Business Commons^™

Sexual Harrassment: No Longer The Perfect Crime (Informational Guide), Daniel K. Fee

Theses

This "applied learning" study will focus on sexual harassment, its many perspectives, and how to prevent it from occurring. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination that was initially covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964, and is now also covered under the civil Rights Act of 1991.

Title VII of the CRA of 1964 and the CRA of 1991 make it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against any individual with respect to terms and conditions of employment because of that person's race, color, religion, sex or national origin .

The CRA of …

Managing New Product Development: A Project Management Manual, Ronald A. Hoormann

Theses

The purpose of this study is to develop a new product development project management manual for a typical firm. It will also investigate many of the problems companies have had managing the development of new products, as well how these companies have addressed the problems. The manual is intended to define a project management system by describing the goals of project management; the project management organization for the firm; job descriptions as they pertain to project management; the product development cycle; the project management process; and the procedures that will be used to plan, monitor, and control a project. It …

The Effect Of Cultural Differences On International Marketing, Lena M. Jones

Theses

This thesis will l focus on the influence that culture and environmental differences have on international marketing.

The world has gone through some major changes within the past several years, especially in the area of marketing. It has become an open marketplace . Even the very concept behind marketing has a different meaning today. For example , marketing was once viewed a s simply selling a product or service. In today's business environment, marketing is more customer oriented . Customer satisfaction is the key element.

Today many companies have ventured into t he foreign markets . Some have gone international …

A Guide To State Appraiser Certification, Wayne Keith Wight

Theses

In August of 1989, President George Bush, signed into law the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989. This legislation in response to a pervasive crises in the thrift industry contains a number of legislative reforms. Within this legislation, Title XI, the appraisal reform amendment, requires the use of licensed or certified real property appraisers for all real property appraisals involving federally related transactions or federal funds if the value of the property exceeds a specified limit.

All states, under this legislation, are required to pass appraisal licensing and certification legislation that provides appraiser qualification requirements and standards …

The Controversy Of Sex In Advertising, Tammy Bankhead Wright

Theses

Advertising has been highly criticized due to its power to influence people's attitudes and actions. Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and persuasive in nature, about products, services or ideas of identified sponsors through various media.

The main idea that will be developed in this culminating project is the fact that although sex in advertising is a part of our culture and society, as a communications device, the use of sex in advertising is not always effective and does not sell most products.

There will be no actual debate to determine what amount of sex in …

The Valuation Of Antique Silver Using A Weight Valuation Methodology, Anthony Peter Kelson Iii

Theses

Unavailable.

The Effects Of Railroad Deregulation, Patrick H. Murphy

Theses

This thesis focuses on the hypothetical question: Would American railroads meet their obligation to provide freight service at reasonable cost if no regulation restrictions were imposed?

Railroads were originally regarded as great industrial giants spearheading the development of this country . Wild West movies depicted men driving a golden spike where the railroad from the West met the railroad from the East. This was pictured as a very exciting and romantic time in our history.

However, there were too many abuses. In 1887, the Congress decided to control special rates, the pass system, rebates and discrimination, and passed into law …

Quality Circles: "Teaming Up" At The Electric Utilities, Steven W. Mistler

Theses

The :focus of this project is the hypothesis that productivity of employees of utilities will improve in terms of increasing quality of their service, while controlling operating costs if they participate in teams involved in the decision-making process.

With the government taking steps to deregulate the sale of electrical energy, electric utilities will be thrown into a competitive market for the first time. Managers will find it necessary to keep quality high, while keeping rates low.

As American industry faced competition from Japan, management began to adapt the programs used by Japan to fit their own organizations. One successful program …

Spectrum Communications: The Beginning Of A Two-Way Radio Service Company, Joseph A. Voyles

Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the revenue and expense associated with a two-way communication company called Spectrum Communications. This study will examine the issues of planning, organization, funding and marketing, which are essential to a business plan.

