Digital Commons Network^™

Total Quality Management And The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Mary Beth Defazio

Theses

This study addresses three main issues and provides the hospitality industry with information about improving the quality of service delivered to its customers. The main issue was to identify the implementation process of Total Quality Management. Secondary issues introduced the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and how the application of TQM enabled The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company to achieve the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1992. To address these topics, three approaches were undertaken. Extensive library research, interviews of knowledgeable experts and representatives of each area, review of secondary data, and participation in The Ritz-Carlton New Employee Orientation and 21 …

A Model To Forecast Corporate Hotel Rates, Elizabeth A. Wawrzyniak

Theses

This study examined the relationship between corporate room rates and the variables of the number of hotel rooms; the number of delegates at conventions, conferences, and trade shows; the economic impact of these delegates; and passenger enplanements in 30 cities in the United States. These variables proved to have an influence on the corporate room rate, with passenger enplanements being the most statistically significant variable. These relationships were then used to develop a predictive model to forecast future corporate room rates.

Evaluation Methods Among Corporate Travel Managers, Eva B. Larsson

Theses

This study examined whether corporate travel planners performed any kind of evaluation among their clients and in that case what that evaluation revealed about the different air lines' performance. A questionnaire was sent out to 100 members of National Business Travel Association (NBTA) all over the U.S. In this questionnaire the respondents were asked to answer 10 questions about if and how the evaluated the performance of the airlines. In the survey, 25% of the respondents said that they did not perform any evaluation at all. The most commonly used evaluation method was to hand-out questionnaires which was used by …

Factors Contributing To Airline Insolvency, Richard M. Lagiewski

Theses

This study explores the problematic issues that caused Chapter 11 and bankruptcy filings during the period of March, 1989 to January, 1992. Unlike the approximately 85 airlines that went bankrupt during deregulation, 4 of the 6 airlines studied were original trunk carriers. The two remaining were, at that time, the only two surviving airlines born during deregulation. The data of these carriers was tracked over a thirteen year period. The tracking consisted of graphing financial / performance variables over time and then the construction of a matrix presenting the issues discovered in the literature search. In tracking their problematic issues …

Multi-Attribute Utility Test Of U.S. Frequent Guest Programs With Applications To The Korean Lodging Industry, Seakyoung Kim

Theses

This study has evaluated the adaptability of the Frequent Guest Program of the U.S. lodging industry to four sample hotels in Seoul, Korea, which are looking for competitive strategies to satisfy business travelers. The evaluation was done to produce qualitative insight into the program to help determine whether or not a hotel should commit its money to the Frequent Guest Program's implementation and operation. The evaluation showed that the program is fairly adaptable to all hotels in the sample. And for one sample hotel, the program is evaluated to contribute solidly to the realization of its purpose.

Forecasts In The Hotel Industry And Accuracy Of The Corporate Travel Index Survey, Maria H. Pulkkinen

Theses

This study looks at predicted and actual hotel rates for 1992 from the Corporate Travel Index. The Corporate Travel Index survey, which is conducted annually by Corporate Travel Magazine in conjunction with Rochester Institute of Technology, is analyzed from an accuracy stand point. Forecasts in the hotel industry are important to many people. Business people and meeting planners must somehow be able to predict the coming hotel rates. Among other forecasts in the industry, Corporate Travel Index is helpful to use when setting travel policies and spending guidelines for the corning year. The Corporate Travel Index asked for predicted rates …

Decision Making Environments In The Meeting Planning Industry, Chia-Mei Johanna Liu

Theses

This was a pilot study on the decision making environments in the meeting planning industry. A critical incident questionnaire which was developed by Boone & Kilmann (1988) and later used by Janet Barnard (1992) in her research "Decision Environments of Small Firms" was adapted. The questionnaires were mailed to 210 samples which were randomly chosen from members of Meeting Planners International in four states, and there were 30 valid responses received. Among those 30 respondents, the majority (70%) are female meeting planners. Most of the participants are over 30 years old, and their years of experience in the meeting planning …

