Business Commons^™

Strategies For Residential Real Estate Professionals To Mitigate Declining Sales, Raven Cornelius

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Real estate sales significantly declined during and after the 2008 mortgage crisis. In the United States, real estate sales dropped 35% after the mortgage crisis. Guided by the attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) model, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies successful residential real estate organization managers use to mitigate sales decline in a postrecession environment. Three residential real estate organization managers in Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia participated in semistructured interviews. These participants are currently selling homes, worked in the real estate market before the 2008 mortgage crisis, and developed successful strategies to …

Obstacles To Economic Growth And Business Attraction In Georgia, Vanessa Cox

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in the study was that Georgia's economic development leadership faced obstacles that challenged the state's growth in attracting new business and developing existing business. The purpose of this case study was to explore the obstacles encountered by a specific agency to attract businesses to generate economic growth. Accessing obstacles that hinder leaders to promote the state of Georgia growth is pertinent, including exploring where the system may be constrained. The theory of constraints guided this study to investigate what obstacles state leaders face in economic development. An embedded case study was conducted using purposeful sampling to select …

Examining Poverty, Entrepreneurship, And Multinational Corporation Participation In South Africa, Stephanie Furlough-Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Economic development is seen as the best means of accomplishing the goal of eradicating extreme poverty, and at the heart of this development are for-profit companies, especially multinational corporations. The specific problem examined in this study was whether levels of poverty in South Africa had been significantly impacted by the activities of multinational corporations and the level of entrepreneurship in its 9 provinces. To build upon empirical research on the sources of poverty alleviation and the impact of large global enterprises, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of entrepreneurship and multinational corporation presence on the change …

Exploring The Impact Of Collective Bargaining Agreements On Employee Performance Management, Nana Gyesie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2014, union density in the United States had dropped compared to union density during the 1950s. Collective bargaining agreements are the foundational agreement for all issues related to salary, benefits, and working conditions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how collective bargaining agreements hindered or enabled managers from creating and sustaining high performance work practices. The conceptual framework included Walton and McKersie's work on behavioral theories for labor negotiations, human capital, and collective bargaining, and Huselid's work on high performance work practices. Fifteen respondents across 5 labor unions in Washington DC were selected through …

Trust In Union Leaders And Decline In Union Membership, Seth Ellery Francois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results …

Leadership Strategies For Employee Retention In Small Lodging Establishments, Adi Raz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2015, turnover in the lodging accommodations and food services industry was 72.1%, accounting for 6.5 million incidents of voluntary quits. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between antecedent independent variables and employee turnover in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and inns. The independent variables were ethical leadership, organizational support, coworker support, work-family conflict, employee empowerment, employee voice, and work schedule. Organizational support theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 105 B&B and inn managers in California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, a correlation matrix, chi-square …

Strategies To Manage Enterprise Information Technology Projects, Mario West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2005, most midsize company information technology (IT) projects had a 62.4% failure rate because of wrong project team communication skills or cost overruns. IT leaders expect negative IT project outcomes will cost over $2 billion by 2020. Using the actor-network theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by IT leaders from a midsize IT company in Washington, D.C. to plan and execute projects under budget and on time. Using purposeful sampling, 5 IT leaders were selected for this study because of their experience in implementing successful strategies for projects. Data were collected using …

Employee Selection Strategies In Casual Dining Restaurants, Tim Racey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Annual turnover for hourly employees in the hospitality industry averages 102%. The costs associated with hiring and training new employees are estimated at 150% of an employee's salary for businesses with more than 30 employees. The purpose of this case study was to examine the personnel selection strategies used in the casual dining sector. The sample for this study was 6 casual dining restaurant managers in the central Georgia area. Three of the participants used online selection strategies and 3 participants used intuition-based strategies. The objective of this study was to compare the similarities and differences between each respective personnel …

