Business Commons^™

The Preventive Effects Of Whistleblowers On Fraud In Nonprofits, Elizabeth Evankovich

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Worcester Center For Crafts: A Transition To Online Sales, Monica Gow, Carly Branconnier, Srilatha Prodduturi, Ekaterina Shusharina, Alberta Yamoah

School of Professional Studies

The Clark University School of Professional Studies created a capstone team consisting of Monica Gow, Carly Branconnier, Iana Matkovskaia, Srilatha Prodduturi, Ekaterina Shusharina, and Alberta Yamoah to assist Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) with the launch of their new online store. Worcester Center for Crafts wanted to showcase their beautiful American handmade crafts on an online platform, Shopify, in order to increase their sales and expand their market reach. The capstone team created a charter that outlined the scope of the project and what the team would deliver to WCC by the end of the project. The team agreed to …

Audubon Data Project Final Report, Askhat Beygenov, Valinur Kutlambetov, Shrikant Patel, Phoebe Roberts, Ulfat Sayyed, Shriram Sivaraman

School of Professional Studies

The Audubon Data Project was initiated as a Clark University Capstone project. The project’s client, Mass Audubon’s Shaping the Future of Your Community program, had identified a need to improve their data management methods and make better use of their data. The Capstone team, composed of Clark University graduate students, met with the client regularly to review the current state of the data and potential improvements to be made. The process began with a data review. During the review we worked with the client to explicitly define the purposes and requirements of the data, the current process for updating and …

Motivations, Team Dynamics, Development Practices And How They Impact The Success Of Open Source Software: A Study Of Projects Of Code For America Brigades, Le Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Open data movement has nurtured the growth of civic open source software (OSS) in the recent decade. This emerging phenomenon has demonstrated a way that a community can collectively utilize technology to solve its problems.

This study is based on software projects in brigades of Code for America, which is a network of organizations that group volunteers to create digital solutions to community problems. In this study, we analyze the software engineering practices of current civic open source software development, participants' motivations and perceptions of the projects, and provide insights on the antecedents of success of the application development.

A …

Identifying Type Of Expertise As A Means To Measure Crm Knowledge Structures, Camilo Jimenez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has evolved since its inception in the 1980s to better accommodate the operational needs of flight crews. However, even as the aviation and research communities have pointed to the potential benefit of providing CRM training, some criticism continues to emerge periodically which claims that there is no concrete evidence of its impact on flight deck performance and safety. Therefore, it is imperative to develop tools that allow researchers and, more importantly, practitioners, to more effectively and objectively assess training effectiveness and identify whether or not desired CRM behaviors are being put to practice during line …

Celebrity Chefs As Influencers Of Food Well-Being, Briana Cifelli

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The concept of being a “celebrity chef” has changed throughout the years. Using Block et al’s (2011) Food Well-Being pinwheel and Lane and Fisher’s (2015) research about celebrity chef influence on a UK student population, this study investigates celebrity chef culture as viewed by Millennials in the U.S. The research explores the potential influence of celebrity chefs as influencers of food culture and food habits, the modern chef’s role as celebrity endorsers for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaigns, and whether perceptions of celebrity chef culture differ between the UK and the U.S. Data collection was through an online survey using …

The Impact Of Individual Learning On Electronic Health Record Routinization: An Empirical Study, Michele Lynn Heath

ETD Archive

Since the passage of the HITECH Act, adoption of electronic health records (EHR) has increased significantly EHR refers to an electronic version of a patient’s medical history. The adoption of EHR has potential to reduce medical errors, duplication of testing, and delays in treatment. However, current literature indicates that implementation of EHR is not resulting in the automatic routinization of EHR. Routinization refers to the notion that truly successful technological innovations are no longer perceived as being new or out-of-the-ordinary. The complexity of EHRs allow individual users to use these systems at different levels of sophistication. Research shows that healthcare …

Factors Influencing Efficacy Of Celebrity Endorsement In Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Qabur

ETD Archive

The study investigates factors that influence the efficacy of celebrity endorsement on social media in Saudi Arabia. The study builds upon the findings of research done primarily in East Asia and in the U.S. This research studied how celebrity endorsement via social media influences celebrity followers on brand recognition, purchase decision, support a cause, and overall, celebrity influence. This study’s 911 respondents were selected through the snowball method of sampling. Data was conducted using online survey with Saudi nationals, both in Saudi Arabia and in the United States, on their attitudes towards the credibility of celebrities and their influence. This …

