Digital Commons Network^™

Accounting For Differences In Factory Performance When Adopting Flow Based Production Techniques: A General Purpose Conceptualization, Michael R. Lopez

Student Scholarship

Despite abundant information describing the advantages that accrue from successful implementation of world class manufacturing (WCM) best practices, previous research provides little insight as to why the same techniques are able to foster competitiveness at one site yet fail to do so in another. Practitioners maintain that such discrepancies are due to contextual factors that preclude even immanently rational improvements from manifesting themselves in their operations. General purpose technology (GPT) theory suggests that heterogeneity results from innovational complementarities needed to fully benefit from the routine use of WCM practices. This exploratory study provides empirical support for complementary organizational changes, whereas …

Journal Of Actuarial Practice, Volume 11, 2004, Colin Ramsay , Editor

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

ARTICLES (the entire volume)

Product Innovation in Financial Services: A Survey • Christopher O'Brien 5

Phased Retirement for Defined Benefit Plan Participants • Patricia L. Scahill and Jonathan Barry Forman . 43

The Actuarial Value of Life Insurance Backdating • James M Carson and Krzysztof M Ostaszewski . 63

Decision Tree Analysis of Terminated Life Insurance Policies • Robert Keng Heong Lian, Yuan Wu, and Hian Chye Koh . 79

A Comparative Study of Parametric and Nonparametric Estimators of Old-Age Mortality in Sweden • Peter Fledelius, Montserrat Guillen, Jens Perch Nielsen, and Kitt Skovsø Petersen 103

Estimation of Complete …

2003-2004 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2003-2004 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Product Innovation In Financial Services: A Survey, Christopher O'Brien

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

This paper considers product innovation in insurance and other financial services, an area where actuaries have an important role. It considers the proposition that there is no unique formula for success and that what works well in one situation may not work well in another. It first examines the sources of ideas for new products and, in particular, the role played by consumers, which is generally regarded as weak. It then looks at how ideas are implemented, with particular importance attributed to cross-functional teams and the formality of the product development process. Then it considers how success is measured (with …

An Initial Look At Technology And Institutions On Defense Industry Consolidation, John D. Driessnack, David R. King

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Conventional wisdom holds that defense industry consolidation resulted from decreased defense spending. However, we maintain that understanding dynamic changes in key defense institutions helps provide a more complete explanation for observed consolidation. Specifically, we examine the interaction of evolving technology and changing institutions. Institutions reviewed include procurement policies, weapons requirements process and the procurement organizations. We take an initial look at the industry and highlight how these changes influenced transaction costs in the defense industry more fully explain the forces driving consolidation and provide greater insight to policy makers seeking to improve the performance of the defense industry. Further research …

Is Organizational Democracy Worth The Effort?, Jeffrey S. Harrison, R. Edward Freeman

Management Faculty Publications

Organizational democracy is frequently associated with increased employee involvement and satisfaction, higher levels of innovation, increased stakeholder commitment, and, ultimately, enhanced organizational performance. However, democratic processes can also absorb significant time and other organizational resources and bog down decisions, which may lead to reduced efficiency. This article summarizes the pros and cons of organizational democracy. It also introduces and integrates ideas from the three other articles in this special forum. In the end, we conclude that although the economic arguments for organizational democracy may be mixed, increased stakeholder participation in value creation and organizational governance can benefit both society and …

Managing Information System Integration Technologies--A Study Of Text Mined Industry White Papers, Balaji Ravindran

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Industry white papers are increasingly being used to explain the philosophy and operation of a product in marketplace or technology context. This explanation is used by senior managers for strategic planning in an organization. This research explores the effectiveness of white papers and strategies for managers to learn about technologies using white papers. The research is conducted by collecting industry white papers in the area of Information System Integration and gleaned relevant information through text-mining tool, Vantage Point. The text mined information is analyzed to provide solutions for practical problems in systems integration market. The indirect findings of the research …

The Nursing Debut: The Work Entry Transition, Lori Brohm

Student Scholarship

This research proposes that the congruence between an individual's expectations and their perceptions of the experiences upon entering a career affect the adaptation/coping strategies used to achieve a sense of organizational "fit." Interviews conducted with newly graduated nurses and nursing students identified a variety of coping strategies used to deal with the stress of career transition. These adaptation strategies include personal, professional and social coping strategies. Congruence of expectations and experience, the presence of external stressors (long hours, nurse vacancies, high patient volumes), and the quality of orientation experiences and peer relationships require an individual to employ different adjustment strategies. …

Cio Lateral Influence Behaviors: Gaining Peers' Commitment To Strategic Information Systems, Harvey Enns, Sid L. Huff, Christopher A. Higgins

