Business Commons^™

Identifying Work-Related Factors Leading To Job Burnout: A Review Of E-Commerce Back Office Call Center Employees, Jeffrey V. Vizueta

Ed.D. Dissertations

Call centers have become a vital part of global businesses. Companies in various industries have call centers that employ millions of agents to serve as the primary customer-facing channel. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors leading to employee job burnout in a telecommunications company in order to determine ways to retain valuable employees and to assist them in developing a better work‒life balance. Several survey instruments were utilized to evaluate employees in an e-commerce backoffice call center in the United States. Data analysis provided some expected results in terms of measuring burnout. It also provided some …

Resourcing The Postmodern Pastor: An Examination Of Young Pastors’ Attitudes And The Implications For Denominational Publishers, Bonnie J. Perry

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the influence of postmodernity on the changing attitudes of young pastors regarding spirituality and discipleship in their adult congregants. The purpose of this study was to educate and equip Christian publishers to resource young pastors who are ministering in a postmodern culture. The study focused on Church of the Nazarene pastors 35 years old or younger in the calendar year 2012, exploring their attitudes toward Christian faith, spirituality, and discipleship. At certain junctures in the study, the young pastors’ attitudes were compared to those of pastors who were 36 years or older in order to determine what …

Characteristics Of Successful Minority Female Police Supervisors Within A Large Urban Midwest Police Department, Yasmia G. Dunn

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the leadership characteristics of minority female police supervisors, the actual and perceived barriers to their advancement through the ranks, and the strategies and factors that aided their success and career advancement within the police department participating in the study. Statistical data was gathered regarding the status of high-ranking minority women in the agency, administered participant questionnaires and surveys, and conducted individual semi-structured interviews with the participants. Information obtained from the department's online personnel data system aided in identifying study participants within the agency. The study participants met the criteria of being high-ranking minority female supervisors holding the …

Increasing Enrollment: Evaluating College-Choice Factors At A Midwest Christian University, Jeremy J. Hayes

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study evaluated the college-choice factors of 628 freshman students from a Midwest Christian University to determine which variables had the greatest impact on their decision to attend a particular university. Surveys were distributed to freshman students at the new-student orientation during the fall of 2012. The results indicated that institutional factors have the most influence on freshman students’ college-choice decision. In addition, marketing factors are slightly more influential than non-marketing factors. The campus visit is the most influential factor effecting the college-choice decision. The findings also revealed that marketers can be just as influential, if not more, than parents …

Assessment Of A Community College’S First Year Experience Course: Analysis Of A Student Retention And Success Strategy, Mark Lanting

Ed.D. Dissertations

First Year College Experience is a face-to-face three-credit college course that provided the subject for the current research. The current research was conducted at a small, Midwest community college. This course expanded the college’s existing one-credit hour course called College Success Skills. In the hope of amplifying the impact of the existing course, several learning modules and objectives were designed. The current quantitative, non-experimental research demonstrated that students passing the First Year College Experience course tended to have higher GPAs than students who did not take the course.

Scholar Week, Janna Mclean

Scholar Week Archives (2011-2015)

ONU's Scholar Week #4.

Trading Intraday Volatility, Treavor Dodsworth

Honors Program Projects

Many people believe that there is no way to profit off of anomalies in the markets because the markets are either completely random or they always accurately reflect outside information and events. Others, however, believe that models can be found through historical testing that successfully beat the market (Williams, 2011, p. 13-15). This thesis presents a method for beating the market by trading intraday volatility. The researcher focused on trading corn futures contracts. A futures contract is simply a derivative that can be bought and sold. It represents an agreement to buy or sell at a future date. Futures contracts …

The 4-Tions: Your Guide To Developing Successful Job Search Strategies, Emad Rahim, Richard Q. Holloway, Lisa D. Summerour

Alumni Books

The 4-Tions is designed to provide you with fundamental job search strategies and practices to help you develop habits that will stay with you your entire professional life. The 4-Tions represents what the authors consider to be the 4 most important aspects of the job search. These 4 areas are:

