Business Commons^™

11. Gender And Leadership, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

The purpose of the Gender & Leadership module is for students to develop an understanding of the role gender plays in contemporary society and the relationship between gender and leadership. The objectives of this module are for students to be able to to define gender vernacular and differentiate between terms, dissect how gender roles were constructed, and identify the role of gender biases in leadership. To meet these objectives, case studies concerning the traditional feminine and masculine leadership roles are conducted to make students aware of their subconscious gender biases. Additionally, the terms sex, gender, gender expression, and gender fluidity …

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level Re-Examined: Creating A Uniform Method For Calculating Readability On A Certification Exam, Emily Neuhoff, Kristiana M. Feeser, Kayla Sutherland, Thomas Hovatter

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

Objective: This study attempted to establish a consistent measurement technique of the readability of a state-wide Certified Nursing Assistant’s (CNA) certification exam. Background: Monitoring the readability level of an exam helps ensure all test versions do not exceed the maximum reading level of the exam, and that knowledge of the subject matter, rather than reading ability, is being assessed. Method: A two part approach was used to specify and evaluate readability. First, two methods (Microsoft Word^® (MSW) software and published readability formulae) were used to calculate Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level (FKRGL) for multiple …

Emotional Intelligence: A Leader's Impact On Productivity In A Distribution Environment, Herbert Callahan

Dissertations

ABSTRACT Emotional Intelligence: A Leader’s Impact on Productivity in a Distribution Environment by Herbert Callahan Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the impact of a supervisor’s Emotional Intelligence on the performance of the associates that work for them within a distribution environment. The research design will include assessing a supervisor’s levels of emotional intelligence through the administration of the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal®–Me Edition and will include the gathering of data through semi-structured interviews from identified associates that work with them. Methodology: Convenience purposeful sampling was used to identify supervisors within a distribution environment. A …

Going From Breakdown To Breakthrough: Human Resource Professional's Perspective Of Conflict In K-12 Public Education, Denise E. Larue

Dissertations

This study was conducted independently, but in collaboration with a team of peer-researchers who came together to study the lived experience of exemplar leaders in diverse organizations as they transformed conflict to reach common ground. This study contributed to the collective work by looking at K-12 Human Resource Officers (HROs) as the population of interest. HROs are often at the center of resolving conflict, yet only a few emerge as exemplar leaders. These exemplar leaders were the target population situated in the phenomena under investigations. The team selected a qualitative phenomenological approach, in an attempt to uncover what strategies exemplar …

2016 Q2 Private Capital Access Index Report, Craig R. Everett

Pepperdine Private Capital Access Report

The Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index (PCA) is a quarterly indicator produced by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, and with the support of Dun & Bradstreet. The index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets. The purpose of the PCA Index is to gauge the demand of small and medium sized businesses for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.

The Magic Behind Success: What Can Business Leaders Learn From Magicians Regarding Creativity And Communication?, John Logan

Honors Projects in Communication

The following research demonstrates the connection between the art of magic and the world of business. More specifically, it explores the overlap between the innovation and communication techniques magicians use when creating new ideas, developing a routine, performing, and a parallel comparison on what it takes to run a successful business. The capstone will first look at what the "magician" is including the types of tricks they perform. It will then analyze the entrepreneurial magicians and their creative process behind developing new routines. Finally, it will examine the verbal and non-verbal communication techniques magicians use to connect with their audience …

Cooking And The Books: A Guide To Restaurant Accounting, Lena Lambrou

Honors Projects in Accounting

The restaurant industry is known for particularly low profit margins; this project aims to understand where restaurants spend money and how expenses can be allocated for in this fast-paced environment. Through research of various cost accounting methods and the adaptability of those methods to restaurant culture, activity based costing (ABC) provided the most useful data for the restaurant. This project focuses on small business restaurants, specifically those that serve pizza. The backbone of experimentation for applying these accounting processes is a local pizza restaurant, in which the managers are unaware of how food cost and operating expenses could be combined …

Personal Health Records: Beneficial Or Burdensome For Patients And Healthcare Providers?, Melissa Lester, Samuel Boateng, Jane Stanley, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