Relationships Between Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, And Profitability Among Quick Service Industry Employees, Joseph Carl Vann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low profit margins threaten the sustainability of quick service restaurants (QSRs). In the United States, low levels of employee job satisfaction and low employee perceptions of supervisor support decrease organizational profitability by as much as $151 million annually, depending on the size and type of organization. Guided by the 2-factor theory of motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee job satisfaction, employee perceptions of supervisor support, and organizational profitability. A convenience sample of employees from 86 QSR franchise locations in Houston, Texas completed the Job Satisfaction and Perceived Supervisor Support surveys. Multiple linear …

Reducing Employee Turnover In Retail Environments: An Analysis Of Servant Leadership Variables, Beatriz Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a competitive retail environment, retail store managers (RSMs) need to retain retail customer service employees (RCSE) to maximize sales and reduce employee turnover costs. Servant leadership (SL) is a preferred leadership style within customer service organizations; however, there is disagreement regarding the usefulness of SL in the retail industry. The theoretical framework for this correlational study is Greenleaf's SL theory. Seventy-four of 109 contacted human resources managers (HRMs) from a Fortune 500 United States retailer, with responsibility for evaluating leadership competencies of the RSMs they support, completed Liden's Servant Leadership Questionnaire. RCSE turnover rates were available from company records. …

Business Leaders Marketing To Bottom-Of-The-Pyramid Consumers In Nigeria, Chantell Ramaun Beaty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders often leave more than half of the world's population the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), a $5-trillion market of potential consumers untapped for products and services on account of failing to see BOP markets as profitable for business, yet business leaders who have managed inclusive BOP marketing in Nigeria have experienced profit margins as high as 120%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies of business leaders who market to BOP consumers in Nigeria and maintain a profit. The study population consisted of 3 business leaders in the Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan area …

Balancing Business Owners' Corporate Social Responsibility And Stakeholder Profitability, Andrew O. Arumemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some business owners lack experience balancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and shareholder profitability. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore business owners' experiences regarding balancing corporate social responsibility of hiring ex-inmates and shareholder profitability. The target population included 20 business owners in Newark, New Jersey who integrated CSR as part of their firms' formal business plans, were committed to hiring ex-inmates, and feared the consequential loss of profit such engagement might incur. Data were collected using in-depth semistructured interviews and analyzed using the modified van Kaam method. Three prominent themes included social perceptions of …

Winning Banking Strategies To Identify Efficiency Changes During A Financial Crisis, Adeeb Seman Hattar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2007 and 2009, taxpayers paid $700 billion to bail out failing U.S. banks. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that leaders of a successful U.S. bank used to identify efficiency changes occurring during the financial crisis. The target population of this study included 6 bank leaders located in San Bernardino, California, who occupied a managerial role in a successful U.S. bank during a financial crisis, had experience with the efficiency changes that occurred during a financial crisis, and developed and implemented strategies to identify efficiency changes that took place during a financial crisis. The …

Strategies To Implement Iso 9001 In A Government Organization In Jamaica, Yvette M. Castell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers of government organizations in Jamaica often have difficulty implementing the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 standard. Jamaica's Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce considered ISO 9001 certification as critical for international competitiveness as lacking the standard had the potential to become a barrier to trade. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that managers of a government organization in Jamaica used to implement ISO 9001 successfully. The conceptual framework was the total quality management concept encompassing Deming's plan-do-check-act cycle. Data collection entailed organizational document reviews and semistructured interviews of 4 managers in an …

Cyclical Economic Impacts On Aggregated Fiscal Imbalance Levels In The United States, Douglas Arthur Merriman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyclical Economic Impacts on Aggregated Fiscal Imbalance Levels in the United States

by

Douglas A. Merriman

MSM, University of Maryland University College, 2004

BS, Central Washington University, 1983

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Applied Management and Decision Science

Walden University

July 2015

The impacts of cyclical economic volatility on state-level fiscal imbalance levels have gained attention, given that beginning in late 2007, the United States experienced the deepest and longest-lasting recession in its history. The problem addressed by this study was whether there was a statistically significant relationship between certain …

