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2023 Community Bank Case Study Competition, Joseph Kelly

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

We studied a community bank in Danville, Arkansas named Chambers Bank. This was part of a 2023 Community Bank Case Study Competition, which illustrated the financial analysis, staffing, and training of the bank. We learned about technology implemented into the bank, and how the bank works with customers locally to ensure the best quality care.

2023 Community Bank Case Study Competition, Alivia Brewer

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Study of Chambers Bank, located in Danville, Arkansas for the 2023 Community Bank Case Study Competition. This paper covers financial analysis, training and technology, as well as staffing.

The Intersection Of Employee Engagement And Employee Health: A Quantitative Evaluation Of The Use Of Engagement Tactics In Improving The Health Of A Workforce, Andrew Buffenbarger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employers have a vested interest in the health of employees, but employee wellness programs have not proven themselves an effective tactic for employers to motivate employees to live healthier lives. Employees who suffer from chronic disease are less productive than healthier peers, are more expensive to insure, have higher rates of absenteeism, and are more prone to suffer from performance-reducing levels of stress and burnout (Shuck et al., 2021; Jones et al., 2019; Mattke et al., 2013). The problem is that employee wellness programs are often not effective at improving the health of employee populations (Song & Baicker, 2019; Jones …

Recruiting Gen Z: An Emerging Talent Internship Thesis At Petsmart, Emma Jewell Symancyk

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the summer of 2021, I served as the Emerging Talent intern in Human Resources for PetSmart. While this internship was virtual, PetSmart is the largest pet retailer and is headquartered in Phoenix Arizona. I served as the Human Resources intern in Emerging Talent. The Emerging Talent team is responsible for recruiting and developing the future talent of PetSmart through identifying diverse top-caliber talent and positioning the organization as an employer of choice. Over the summer, I was tasked with developing a campus ambassador program for talent acquisition to increase diversity in the variety of roles and programs that Emerging …

Increasing Employee Retention And Satisfaction In A Post-Covid-19 World, Kaylen Aldridge

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is extremely rare for something to happen that impacts the entirety of the human population. Three years ago it did and it will continue to have lasting impacts far into the future. The COVID-19 pandemic was a massive global event that completely altered the world. Not only did the pandemic force people into new situations, but it completely altered the way people live.

This paper will explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment in the United States and around the world. It will review behavior patterns and relevant literature, include a personal interview with the researcher who …

Beyond Boarders For First-Generation Students, Nayeli Ortiz

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

1. Tabeling at TRIO and Multicultural Center events

2. Require academic advisors to have at least one conversation with every student about studying abroad (never assume a student is not interested or unable to go)

3. Overtly feature first-generation study abroad students in social media and Hogs Abroad website.

4. Network interested students with students who have completed study abroad

5. Offer a promotional study-abroad program for first-generation students

6. Promote funding information and add more first-generation specific scholarships

The Family Medical Leave Act: The Current Regulations And Future Recommended Changes, Olivia Schmidt

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Family Medical Leave Act was implemented in 1993, affecting thousands of employees. This act allows caregivers the time to care for their loved ones and for people to take the time they need to heal and care for themselves, all while maintaining their careers. While the workforce and it’s needs have changed over the years, FMLA has remained stagnant with minimal adjustments at the federal level. There are many different aspects to FMLA including different state regulations, different industry effects, and the special case of the airline industry. While FMLA was an important change in 1993, it needs to …

The Impact Of The Corporate Workspace On Employee Happiness And Turnover Rate, Sarah Ayla Johnston

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The physical workspace is one that we can see, touch and smell (Morgan, 2018). From the floor layout to the furniture that fills the space, it all makes up the physical workspace where employees come to work. Physical workspaces can also include a cafeteria, gym, arcade area, etc. Prior studies have shown that small, yet meaningful modifications can be made to achieve an optimal workspace (Heitzman, 2018). The purpose of this study is to collect data from employees who conduct work in different office layouts to see how their physical workspace affects their overall happiness and their intent of staying …

Help Or Hindrance: How Social Media Affects The Selection And Hiring Processes Of Businesses, Alexandra Krska

