Business Commons^™

Models Of Fsa Guaranteed Loan Use Volume And Loss Claims Among Arkansas Commercial Banks, Bruce L. Dixon, Bruce L. Ahrendsen, Scott M. Mccollum

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) guaranteed loan programs are an important source of credit to production agriculture. The two major guaranteed loan programs are the operating loan (OL) program and the farm ownership (FO) loan program. Guaranteed loans insure payment to the lender of up to 95% of the losses in the event of borrower default. FSA has historically been involved in lending to farm operators via direct loans, but emphasis has changed over the last two decades to making guaranteed loans the primary source of FSA associated lending to production agriculture. This study seeks to determine what characteristics of …

New Business Initiatives And Financial Performance, Douglass Cagwin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship o f improvement in financial performance with use o f new business initiatives such as JIT, TQM, and ABC. The investigation is organized into three areas o f inquiry that telescope from the general to the specific to reach a conclusion regarding the efficacy of initiatives. The first two studies contain regression analyses o f the association between the use of the initiatives and change in industry mean-adjusted ROI. The third study develops and test a comprehensive structural model that incorporates factors postulated by previous researchers to affect the efficacy of ABC. Data are obtained …

Accounting Expertise And Ill-Structured Problems: Cognitive Reasoning Abilities And Performance In Business Valuation Tasks, Wray Bradley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the linkage between cognitive reasoning abilities and performance in ill-structured tasks. Prior accounting research shows that the broad construct known as general problem-solving ability is directly related to performance in ill-structured audit tasks (Libby and Tan 1994). General problem-solving ability has been defined as having sub-components comprised of verbal, quantitative, memory, and cognitive reasoning abilities (Libby 1995). Most prior accounting studies have either controlled for performance differences associated with the subcomponent abilities or have just ignored them. This has created a gap in behavioral accounting research (Shanteau 1995; Bouwman and Bradley 1997). This study seeks to partially …

The Integration Of Firm Resources: The Role Of Capabilities In Strategy And Firm Performance, Daniel Lynch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distinctive capabilities are defined as a firm’s accumulated skills and knowledge that may lead to competitive advantage (Day 1994). Distinctive capabilities are founded upon Resource-Based Theory (Barney 1991) that focuses on internal resources as opposed to external market forces (Porter 1980). The present research discusses the integration of distinctive capabilities into this framework; that is, do certain distinctive capabilities (resources) create superior firm performance when linked to the appropriate generic business strategy?

The literature on firm performance has a rich history and is theoretically grounded in several disciplines including economics, sociology, and organizational behavior (Anderson 1982). However, there has not …

Production Practices Of Arkansas Beef Cattle Producers, Michael P. Popp, Lucas D. Parsch

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report contains information from a 1996 survey on production practices of Arkansas beef cattle producers. While several studies have been completed on the profitability of retained ownership of beef cattle, few empirical data are available on production practices of cow/calf and stocker operations in Arkansas. This report shows that there are some differences in production methods across operation types. Further, the report summarizes demographic characteristics of Arkansas cow/calf and stocker operations. The results of this study can be particularly helpful in providing the needed data for studying the potential economic impact of feeding weaned calves to heavier weights in …

Marketing Practices Of Arkansas Beef Cattle Producers, Michael P. Popp, Lucas D. Parsch

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report contains information from a 1996 survey on marketing practices of Arkansas beef cattle producers. While several studies have been completed on the profitability of retained ownership of beef cattle, few data are available on what marketing techniques and decision criteria cow-calf and stocker operations use to market their cattle. This report shows that there are some differences in opinions on marketing issues such as pooled cattle sales and retained ownership across cow-calf and stocker operations. Further, these operations use different sources of information to make marketing decisions. The results of this study can be particularly helpful in providing …

Recreational And Angler Survey Of The Buffalo National River, Arkansas, James E. Johnson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Buffalo River in northern Arkansas was surveyed for recreator and angler use in 1991 and 1992. The river was divided into three reaches and numbers of boats, recreators, anglers, and catches were compiled by creel clerks at nine selected take-out points. Outfitter rental receipts were used to estimate rental boats, and the proportion of rental to private boats creeled was used to correct for private boats not counted on the rental receipts. A total of 1,656 boats containing 3,071 recreators was contracted by the creel clerks during 1991 and 1992; 9.2% of the recreators were anglers. Expansion of the …