The planning and controlling functions often get very little attention from owners of small businesses. The way to strengthen both of these functions is through an effective business plan. Only through an effective business plan can long range goals be established for sales, profits, competitive position and industrial relations. The information gleaned from this study will be used to compile …

The Importance Of Trade Promotions In The Marketing Mix: Effectively Managing Retail Promotional Allowances And Rebates, Barbara Van Fleet

Theses

This study, The Importance of Trade Promotions in the Marketing Mix: Effectively Managing Retail Promotional Allowances and Rebates, explores the critical role trade promotions play in contemporary marketing strategies, particularly within consumer packaged goods industries. Authored by Barbara van Fleet, the research delves into the historical evolution, strategic objectives, and challenges associated with trade promotions such as retail allowances and rebates.

The paper begins by contextualizing the emergence of promotions within the marketing mix, examining how early 20th-century manufacturers engaged retailers through incentives and in-store marketing to influence consumer purchasing. As the marketing mix evolved, trade promotions became vital …

As American Companies Approach The 21st Century, They Should Begin To Recognize Employee Empowerment As A Key Motivator To Increase Worker Productivity In A Highly Competitive Global Economy, Sherry L. Valliere

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of the effectiveness of previous efforts by American companies to create a truly empowered workplace.

Employee empowerment is when employees are given the necessary authority to make decisions and initiate improvement actions within their own work areas and expertise. Employees are encouraged, through respect and trust, to exercise self-direction and self-discipline.

American companies are facing the prospect of massive changes in the basic culture that underlies how they do business. Their markets are changing and global competitors have caught them off guard, forcing them to change the way they do business to survive. …

A Training Model In Customer Service For The West County Ymca: A Not For Profit Organization In St. Louis, Missouri, Carlos Arturo Vanegas

Theses

In today's increasingly competitive business environment, many firms are overlooking a basic function that could potentially be turned into a strategic weapon: customer service. Customer service is a vital function of a company's operations, not only because it is the vehicle to fulfill the company's obligations to its customers.

Customer service is extremely important in service organizations. Services have unique characteristics that are different from products and require unique managing. For one thing, a service is an intangible.

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is a service organization. Due to the nature of the YMCA programs, it is extremely important …

Investigation Of A Program That Manages Cultural Diversity To Determine Its Relationship To A Profitable And Efficient Business Operation, Joan M. Hubbard

Theses

This thesis begins with the purpose of investigating a program that recognizes, accepts, values and manages cultural diversity in the workplace to determine its relationship to a profitable and efficient business operation.

Significant demographic changes are expected to occur by the year 2000 resulting in a more culturally diverse labor force. In addition to a labor force wherein "white males" become the minority, this labor force will be more resistant to shedding ethnic and sexual distinctions.

In the past, managers have achieved high-level mastery over physical production . However, as labor constitutes the greatest single cost component of output, the …

Fixtures- "Personality" Or "Reality?" Who Knows?, Larry L. Perdue

Theses

This thesis by Larry L. Perdue examines the legal classification of property, specifically focusing on fixtures and trade fixtures within valuation sciences. It delves into the complexities of distinguishing between real and personal property, especially in cases where items such as machinery or attachments are integrated into real estate but retain some characteristics of personal property. The author highlights the potential financial and legal implications of misclassification, including issues related to taxes, valuation in business appraisals, and lender security. Drawing from historical legal principles in English Common Law and American Common Law, Perdue discusses key tests used in property law …

An Experimental Sequence Examining The Effect Of Task Type, Memory Condition, And Display Presentation Type On Performance Time And Error Rate, Using Columnar Table Versus Vertical Bar Graph Versus Line Graph, Suparna Das

Theses

A total of 126 subjects at various levels of school and a health related manufacturing firm participated in three experiments that compared Tables, Line graphs and Bar graphs forms of data presentation. The experiments were performed each consisting of a training task followed by answering some questions based on the presented material. The experimental series were presented to six groups. Group 1, 3, 5 viewed Line graphs, Tables or Bar graphs respectively while answering the questions while the other three groups answered questions based on memory of either Line graphs, Table or Bar graph presentation.

The independent variables were:

1. Memory …

Partnering: A Constructive Approach To Obtaining Engineer-Architect Services For The 1990s And Beyond, Donald E. Nations

Theses

This thesis will focus on a method of doing business in which two companies, whose businesses are complementary, work together in a relationship that strives to benefit both.