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

In order to develop and bring to fruition strategic information systems (SIS) projects, chief information officers (CIOs) must be able to effectively influence their peers. This research examines the relationship between CIO influence behaviors and the successfulness of influence outcomes, utilizing a revised model initially developed by Yukl (1994). Focused interviews were first conducted with CIOs and their peers to gain insights into the phenomenon. A survey instrument was then developed and distributed to a sample of CIO and peer executive pairs to gather data with which to test a research model. A total of 69 pairs of surveys were …

2002-2003 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2002-2003 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Balanced Scorecard: An Instrument Of Change For Facilities Services, Beverly Sue Delker Gentry

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to develop Balanced Scorecard recommendations based on analysis that was conducted for Facilities Services at California State University, San Bernardino.

Baldrige Awards, Janet Butler Munch

Publications and Research

Baldrige Awards recognize premier U.S. organizations exemplifying sustained performance excellence and quality.

Emotional Intelligence Competencies In Physician Leaders: An Exploratory Study, Michael J. Deegan

Student Scholarship

A theory of behavioral competencies associated with emotional intelligence that influence job performance, was tested in physicians who hold leadership positions in their organization. An emotional intelligence competency ( EIC ) survey ( the ECI-2 ) that measured eighteen competencies distributed among four cluster groups ( self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship management ) was administered to physician leaders and their supervisors, peers and direct reports. The resulting 360 degree assessment permitted a comparison of the physician leaders self assessment scores with one another and those working closely with them. In addition, independent objective and subjective measures of physician …

An Investigation Of The Direct And Ripple Effect Of An Environmental Jolt On The Airline Industry, Leonard Lane

Student Scholarship

The events of September 11, 2001 significantly affected the operations of the U.S. domestic airline industry. The unprecedented two and one-half day, government mandated shut-down of the airline industry was followed by individual company actions that varied from large decreases in their operational capacity to little or no change. This unstable environment provided a unique opportunity to conduct an exploratory study to address the question of how firms and their customers in the airline industry reacted to the direct and ripple effect of an external environmental jolt that affected the entire industry and what accounted for the different firm responses …

Putting Socks On An Octopus: A Qualitative Understanding Of The Transformation To Customer Relationship Management, Patricia A. Sahm

Student Scholarship

The art of business underwent an upheaval in the last decade as new technologies met better-informed customers. One response to this new business environment can be seen in a recent repositioning from business models focused on products to ones based in customer centric actions. By the mid-1990s, this thinking led to the concept of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and to the explosive growth of CRM software and consulting services providers. After six to eight years of CRM implementations the results remain mixed with about 60-70% considered failures. What went wrong and how can it go right? Practitioners of CRM, whether …

Information Ecology And Knowledge Management: Toward Knowledge Ecology For Hypertubulent Organizational Environments, Yogesh Malhotra

Management - All Scholarship

The traditional view of organizational systems and supporting information and knowledge systems is based on the model of a well-oiled machine expected to deliver optimum performance derived from pre-defined parameters and specifications. Such systems consider performance as a derivative of external controls defined by the designers of the systems and have given marginal importance to the self-adaptive and emergent nature of human and organizational systems. These characteristics of human and organizational systems are particularly relevant to their adaptation and survival within dynamically changing business environments. Recently, some management thinkers have attempted to address the human bases of information systems within …

2001-2002 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2001-2002 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Someone Old Or Someone New? The Effects Of Ceo Change On Corporate Entrepreneurship, J. L. "Bert" Morrow Jr.

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

Boards of directors often attempt to foster corporate entrepreneurship by replacing a firm’s chief executive officer (CEO). Compelling theoretical arguments and anecdotal evidence suggest that when firm performance has suffered, a new CEO is best suited to lead the firm’s creative endeavors. On the other hand, among firms that retain their existing CEO after a decline in performance, manipulating the CEO’s compensation package is a common governance practice used by boards to encourage innovation. In these cases, some have argued that increasing the CEO’s pay will encourage corporate entrepreneurship, because the CEO has been compensated for assuming additional risk. Counter …

African Americans’ Perceptions Of Workplace Equity: A Starting Point, Dan K. Hibbler Ph.D.

School of Continuing and Professional Studies Faculty and Staff Works

For the past several decades, leisure researchers have investigated

the impact that race has on leisure behavior and preferences, but

there remains a paucity of research that addresses the issue of race in the leisure services workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of inequity, discrimination, and promotion opportunities among African Americans in the field of public parks and recreation. The study was conducted in multiple phases, and all included African Americans who were working for public recreation agencies in a midwestern state. First, telephone interviews were conducted with 11 African American middle managers. A …

Impact Of Transformational Leadership On Follower Development And Performance: A Field Experiment, Taly Dvir, Dov Eden, Bruce Avolio, Boas Shamir

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In a longitudinal, randomized field experiment, we tested the impact of transformational leadership, enhanced hy training, on follower development and performance. Experimental group leaders received transformational leadership training, and control group leaders, eclectic leadership training. The sample included 54 military leaders, their 90 direct followers, and 724 indirect followers. Results indicated the leaders in the experimental group had a more positive impact on direct followers' development and on indirect followers' performance than did the leaders in the control group.