Lobbying Activity In The Standards Setting Process: Fasb Statement On Financial Accounting Standards No. 106, "Employers' Accounting For Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions", Christine Schalow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explain and classify the behavior of corporate managers in the accounting standards setting process as it related to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 106. Evidence from this study provides readers a better understanding of participation of corporate managers in the accounting standards setting process. To accomplish the objective, this study surveyed corporate representatives who responded to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's, February 1989, exposure draft, "Employers' Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions," (OPEB). A sample of corporations whose representatives did not respond to the OPEB exposure draft, although the corporations did …

Generic Strategies, Leader Attributes, Environmental Uncertainty, And Organizational Performance: An Empirical Investigation Of Contingencies And Configurational Outcomes, Tope Adeyemi-Bello

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The implications of strategy, environmental uncertainty, and leader attributes to the performance of organizations have been the subject of many research studies. The traditional interaction-based contingency approach that has typically been used in the management literature for examining the interrelationships between these variables, may very often be inadequate to capture the overall pattern of fit among them. A contemporary approach that allows researchers to examine sophisticated relationships between variables is configuration or systems theory— which suggests that inevitable relationships exist between strategic, environmental, contextual, and organizational variables and performance. This study used both the interaction and configuration-based approaches to determine …

The Information Content Of Standard & Poor's Common Stock Ranking Changes, James Felton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the information content of Standard & Poor's common stock ranking changes. These rankings are derived from a system which begins with a computer-generated score for per-share growth, stability, and cyclicality of earnings and dividends for the most recent ten years of available data. Standard & Poor's then makes adjustments to the scores based on firm size, sales volume, "relative current standing,'1 and special considerations. The eight rankings are as follows: A+ (Highest), A (High), A- (Above Average), B+ (Average), B (Below Average), B- (Lower), C (Lowest), and D (In Reorganization). Although the rankings are not purported to …

Performance Motivation: Tests Of An Integrated Model, Jerry Kopf

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Different individuals, with the same ability and faced with the same environmental constraints, exert varying amounts of effort, and, to the extent that performance is a function of effort, achieve different levels of performance. This study proposes and tests a theory of motivation which is an integration of what have previously been considered separate, and often conflicting, theories of motivation. The study hypothesizes that motivational differences in effort or performance may be due to either differences in goal level or differences in goal commitment and tests the integrated model against a model which uses assigned goals to predict effort (goal …

The Importance Of Management Philosophy To The Success Of Pay-For-Knowledge Systems: An Empirical Test, Timothy P. Schweizer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, pay-for-knowledge compensation systems have received serious attention from practitioners and organizational researchers. Some have hypothesized that the specific mechanics of pay-for-knowledge systems are critical to success while others have suggested that contextual factors determine whether or not these systems will be successful. Empirical research has not been very supportive of these hypotheses, however.

Another hypothesis is that management philosophy is important to the success of pay-for-knowledge systems. The purpose of this study is to test this hypothesis by addressing three questions: 1) Are the components that make up management philosophy related to the successes experienced by companies …

A Comparison Of The Classification Accuracy Of Linear And Quadratic Statistical Discriminant Models Versus Linear And Quadratic Programming Discriminant Models, Jerry William Ferry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to compare the classification accuracy of two mathematical programming models versus traditional statistical discriminant analysis. Monte Carlo techniques were used to compute population 1, population 2, and average misclassification rates for the linear discriminant function (LDF), the quadratic discriminant function (QDF), a linear programming discriminant model (LPDM), and a quadratic programming discriminant model (QPDM) for specific values of several parameters which affect discriminant analysis. This study was restricted to the two group, two variable discriminant problem.

