Business Commons^™

Narrative Identity Within A Workers' Rights Organization, Emily Ann Hallgren

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research includes in-depth interviews and participant observation to examine the construction of narrative identity by the staff members and worker-members of a workers' rights organization in Northwest Arkansas. I seek to understand how the organization negotiates the broader cultural and institutional narrative identities with the personal narrative identities of the worker-members in a cultural context hostile toward undocumented immigrants. Further, I examine how the worker-members themselves both internalize and challenge the organizational, institutional, and cultural narratives about undocumented immigrant workers. Findings reveal that the staff members and the worker-members create different narratives for different purposes, though both are concerned …

Essays On Mergers And Acquisitions And Governance, Rwan Ibrahim Talib El-Khatib

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a recent strand of corporate finance literature that explores the impact of executives and directors' Social connections on firm value, performance, and governance. Those studies document that such Social connections could be beneficial when they enhance the sharing of information and knowledge, but could also be detrimental when associated with CEOs, as they could provide the CEO with a source of influence that makes her more entrenched and powerful.

In the first essay, I use four common measures of network centrality to compute the position of the CEO within the Social network of all executives and directors of …

The Economic Impact Of Right-To-Work Laws On Employment And Living Standards In The State Of Arkansas, Brinkley Cook-Campbell

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This reaseach paper looks at the effect that right-to-work laws have had on the economy of Arkansas. Analysis reveals that RTW laws have no effect on unemployment, labor force participation, and wage growth. However, RTW laws do have an economic impact on population growth in certain periods, as well as increased rates of GDP growth. This paper concludes that RTW has been good for Arkansas.

External Stakeholders And Internal Controls In Churches, David Myers

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper deals specifically with churches, a subset of religious non-profit organizations chosen due to their near-ubiquity in the United States, specifically how an external organization can affect the internal control environment of a local congregation’s financial system.

"Should Wcob 3016 Business Strategy And Planning Be Restructured?", Amanda Dooly

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Review of the WCOB 3016 Business Strategy and Planning course and what areas of the course should and/or shouldn't be restructured, based on student surveys, faculty/professor interviews, and benchmarks.

Strategic Decisions And Shareholder Value: An Analysis Of Conocophillips, Michael Miller

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Overview of strategic decisions that ConocoPhillips has made and the effect it has on shareholder value. Uses knowledge a basic investor would be equipped with to analyze the spin-off of ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 by comparing it to Marathon Oil's spin-off and the returns it created for investors.

The Alignment Between The Accounting Education At College And The Profession In Public Accounting, Akihiro Katsura

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the alignment between the college accounting education and the profession in public accounting from three different perspectives – college students majoring in Accounting, accounting faculty members and professionals in public accounting.

Film Financing: Thrilling Scenes And Investing Schemes, Charlotte Moore

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses investing in independent films and researches whether or not it is a scam by looking at techniques to draw in investors, accounting practices, and professional advice.

Opt-In Overdraft Regulation Affects Bank Revenues, Kyle Mills

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amendments to Federal Regulation E, effective during 2010, limited banks ability to generate fee income from one-time debit card and ATM transactions. This research quantifies the estimated annual loss experienced by US and Arkansas banks.

Social Media: Do Context Limitations Exist?, Richard Fortier

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since the inception of popular social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, millions of people around the world are becoming members of their own virtual communities that continue to grow. Communication barriers flattened with the invention of the internet, and now social networking sites are creating an organized infrastructure within the vast cyberspace. Within my research, I plan to further pursue a research gap concerning the importance of the social context in which ads are displayed. Since it is well documented that social media users are sensitive about the amount of advertising and the kind of information marketers …

Credit Card Act Of 2009: The Impact On College Student Credit Card Responsibility, Siobhan Costello

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study aimed to find out if the rules regarding college students and credit cards implemented by the Credit CARD Act of 2009 improved student credit card responsibility.

A Description Of Nonprofit Executive Leaders' Perceptions Of Human Resource Capacity Building Within Their Organizations, Synetra Danielle Gilmer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have predicted that within the next 5 to 15 years the nonprofit sector will undergo a dramatic loss in leadership due to baby boomers entering retirement, job transitions, and underdeveloped talent within nonprofit organizations. Effective leaders are critical in keeping these organizations running so that they can serve and provide much needed services, thus investing in their organizations is the key to keeping NPOs relevant in the future. Investing in training and development, intellectual capital, and succession planning are just a few of the human resource capacity building efforts that have been credited for helping to alleviate some of …

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors In Higher Education: Examining The Relationships Between Behaviors And Performance Outcomes For Individuals And Institutions, Kevin Jimmy Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) have been described as employee behaviors that are not required by job descriptions, are not formally rewarded, and contribute positively to the organization. Previous research has shown that OCBs are related to both individual and organizational performance. Given the importance of OCBs to individual and organizational effectiveness, the purpose for conducting the study was to describe OCBs in the higher education context, describe the relationships between OCBs and various aspects of faculty and staff performance, and explore the extent to which institutional leaders should be concerned with the OCBs of both faculty and professional staff. The …