❋ Documenta tion : Resume, Application Information, References

❋ Prepara tion : Company Background, History, Questions

❋ Presenta tion : Appearance, Clothing, Hygiene, Grooming

❋ Communica tion : Articulation, Eye Contact, Active Listening

Stay Beautiful -- Stay Alive: Assessing The Receptivity Of African American Beauty Salon Owners To The Integration Of Breast Cancer Intervention Programs Into Salon Operations, Funmi Apantaku-Onayemi

Ed.D. Dissertations

The lower incidence rate of breast cancer in African American women is dwarfed by the excessive number of deaths due to late diagnosis and treatment. Lack of screening, socioeconomic factors, fatalistic beliefs and inequality of care are major contributing factors. Studies have suggested that those who had more knowledge about breast cancer are more likely to have reduced fatalistic attitudes and engage in screening behaviors. This study investigated beauty salons as sustainable and viable venues to reach women with health intervention programs because they fit the prescriptions of the principles of adult learning. In a mixed-method, descriptive study involving 115 …

Scholar Week, Gregg A. Chenoweth

Scholar Week Archives (2011-2015)

ONU's Scholar Week flyer #3.

Social Giving Then And Now: Exploring Philanthropic Activities In The 20th Century Through Andrew Carnegie And Toms, Lauren M. Beatty

Honors Program Projects

This thesis explores social giving in the past century by looking at Andrew Carnegie and his influence on philanthropy and on the American business, TOMS, that integrates giving into its corporate structure. This historical research provides a conceptual context for the small business I created in August 2012. My business, Double Vision, applies the ideas of corporate social responsibility on a small scale to impact a community in the Dominican Republic. Included in the paper is an overview of the progression of social giving in the past century through the focus on Andrew Carnegie and TOMS, an analysis of the …

Predator Prey Models In Competitive Corporations, Rachel Von Arb

Honors Program Projects

Predator prey models have been used for years to model animal populations. In recent years they have begun to be applied to economic situations. However, the stock market has remained largely untouched. We examine whether the success of competitive corporations such as Target and Walmart, as measured by the indicators of price per share, market share, and volume, can be modeled by various predator prey models. We consider the basic Lotka-Volterra model and the two-predator, one-prey model, as well as a ratio-dependent model. We discuss the use of numerical techniques and regression analysis as tools to estimate model parameters. For …

The Effects Of Fdi And Aid On Development In Latin America, Jesse Michael Mezera

Undergraduate Student Scholarship – History

This paper, assuming a positive correlation between aid and FDI given to countries, will look to measure whether the aid given to Latin America has been effective in creating development. In order to measure development, development must first be defined in a way that will allow for concrete indicators of development. Using these seven criteria as a guide this paper will look to use data collected by studies of Latin America in these seven areas to gain a measure of how development has progressed over the last fifteen years. Once this information has been compiled, it will be compared against …

The Relationship Between Tax Structure And The Lives Of Individuals: Who Wins And Who Loses, David Werner Parker

Honors Program Projects

This study takes a look at various forms of taxation, as well as how the various options impact households. The current system is examined, and it is compared to two alternatives, which are the flat tax and the consumption tax. The positives and negatives of each option are evaluated. Each option is also applied to a family on the poverty line, a family that makes the average household income, and a wealthy family; calculations are done to determine how much income tax they would have to pay under each of them. The second part of the paper takes a look …

Beads To Build: Raising Funds To Raise Hope, Elisabeth M. Abfall

Honors Program Projects

Beads to Build is a fundraising initiative that uses both print material and online resources to share the story of the Mountains of Hope Orphanage in Mpigi, Uganda and make items available for sale to support the orphanage. The children at the orphanage live in a rented building, which is very costly. By selling jewelry made by the orphans, t-shirts, and photographs, Beads to Build was able to generate enough funds to purchase two acres of land in October 2011. In the spring of 2012, an orphanage will be built on the two acres of land. Building an orphanage will …

Scholar Week, Gregg A. Chenoweth

Scholar Week Archives (2011-2015)

ONU Scholar Week #2.

