Business Commons^™

The Archway Investment Fund Semi Annual Report, December 2010, Bryant University, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Tax Reform In Rhode Island: Developing A High Quality Revenue Stream, Nicholas A. Denice

Honors Projects in Accounting

The present study explores the current state of taxation in Rhode Island in relation to its sales tax. An analysis of the literature will examine how the current sales tax system compares with other alternatives and if it hurts the state's economic competitiveness as shown in tax burden studies. Using Rhode Island tax data from the Annual State Audit and Consumer Expenditure Survey, this study will analyze the current sales tax system in the state and determine whether an alternative model would lead to a higher-quality revenue stream. Data from the State of Rhode Island General Audit Report and the …

What Makes Nfl Franchises Successful? A Value-Based Analysis Of The Nfl Draft, David Niles

Honors Projects in Economics

The National Football League (NFL) is characterized as a dynamic sports league. The game has continued to evolve over time as rules and skill levels have developed and changed. Consequently, the strategies employed by the league’s teams have evolved and the variety of strategies has increased in number. This paper aims to analyze the NFL draft. It will seek to find an optimal drafting strategy and develop a forecasting formula as a way to predict a college player’s future success in the NFL. It will look at the varying level of value certain positions provide to teams and which positions …

Where Were The Media In The Financial Crisis Of 2008, And Have We Seen This Trend Before?, Margaret Dickinson

Honors Projects in Communication

In the fall of 2008, the United States and the rest of the world experienced significant financial turmoil. The financial industry as we knew it crumbled before our eyes. After experiencing this event and the media's fragmented and inconsistent coverage of it, I felt an interesting topic to look into was the financial press' failed coverage of the finance industry, both today and in the past. In looking at this event, I will focus on both the financial press that failed to cover the happenings of the financial industry, as well as those that did recognize the issue at hand. …

The Archway Investment Fund Semi Annual Report, Spring 2010, Bryant University, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

The Perceived Credibility Of Brand Mention In Magazine Articles In Comparison To Advertorials And Traditional Paid Advertisements, Christina Conner

Honors Projects in Marketing

This study explores the perceived credibility of brand mention in magazine editorials compared to advertorials and traditional paid advertisements. Surveys were administered to three groups of college students after viewing an editorial, an advertorial or a paid advertisement. Respondents were asked to identify their level of agreement regarding credibility, likeability and perceived selling intent of the content.

Results indicate that advertorials are perceived to be less credible than editorials and traditional paid advertisements. Traditional paid advertisements are perceived to be the most credible method of brand mention in magazines. It can also be determined as a result of this study …

Gender & Leadership: Do Human Resource Policies And Practices Affect A Woman’S Ascent In Organizations?, Arielle Langlais

Honors Projects in Management

As more women began assuming leadership roles in organization, researchers established a number of consistencies in the promotion of women into the upper ranks of an organization. Jonsen, Maznevski, and Schneider have taken a look at these differences in their study, “Gender Differences in Leadership: Believing is Seeing.” In this study they examine three ways in which organizations view women and the Human Resource policies and programs that support these views. Based on this and other research, I conducted a study in hopes of assessing the validity and existence of these views as they are evident in Southern New England …

Patient Flows To Improve Hospital Performance, Jacquelyn Parr

Honors Projects in Management

This is a case study focused on Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut. The purpose of this report is to discuss ways for Backus Hospital to improve patient flows, which will increase patient satisfaction and safety, increase revenue, and decrease costs. The focus of the research is how the kaizen blitz and A3 methodologies can be used to develop ways to improve patient flow processes. Literature reviews on flow, process improvement, and innovation strategies, both within and outside of the healthcare industry were conducted. The hospital is dedicated to process improvement, innovation and quality improvement, so methodologies based on the Toyota …

Managing Growth: Best Practices Of Family-Owned Businesses, Justin M. Andrews

Honors Projects in Management

Family-owned businesses represent the majority of business in the United States. As consumers and employees, we are compelled to their sense of trustworthiness that all too often disappears in the business world. Our economy depends on the success of family-owned businesses, but only one third of these organizations successfully transition to the second generation and only one in ten survive to the third generation. While a series of best practices attempt to prescribe solutions their challenges, these practices fail to account for the various types of family-owned businesses. More specifically, many types of family-owned businesses exist as evident by specific …

The Influence Of Women In Business: Is A Higher Percentage Of Women On A Company’S Board Of Directors Associated With The Absence Of Internal Control Weaknesses?, Jamie Goyette

Honors Projects in Accounting

Research shows that larger, more profitable and more visible companies are less likely to disclose internal control weaknesses. Firms with similar characteristics tend to hire more female board members. This paper examines whether there is an association between companies that have a higher percentage of female board members and the disclosure of internal control weaknesses. Such an association signifies the importance of board diversity because diversification strengthens corporate governance, promoting a more productive and trustworthy company. In this study, a sample of 500 randomly selected companies is examined to determine a possible correlation. The results will determine the validity of …

A Tale Of Two Standards: An Exploration Of Us Gaap And Ifrs, Allyson Lagasse

Honors Projects in Accounting

The research in this paper has two objectives. Beginning with an examination of the historical development of how financial reporting standards are set in the United States and around the world, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board will be studied. Setting financial reporting standards in the United States is currently a responsibility of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, while many countries abroad utilize International Financial Reporting Standards, maintained by the International Accounting Standards Board. After detailing the historical development of each of the two boards and the sets of standards they maintain, the paper continues …

Fair Value Accounting And Reporting Disclosures, Stephanie Lynn Olson

Honors Projects in Accounting

No abstract provided.

