Business Commons^™

An Analysis Of Outsourcing And A Comprehensive Guideline To A Successful Transaction And A Smooth Transition, Robert H. Moss

Theses

Information Services (IS) outsourcing is a new industry. Beginning in the late 1980's, corporations began to view the in-house IS departments as being excessively expensive due to the difficulty in controlling costs, the constantly changing technology, and a general unfamiliarity with inner workings of the systems and processes that made IS delivery work. Other corporations began to see that this niche could be filled by establishing large processing centers and selling the capacity to those corporations whose core businesses did not include IS and to those who believed costs could be reduced by simply getting out of the IS business. …

Worker's Compensation: Difficulties, Causes, And Remedies, Joseph G. Newman

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of the Missouri workers' compensation system. its difficulties, the causes, and possible remedies. Current research reveals that the rising cost of workers' compensation is causing industry. labor. and government to consider major reforms to the system. These reforms might be directed toward curtailing rising medical costs. Workers' compensation costs have increased significantly through the 80's, and continue to rise. Excessive litigation 1s another factor influencing the cost of workers' compensation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the difficulties found in administering a fair and equitable workers' compensation system. It is hypothesized …

Labor Unions: Losing Ground To Non-Union Rivals, Gary R. Watson

Theses

This paper will begin with an overview of the development of trade unions in the United States construction industry. It will discuss the development of various labor organizations, labor laws, and their effect on construction trade unions.

Based on these developments, trade unions' rise to tremendous power was rapid. With power came large wage increases and benefit packages. Jurisdictional lines were strictly adhered to. Because owners were forced to operate with cost constraints, trade unions were beginning to negotiate themselves out of a job.

The major point of this paper will be the ramifications of these developments as it affects …

Valley Wide Health Services, Inc. Fy 93/94 Marketing Plan Development, Jan C. Vest

Theses

This culminating project develops a marketing plan for a Community and Migrant Health Center in southern Colorado. The need for marketing plans for large multi-specialty group practices is becoming more and more evident. Increased competition for patients and the anticipated national and state health care reform suggests that the provision of physician services will continue to become more competitive in the future.

Community and Migrant Health Centers have not traditionally had to compete for patients. They have occupied a special niche in most markets, they were created to provide services to the medically underserved, and they very often are the …

Networking And Disaster Planning As Influences On The Attitudes Of A Small Business After A Flood, Jennifer J. Bredell

Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of disaster plans and communications networks on the level of optimism in small businesses after a riverine flood. Business survival under any conditions depends upon the application of resources to meet demands . A disaster simultaneously reduces available resources and increases demands upon businesses to such a degree that many fail. A number of factors have been shown to contribute to business survival after disaster . Managerial optimism, disaster plans, and prior contact with outside agencies have been identified as factors which are associated with improved business recovery and reconstruction. …

An Analysis Of Management Philosophies: The Economic Benefits Of Job Enrichment And Proactive Management Techniques, William C. Slizewski

Theses

This thesis examines the various managerial philosophies active in the American corporate environment in the late 1900's, their roots, and diverse influences. The management philosophies employed by an organization greatly influences the perceptions held by that organization's employees, the public, and other firms.

In recent years many management "gurus" have touted their programs as the key to the establishment of profitable managerial procedures. While a few programs have succeeded in turning organizations around, some enterprises are still in the development stage of their newfound philosophies and time will tell whether or not the programs will be successful. And then there …

Kid's Kab: A Distinctive Service Company Helping Busy Parents Cope With Their Many Daily Responsibilities, Marie M. Hollander

Theses

Unavailable.

Hotel Front Desk Management And The Role Of Information Technologies, Michael A. Jarzewiak

Theses

This thesis will focus on Hotel Front Desk Management and the role of Information Technologies.

Recently, with the advancement of information systems, the hotel industry is changing as necessary. Property Management Systems--known in the hospitality field as PMS--have changed the way hotels operate.

Other technologies discussed are keyless lock systems, and computerized time card systems, along with other high-tech systems.

The major concern of this thesis is to research various Property Management Systems and to see what is the most important criteria hotel executives or operators seek before implementation.

Managing The Diverse Workforce, Kevin W. Williamson

Theses

This thesis will focus on the changes that are occurring in the composition of the population of the U.S. - how diverse it has become - and diversity's impact on the U.S. business entity.