An Inquiry Into The Accounting Principles And Reporting Practices Followed By Selected State University Hospitals, Rameshwar Dass Gupta

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their unique position as component units of other governmental organizations, the accounting and reporting practices of hospitals owned and operated by state supported university medical centers have been subject to several conflicting guidelines. The purposes of this study were to investigate the accounting and reporting practices of selected university hospitals, to determine the deviations between their practices and the principles recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Hospital Audit Guide and other guides, and to recommend changes that should be made by these hospitals to achieve the objectives for financial reporting by nonbusiness organizations as stated …

An Empirical Investigation Of Personal Characteristics Significantly Affecting Employment Offers From International Accounting Firms To Accounting Graduates, John M. Alvis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The basis for this study was the desire of many accounting students to gain employment with international accounting firms and to know which personal characteristics affect employment offers. Some issues addressed by this thesis follow. (1) What student characteristics had significant effects on employment offers? (2) What were significant differences in characteristics of female/male students receiving offers? (3) What were significant differences in successful/unsuccessful male students? Female students? (4) Which characteristics were important predictors of salary-offer size? (5) Were reasons for selecting accounting careers related to receiving employment offers? (6) Was there discrimination because of sex regarding employment offers? (7) …

Life Styles And Psychographic Characteristics Of Elderly Consumers As Determinants Of Perceptions On Health Care, John Thanopoulos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It appears that in today’s United States, the burden of disease prevention is assigned to the consumer. This study examines perceptions, health related information, and demographic data of a sample of elderly Arkansas consumers, with respect to preventive health care. The 226 respondents of the survey are members of the Arkansas Household Research Panel and over fifty-five years of age.

The data gathered were subjected to standard parametric and nonparametric statistical tests, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis. The analysis identified two major segments. One, with seventy percent of the total, consists of respondents having a predominantly positive attitude …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Characteristics Of Publicly-Held Corporations That Change To Private Ownership, Alan Kent Ortegren

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disenchantment with public ownership during the decade of the 1970's contributed to the emergence of a trend for publicly owned corporations to change to private ownership by deregistering under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate whether firms which changed to private ownership possessed attributes during the time leading to the change that differentiated them from selected firms which remained publicly held. The attributes included in the study contained financial data from published corporate financial statements, stock distribution information, and stock market data. The study included firms which changed o private ownership …

A Study Of Standard Setting And Productivity Measurements Using Learning Curves, Don William Finn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Performance standards encompass information characteristics which decay over time. Consequently, it is worthwhile to identify factors affecting information decay. In Chapter I, the objectives of this study were discussed. They are restated: (1) determine if production worker performance has changed over time, (2) provide broad guidelines and recommendations for production type industries concerning performance evaluation of employees during training, (3) find evidence that standards and environmental factors for production workers can be linked and provide information to the firm for budgeting and planning purposes, and (4) provide a basis for further research associated with identifying variables related to improving worker …

Feasibility Study For A Beaver Reservoir Agricultural Water Supply Volume I, James Ferguson, Robert Shulstad, William Bateman

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

An irrigation district of approximately 30,000 acres has been proposed to be located in Washington and Benton Counties in Northwest Arkansas utilizing water from Beaver Reservior. This report on the economic benefits of such a district is done under contract No. DACW03-81-C for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Arkansas.

Feasibility Study For A Beaver Reservoir Agricultural Water Supply Volume Ii, James Ferguson, Robert Shulstad, William Bateman

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

An irrigation district of approximately 30,000 acres has been proposed to be located in Washington and Benton Counties in Northwest Arkansas utilizing water from Beaver Reservior. This report on the economic benefits of such a district is done under contr

An Investigation Of Social Class As A Criterion For Deriving Market Segments Among An Elderly Population, George Bernard Glisan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of social class as a basis for deriving target markets among elderly consumers. Using the retirement communities of Bella Vista and Hillcrest in Bentonville and Fayetteville, Arkansas, respectively, four social class groupings were derived. The social class groupings were obtained via the Hollingshead Three-Item Index of Social Position. Three of the hypotheses were developed in a manner to assess buyer behavior for prepurchase information acquisition, purchase decision choice criteria, and post-purchase degree of satisfaction for limited problem-solving types of purchases. In all instances the null hypotheses could not be rejected. …

Personal Financial Planning: Determination Of Customer Profiles, Needs And Viewpoints, Ricardo Martin Ulivi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Personal financial planning is a service that springs from the need for objective and centralized advice on a wide range of areas such as investments, insurance, money management, taxes, estate planning and others. A personal financial planner fits each one of those individual areas into a well- balanced, integrated plan, after a comprehensive financial analysis is undertaken— guided by a family's goals, attitudes and objectives.

The purposes of this study were (1) to identify characteristics which discriminate between households that are interested and those not interested in obtaining a personal financial plan; (2) to determine the relative importance of the …

An Analysis Of Employee Turnover In A Selected Multi-Unit Retail Institution, Stephen Coleman Garrott

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the problems of voluntary employee turnover of a major retailing organization. Studies related to employee turnover in manufacturing organizations dominate the literature.