Predictive Modeling Of Alumni Donor Behavior, Lauren Prue

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In recent years, college and universities have relied increasingly upon the charitable contributions of its previous graduates; as the costs of tuition rise substantially, development offices are facing the challenge of creating annual fund campaigns that are minimally expensive while providing the maximum potential for return. This study addresses the available constituent database at one University in particular in an effort to identify what criteria are the strongest predictors of donor response at a small, private university located within New England. The analysis utilized predictive modeling and data-mining largely within the software program Rapid Insight to build several models in …

Does The ‘Ease Of Doing Business’ In A Country Influence Its Foreign Direct Investment Inflows?, Katherine Piwonski

Honors Projects in Finance

Foreign direct investment has been studied for years. It is generally accepted as a positive influence on the domestic market and governments have begun actively seeking it out. This study is meant to possibly connect government actions, for which the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Index’ was used as a proxy, to an increase in foreign direct investment inflows. The goal of this study is to help governments make more informed decisions about if and how to attract foreign direct investment. The research was done by running a regression model to find a connection between changes in foreign direct investment inflows …

Non-Profit Organizations In A Down Economy: The Financial Performance Of Higher Education Institutions In The New England Area, Yuanjun Li

Honors Projects in Finance

An economic recession affects an entire economy, including the non-profit sector. The impact could result from changes in government support, a decrease in donations, investment income, service fees or a combination. Many private universities and colleges, which rely on tuition and endowment, have been affected by a dip in enrollments, while their endowments shrink because of the recession and declining stock values. This study will examine how an economic recession can affect non-profit organizations, focusing on private, four-year higher education institutions in New England. Different types and sizes of schools will be affected differently. Since the large, well-known schools have …

Financial Literacy: The Impact Of Financial Training In High School On The Credit Behavior Of College Students, Lisa Tenaglia

Honors Projects in Finance

Managing credit is increasingly important not only for adults, but for college students. In recent years with sky rocketing tuition and easily available credit, college students find themselves with increasing debt burdens that result in serious and lasting financial problems. In response, financial literacy programs are emerging in hopes that better educated people will make healthy financial decisions, as well as responsibly manage credit. Research suggests that financial education should begin in high school so that young adults can effectively manage credit during the college years. This study assesses both college students’ financial knowledge and their credit management practices. Specifically, …

Major League Baseball: America’S Recession-Proof Pastime, Mark Mcdonnell

Honors Projects in Finance

This project is a study which examines how attendance levels in Major League Baseball stadiums have been impacted by the current recession in the United States which began in October 2007. Research on attendance during past recessions has shown a strong relationship that during downtrends in the economy, baseball attendance levels generally do not suffer. Using an ordinary least squares regression, independent variables including; percent change in ticket price from previous season, distance to closest competitor, percent change in ticket price of the closest competitor, winning percentage during previous year, winning percentage during current year, unemployment rate during current year, …

Possible Solutions To The Rhode Island State Government’S Unfunded Pension Liability, Derek Blunt

Honors Projects in Finance

This paper examines the possible causes of the nationwide unfunded public pension liability problem in the U.S., and what solutions are being proposed to combat the issue. After examining the general problems associated with multiple states’ pension systems, a specific analysis of the Rhode Island public pension system will be conducted. Through this investigation, the factors that led to the crisis in Rhode Island will be unveiled, and possible solutions to the state-specific problem will be developed. In order to arrive at a set of final recommendations for the government, a model will be used to evaluate the effects of …

Online Video Contest Effects On Brand And Ad Attitudes, Daniel A. Janis

Honors Projects in Marketing

This research investigates how online video contests (OVCs) affect brand image, as measured by brand and advertisement attitudes. After conducting a pre-test to discover an appropriate product for the Generation Y target market, we ran an experiment examining OVCs, television, and magazine ad’s effects on multi-item measures of brand and advertisement attitudes. One hundred twenty-one subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three test conditions. The OVC significantly resulted in positive brand attitudes for the hedonic dimension such as feelings and attractiveness of the brand. For the more functional characteristics, OVCs did not influence brand attitudes. OVCs also produced …

A Study On Workforce Integration In An International Acquisition, Christopher Lussier

Honors Projects in Management

International acquisitions are extremely difficult to maneuver and success is far from guaranteed. Navigating through financial statements is one thing, but trying to link together two or more geographically and culturally diverse workforces is an entirely another thing. This study analyzes fourteen employee interviews from four different companies involved in international acquisitions within the last ten years. It develops a comprehensive comparison of companies looking to partially integrate through hands-off management or fully integrate through synergistic collaboration of workforces. The analysis looks at the actions companies take once the decision is made to grow internationally through mergers and acquisitions in …

Differences In It Effectiveness Among Firms: An Empirical Investigation, Crystal Jiang, Tess Han, George J. Titus, Matthew J. Liberatore

Management Department Faculty Journal Articles

Information is a critical asset and an important source for gaining competitive advantage in firms. The effective maintenance of IT becomes an important task. In order to better understand the determinants of IT effectiveness, this study employs the Industrial Organization (I/O) and Resource Based View (RBV) theories and investigates the industry effect and several major firmspecific factors in relation to their impact on firms’ IT effectiveness. The data consist of a panel data of ten-year observations of firms whose IT excellence had been recognized by the CIO Magazine. The non-profit organizations were deliberately excluded, as explained later. The results showed …