Research has indicated that the largest percentage of new growth in the labor market will minorities and women. By the year 2000 the workforce will become more heterogeneous from a race, skill and experience standpoint. With the population of the U.S. shrinking, the pool from which employers have to select prospective employees from is also shrinking. The issue is employer demand. Companies that strive to remain …

A Study Of The Effects Of A Career Counseling Seminar On Self-Efficacy In Displaced Homemakers, Mary B. Knopf

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate issues relevant to divorced displaced homemakers and to measure the effects of a career counseling seminar (Seminar for Success) on levels of self-efficacy. The design was Quasi-experimental pretest-post test with a nonequivalent control group. The control group consisted of 30 adult female students attending Lindenwood College (Masters of Counseling Program) in June, 1994. Levels of self-efficacy were tested and re-tested with a one week interval between testings with no intervention. The experimental group included 30 adult females attending "Seminar for Success" at Florissant Valley and Meramac Community Colleges in St.Louis, Missouri in …

The Impact Of Outplacement On A Corporation's Reduction Of The Workforce, Betty E. Wendland

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of outplacement in the corporate world. Global businesses in the decade of the nineties have been faced with increasing their profits and providing stock holders with an increase in dividends. In this situation the answer is often to decrease personnel.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how companies handle restructuring and downsizings. It will show that companies should have a transition plan in place to handle such circumstances . Outplacement is a key to smoothly handle the process of the terminations that inevitably happen . This study examines the issues relating …

Managing Change Driven By Environmental Regulations: Can Industries In The United States Eliminate The Use Of Chloroflurocarbons (Cfcs) In Insulating Foam Plastic Products And Maintain Global Competiveness?, M. Boake-Danquah

Theses

Chemicals emitted into the atmosphere which contain chlorine have been identified as ozone-depleting compounds for several years. These chemicals generally described as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and chlorinated solvents, are used in a wide variety of applications. International agreements and government regulations in the United States are mandating a ban, and requiring industries to seek CFC and chlorinated solvent replacements. The substitutes which are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), contain less or no chlorine, and hence, are less damaging to the earth's ozone layer.

The provisional chemicals are not drop-in replacements for existing products and processes which employ CFCs. There …

Successfully Investing In Renovation Real Estate, Linda J. Weaver

Theses

In order to successfully invest in real estate, investors must become the basics that govern real estate investments. It is important to become familiar with the target market and its upward and downward trends. Also, evaluation of the neighborhood area is imperative in order to determine the desirability of the overall area. The investment property itself also needs to be evaluated for marketability, potential repairs and resale. Once, these basic evaluations are performed, the cost analysis of investment and potential profitability must be reviewed. A combination of all of these items will enable an investor to make sound investment choices. …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Settlement Process In The Securities Industry, Woody D. Johnson

Theses

This thesis will focus on the settlement process in the securities industry and the different methods and frequencies by which securities firms disburse payments to their customers.

Many brokerage firms have realized the value of technological advancements in cash management services and have invested large dollars in their systems capabilities to remain competitive . Other firms do not have the resources to invest in such systems. To stay competitive, many firms are now looking at customer service, focusing on customer payments as a marketing tool.

Historically, securities firms exploited the financial success in their customers' accounts to offset the lack …

A Plan To Integrate Cockpit Resource Management Into Training Programs Of Non-Automated, Transport Category Aircraft, C. H. Meyerholtz Jr.

Theses

Pilot error has been listed frequently as the probable cause of aircraft accidents. In most cases this does not refer to an error in piloting skills, but rather an error in judgment or inept use of resources available to the pilot. Researchers found that the skills required to effectively use all resources and encourage a team spirit in the cockpit had not been sufficiently developed. Further, according to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, these resource management skills are just as necessary as flying skills in order to effect safe flight. In the mid-1970's, cockpit resource …

Women In The Workforce: The Voice Of Change, Susan J. Cerny

Theses

This study presents a review of the current literature that pertains to the experiences of women in the male dominated working world. The specific focus of this study is the barriers that prevent women from advancing where men succeed.

When. women enter the workforce they tend to be naïve about the organizational culture that surrounds them. Women bring with them their natural feminine instincts and behaviors, which are not considered as valuable in the corporate world as male instincts and behaviors.

