknur Mary Joy Nirmala Tekin

Dissertations and Theses

The integration of sustainability performance of companies is becoming increasingly important. The recent global requirements (i.e. the Kyoto Protocol) for significant reduction of the negative impact of companies on the environment over the next 6 years have been putting pressure on the companies, requiring them to lower the negative environmental impact of market performance. This requirement challenges the profitable growth of the companies' business functions, given the change needed for business operations to improve on their environmental impact.

In this dissertation a new corporate sustainability performance index, called: The Green Index, for measuring and assessing the integrated sustainability performance of …

Strategic Analysis Of Casino Expansion Into Massachusetts, Nicole Sherman

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of this project was to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each resort casino proposal for Massachusetts and recommend the best choice for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to select. Presently there are three companies competing for a Category 1 gaming license in Massachusetts; MGM in Springfield is the sole candidate for the Western Massachusetts region, and Wynn in Everett is competing against Mohegan Sun in Revere for a license in the Eastern Massachusetts area. Information for this project was collected by attending public meetings with presentations from casino representatives, town officials, and the Gaming Commission. A literature search …

The Business Of Beds: An Exploration Of Hotel And Hostel Business Strategy, Robert B. Bunda

Honors Scholar Theses

At their cores, hotels and hostels are similar in that they provide a place for travelers to stay. Despite this core similarity, the structures of the two industries are radically different. The hotel industry began in the Middle Ages and has given rise to massive multinational companies, many managing more than four thousand hotels. In stark contrast, the hostel industry began in 1909 and is mostly comprised of independently owned and operated guesthouses, with the largest global chain comprising of less than twenty properties. This study first defines the hotel and hostel industries and examines the different experiences they offer …

For-Profit Social Enterprise: Creating Value For Consumers & Society In The Face Of Competition, Sarah J. Quirk

Honors Scholar Theses

The goal of social enterprises is to attain social, cultural, community, economic, or environmental outcomes. They achieve this by generating revenue from the goods or services they sell. In recent years, social enterprises have grown notably in popularity, number, and profitability worldwide, as the model for social enterprise has been refined. This paper aims to answer the question, what makes for-profit social enterprises successful? Is it their product, price, place, promotion, social mission, the prior success and capital of the social entrepreneur, a cult-like following, or the aspirational nature of socially minded consumers? This thesis will examine real-life social enterprise …

The Political History Of Sugarcane-Based Ethanol In Brazil, Joshua Gagner

Political Science Theses and Capstones

With the Middle East putting an embargo on oil in 1973, oil prices ascended to levels that made importation of oil expensive. Brazil also faced another issue with sugar prices going down in 1973, putting much of their sugar supply on reserve. Brazil’s military government then made a decision to adopt the sugarcane-based ethanol program, Pro-Alcool. Pro-Alcool’s goal was to produce an alternative energy source to gasoline and take pressure off of oil importation. While initially intended to be a short-term fix, a second oil strike in 1979 pushed Pro-Alcool to higher levels. Oil industries were initially opposed to ethanol …

A Case Study Analysis Of A Regional Food System: The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium For Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program, Tasha M. Hargrove, Walter A. Hill, John Brown, Miles Robinson, Iris Cole-Crosby, Elizabeth Myles, Billy Lawton, Karla Martin

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium for Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program (SACH) was designed to carry out an experiment by five 1890 Land-Grant Universities in partnership with five farmer based cooperatives in five states to assess marketing fruits and vegetables to Walmart from a regional perspective. Using the Consortium as a case study, this study assessed the Consortium within the framework of implementation evaluation; data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The study answered questions such as, what did the Consortium do, and what were some of the accomplishments of the Consortium? The farmers were able to: negotiate price points; …

Pettit National Ice Center Public Skate Participation Survey, Andrew Christopher Brown

Professional Projects

This research project seeks to identify areas that the Pettit National Ice Center can address in order to increase customer satisfaction, thereby transforming infrequent users into repeat clientele. One hundred-fifty individuals were surveyed utilizing a mixed methods approach which produced qualitative and quantitative results for analysis. Key recommendations for the Pettit National Ice Center include providing improved customer service, improving the appearance and quality of equipment inside the facility, increasing its online presence, and identifying potential revenue generators.

2014 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

The Story As A Cultural Transmitter: Applications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Stories assist in transmitting cultural wisdom, including wisdom about the business community. The role of stories in various contexts such as education (including international management), management, and marketing, as well as the job search is explained. The article concludes by presenting instructional activities for business education that develop cultural competence through stories.