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Continually, young people have been advised to be conscientious of the imagery they put on social media regarding their personal lives in preparation for employment selection. However, the use of social media in the selection process may cause Human Resource professionals to have inadvertent biases toward candidates among other moral and ethical issues. Through extensive research of the thoughts and actions of a plethora of different corporate professionals, I will analyze whether using social media as a tool in the selection process authentically produces positive unbiased results, or whether social media poses more ethical issues. With the hopes to create …

An Investigation Of Tax Assessors’ Perception Of The Relationship Between Proactive Career Management Behaviors (Pcmbs) And Career Success: Determining The Most Valuable Career Management Behaviors, Daniel K. Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate government and private-sector tax assessors’ perceptions of the relationship between proactive career management behaviors (PCMBs) and career success. The findings of the study established a foundation to assist government and private-sector tax assessor organizations with developing the human capital within and the careers of their employees. The study’s findings revealed that all four of the PCMBs (career planning, career self-exploration, environmental career exploration, and voluntary human capital development) had significant relationships to career success when tested with a multiple regression model. The study’s findings also revealed that there was no significant difference …

Understanding Supply Chain Management: A Necessary Skill For Salespeople?, Lindsey Jetton

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore phenomena within the experience of consumer packaged goods (CPG) account representatives in customer-facing roles by investigating the impact of supply chain training, experience, and skills on sales role effectiveness in CPG companies. Findings suggest that skills needed for sales include technical competency, excellent communication skills, and the knowledge to keep commitments. Supply chain understanding within their industry impacts these identified skills by removing confusion, improving identification with their company, realistically aligning customer expectations, and building confidence.

Case Study Of Otis: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, And Mattering In Onboarding Practices, Caitlin Skolasky

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

It was during the Summer of 2021 that I completed a sales internship at Otis Elevator Company in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout this time, other interns and I conducted a project regarding the diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and mattering (DEIBM) aspects of onboarding. After presenting ways that their company could improve the process, I wanted to dive deeper into the many different topics that this can cover for all organizations. It is important to note just how crucial the onboarding process as well as the variety of applicants that employers should understand the pain points of is when it comes to …

Addressing Mental Health Of Hospitality Employees: An Exploratory Study, Chase Izell

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Exacerbated by a global pandemic, mental health challenges within hospitality professionals are an area of growing prevalence and concern for the industry. Historically unaddressed, these issues are continuing to impact the morale of essential talent which is promoting a culture of turnover that defines the industry today. Aside from the direct costs incurred by voluntary employee termination, the indirect costs to workplace culture and guest satisfaction have furthered the overall financial impact of a largely untreated problem. The objective of this research is to provide evidence of declining mental health in the hospitality industry while illuminating the key contributors to …

Pay Negotiations Differences In Men And Women How Gender’S Effect On Self-Advocacy Contributes To Sex Discrimination In Corporations, Laurel Mccabe

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sex discrimination comes in many shapes and colors, such as not wanting to hire pregnant women, passing women up for promotions because of their status of motherhood, women being more likely to be removed from their upper management positions when things go wrong compared to their male counterparts, and economic differences in negotiated outcomes based on gender. Sex discrimination is something organizations should be concerned with their participation in and facilitation of and examine, internally, how to diminish its effect on female employees. Organizations need to clarify that wages are negotiable and increase visibility into compensation plans, hiring, and promotions. …

Implementing A Micro-Business Internship Program In Dangriga, Belize, Shaadee Shojai

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the Summer, I was able to work with Peacework in Belize through the University of Arkansas. While I was unable to physically go to Belize due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I feel that I was still able to learn about the culture, in both the casual and business workplace, as well as help the people of Dangriga. The goal of my project was to help consult with the Tourism Department of Dangriga to help develop their small business into businesses that were more appealing to tourists. Unfortunately, most people who own small businesses in Dangriga can’t support themselves with …

Theranos: Case Study And Examination Of The Fraud Triangle, Abbey Jennings

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fraud is a serious issue which carries significant implications. Fraud committed by top level managers is particularly grievous, as it ripples through a firm, harming the company’s shareholders, employees, and credibility, while posing a threat to individuals and society (Zahra, et al.). A common framework in auditing, the fraud triangle, outlines three factors that if present, increase the risk or enable fraud to occur. The three factors are incentive, opportunity, and rationalization to commit fraud (Barlow).