Personal health records (PHRs) have been mandated to be made available to patients to provide increased access to medical care information, encourage participation in healthcare decision making, and enable correction of errors within medical records. The purpose of this study was to analyze the usefulness of PHRs from the perspectives of patients and providers. The methodology of this qualitative study was a literature review using 34 articles. PHRs are powerful tools for patients and healthcare providers. Better healthcare results and correction of medical records have been shown to be positive outcomes of the use of PHRs. PHRs have also been …

Christian Nonprofit Ceos:Ethical Idealism, Relativism, And Motivation, Sharlene Garces Baragona

Dissertations

Strong ethical character and the ability to inspire others form crucial areas for leadership effectiveness, particularly in nonprofits. This study explored the relationship between ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism) and inspirational motivation of Christian nonprofit CEOs affiliated with the Christian Child and Family Services Association. The Ethics Position Questionnaire of Forsyth (1980), the Bass and Avolio (2004) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Leader Form (5X Short) – Inspirational Motivation, and a demographic questionnaire comprised the 30-item survey for this study. The participants’ responses were collected either online or on paper and were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The response rate was …

Developing A Measure Assessing Virtual Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Samuel Louis Galbraith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In a time when technology is an integral part of life, virtual workplaces are becoming more of a staple in organizations and will likely continue to do so as technology use increases (Cascio, 2000). Due to the rise in virtual workplaces, employees are interacting face-to-face less, and organizations are requiring more from them. Employees must perform behaviors that are outside of their formal job description. These positive behaviors are considered to be organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), which are employee behaviors that promote organizational effectiveness that are not part of an employee’s formal job description and are therefore not formally recognized …

The Perception Of Knowledge Management System Implementation To Employee Performance Is Measured With Balanced Scorecard At Pt Vale Indonesia Tbk, Yeni Febriyani

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a necessary concept as knowledge possessed by each individual employee is an intellectual property asset that will provide benefits for any organization. In a company, in terms of KMS, employees’ performance holds an important role in helping run the business of the company becoming sustainable and successful. Therefore, the measurement of employees’ performance based on a balanced scorecard is needed to understand the current business situation. This research helped focus on the perception between the KMS and employee’s performance based on a balanced scorecard (BSC) regarding a financial perspective, customer perspective, internal business process perspective, …

The Effect Of Corporate Social Performance On Acquisition Performance, Sammy G. Muriithi

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I investigate the impact that corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement may have on post-acquisition performance outcomes. I argue that prospective targets are among the audiences that observe the firm's corporate social activities and make judgments out of the signals portrayed by such activity. With prospective targets being largely more successful than their counterparts, it stands to reason that they would prefer to be acquired by successful firms that would likely assure benefits in the long term. The socially responsible acquirer would likely be viewed as the more attractive suitor since the established moral and reputational capital present …

Evaluation Of Glucose Monitoring Technologies For Cost Effective And Quality Control/Management Of Diabetes, David P. Paul Iii, Stacy Ashworth, Leslie Salyers, Sarah Saldanha, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

The diabetes epidemic in the United States (U.S.) has become a burden in regards to treatment, disease management, and associated costs. Key advancements in medical technology have been developed in efforts to mitigate this issue. We compare several types of glucose monitoring systems with respect to quality of care, management, and cost-effectiveness for type 1 and type 2 diabetics.

The Distribution Of Subunit Power: Periphery, Overlapping, And Group Affiliation Termination, Hui Ren Tan

UCARE: Research Products

This research studies the relationship between the positions of an insurance company’s subsidiaries and the risk of termination. While looking at the insurance company from the business lines and geographical perspective, and applying the Research Dependency Theory (RDT), the subunit power can be determined by categorizing it into two position- periphery and overlapping. This research reason how an insurance subunit that is in a periphery or overlapping position in the firm has higher termination risk when the insurance group is going through restructuring.

Marketing The Dodgers: From Brooklyn To Los Angeles, Kathleen Ezell

Whittier Scholars Program

Considered America's greatest pastime, baseball has influenced the human population for decades. Teachings of hard work, real-life heroes, and the love of the game, baseball has made its way through the heart of America. The Los Angeles Dodgers relocated from their original home in Brooklyn, New York, across the country to California. Known as one of the oldest baseball teams to this day, the Dodgers have gone through multiple controversial ownerships that, in turn, have shaped the team into who they are today. In marketing a team, there is a wide range of tactics used in order to advance the …

Paper 2: Revisiting The Business Case For Hiring A Veteran: A Strategy For Cultivating Competitive Advantage, J. Michael Haynie

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This paper responds to recent dialogue on measuring companies’ return on investment (ROI) for their veteran hiring programs. It also cautions industry leaders against fixating on any single or generalized benchmark for their veteran hiring programs.