Quality Of Work Life In The Hotel Industry, Gina Marie Santercole

Theses

This study provides hotel organizations with information that reveals the feelings, perceptions, and attitudes of it's employees. By examining an employee's quality of work life, an organization can determine how they are doing internally, from an employee's point of view, which ultimately effects their "moments of truth" externally, with their customers. A nine item, five point scale, Quality of Work Life Survey was administered to the employees and managers from four hotel properties. These properties, located in different geographical locations and each targeting a specific market segment, provided an interesting and diverse 292 person sample. Results revealed agreement and disagreement …

Evaluation Of The U.S. National Tourist Office Impact On The U.S. Travel And Tourism Industry, Mary Tack

Theses

In an effort to better meet the needs of its customers, the United States national tourist office, U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA) , surveyed travel and tourism industry organizations to determine their awareness and usage levels for the numerous programs and services offered by USTTA, the value they placed on these programs and services, and where improvements can be made. This survey was especially critical to USTTA as it embarked upon the Total Quality Management philosophy (which focuses on knowing your customers and their needs in order to better serve them) . A secondary issue existed for USTTA to …

Coping With Incurable Disease: Multiple Sclerosis, Frieda R. Faber

Theses

Research was conducted to determine if there was a correlation between the ability of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) to cope with their disease and several other variables which could be related to coping skills. More than two-thirds of the 98 subjects in the sample regularly attended MS support groups . The ability to cope was measured by a scale developed by Brooks & Matson (1982). The independent variables were : self-esteem factors, vulnerability to stress, depression, severity of disability, general health factors, length of illness and age. Data was statistically analyzed £or the total sample and separately by female …

The Self-Concept And Symbolic Consumption; Their Effect On Consumer Behavior, Cory L. Dobbs

Theses

A major issue confronting consumer researchers and other investigators of social-psychological phenomena is whether individuals are motivated to purchase products that symbolically are congruent with their self-concept.

This issue is of particular importance to consumer and marketing researchers, since much of their data and resulting actions depend on the decision processes leading up to the consumer's choice of product for consumption. Examining the relationship between the self and consumption through congruence of self-images and images of owned or desired products reveals that the consumer regards his or her consumed products as expressive of themselves.

Perception plays a critical role in …

Sexual Harassment: A Pilot Study In The Hotel Industry, Wen-Yi Tera Chung

Theses

Several studies have documented the existence of sexual harassment in workplaces in society-at-large. This pilot study seeks to determine whether sexual harassment is higher within the hotel industry than in workplaces in society-at-large, whether men and women react differently to sexual behaviors in the workplace, and whether those differences vary by department. In addition, the study seeks to determine hotel employees knowledge of the existence of policies and procedures on sexual harassment within one hotel property, to identify the initiators of sexually harassing behaviors, to suggest implications for management, and to provide a data base for future research. Sixty-nine employees …

The Corporate Travel Index In Taiwan: A Case Study, Liming Chen

Theses

Since it has booming business opportunities, Taiwan is shifting from a pleasure destination to business one. Business travel has become one significant segment of Taiwan tourism industry. However, tourism is not a major source of income for the Taiwanese. Consequently, there is less material discussing the spending style of business travelers in Taiwan. An overview of Taiwan tourism based on the statistics data from Tourism Bureau in Taiwan was done to give a general idea. The spending style of business travelers tried to identify the special items purchased by business travelers. This study followed the way for the Corporate Travel …

The Effects Of Video-Based Sales Training Methods And Feedback On Field Sales Performance, Michael T. Simorka

Theses

This thesis focused on the effects of video-based sales training methods on field sales performance. The study also evaluated the effects of feedback systems on performance.

Research in the field of training methodology presents a positive review of "high technology" methods . Most of the studies focus on the benefits of easy administration , reduced cost or improved performance . However, most reviews are anecdotal . There is little empirical data which studies the use of these medium and their effects on field sales performance.