The Political Landscape: A New Approach To Understanding Corporate Political Activity, Michael Greiner

Wayne State University Dissertations

Despite the fact that Corporate Political Activity (CPA) is an area of research generating increasing interest among both academics and practitioners, there has been relatively little empirical research in the field, and what research has been done has often been inconclusive. In this dissertation, I argue that prior research has been hampered by a theory that relies upon a market analysis to understand this non-market activity. Instead, I describe and test a model of CPA in which business interests negotiate three factors in their efforts to convince politicians to support their positions: the ideology of the politician, the politician's relationships, …

In Defense Of The Broader Application Of Virtual Queues, Evan Rapone

Honors Program Theses

The broader application of virtual queues is proposed. A review of the current state of queuing theory is presented as well as an acknowledgment of the deficiencies in the practicality of queuing theory. It is suggested that the queuing process can be improved by implementing the option of pursuing a virtual line. Specifically, the potential utility of introducing virtual queues is discussed in the context of the FastPass system, highlighting the major features of the method as well as examining the disadvantages of the service. The implementation of a FastPass-style queuing process outside of theme parks is presented as a …

Work-Related Values, Preferences, And Expectations Of Millennials: Implications For Long-Term Care Administrators, Cheryl K. Derynck

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to examine millennials’ work-related values, preferences, and expectations and to understand the impact for administrators in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Supervisors at LTC facilities must understand millennials’ work behavior, and strive to meet their needs, so as to effectively recruit, train, and retain these millennial employees. Allowing for management understanding of millennials work-related values, preferences, and expectations and how these support or detract from employment within LTC settings may pinpoint how facilities may retain these workers. This study will also provide information about work satisfaction of millennial employees and how employers can improve to …

Cacao Together: A Model For True Sustainability In The Chocolate Industry, Kerstin Roos

Capstone Collection

This Course Linked Capstone provides a critical analysis of the concept of sustainable development and then uses this analysis to create a social venture plan for a non-profit called Cacao Together. This capstone project will identify challenges in the sustainable use of cacao by first critiquing the mainstream sustainable development initiatives of certification schemes and corporate sustainability programs. It then offers an alternate framework through the 5 Capital Livelihood assessment tool which when applied, shows the gaps in cacao sustainability initiatives generally. I then propose a social venture that will addresses the needs of many parts of the chocolate supply …

The Pay Equity Dilemma Women Face Around The World, Lana D. Mcmurray

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this research, I examine the pay equity dilemma women face around the world and how it is different in various regions of the world. My research question focuses on “how a nation’s cultural characteristics affect pay equity?” It is already documented that men are paid more than women. The goal of this study is to explain how individual characteristics of national culture (such as masculinity, individualism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) impacts this inequality. By increasing the understanding of pay inequality, changes can be made that will improve the lives of not just women but the families of those …

Marketing Practices Of Socially Responsible And Sustainable Businesses, Brooke A. Bivins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The topic of this research is marketing practices of socially responsible and sustainable businesses. It examines the strategies companies and brands use to represent themselves to the public through products, advertising, and philanthropy. This includes an evaluation of existing frameworks and case studies, as well as in-depth interviews. The question that this research will answer is as follows: How can new or existing companies embrace and integrate social responsibility or sustainability in a way that is authentic and contributes to a positive public reputation?

Younger generations are increasingly willing to switch to and, in some cases, pay more for products …

A Data-Driven And Mixed Methods Analysis Of Automotive Retail Operations Management, Mark Allen Colosimo

Wayne State University Dissertations

The importance of effective retail operations management has never been more significant. Our research aims to expand the understanding for efficiency and dynamics of franchise outlets within retail networks with a focus on sales performance and profitability. The focus and contribution is the development of an actionable data analytics driven process by which automotive dealerships (retail outlets) can be analyzed to identify areas of opportunity for improvement. In general, automotive dealerships aim to sell product to make a profit, the manufacturer of the product/brand desires to sell vehicles to make a profit, and the customer desires to find a suitable …