A Comprehensive Quality Management Model For Community Newspapers, T. Swanepoel

Faculty Scholarship – Communication

The quality of South African (and indeed global) journalism has been under close scrutiny for several years, resulting in criticism regarding issues such as a lack of depth, diversity and accuracy. A lack of effective and efficient media management is one factor influencing the quality of journalism in both the mainstream and community media sectors.

This study focuses on traditional commercial community newspapers that represent the needs, interests and opinions of a demographically and ideologically diverse readership. These newspapers are distinctive, but remain subjected to the same journalism standards as mainstream media because of the vital role they play in …

Positivity And Positive Reinforcement In Organizational Culture At Nazarene Higher Education Institutions, Brian W. Parker

Ed.D. Dissertations

Given the importance of employee motivation, satisfaction, productivity, and retention, as well as the support for positivity in the review of the literature, this study examined the effects of positivity and positive reinforcement in organizational culture, through the lens of admissions professionals, at the eight Nazarene Higher Education Institutions (NHEI) within the United States. The study also examined the effects of the perceived positivity of leaders in organizational culture, in the same context. The findings revealed some signs of positivity among NHEI admissions professionals, but no evidence was revealed regarding the consistent use of positive reinforcement in these settings. The …

Health Care Leadership: Emotional Intelligence Competencies Of Hospitalist Leaders, Michael Albert Cherry

Ed.D. Dissertations

The challenges facing the United States healthcare system continue to evolve and raise expectations for physician leaders. These leaders serve at the intersection of clinical care and business realities and thus have the ability to influence improvement in healthcare quality and business performance. The purpose of this study was to determine hospitalist medical directors‘ performance on emotional intelligence (EI) competencies and their perceptions of the importance of these competencies to their leadership role. This quantitative study used a correlation research methodology. The results did not suggest strong correlations between self-reported EI competencies and hospitalist medical directors‘ perceptions of their leadership …

How Well Does The Typical Accounting Bachelor's Degree Prepare Students For A Career In The Accounting Department Of The United States Government?, Michael J. Tuttle

Honors Program Projects

This study investigates the effectiveness of the typical Accounting Bachelor’s Degree in preparing graduates to enter the Accounting Department of the United States Government. My experiences as a student at Olivet Nazarene University and as an intern with the Department of Defense have revealed a gap in accounting curriculum. Governmental accounting is rarely required by universities, presenting unnecessary challenges to entry-level government accountants. A survey conducted by the Government Accountants Journal, in 2000, revealed that only 33% of universities require governmental accounting. (Campbell, 2000) Our further analysis indicates that these numbers have not improved. To investigate this issue, we conducted …

Scholar Week, Gregg Chenoweth

Scholar Week Archives (2011-2015)

During Scholar Week we take inspiration from 18th century preacher-scholar |ohn Wesley. As “a denominational university in the Wesleyan tradition,” scholarship and piety are thoroughly compatible here. So, in Scholar Week we tune our ear to the gong and echo of Wesley. It is not just history, but his story, even to this day. In our own scholarship projects we join a great cloud of Christians not educated out of their faith, but fashioning an educated faith, where the love of the Lord by heart, soul, strength, and mind is our great and worthy cause.

Investing In Green Mutual Funds: Determining The Environmental Screens Applied In Actively Managed Funds, Brian V. Kelly

Ed.D. Dissertations

Managers of environmentally focused mutual funds hold a leadership position with investors, and have an ethical responsibility to explain the environmental screens. The public filings of environmentally focused, actively managed funds were reviewed to determine what non-financial screening information was made public. Content analysis was conducted on the screening verbiage for environmental key words as a means of identifying screen passages within the prospectus. Quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the commonality of the holdings for environmentally focused funds. The results identified few patterns or search terms that could be effectively used on the textual content. The holdings had little …

Accounting Revolutionized Since The Dark Ages, Heather Willoughby

Technology Essay Contest Winners

The face of accounting has changed considerably as a result of technological advancements. Those entering the accounting field now focus on analyzing information with a managerial mindset. The computer has even opened up new areas of work like forensic accounting. Although the accounting field has made significant improvements in just a few short years, the expected growth in the occupation will undoubtedly enable accountants to do even more unimaginable things in the future.