In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of a supposedly groundbreaking health tech company, Theranos, with what …

The Effects On Employees From The Switch To Mandatory Contributions In The University Of Arkansas Retirement Plan, Sarah Hope Brasche, Timothy J. Yeager

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

After the 2016 fiscal year, the University of Arkansas Retirement Plan instituted mandatory contributions for full-time employees, presumably to boost retirement savings among those least prepared for retirement. Mandatory contributions began at 1% in fiscal-year 2017 and increased annually to 5% in fiscal-year 2022. This change may have harmed employees with tight budget constraints who wish to contribute less than the minimum contribution rate. At the same time, it may have helped those who were saving less than their optimal amount due to behavioral biases. We surveyed employees at the University of Arkansas campus to assess the effects from the …

A Focused Evaluation Of Sales Employees' Ethics Training And Its Effect On The Diffusion Of Ethics In A Financial Organization, Justin Luebker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ethical scandals have continued to batter corporate America into the twenty-first century. Companies such as Enron and MCI WorldCom became household names overnight because of ethical issues that shuttered the organizations’ operations and stunned shareholders. Training has served as a primary mechanism for companies to impart ethical values in employees and leadership teams. However, despite the ongoing focus and resources dedicated to education and associate development in this area, historically there appears to be no diffusion of ethical standards within organizations. There is a lack of consensus in current research regarding the effectiveness of organizational ethics training and its ability …

Essays On Managerial Attributes And Corporate Finance, Juntai Lu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation, I explore how managerial attributes affect corporate policies.

In my first essay, I examine the effects of public firm CEOs’ prior private equity (PE) target experiences on corporate policies. Based on difference-in-differences and propensity score matching analyses, public firm CEOs previously serving as CEOs in PE targets reduce investment by about 15 percent while enhancing patent values by over 7 percent after taking office compared to CEOs without such experiences. The effects are stronger if these CEOs (1) worked in targets invested by more reputable PE firms, (2) worked in targets invested by PE firms known for …

Platforming Gamification As A Means Of Engagement In Employee Recruitment And Onboarding, Samuel D. Lipson

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gamification, generally understood as the application of game elements and design concepts in non-game contexts, is a field of academic study and multibillion-dollar business tool whose popularity is growing as a means of employee engagement, education and training, and talent selection. While there are companies that attempt to gamify separate processes within the employee life cycle, no company exists that gamifies the stages surrounding talent selection: attraction and recruitment of applicants and onboarding of final candidates. To this end, this thesis proposes a software and consulting company, GameON Business Solutions, that will work with small and medium enterprises to expand …

The Relationship Between Religious Freedom In America And The Current And Future Workplace, Liz Spence

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In regards to religious freedom, the current climate in America is ambiguous and sensitive. This has carried over into the workplace and will continue to affect the way that leaders must manage their employees. This study contains a survey that addresses historical cases dealing with religious freedom, personal experiences in the workplace, and finally, questions regarding the ideal workplace and leadership. This study also includes in-depth interviews of current employees in a variety of careers that adhere to a religion. The paper concludes with a summary that explores how managers should react in the future to the findings in this …

Generational Differences & The Millennial Impact On Business, Micah Wittschen

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Business is the backbone of the United States of America. Often called The American Dream, citizens grow up with the idea that the possibilities are endless living in the land of opportunity. This dream also comes with the desire for a family, thus a good job is needed for financial support. It is often believed and proven that those that work hard can yield financial returns and benefit socially.

Generational differences trickle down to every aspect of life including the different trends and impacts each cohort has on business. Each generation has a different view of work and behaves differently …

Exploring The Impact Of Coronavirus Response Policies On The Long-Term Financial Health Of Sports Leagues Around The World, Alexander Seager

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper will outline and explore the responses of leagues in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain, with an emphasis on how these decisions affected the overall financial health of sports leagues within them.

While the brunt of the Coronavirus can be felt in nearly all facets of life, the goal of this paper is to research policies specifically tied to sports. There is much more to the COVID response than simple economics, but the scope of this paper is to dig into sports and the financial health of leagues moving forward. The intention is not …

Employee Engagement As A Shared Responsibility: A Study Of Engagement Strategies Employed By Legal Assistants, Thomas A. Steele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify strategies used by legal assistants to engage, stay engaged, and reengage, when appropriate, in their work, in particular when common organizational efforts fall short or do not exist. Constructivism and job demands-resources (JD-R) were the primary frameworks for understanding and analyzing the phenomenon of developing engagement strategies.