Financial Statement Disclosure Of Carbon Footprint Costs In The Airline Industry, Carol Anne Tuck-Riggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unaccountable corporate polluters profit short term at the expense of global economic sustainability. The purpose of the study was to determine if carbon dioxide (CO2) penalties on the airline emissions would result in financial statement disclosure and emission mitigation. Contributing to environmental accounting, the study was based in corporate social responsibility with a conceptual framework based on economically-centered CO2 studies. A random sample of 69 global airlines, taken from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) memberships, was stratified between EU bound and non-EU bound airlines. The research questions explored (a) the frequency mean …

Dynamically Hedging Oil And Currency Futures Using Receding Horizontal Control And Stochastic Programming, Paul Edward Cottrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of research in the area of hedging future contracts, especially in illiquid or very volatile market conditions. It is important to understand the volatility of the oil and currency markets because reduced fluctuations in these markets could lead to better hedging performance. This study compared different hedging methods by using a hedging error metric, supplementing the Receding Horizontal Control and Stochastic Programming (RHCSP) method by utilizing the London Interbank Offered Rate with the Levy process. The RHCSP hedging method was investigated to determine if improved hedging error was accomplished compared to the Black-Scholes, Leland, and Whalley …

Relationship Between Leadership, Organizational Commitment, And Intent To Stay Among Junior Executives, Lorraine Elizabeth Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Executive-level attrition rates from retiring baby boomers may result in a shortage of qualified junior executives to replace the retirees. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the efficacy of leadership style and organizational commitment in predicting intent to stay among junior executives. The Multifaceted Leadership Questionnaire, Three-Component Model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey, and Intent to Stay Scale were administered to 147 junior executives employed in the southern region of the United States. Motivation theory served as the theoretical foundation in this study. The results of the bivariate regression were significant, F(1, 105) = 27.82, p < .001, R2 = .21, suggesting that leadership style significantly predicted intent to stay. The results of the multiple linear regression were significant, F(2, 104) = 19.42, p < .001, R2 = .27, suggesting that the model as a whole was able to significantly predict intent to stay. Affective commitment, B = 0.64, p < .001, was the only significant contributor to the model. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide senior management with a better understanding of factors that relate to junior executive retention. The potential exists to provide senior executives with the necessary tools to increase retention. The social change implications include the potential for senior management to create a more desirable workplace, higher job satisfaction, and overall organization environment, making it more desirable to stay with the organization.

Strategies To Overcome Barriers To A More Effective Leadership Style, David Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees and leaders lacking the skills to engage their employees account for an estimated $300 billion annual loss through lowered productivity. This study focused on a leader's understanding of employee engagement as a means of increasing productivity. Utilizing the theory of leadership styles and expectancy theory for the conceptual framework, this descriptive study explored strategies small business leaders have used to develop effective leadership styles to improve workplace engagement. Interviews with a purposive sample of 20 highest-ranking executives at small businesses with between 50 and 250 employees in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were analyzed using the …

European Airport Concessions: Retail Strategies To Improve Commercial Revenue From Leisure Travelers, René W. B. Puls

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Aeronautical revenue from landing and handling charges to carriers is falling significantly below 60% of total revenue and will not persist as the main source of income for airports. Airports in Europe cannot continue to rely on profits from airlines; operating companies need to improve the competitiveness through commercial income from different traveler types. The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the elements of successful sales strategies by concessionaires (retailers) at the metropolitan airport system of Zurich and Basel in hopes of improving the nonaeronautical revenue from leisure travelers, a price-sensitive customer segment. The conceptual framework was …

Succession Planning In A Global Electronics Company, Andrew Cook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of U.S. companies are unprepared to address a shortage of qualified leaders caused by changing workforce demographics. Despite organizational leaders realizing the importance of talent management to company strategy, there still exists a gap in knowledge regarding its application in practice. The purpose of this case study was to explore what succession planning organizational leaders use to adequately replace departing leaders with qualified new leaders. The findings demonstrated support for Shields' practical ideal type conceptual framework adapted to succession planning, which holds that succession planning requires various elements working together to achieve succession goals. Data were obtained through semistructured …

The Impact Of Monetary Policy On The Stock Market, Simin Hojat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior studies examining the impact of monetary policy instruments on the equity market have produced mixed results. This problem is important to address because of the substantial impact of monetary policy on the economy and economic resource allocation via the equity market. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of change in money supply (M2), change in Federal Funds Rate (FFR), and change in Federal Funds Futures (FFF) on the expected rate of returns of publicly traded companies while controlling for the rate of return of the whole equity market and size of the sampled companies. The …