Self-Regulatory Processes In The Accounting Profession As They Relate To The Professional Competence Of The Individual, Kyle Henn Klein

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accounting profession has traditionally enjoyed a relationship of trust with the community, receiving certain advantages in return for the benefits it offered to society. However, in recent years the increasing litigation, regulation, and investigations involving accountants and the accounting profession indicate that the relationship between the profession and society is deteriorating. Indications are that society feels the profession has violated the trust placed in it by failing to effectively regulate itself and protect the public interest. The purpose of this study was to provide a situational analysis of the current status of self-regulation in the accounting profession as it …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Property Tax Credit/Rebate Programs On State Revenues And Tax Equity, Robert Barry Rogow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to examine the impact of shifting tax burdens between income groups following the implementation of alternative real residential property tax credit/rebate programs. Specifically, the objectives of this study were:

1. To analyze the real residential property tax level and vertical equity between income groups before and after implementing alternative credit/rebate programs;

2. To determine the potential total revenues lost to the state after implementing a credit/rebate program;

3. To analyze the tax level and vertical equity of three state-levied taxes—the personal income, sales, and motor fuel tax— and the property tax before and …

A Managerial Planning Model: An Application To The Farm-Cultured Catfish Industry In Determining The Characteristics Of Processed Farm-Cultured Catfish Consumers In Little Rock And North Little Rock, Arkansas, Argus Kenneth Pippin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of the study were: (1) to evaluate the processed farm-cultured catfish business in its embryonic stage during 1968 in terms of a systematic managerial planning model (MPH); (2) to focus on the managerial strategy of market segmentation and determine the relationships between the number of processed farm-cultured catfish sales and selected economic and socio-economic determinants or consumer market behavior. From the evaluation of the processed farm-cultured catfish business as it existed in 1968, it was suggestive that the planning process was not implemented thoroughly. Several areas exhibited weaknesses or unfavorable influence that were deterrents to the success of …

An Empirical Study Of Selected Causes And Effects Of Semirigid Prices In The Petroleum Refining Industry With Emphasis On The Period 1963 Through 1972, Robert Eugene Feller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The premise of this study is that certain policies within and without the petroleum industry have interacted to produce semirigid industry prices. One effect of this price rigidity is the inflexibility that is passed on to costs whenever the traditional joint-cost-accounting allocation (based on relative market value) is used in conjunction with these prices.

In studying the problem, activities and policies which combined to cause artificial price restraints in the petroleum-refining industry from 1963 to 1972 were reviewed. The accounting and economic implications and the effect on refinery investment of the resulting semirigid prices were investigated.

Published wholesale gasoline prices …

The Future Of Credit Unions: Growth Or Stagnation?, Charles Paul Edmonds Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The general purpose of this study was to evaluate the operation and problems of credit unions in the United States. More specifically, the study attempted to evaluate the contributions of credit unions, to reveal their major problems, to evaluate their competitive position among financial institutions, and to evaluate the influence of current and proposed credit union legislation. To accomplish the stated purposes, the credit union industry was surveyed at various levels. A questionnaire was sent to all credit union leagues in the United States. Another questionnaire was sent to selected credit unions in the fifth district of the Credit Union …

An Evaluation Of The Entity Theory As A Partial Solution To The Non-Comparability Enigma Of Inter-Firm Income Statement Analysis, Lester Lee Schmidt Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study has been to evaluate on deductive grounds the proposition that income as determined according to the entity theory would be more comparable among firms than income as determined under contemporary generally accepted accounting principles, and to investigate whether or not empirical support exists among two professional groups for the propositions inherently contained in the entity theory.

Some Laboratory Experiments To Test The Unity Of Command Principle, James Miller Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study reports on three separate laboratory experiments designed to test the validity of the principle of unity of command. This principle of classical organization theory had its popular beginning with Henri Fayol and is based on common sense and experience, but has apparently never been scientifically tested using objective measures of performance. The null hypothesis was stated as follows: "There is no significant difference in the performance or morale of individuals who work under conditions of unity of command and individuals who work under conditions of disunity of command".

Subjects in each experiment performed tasks under controlled conditions in …