Because they are entering a "man's world," women are unaware of the subtle and underlying rules of the corporate …

The Individual Investor : Investment Objectives, Strategies, And Tactics, Clive Walcott

Theses

The individual investor's circumstances and investment behavior have received relatively little attention since it was discovered in the late sixties that he was withdrawing as a direct participant in the American equities market. The first major response to this withdrawal phenomenon was the 1974 Individual Investor Research Project (IIRP). For the first time, the individual investor's circumstances and decision processes were examined directly and not through broad-based trading statistics or portfolio simulations.

This current survey identifies the significant changes in investment objectives, strategies, and tactics since the IIRP. These changes were discovered when seven demographic variables were cross-classified with various …

Translation Of Semantic Aspects Of Oodini Graphical Representation To Onto Oodb Data Definition Language, Xiaoyong Wang

Theses

In this thesis we present a system to translate the semantic elements in the graphical schema language of OODINI from API of OODAL to the Type definition of ONTOS DB. To translate semantic constraints of the graphical language, we patch more information to existent class data structure in API of OODAL. After a brief review of OODINI, ONTOS DB and the existent translator without the ability to translate semantic constraints, we describe in detail the methods to translate the essential relationship. dependent relationship, multi-valued essential relationship and multi-valued dependent relationship. We employ an Inverse Reference to a "Set of" Type …

Protocol Conformance Test Generation Using Circular Uio With Overlapping, Sesharao Patchipala

Theses

The purpose of the protocol conformance testing is to ensure that protocol implementations are consistent with their specifications. After the U-method was introduced, several test methods based on the Unique Input/Output (UI0) sequences which were the main concept in the U-method have been proposed, namely, the RCP-method, MUIO-method, MUIO with overlapping method, B-method, C-method. A good test sequence must be short and have wide fault coverage. By comparing the test sequences generated by the above test methods based on experimental results, reveals that the test sequences by the MUIO with overlapping method are the worst in quality but their lengths …

Computer Implementation Of Mason's Rule And Software Development Of Stochastic Petri Nets, Xiaoyong Zhao

Theses

A symbolic performance analysis approach for discrete event systems can be formulated based on the integration of Petri nets and Moment Generating Function concepts [1-3]. The key steps in the method include modeling a system with arbitrary stochastic Petri nets (ASPN), generation of state machine Petri nets with transfer functions, derivation of equivalent transfer functions, and symbolic derivation of transfer functions to obtain the performance measures. Since Mason's rule can be used to effectively derive the closed-form transfer function, its computer implementation plays a very important role in automating the above procedure. This thesis develops the computer implementation of Mason's …

Systems Integration In Pharmaceutical Industry Using Object-Oriented Expert System Technology, Korrapolu Reddy

Theses

SPHINX is an object-oriented expert system addressed to solve the burning problems of pharmaceutical industry. SPHINX stands for Systems integration in PHarmaceutical INdustry using object-oriented eXpert system technology.

Various problems that American pharmaceutical industries are facing have been explained. Using the revolutionary object-oriented concepts and the powerful expert systems technology, it has been shown how a prescription can be written to solve all the problems of pharmaceutical industries. A problem "Minimizing the wastage of Interferon" has been taken to demonstrate the power of Object-oriented Expert System technology.

The Self-Concept And Symbolic Consumption; Their Effect On Consumer Behavior, Cory L. Dobbs

Theses

A major issue confronting consumer researchers and other investigators of social-psychological phenomena is whether individuals are motivated to purchase products that symbolically are congruent with their self-concept.

This issue is of particular importance to consumer and marketing researchers, since much of their data and resulting actions depend on the decision processes leading up to the consumer's choice of product for consumption. Examining the relationship between the self and consumption through congruence of self-images and images of owned or desired products reveals that the consumer regards his or her consumed products as expressive of themselves.

Perception plays a critical role in …

The Effects Of Video-Based Sales Training Methods And Feedback On Field Sales Performance, Michael T. Simorka

Theses

This thesis focused on the effects of video-based sales training methods on field sales performance. The study also evaluated the effects of feedback systems on performance.