Large corporations continually examine ways to constructively manage the vast concept of change, and maintain their competitive posture. One way in which some corporations are beginning to strengthen their assets and their capabilities to deliver products or services is through a relationship known as "partnering."

As an oversimplified way of defining partnering, in a business-to-business relationship, one firm specializes in providing a service required by another company that the latter may not …

Rule-Based Module And Object-Oriented Design For Optical Character Recognition, Min Gao

Theses

In this thesis, I present a optical character recognition technique based on the rule-based module and object-oriented design. A document image is first scanned, and then segmented into isolated characters by the use of projection profiles. The recognition procedures include three steps: contour extraction, strokes detection and rule-based classification. The contour extraction is to extract the outbound boundary and to perform the boundary linking and noise removal. The stroke detection is to detect the features or strokes of the outbound boundary, such as horizontal/vertical lines, left/right slash lines and left-/right-opened curves. The rule-based classification consists of two rules: character definition …

Equity And Job Perception, Asha Krishnan

Theses

This thesis examined the concept of equity and the importance of its perceptions on the job. A survey was conducted at New Jersey Institute of Technology. The sample consisted of 150 employees from 27 different departments. The employees were split into three status groups - Non-Professional Staff, Professional Staff and Faculty.

The questionnaire used in the survey was adopted from Carrell and Dittrich's "Organizational Fairness Scale", (1976). The questions probed seven dimensions of the job which were work pace, distribution of tasks, pay level, pay rules, latitude, rule administration, and pay administration.

The seven job dimensions were treated as dependent …

Attitudes And Job Images Of The Public And Private Sectors : A Comparison Of College Students In The United States And Taiwan, Hui-Yuan Liao

Theses

This study focuses on a comparison of US and Taiwan students' attitudes towards public and private organizations. To identify the differences between two samples, 60 US students and 65 Taiwan students completed a questionnaire on 40 job attributes. Mixed design ANOVA revealed significant differences between the two samples.

Overall, students from the US had more positive attitudes than students from Taiwan. For both groups, attitudes were more positive for private-sector organizations than for public-sector organizations. And both groups believed that organizations fared better on extrinsic attributes than on intrinsic ones. However, significant interactions indicated that attitudes are complex and varied …

Controlling Hazards Associated With Confined Spaces, Srinivas S. Varahabhotla

Theses

Work in Confined Spaces poses special health and safety problems. To avoid the serious consequences which may follow poorly planned or poorly supervised confined space work, a comprehensive program of recognition, evaluation and control of potential dangers must be developed.

The work force should be aware of the extreme dangers associated with confined space and of the procedures and equipment used to overcome these dangers effectively and safely.

The purpose of this thesis is to present the hazardous conditions in a confined space and different means of overcoming these dangers which are not readily apparent. It shows how confined spaces …

The Performance Of Training Pattern Sets In A New Art-Based Neural Architecture For Image Enhancement, Fu-Chun Chang

Theses

Neural network can be applied on the image enhancement after adding another two layers into the Adaptive Resonance Theory architectures (ART 1). The analysis for selecting a nice training pattern set associate the appropriate vigilance values is the main concerns in this thesis. For a single training pattern ,the network can act as a mathematical morphology operators such as erosion , dilation, opening and closing. With more than one training patterns in the network, 16 experiments are tested and are compared to each other in order to find the best selection for doing the image enhancement work. With both the …

Successor Employers' Obligations Under The National Labor Relations Act, Ting-Wang Lu

Theses

A wave of business acquisitions is currently sweeping the American corporate scene. Companies are purchasing both unionized and non-unionized businesses at a dizzying pace.

Not surprisingly, after years of confrontational contract renewals, management and 10 unions at the New York Daily News are jockeying for position in talks over agreements that expire on March 30, 1990. Throughout the long negotiation process then the strike began on October 25, 1990. End with Robert Maxwell, the British press baron, signing an agreement on his purchase of the Daily News on March 14, 1991. Obviously, this question of successor employers' obligations is one …

A Study On Mentorship Within The Appraisal Profession, Kenneth M. Jenkins

Theses

The purpose of the study of mentorship within the appraisal profession is to determine the extent and perceived value of any existing mentorship within the profession in the Northern Virginia area. Employees indicate that of those persons having mentors, they advance professionally and monetarily more rapidly than those employees who don't have mentors. The employees who have no mentors indicate that the system is unfair, in that, the mentored employees are better "taken care of" when it comes to promotions, project selection, and training.