Analysis And Evaluation Of The Macroscopic Organizational Structure Of Red Horse, Lance D. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The primary contingency engineering capability within the United States Air Force is provided by Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operations Readiness Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE). This thesis examines the macroscopic organizational structure of RED HORSE; that is, the manner in which RED HORSE resources (personnel and equipment) are organized collectively, above the unit (squadron or flight) level. It builds on the findings of the Air Combat Command - sponsored RED HORSE 2010 Strategic Study, and focuses on issues of geographic location and chain of command above the unit level, as the study found these two topics were found to be vital …

2000-2001 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2000-2001 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Comparison Of Customer Service Surveys Used By Arrowhead Credit Union And Recommendation For Change, Alexis Dionne Bookman

Theses Digitization Project

This project describes in detail the process of constructing a customer service index. It covers past survey methods, makes suggestions for improving Arrowhead Credit Union's current customer service surveys, creates an index for measurement of survey results, and concludes with the effects these changes will have on the Credit Union.

A Quest For Sales, Daniel Lynn Goehring

Theses Digitization Project

This paper is to evaluate the sales program at Arrowhead Credit Union, and make recommendations for enhancing and improving it. This paper provide guidance and direction to assist the Arrowhead Credit Unions transition to a sales focused organization.

Application Of Soft System Methodology In A Planned Organisational Change : A Case Study On Chs Ind. Bhd., Chew Choo Chan

Student Works (2000-2009)

The objective of this study is to gauge the organisation viability and performance by applying the Soft System Methodology, to draw a framework for a planned organisational change in a polywrap packaging material manufacturer. The selection of samples for observation and secondary data was based on census (for organisation level and group level) and probability sampling (for individual level). The stratified sampling method was used to select 30% (70 individuals) from 3 levels of employees in the organisation (which consists of 234 employees). The 5 points Likert Scale was used to measure the magnitude of the variables being evaluated. The …

To What Extent Can Knowledge Management Systems Build And Reinforce Consensus Around Initiatives For Change?: A Self-Reflective Analysis Of Professional Practice, Guy A. Duczynski

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis reports on my attempts to 're-align' the purpose, behaviour and underlying culture of a large military organisation through heuristic, self reflective enquiry - to 'find its future' - with and through its people. I use the word re-align with great care as I recognised that change would have been too ambitious and would (probably have) result(ed) in failure. Whilst I cannot claim total success, I have made new and valuable discoveries in knowledge elicitation and methods of integrating the views of a large number of people to 'build and reinforce consensus around initiatives for change'. In the process …

Toward A Theory Of Technological Change, John Rodney Franklin

Student Scholarship

Theories of technological change are generally constructed based on assumptions that the technological artifact is a member of a historical line of technological advance (trajectory and evolutionary theories) or that novel technological developments simply "happen" (happenstance theories). Where a more constructivist view is taken technological change is assumed to be a social construct driven by the societal elements of human relationships and initiative. This paper takes a different approach to technological change positing that a combination of social structure and human agency act in a recursive manner to push a technological artifact forward. Using Anthony Giddens' structuration theory as the …

Creating Shared Values: An Exploratory Examination Of Methodology, George G. Byrtek

Faculty Publications - George Fox Digital

This exploratory study sought to examine the roles of values clarification and consensus in the process of creating shared values within an organizational subculture. In particular. this study examined the effects the utilization of consensus and values clarification had on the level of member-group value congruency and the affective variables (general job satisfaction, group cohesion, and organizational commitment), which have been positively associated with person-organization fit. Using an organizational subculture composed of 125 individuals. this study treated person-group fit. job satisfaction. commitment, and group cohesion as dependent variables with respect to the independent variables: interventions A and B. Intervention A …

Money And Theology -- It's Not An Oxymoron, Valerie Kay Brown

Student Scholarship

The premise of this research is that the lack of connecting church financial management principles to a biblical foundation is a primary cause for the lack of clergy and church leaders following effective financial management practices within a church setting. This research explored this hypothesis by teaching two church financial courses; one with heavy emphasis on the biblical foundation for financial and administrative management, and one that is secular in approach. This study will compare the experiences of teaching each course with the premise that the scripturally-based course will have a positive impact on the students' attitude toward church financial …

1999-2000 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

1999-2000 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.