Research in the field of training methodology presents a positive review of "high technology" methods . Most of the studies focus on the benefits of easy administration , reduced cost or improved performance . However, most reviews are anecdotal . There is little empirical data which studies the use of these medium and their effects on field sales performance.

In reviewing the research on feedback systems, the studies have shown that feedback can have …

The Use Of High-Tech Sales Recruitment In The Data Communications Industry, John J. Speraneo

Theses

The purpose of this study is to conduct a research investigation of the use of executive recruitment. While corporate America automates and downsizes in order to compete in the worldwide market, workers try to find creative ways to market themselves and use the best means to locate jobs in this competitive environment.

The main focus of this study is to determine the primary means used to locate high-tech sales positions in the data communications industry. This could vary from executive recruiters, classified ads, personal referrals, and other miscellaneous methods.

The following paper is an empirical study, designed to provide an …

Workplace Drug And Alcohol Testing: A Blueprint For Employee Acceptance And Success, Charles Edward Martin

Theses

Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace is a highly emotional and complex issue. Society's drug and alcohol abuse problem has become so pervasive that employers are obligated to act to protect themselves, their businesses and their employees .

Business costs have risen dramatically due to lost productivity resulting from drug and alcohol abuse. Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and rehabilitation efforts have been somewhat successful but are extremely expensive.

Many businesses have chosen to protect themselves by implementing pre-employment drug screening. Some businesses drug test current employees randomly and "for cause". "For cause" has generally been defined as reasonable suspicion …

Image Is Reality, Sarah Louise Meininger

Theses

How individuals perceive a business is reality. It doesn't matter if these perceptions are true or false. This paper explores aspects of corporate image and identity and the importance of shaping an image for a company.

We will focus on the importance of research and how initial research should determine how people perceive a company in and outside the organization itself. We will also discuss the CEO' s impact and his/her role. The CEO oversees current perceptions, shapes and molds an image for the company, guides the image for the future and should also be a communicator within the company. …

Management By Objectives: A Cost/Benefits Analysis Toward Achieving Organizational Goals, John J. Mueller

Theses

This thesis will focus on the management process commonly known as Management by Objectives in an attempt to determine if this type of management is a viable option for companies to employ.

In its simplest form management by objectives has been around for hundreds of years. The modern day version of this management technique developed in the early 1950's due in large part to the writings of Peter Drucker . MBO's popularity grew slowly at first, but by the late 1960's and early seventies this management technique took hold in the United States and spread to corporations both large and …

Time, Temperament, And Talent: The Dynamics Of Sustainable Organizational Commitment, Charlotte A. Sullentrup

Theses

Organizational commitment is one of many linkages between employees and employing organizations. It cannot be established as the cause of, or demonstrated to be caused by, other dependent or independent variable constructs, and it cannot be uniformly or conclusively correlated with them, singly or in combination.

Rather, organizational commitment exists in a dynamic and shifting matrix of other employee/organization linkages such as job satisfaction, job performance, work experiences, productivity, etc. The relative strengths, perceived priorities, and consequences of these variables in the matrix are, in turn, functions of the continuously changing characteristics of time, temperament, and talent of both the …

The Impact Of Decision Style On Decision Quality, William E. Niedringhaus

Theses

This thesis focuses on the study of decision style and the effects each styles characteristics has on decision quality.

Each personality style exhibits specific characteristics unique to t hat particular style . These characteristics in conjunction with the decision makers cognitive abilities form a unique problem solving or decision style. Characteristics of each style have been operationalized by the Myers-Biggs Type Indicator.

Decision quality is measured, for purposes of this paper, in terms of the impact the decision maker's style has on the decision outcome . Decision quality is measured separately from decision success since successful decisions require more than …

Research And Analysis Of A 19th Century Portrait Of George Washington, Marbeth A. Erickson

Theses

The subject of this research project is a half length portrait of George Washington, oil on canvas, 30" in length and 25" in width . The painting is owned by Mr. Maurice Silverman of Silverman Galleries, Alexandria, Virginia.

When Mr. Silverman acquired the painting in 1962, the canvas was damaged so a restorer cleaned it, relined it, and inpainted the bare spots . After the restoration, Mr. Silverman researched the painting to discover who painted the portrait . Mr. Silverman felt strongly that it might be an original painting by Gilbert Stuart as there was a painting very similar to …