The Quest For Work And Family Balance Using Flexible Work Arrangements, Sandra Ellen Forris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Employees experience challenges managing home and work. The increase of women in the workforce, single-parents, childcare, elder care responsibilities, and men in nontraditional roles warrant changes in traditional working hours and flexibility in work schedules. Through the theoretical frameworks of work-family conflict, spillover, border, and boundary theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how flexible work arrangements (FWAs) assisted employees in meeting work and family obligations. Minimal research is available in the defense industry and the use of FWAs. A nonprobability, convenience sample was used to explore how management and nonmanagement participants from a Midwest defense …

A Cross-Regional Comparison Of Fabricated Metals' Manufacturing Sector Resiliency, Linda Ann Holt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fabricated metals' manufacturing sector employment in the United States declined following the onset of the 2008 recession. Premium compensation and benefits afforded to employees within the manufacturing sector amplified the negative effects of recessionary job losses. Using the regional macroeconomic complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the geographic distribution of job losses, recovery rates, and adaptive behavior after the recession for the fabricated metals manufacturing sector by measuring and comparing effects in 50 East North Central division MSAs and 50 South Atlantic division MSAs in the United States. Independent sample t tests compared …

Environmental Degradation: Key Challenge To Sustainable Economic Development In The Niger Delta, Christian Udogadi Duru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bold

Work Group Composition Effects On Leadership Styles In Aircraft Manufacturing Organizations., Monica Lynn Dunnagan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

leadership styles

homogeneous versus heterogeneous

manufacturing leaders

contractor workforce

Factors That Influence A Jewelry Brand's Globalization Process, Mohammed Ahmed Faitaihi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Local retail jewelry leaders of Saudi Arabian (S.A.) small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have struggled to survive through declining profits and increasing business foreclosures, thus threatening the sustainability of the Saudi retail sector and the Saudi economy. A globalization strategy to enhance profitability for jewelry retail SMEs in S.A. is needed, given the limited options for improving profitability. Despite this acknowledged need, leaders in S.A. have refrained from such a strategy because they lack knowledge of economic attraction features to target in the globalization process. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study using discriminant analysis was to examine specific countries' …

The Effect Of Macroeconomic Variables On Stock Market Returns In Ghana (2000-2013), Charles Barnor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Variations in macroeconomic indicators affect the performance of the stock markets. In Ghana, although the performance of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has been affected by macroeconomic variables from January 2000 to December 2013, the mechanisms of these relationships have not been studied. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships between selected macroeconomic variables and their effect on the stock market returns on the Ghana stock market. The research questions addressed whether macroeconomic variables had significant effect on stock market returns in Ghana within the specified period. The target sample was all 36 listed firms on the …

Relative Pricing Of Publicly Traded U.S. Electric Utility Companies, Nicholas Stephen Jewczyn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the financial turmoil of 2008, U.S. firms reported debt-ratios that differed from the debt-ratios calculated from balance sheets. The problem is that investors bought common stock expecting initial investment return and lost money when companies delisted. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine sample securities pricing with the application of synthetic assets and debt accrued. Addressed in the research questions was whether those securities were (a) underpriced compared with return-on-assets (ROA), (b) overpriced compared with ROA, (c) a debt-ratio higher than 60% and also overpriced, (d) underpriced with a synthetic asset added, or (e) related by relative …

A Business Case For Return On Investment: Understanding Organizational Change, Rya S. Henderson-Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2010, 2,000 U. S. leaders spent {dollar}150 billion on return on investment (ROI) training, yet questions still exist on how to measure the benefits of organizational change. The purpose of this embedded single-case study was to explore how business leaders could use ROI to characterize the benefit of intervention strategies for organizational change. Stakeholder theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A purposive sample of 20 civilian personnel managers located at a medical facility for veterans in central Texas participated in semistructured interviews. The 5 primary themes that emerged using thematic analysis …