Annapurna’S Porters: Labor Conditions And The Factors That Shape Them, Ari Grant-Sasson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project sought to determine what the labor conditions of porters working in Annapurna are and the factors both immutable and human-influenced that shape them. To do so, I interviewed government bodies, national and regional trekking organizations, unions, agencies, guides and porters to ascertain what issues a broad term such as “labor conditions” encompasses. Participants highlighted the importance of insurance, wages, weight carried, equipment, access to employment, job training and topography as important factors. I will argue that large advocacy organizations shape these issues, and therefore the porter market, at a national level. Discrepancies in employment experiences between porters are …

Management And Telework, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

This chapter discusses telework as a desirable option for workers and a valuable tool for employers to attract and retain employees. Telework's many benefits are appealing to technologically competent and confident workers. Managers may be concerned with employee accessibility, productivity and possible loss of management roles (Arnold, 2006). When Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer banned working from home, it was described as a step backward that countered studies of increased productivity, retention and job satisfaction that could demoralize the workers (Cohan, 2013; Gaudreau, 2013). An overview of benefits, incentives, organizational examples as well as possible deterrents and management resistance are identified.

Internships: Experiential Learning, Academic Connection And Assessment, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

This paper reviews the current literature on internships and the impact internships have for students. For example, according to Gault, Leach, and Duey (2010) interns who exceeded employers' expectations were offered a 9.2% higher salary than other non-intern alumni counterparts. Employers of students who complete credit internships are required to respond to a questionnaire about the students work. However, like many other universities and colleges, students were not required to complete formal surveys of their internship. Overview of student surveys regarding their experiences and academic associations is discussed. The benefits of electronic documentation for outcomes and assessment is explained.

Converging Winds: Logic Hybridization In The Colorado Wind Energy Field, Jeffrey G. York, Timothy J. Hargrave, Desirée F. Pacheco

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores the hybridization of field-level logics, a process that integrates previously incompatible logics within an organizational field. Through an inductive study of the wind energy field in Colorado, we find that logic hybridization resulted when social movement organizations, incumbent firms, and policy makers variously responded to incompatibility between economizing and ecologizing logics. Compromise and framing efforts catalyzed social movements to alter the balance of power in the field, which transformed the relationship between field logics. Hybrid organizations then emerged to establish, legitimize, and embed a new set of inter-linked frames, practices, and arrangements that integrated previously incompatible logics. …

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of Preferences For Work Attributes, Melissa S. Woodard, Jane K. Miller, Daniel Miller, Kirk D. Silvernail, Chun Guo, Sudhir Nair, Mehmet Devrim Aydin, Ana Helosia Da Costa Lemos, Paul Donnelly, Vilmante Kumpikaite, Robert Marx, Linda M. Peters

Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between individual- and country-level values and preferences for job/organizational attributes. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 475 full-time employees (average of nine years work experience, and three years in a managerial position) enrolled in part-time MBA programs in seven countries. Findings – Preference for a harmonious workplace is positively related to horizontal collectivism, whereas preference for remuneration/advancement is positively related to vertical individualism. The authors also find a positive relationship between preference for meaningful work and horizontal individualism, and between preference for employer prestige and social adjustment …

Dental Practice Success Vol. 3 No. 1, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

Dental Practice Success

No abstract provided.

Use Of An Lms In Undergraduate Business Communications Courses, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Does the current college population embrace the use of technology for classwork? They may be devoted users of text messaging, Facebook and even Google, but do they take advantage of the learning tools created for their specific coursework? Does it advance their knowledge or understanding of course objectives? The cost for the university licensing, faculty and staff effort to create, upload, troubleshoot and maintain is considerable. A small case study of Business Communication students who used a learning management system (LMS) was conducted. Analysis of this study and other recent research in this pedagogical method will be reported.