In reviewing the research on feedback systems, the studies have shown that feedback can have …

Weight Loss In Alzheimer's Disease: A Comparison Of Care Options, Linda Dyhouse Kaiser

Theses

The purpose of this culminating project is to examine the care of Alzheimer's disease patients residing in a special care unit with the care received by those residing with the general nursing home population. More specifically, it compared the weights of patients on a special care unit with the weights of patients housed with the general nursing home population.

According to demographic information, the fastest growing cohort of the population is the older-old. This data is of great significance to health care providers for it is the 80 and above age group that are prime candidates to develop Alzheimer's disease. …

An Analysis Of National Average Car Rental Rates And Economic Indicators, Amy S. Peterson

Theses

Travel suppliers have depended largely on business travel as their main source of business and profit because it is less price conscious and finicky compared to the pleasure travel market. The past recession has caused corporations to scale-down by drastically reducing business related travel; therefore, it is understood, as a majority, that the condition of the economy usually dictates future business. Car rental companies are a significant part of the travel supplier industry and it is wondered if the fluctuations in car rental rates are a direct reflection of the rise and fall of the economy also. The study will …

Case Study Of Blackjack Dealers; Their Work Environment And Their Relationship With Management, Linda Anne Weintraub

Theses

Not listed.

Multiple Myeloma, Matthew B. Brownstein

Theses

Not Included

Color Space Selection For Jpeg Image Compression, Nathan Moroney

Theses

The Joint Photographic Experts Group's image compression algorithm has been shown to be a very efficient and powerful method of compressing images. However, there is little substantive information about which color space should be utilized when implementing the JPEG algorithm. Currently, the JPEG algorithm is set up for use with any three component color space. The objective of this research was to determine whether or not the color space selected will significantly improve image compression capabilities. The RGB, XYZ, YIQ, CIELAB, CIELUV, and CIELAB LCh color spaces were examined and compared. Both numerical measures and psychophysical techniques were used to …

"Strangeness In The Night", Theodore R. Pratt

Theses

Not Included

Automated Generation Of Sw Design Constructs From Mesa Source Code, David Egerton

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the Reverse Engineering of Mesa code. Mesa is a programming language used by the Xerox Corporation especially designed for ultra large scale software projects. Many Xerox projects have considerable amounts of code already developed and in service with very little up to date design documentation. The maintenance phase of Software requires that updates will occur continuously in response to customer demands. Software engineers, often not the original designers, will need to gain a thorough understanding of the code to make reliable changes. This thesis proposes to outline Software tools developed in Mesa that will extract …

The Use Of High-Tech Sales Recruitment In The Data Communications Industry, John J. Speraneo

Theses

The purpose of this study is to conduct a research investigation of the use of executive recruitment. While corporate America automates and downsizes in order to compete in the worldwide market, workers try to find creative ways to market themselves and use the best means to locate jobs in this competitive environment.

The main focus of this study is to determine the primary means used to locate high-tech sales positions in the data communications industry. This could vary from executive recruiters, classified ads, personal referrals, and other miscellaneous methods.

The following paper is an empirical study, designed to provide an …

Scooping The Kid's Market: Writing For Children In The Nineties, Judith Collins

Theses

Many people think writing for kids is simple. After all, what parent, grandparent or teacher has not picked up A Little ABC Book book and thought, "I can do better than this ! "

However, even though writing for kids in the 1990s is possible, exciting and fulfilling it 's not as easy as it looks. In addition to knowing how to write well , writing for kids today takes more commitment, ambition, creativity, sensitivity and expertise because kids are much more sophisticated than they were ten or twenty years ago.

And, because global information systems and mass media have …

The Development Of A Project Management Handbook For St. John's Mercy Medical Center, Angela D. Matherne

Theses

The purpose of this study is the development of a project management handbook, as a guide for Information Systems (I.S.) projects at St. John's Mercy Medical Center. The need for this study was supported by inconsistencies in project management methods observed at St. John's.