The literature bears out the employee comments . Many articles have been written extolling the virtues …

The Application Of Feedback And Control System Theory To Organizational Modeling, Thomas Miklos Tamas

Theses

A review of the literature showed that relatively little attention has been given to the application of feedback and control systems to management. Since a major function of management is control, scientific management might offer assistance in the form of a more quantitative approach to management control. This thesis suggests one might accomplish this through the application of feedback and control systems.

The application of feedback and control theory to management systems is relatively new, however, literature has shown a trend towards the application of electrical engineering theory to non-engineering topics [Khranovich76]. There has also been some research in the …

The Way To Better Media Relations, Bruce Prator Epps

Theses

Unavailable.

Venture Stores: A Case Of Self-Inflicted Labor Shortages, Eugene J. Vargo

Theses

This thesis will focus on the corporate personnel problems that are expected to occur from the babyboom retirement and the babybust.

Research shows that in the last few years major corporations have felt the pinch of regional labor shortages. Facing an eminent labor shortage caused by the babybust, employers are looking into various ways of improving worker productivity and company performance.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census are forcasting that by the year 2000 the United States will see a significant change in the workforce. The median age will rise. There will be less 16-22 year olds entering …

A Comparison Of Leadership Skills Of Managers Of High Performing Fast Food Units Vs. Managers Of Low Performing Fast Food Units, Jack W. Goodner

Theses

This Culminating Project will examine the difference in supervisory styles used by managers in high performing fast food units and those in low performing fast food units.

While management in its present form has existed only a brief time, countless attempts have been made to explain why some achieve good results and others poor results.

This study attempts to differentiate by demonstrating that managers of high performing units employ more appropriate supervisory styles than do those in low performing units.

In order to prove this assumption, responses were collected from ten fast food managers employed by Foodrnaker, Inc. (Jack-inthe- Box). …

The Impact Of Organizational Shape On The Intrinsic Job Satisfaction Of White-Collar Workers, Bernie L. Alexander

Theses

This thesis focuses on the study of job satisfaction and the impact of organizational shape on the intrinsic job satisfaction of white-collar workers.

Research has attributed the decline in white-collar job satisfaction to such things as over-complex organizational structures, broad spans-of-control and job specialization.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the possibility that, within a corporate setting, there is a difference between the intrinsic job satisfaction of white- collar workers who are employed by flat, decentralized organizations and those who work for tall, centralized organizations. Specifically, it is hypothesized that white- collar workers of flat, decentralized organizations …

Adjusting Property Values For Power Lines: An Exploratory Study, Robert T. Hirst

Theses

For thirty years researchers warned of potential danger,3 oi electromagnetic fields ( EXF) near electrical power lines and substations. The Environmental Protection Agency is presently reviewing the research to date to see if a substantial health hazard from EMFs threaten public health.

The Appraiser studied two subdivisions built 1985- 87 in Brentwood, Tennessee to see if EMF publicity stigmatized 6 homes adjoining TVA transmission lines right of way (AT) by decreasing expected s ales price compared to 44 homes not adjoining right of way (NAT).

In this small sample of convenience (6 AT subjects), two sold before 1989 at a …

The Effects Of Spousal Career Status On The Decision To Offer Promotion, Gregory B. Holder

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between the career status of a female employee's spouse and her promotability. Previous research has suggested managerial bias against dual-career marriages based on assumptions regarding geographic mobility and commitment to career (Rosen, Jerdee, and Prestwich, 1975; LeLouam and Decotiis, 1983). Expanding on this premise, 60 managers from a large, regional corporation were enlisted. Each manager was given a brief series of personnel decisions to rate on a four-point scale ranging from 1 (certain denial) to 4 (certain approval). One of these decisions concerned whether or not to offer a …