How Do Business Students In The U.S. And In Cameroon Perceive Faculty Attributes? A Comparative Study, Donald L. Ariail, Muhammad A. Obeidat, Guy Laurent Fondjo

Faculty Articles

This study investigates student perceptions of ten selected attributes embedded in faculty behavior. These attributes are classified as primary and secondary attributes. The 4 primary attributes include effective communication (ability to communicate information effectively), ability to combine knowledge and application in real world cases and examples, high level of knowledge in presented materials, and substantial business experience in the area taught. The 6 secondary attributes include active association with the business community, active participation in academic organizations, active participation in business organizations, extensive publication of business research in scientific/scholarly journals, extensive publication of business articles in practitioner/trade oriented journals, and …

Evaluating Conflict Between Employees: Exploring The Costs To An Organization, David Cross Ph.D., Scott W.M. Burrus Ph.D., Melanie Shaw Ph.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Conflicts between employees result in decreased job satisfaction, negative relationships within the organization, and a loss of employee commitment to both the organization and the specific job performed. Workplace conflicts have high costs to businesses. In aviation, the results of conflict can be deadly. The Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) is designed to help people learn practical strategies to mitigate conflict. A sample of 228 people from the aviation industry completed a pre-training survey, participated in scenario-based SDI training, and then completed a post-training survey regarding the effectiveness of the SDI to help them manage conflict. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance …

Quarterly Business Indicators: 2nd Quarter 2014, Lincoln Partnership For Economic Development

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Summary of Business Conditions

►The Quarterly Business Indicators for the 2nd quarter of 2014 show a surging Lincoln economy. Nearly all segments of the Lincoln MSA economy are growing, and many growing strongly.

►The Lincoln MSA unemployment rate continues to decline (Figure 1) and remains less than half of the U.S. rate (Figure 2). Employment growth is very strong. Non-farm employment, which is measured via a survey of business, grew by a rapid 2.6% in the Lincoln MSA between the 2nd quarter of 2013 and 2014 (Figure 4). Local employment estimates based on a survey of households indicated 1.6% growth …

Estimate Of Usda Licensed Breeders 2014, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

A state-by-state breakdown in map format showing the number of licenses for: Class A Commercial Breeders Facilities that breed companion animals, primarily dogs, for resale into the pet trade; and Class B Brokers / Dealers Middlemen who obtain animals from breeders and then resell them.

101 Puppy Mills: A Sampling Of Problem Puppy Mills In The United States, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

The goal of the report is to inform consumers about widespread problems with puppy mills before they make an uninformed purchase that could potentially support animal cruelty. The report includes puppy mills from 22 states, but because most of the dealers sell online or to pet stores, their puppies could be available to unwary consumers in all 50 states and beyond.

The breeders and sellers on this list represent common issues with puppy mills and puppy mill brokers. This report is not a complete list of all puppy mills, nor a list of all problematic facilities. For more information on …

Welfare Of Non-Traditional Pets, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser, H. J. Bacon

Wild and Exotic Animals as Pets Collection

The keeping of non-traditional or ‘exotic’ pets has been growing in popularity worldwide. In addition to the typical welfare challenges of keeping more traditional pet species like dogs and cats, ensuring the welfare of non-traditional pets is complicated by factors such as lack of knowledge, difficulties meeting requirements in the home and where and how animals are obtained. This paper uses examples of different species to highlight three major welfare concerns: ensuring that pets under our care i) function well biologically, ii) are free from negative psychological states and able to experience normal pleasures, and iii) lead reasonably natural lives. …

Self-Regulated Learning And The Role Of Eportfolios In Business Studies, Amparo Soler-Dominguez, Lucia Morales, Valentina Tarkovska

Articles

Through a case study supported by observation techniques, and questionnaires to gather data, we explored the use of ePortfolios as an efficient assessment tool to assist business degree students. Our main focus was a postgraduate course in which finance modules were a major component. We analysed the role of ePortfolios in Higher Education Institutions over a period of four academic years. Our findings suggest that ePortfolios could be used to facilitate and enhance students’ selfregulated learning. The role of the instructor was found to be fundamental in the early stages of the learning process. This role diminished as students became …

Using Inoculation Messages To Protect “Stay In The Market” Beliefs During Financial Crises, Lindsay Lyles Dillingham

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This paper focuses on the problem of collapsed “stay in the market” (SIM) beliefs during financial crises. The primary purpose of this investigation was to ascertain whether or not inoculation messages represent a viable communication strategy to preemptively protect SIM beliefs during forthcoming financial crises. Ancillary purposes of this study were to further investigate the role of print and video crises, explicit instructions regarding post-inoculation talk (PIT), and gain and loss frame inoculation messages on the inoculation process. This study used a between subjects factorial design (3 x 2 plus four additional conditions) to explore ten hypotheses. Data collected from …

Who Killed John Wanamaker?, Marvin Lovett, Gerardo A. Miranda

Marketing Faculty Publications

Retailing has grown and continues to contribute significantly to the economy of the Unit-ed States, as well as to most other economies around the world. The study of retailing, as an academic field, continues to grow and evolve. The study of retail history and of its contributors provides beneficial insight. Retail commerce began to flourish in the United States well over a century ago. This study attempts to provide insight into the absence of an original and significant contributor to the field of retailing and marketing, John Wanamaker. In fact, John Wanamaker has been referred to as the “Father of …

Multi-Criteria Decision Making Based On Dsmt-Ahp, Jean Dezert, Jean Marc Tacnet, Mireille Batton-Hubert, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we present an extension of the multicriteria decision making based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which incorporates uncertain knowledge matrices for generating basic belief assignments (bba’s). The combination of priority vectors corresponding to bba’s related to each (sub)- criterion is performed using the Proportional Conflict Redistribution rule no. 5 proposed in Dezert-Smarandache Theory (DSmT) of plausible and paradoxical reasoning. The method presented here, called DSmT-AHP, is illustrated on very simple examples.