Looking Beyond The Bottom Line: Connecting The Dots Between Business Enterprise Sustainability Initiatives And Growth In Financial Value, Matthew H. Levin

Student Scholarship

Business enterprises are investing in major sustainability initiatives; yet, often they do not know what are the financial benefits or outcomes of these activities. While managers may have an intuitive sense that “doing well by doing good” does yield financial rewards, they cannot pinpoint the specific effects on financial performance. There is extensive literature that focuses on non-financial measurements of sustainability initiatives. However, relatively little research exists that addresses related financial performance. I conducted a qualitative research study, using grounded theory methodology, to explore the experiences of business managers, advisors, and academicians who have responsibility for providing leadership in their …

Systems-Savvy Selling: A Grounded Theory Approach To Understanding What Motivates Contemporary Industrial Salespeople, Donald P. St. Clair

Student Scholarship

A qualitative, grounded theory study uncovers that despite management’s application of incentives and other extrinsic rewards, salespeople are intrinsically motivated when pursuing genuine interpersonal relationships with customers and foster an identity of helping others (customers) by applying “systems-savvy selling.” Through the analysis of lived experiential qualitative data from sales professionals in the B2B industrial fluid handling market at various organizations, this research uncovers the behaviors and practices that best create and hinder the conditions through which motivation occurs. Specifically, this study challenges the dominant logic by revealing that salespeople are not manipulating care and personal relationships to improve business outcomes …

Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Different Observation Methods And An Exploratory Analysis Of The Importance Of Accuracy Of Various Observations On Safety Performance, Marlies Hagge

Dissertations

Behavior Based Safety (BBS) applies various types of safety observation to improve occupational safety in business. The purpose of the following study was to examine and compare different observation foci: peer-observation, self-observation and a combination of both options as well as supervisor observations and observations of employee behavior obtained by research assistants (RA). Participants were unionized employees of the facilities management department at a Midwestern university. Target behaviors included safe lifting and vacuuming. The dependent variables were safety performance and the discrepancy between the different observation types. Incident data were also reported. The different observational methods were investigated via a …

Exploring Nirsa Championship Series Professional Development Opportunities: Understanding Their Perceived Value To The Association, Jacob K. Tingle, Dan Hazlett, April Flint

School of Business Faculty Research

The NIRSA Championship Series (Series) is a significant component of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (NIRSA). Demonstrated, in part, by the fact that many campus recreational professionals contend the events directly relate to both their institution and the association’s mission. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how NIRSA professionals perceive the value of volunteer experiences at Series events. The research team conducted semistructured interviews with thirteen campus recreation directors. The participants had a median of 28 years in the profession, (SD = 7.4), and represented all six NIRSA regions. In describing the benefits of …

Ambidexterity: The Interplay Of Supply Chain Management Competencies And Enterprise Resource Planning Systems On Organizational Performance, Serdar Turedi

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the business value of information systems (IS) is one of the key issues among practitioners. Specifically, the role of IS in supply chain management (SCM) is one of the main areas that practitioners focus, as the largest portion of production costs are traceable back to supply chain costs. Hence, inter-organizational systems (IOS) gain importance as a result of the increased competition between supply chain networks. Particularly, implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP), which is a type of IOS, becomes the new trend among organizations.

Although organizations use similar ERP, some gained significant benefits by using them, while others struggled …

Buying Love Through Social Media: How Different Types Of Incentives Impact Consumers’ Online Sharing Behavior, Yueming Zou

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

A key issue in social media marketing is insufficient consumer participation and engagement. Oftentimes companies have to devise tactics to encourage more social sharing of brand messages, such as through the use of incentives and rewards. Previous research has investigated incentive effects under the traditional offline context, which addresses mostly economic exchanges and fails to consider the social dynamics of the social media environment. Addressing this gap, this research aims to answer the following research question: how can companies target different consumers with different incentives to maximize consumer sharing through social media? Specifically, the present research proposes three factors that …

Job Allocations As Cultural Sorting In A Culturally Diverse Organizational Context, Akram Al Ariss, Chun (Grace) Guo

WCBT Faculty Publications

This study addresses the inadequacy of the career and diversity literatures in explaining the dynamics of job allocations in a culturally diverse organizational context. In order to better understand this topic, we conducted a qualitative study involving personal interviews with 50 Emiratis and international employees who worked in managerial positions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The purpose of the study was to explore the unique challenges associated with managing a culturally diverse workforce and explore the role of culture in allocating jobs among employees with diverse cultural backgrounds. Despite the perceived value of having a culturally diverse workforce, our …