A review of project management literature revealed that there has been very little empirical research in this area, and suggested that the nonspecific nature of project management literature may be contributing to the problem observed at St. John's. The literature review supported the view that a project management handbook should be developed, containing commonly accepted project …

Workplace Drug And Alcohol Testing: A Blueprint For Employee Acceptance And Success, Charles Edward Martin

Theses

Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace is a highly emotional and complex issue. Society's drug and alcohol abuse problem has become so pervasive that employers are obligated to act to protect themselves, their businesses and their employees .

Business costs have risen dramatically due to lost productivity resulting from drug and alcohol abuse. Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and rehabilitation efforts have been somewhat successful but are extremely expensive.

Many businesses have chosen to protect themselves by implementing pre-employment drug screening. Some businesses drug test current employees randomly and "for cause". "For cause" has generally been defined as reasonable suspicion …

Image Is Reality, Sarah Louise Meininger

Theses

How individuals perceive a business is reality. It doesn't matter if these perceptions are true or false. This paper explores aspects of corporate image and identity and the importance of shaping an image for a company.

We will focus on the importance of research and how initial research should determine how people perceive a company in and outside the organization itself. We will also discuss the CEO' s impact and his/her role. The CEO oversees current perceptions, shapes and molds an image for the company, guides the image for the future and should also be a communicator within the company. …

Management By Objectives: A Cost/Benefits Analysis Toward Achieving Organizational Goals, John J. Mueller

Theses

This thesis will focus on the management process commonly known as Management by Objectives in an attempt to determine if this type of management is a viable option for companies to employ.

In its simplest form management by objectives has been around for hundreds of years. The modern day version of this management technique developed in the early 1950's due in large part to the writings of Peter Drucker . MBO's popularity grew slowly at first, but by the late 1960's and early seventies this management technique took hold in the United States and spread to corporations both large and …

Adding New Life To Years: A Senior Peer Exercise Program, Cynthia Lymm Pearl Nayer

Theses

The thesis "Adding New Life to Years: A Senior Peer Exercise Program" explores the development and impact of a peer-led exercise program aimed at improving physical, social, and emotional health among older adults. Recognizing the challenges associated with aging—such as decreased mobility, social isolation, and chronic health issues—the study focuses on engaging active seniors as volunteer leaders to conduct low-intensity exercise classes for frail elderly participants.

This program aims to foster mutual benefits: healthy senior volunteers experience enhanced self-worth, social engagement, and physical fitness, while the frail elderly improve in areas like blood pressure, mood, and perceived self-efficacy. Grounded in …

The Effects Of Racial Polarization On African-Americans Being Elected To Public Office In St. Louis And Kansas City, Missouri, Juanita Head Walton

Theses

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of race in the process for election and selection of candidates for city wide offices in St. Louis and Kansas City.

The data for this analysis includes census statistics and election results in the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City. In addition, I have examined campaign finance reports, official government reports and manuals, writings of experts in the field of race and politics and other research sources documented in my citations, tables, illustrations and bibliography, as well as interviews with African-Americans holding public offices and local experts in the …

Time, Temperament, And Talent: The Dynamics Of Sustainable Organizational Commitment, Charlotte A. Sullentrup

Theses

Organizational commitment is one of many linkages between employees and employing organizations. It cannot be established as the cause of, or demonstrated to be caused by, other dependent or independent variable constructs, and it cannot be uniformly or conclusively correlated with them, singly or in combination.

Rather, organizational commitment exists in a dynamic and shifting matrix of other employee/organization linkages such as job satisfaction, job performance, work experiences, productivity, etc. The relative strengths, perceived priorities, and consequences of these variables in the matrix are, in turn, functions of the continuously changing characteristics of time, temperament, and talent of both the …