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 13 2012, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Internet Marketing Methods Utilized By Higher Education Institutions, Joseph Clayton Mccoy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Use of Internet marketing techniques in higher education to attract prospective students is relatively new. While the research is recent, there are several studies that identify what is most valuable to students seeking information on college web sites. Higher education is now facing increasing competition from for-profit schools and reduced funding from typical sources. This study examines how two different Carnegie classifications use Internet marketing techniques and identifies if there is a difference in how much they use these techniques. Content techniques and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques were examined for 56 higher education institutions in this study. Of the …

The Role Of Leadership In Facilitating The Performance Of Dispersed Teamwork, Jaime Beth Newell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A mature body of research on leadership has investigated the impact of a variety of leadership behaviors and styles on team performance. This corpus of work is built on an assumption that team leaders can motivate, direct, and monitor teams by way of sustained, personal contact with team members. However, this assumption is being challenged by recent advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs). Use of ICTs has altered traditional team-based structures, enabling organizations to employ teams composed of members who are dispersed across geographic boundaries, while severing the direct, personal ties leaders have to team members. Recent reviews of …

Three Essays On Opacity, Corporate Governance, And Credit Ratings, Yiwen Gu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, utilizing a more recent and expanded 20-year sample 1991-2010 of dual-rated bonds issued, I confirm Morgan's (2002) finding that banks are relatively more opaque than nonbanks. The likelihood of a rating split is higher, and the magnitude of the rating gap is larger, for banks than nonnbanks. Moreover, rating agency disagreements are more significant for banks with relatively higher loan and trading securities holdings and maintain lower capital, and for banks engaged in mortgage securitization. Importantly, I find that rating agency disagreements reflect market proxies of information uncertainty. Further, opacity makes external financing more costly. Equity …

An Empirical Investigation Of Supply Chain Excellence In Healthcare, Brian Keith Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is motivated by opportunities to improve the cost and quality of healthcare delivery through improved supply chain processes. This research assesses the quality of the healthcare supply chain and identifies factors that are driving supply chain excellence among organizations in the healthcare industry. The first objective of this research is to assess the state of quality measurement in the healthcare supply chain. The achievement of this first objective is presented in Chapter 3 of this dissertation in the form of a manuscript accepted for publication in The Quality Management Journal. The second research objective is to develop …

Purchaser Preferences On Carbon Labels: Conventional Vs. Organic Milk, Mustafa Ozkan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past several years, there has been growing attention concerning global warming/climate change and how humans are contributors. It is known that agricultural production is a main contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and the livestock sector is particularly significant because it is quoted as having between 3 and 18% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent pending different assumptions. Due to this, carbon footprint labeling has been described as a potential tool to inform consumers about greenhouse gases associated with food products and assist them with the necessary information to purchase products that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. …

The Influence Of Simulation-Based Information Systems Education On Enterprise Systems Knowledge And User Satisfaction, Pamela Jeanne' Schmidt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enterprise systems implementations are often high cost and high risk with many companies failing to achieve their targeted business objectives. At the individual level, negative user reactions to enterprise systems lead to resistance to IT use, counter-productive adaptations, and reduced job satisfaction. Factors that contribute to these individual level effects include a lack of understanding of reengineered business processes and a lack of understanding of economic interdependencies. In this research, a computer-based business simulation educational intervention is investigated to determine its effectiveness in facilitating enterprise systems knowledge acquisition and promoting job satisfaction. Simulation-based education utilizes an experiential learning model, immersing …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 12 2011, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Opaqueness Of Fair Value Assets And Systematic Risk In The Banking Industry, Jody Wayne Bland

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Opacity has economy-wide implications. A lack of information, whether from non-disclosure or complexity of business, creates uncertainty that even the most sophisticated of investors must face. In this paper, I analyze the relationship between opacity and the systematic risk of bank holding companies. Specifically, I find that investments in opaque assets required to be reported at fair value significantly affect the levels of financial institutions’ systematic risk. Furthermore, I provide evidence that firm investments in opaque assets contribute to systematic risk to an even greater degree during times of financial crisis.

Two Essays On The Accounting Treatment For Information Technology Expenditures, Kimberly Swanson Church

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current accounting measurement and reporting system is ill-equipped to provide intangible investment information that is decision useful for stakeholders in the information economy. Potentially relevant intangible items are not reported on the balance sheet, since current standards mandate the immediate expensing of these intangible items. Presumably FASB's uncertainty with the fundamental issues of extent and timing of future benefits to the firm has led to concerns with relevance, reliability, and objectivity of capitalizing some intangibles, which results in potential long term value generating expenditures being immediately expensed on the income statement. Prior research has demonstrated extent and timing of …

Campus Recreation Program Involvement, Athletic Identity, Transitional Loss And Life Satisfaction In Former High School Athletes, Katie E. Helms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sports participation can result in strong associations with the athlete role for participants. While strong athletic identity can have positive implications, it can also create vulnerability to emotional difficulty following exit from sport (Brewer, 1993). Exit from sport is inevitable, resulting from a wide range of sources such as injury, aging, de-selection, or not qualifying to participate at a certain skill level. Despite a large proportion of high school students who play sports, there is little opportunity for continuation at the college level. This discrepancy often results in significant transitional loss resulting from exhausted athletic eligibility. The current study examines …