Qualitative data were drawn through semi-structured interviews with 16 legal assistants. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Trustworthiness and validity were enhanced by using multiple respondents and allowing each to review the transcripts for accuracy, fairness, and clarity. The transcriptions were then analyzed for themes. …

Maximizing The Academic And Professional Success Of First-Generation College Students In Biomedical Engineering, Mona Ahmed

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although efforts to increase the inclusion, retention, and success of first-generation college students (FGCSs) in research universities have resulted in noticeable progress, FGCSs still feel academically challenged, isolated, and show more anxiety and depression compared to non-FGCSs. Moreover, FGCSs may possess additional underrepresented identities that exacerbates the problem. There is more risk of dropping out of academic programs for FGCSs enrolling in STEM degrees, especially those of more multidisciplinary nature such as Biomedical Engineering. From the overall population of the State of Arkansas, only 23.3% have a bachelor’s degree or higher which is the third least percentage in the United …

Accelerating Leadership And Professional Development For Adults: Developing A New Measure For Assessing Kegan’S Constructive Developmental Orders, Tom Pierce Coker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much has been learned and theorized about adult development and its importance in leadership effectiveness and professional development interventions thanks to the framework proposed by Kegan’s Constructive Developmental Theory (CDT). However, research and practice in this area has been hindered by the difficulty of utilizing the current method for assessing constructive developmental Level, the Subject-Object Interview. The present study addresses this problem through the development and preliminary validation of a new self-report instrument that measures the Levels of development described in Kegan’s CDT. This new measure, the Constructive Developmental Self-Report (CDSR), was constructed through theoretical-based item generation that utilized both …

Illuminating Pay Secrecy: Construct Clarification And An Exploration Of Effects Via The Incentive And Sorting Tracks, Sarah Holtzen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pay secrecy is a burgeoning debate in compensation research. On one side of the debate, it is argued that pay secrecy is a useful and beneficial practice because it can prevent potential dissatisfaction and destructive competition possible when people make unfavorable pay comparisons. On the other side, it is argued that pay secrecy is undesirable because it obscures the motivational properties of pay and does not prevent people from making pay comparisons, nor safeguard them from the resulting dissatisfaction. Despite the popularity of pay secrecy in organizations today, extant research has failed to provide any definitive answers as to whether …

The Effect Of Organizational Tenure, Bargaining Unit Status, And Union Membership On Local Government Employee Public Service Motivation, Ty Ryburn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two of the largest challenges public organizations face in motivating their workforces are the aging workforce and the strong union influence (Lavigna, 2014). On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Janus vs. AFSCME to abolish agency fees, and gave public service employees in bargaining units the right to choose whether they want to pay union dues or pay no fees at all.

In examining the unique motivational factors of employees in the public sector, Perry and Wise (1990) developed a theory called Public Service Motivation (PSM). Later, Perry (1996) developed a survey instrument which despite criticism, …

A Meticulous Food Safety Plan Today Avoids Handcuffs Tomorrow, Kim Bousquet

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In August 2010, thousands of people across the United States were poisoned by eating eggs unknowingly tainted with Salmonella enteritidis bacteria. Following a lengthy investigation, the owners of the facility where the outbreak began were sentenced to three months in prison. This is not a one-off case; poor food safety practices are responsible for several outbreaks and often end in incarceration. Filthy hen houses, diseased fruit storage, and negligent food processing may be the last thing we want to imagine, but these practices have much to teach today's food producers. This article first examines how poor food production practices can …

Effective Resource Utilization In Arkansas Public Schools, Ryan Sanders

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Teacher pay in Arkansas public schools varies widely from district to district across the state. This pay discrepancy is driven by both the funds available to a district and by how these funds are allocated. There is a standard per student budget given to districts across the state, but this budget can be supplemented by additional property taxes collected on property within a district. This leaves districts with more highly valued property at an advantage. Districts are free to allocate their budget for teacher pay as they see fit, with constraints on number of students per teacher and minimum teacher …