Business Commons^™

Investigating The Relationship Between The James C. Kennedy Center And The Utilization Of The Harvard Policy Model: A Strategic Planning Process, Neely Griggs

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to understand the relationship between the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center and the utilization of the Harvard Policy Model. The Wellness Center in Tallahatchie county, Mississippi has a profound impact in the community by working to decrease the prevalence of preventable diseases, and the Wellness Center’s leadership has decided to engage in the development of a strategic plan. The researchers led the Wellness Center through the first four steps in the Harvard Policy Model of strategic planning. Through focus groups and data analysis, the Wellness Center’s vision and mission statements were re-conceptualized, the core values of the …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …

An Analysis Of The Competitive Advantages And Threats For Micro, Small & Medium-Sized Businesses (Msmes) In Mexico, Jose Luis Pool Sierra

University Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the Micro, Small & Medium-sized (MSMEs) businesses in Mexico, their current threats and competitive advantages. The research explores the major issues business owners face and potential strategies they could implement in order to thrive and promote growth for their organizations, using strategies in Supply Chain Management and Good Managerial planning practices, such as the application of the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR). The thesis also analyzes a medium-sized business in Mexico and recommends strategies based on the SCOR framework that such an organization could apply to their business operations in order to avoid obstacles and potential …

Three Essays On Strategic Risk Taking, Krista Burrill Lewellyn

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The three essays that comprise this dissertation collectively explore strategic risk taking. The dissertation is underpinned by the notion that corporate executives take strategic risks not randomly, but based on the expectation that outcomes are more likely to be positive rather than negative. Each essay examines how and why decision makers come to vary in their cognitive evaluation of the acceptability of strategic risk taking.

Essay 1 draws from the approach/inhibition theory of power, to explore how power not only provides the means for CEOs to exert their risk preferences, but actually affects what the risk preferences are. Power is …

Diversity Strengthening Companies In The Economic Downturn, Shandrea Daniel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to provide examples of companies using diversified strategies to advance in a competitive market and withstand the economic downturn. This paper will explain the benefits of the strategies and how one can implement them in their own business. The variety of strategies and examples will be presented in a literature review and a case study about the Los Angeles Clipper franchise. The goal is to present diversified strategies as an alternate response to the decline, so companies will gain ideas about how to develop cost saving initiatives that will increase long term revenue. Furthermore …

Assessing The Alignment Of Information Security With Strategic Business, And Strategic Information System Planning: A Department Of Defense Perspective, John H. Scanlan Iv

Theses and Dissertations

This research extends the Strategic Information Systems Plan (SISP) and Strategic Business Plan (SBP) alignment model construct by adding the Information Security Plan (ISP) as an additional component considered essential to the success of network centric organizations. Six hypotheses were considered to measure the two-way alignment among three components of the proposed model. The research was adapted for a public sector organization and analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. A vertical, cross-sectional sample from the United States Marine Corps, a Department of Defense organization, was surveyed (n = 149). Results indicate a strong two-way alignment exists between SISP - SBP …

Shipping Strategies In Dry Bulk And Tanker Markets : Specialisation Versus Diversification, Jean-Pie Gauci-Maistre

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strategic Planning To Conduct Joint Force Network Operations: A Content Analysis Of Netops Organizations Strategic Plans, Antonio J. Scurlock

Theses and Dissertations

Within the Joint Force Network Operations (NETOPS) environment, war fighters will treat net-centric adversaries and global information grid defense-in-depth situations as complex, adaptive enclaves that are the product of the dynamic interactions between connected entities and processes. Because of net centricity, no entity or process of the enclave can be considered in isolation; no singular engagement methodology will accurately capture the enclave’s complexity, and an alignment of Department of Defense Combatant Commanders, Services, and Agencies (CC/S/A) strategic planning is pivotal. To achieve and maintain information dominance, Joint Network Operations (NETOPS) organizations need to be strategically aligned. Strategic alignment allows organizations …

Reducing Uncertainty In Effects-Based Operations, Wilburn B. Mclamb

Theses and Dissertations

Known as the fog of war, uncertainty has been prevalent in the conduct of military operations throughout human history. Intelligence collection efforts are tasked to reduce this uncertainty through the collection of information. Utilizing Shannon's entropy as a measure of the expected information gain due to an intelligence collection effort, a methodology is developed to prioritize and allocate intelligence assets in an efficient manner. Incorporated in this methodology are target priority and the requirement to reassess dynamic targets. The application area for the methodology is Effects-Based Operations. A generalized state model is developed to conduct adversary system-of-systems analysis. This model …

Strategic Planning Within Air Force Materiel Command: A Focus On External Stakeholders' Involvement, David B. Coomer, Mary E. Moynihan

Theses and Dissertations

This research study used case and cross-case analyses to determine what Air Force Materiel Command can learn from leading business practices to produce maximum stakeholder involvement in their strategic planning process. A literature review revealed five essential elements of stakeholder involvement establishment of communication processes for multiple stakeholders, appropriate interaction policies, active CEO involvement, measurement processes, and balanced stakeholder strategies. These elements were incorporated into a model to provide a benchmark against which to evaluate AFMCs stakeholder awareness programs. The six stakeholder awareness programs selected for study were identified through a process of interviews with AFMCs senior-level strategic planners. The …

Scenario Analysis: An Integrative Study And Guide To Implementation In The United States Air Force, Jamey B. Cihak, Steven A. Mozel

Theses and Dissertations

With the uncertainties in the current Air Force environment, extrapolated forecasting methods are no longer sufficient for meeting the Air Forces strategic planning needs. The Air Force could benefit from using a more sophisticated method to determine the opportunities and obstacles it will face in the future. The key characteristics that distinguish scenario analysis from other forms of forecasting are the qualitative, contextual descriptions of the future environment, and the identification of several possible futures. This thesis discusses the concept of scenario analysis and its relevance to the Air Force as a strategic planning tool. It begins with an overview …