Regret Theory And Decision-Making In Retention Program Funding, Eugenia Jo Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior leaders of higher education institutions make management-related funding decisions that meet the needs of the institution without incurring financial loss. By classifying groups of students into strategic business units, these leaders can make targeted fund management decisions. Researchers have demonstrated that higher education institutions have successfully implemented student retention programs for students in the freshman unit, but in this early adoption stage, have been unable to establish a pattern in the sophomore unit decision-making process. This study was designed to determine the relationship between the management decisions to allocate funding for retention programs for students in the sophomore year …

Chief Executive Officers' Compensation And Firms' Performance In The U.S. Banking Industry, Xin Li

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The growth rate of chief executive officers' (CEOs) compensation has dramatically outpaced average employees' pay increases. Scholars have not been able to reach a consensus on whether the financial performance of firms has a positive influence on CEOs' compensation. Also, boards of directors lack a clear understanding of the relationship between financial performance of firms and CEOs' incentive compensation in the U.S. banking industry. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the predictive relationship between financial performance of firms (measured by return on equity [ROE] and annual revenue) and CEOs' total compensation in the U.S. banking industry. According …

Organizational Culture And Individuals' Experience Of Workplace Bullying, Luan Zeka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying is an epidemic in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to increase understanding of employees' lived experiences of bullying in an organizational culture. Schein's organizational cultural model provided the conceptual framework for the study. The research question addressed how individuals who were bullied or witnessed bullying in the New York State area perceived their experiences within the organizational culture. Data collection included a researcher's journal and in-depth interviews with 25 participants. Data were analyzed using Moustakas's modified van Kaam method of phenomenological analysis. From the data analysis process, three categories of bullying emerged …

Initiating Factors Affecting Information Systems Project Success, Jonathan Olubunmi Afolabi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information systems (IS) projects are complex and costly, but only a 3rd of IS projects are successful; the Standish Group reported that 32% of IS projects were successful in 2012. Although investments in research have led to improvements in practice, there is a general perception that management failures are responsible for the low rate of IS project success. The effects of initiating factors on project outcome had not been sufficiently explored; few IS researchers have explored the initiation phase. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore project initiation factors, including relational, as well as decision-making aspects, and …

Strategies To Increase Employee Engagement In Long-Term Residential Agencies, Corey Fair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees adversely affect organizational strategies to promote higher standards of care and quality of life for long-term residential patients. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies healthcare leaders use to engage employees. The targeted population for this study was the senior leaders of a long-term residential care agency located in South Carolina who had initiated strategies and practices to engage employees. Kahn's theory of personal engagement and disengagement was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with open-ended questions, and the long-term residential agency's employee handbook, training agenda, and incentive …

Customer Relationship Management In The E-Retailing Environment, Nikki R. Hicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business enterprise (SBE) managers often lack resources, expertise, and impact when selling in an online environment. SBEs can overcome increased competition by adopting customer relationship management (CRM) into their business model for survival and longevity. Using the conceptual framework technology, organization, environment (TOE), this multiple case study explored effective marketing strategies that small store retail managers use to successfully sell apparel and accessories in online markets. The study population included leaders from independent small online retail enterprises with brick-and-mortar stores located in the Central, Tri-Cities, or Southside areas in Virginia. The data collection process included semistructured, on-site interviews of …

Generating Revenue At Airports In The Southeastern Coastal Region Of North Carolina, John Daniel Strong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Airports contribute about 5% of the gross domestic product and employ over 7 million people in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the strategies that airport managers need to increase nonaeronautical revenue. A generic strategy does not exist to assist airport operators in generating operating income. Aeronautical revenue does not always provide sufficient funding for airport operations and existing research does not consistently provide effective strategies for all airports to generate revenue. The sample for this qualitative multiple case study consisted of 3 small commercial airport managers in the southeastern North Carolina coastal …

Strategies For Pharmacy Managers To Increase Profit By Reducing Prescription Errors, Alphonsus I. Nwambie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The costs attributed to prescription errors negatively affect the profits of retail pharmacy businesses. The U.S. prescription error rate since 2010 was 0.1%, yet with more than 3.5 billion prescriptions filled annually in the United States, the outcome is more than 3.5 million prescription-dispensing errors and an annual cost of more than $16 billion. Using the performance prism theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies retail pharmacy managers used to increase profit by reducing prescription errors. Using purposeful sampling, 5 retail pharmacy managers in Miami, Florida, were selected as participants because they had implemented strategies …

Using Appreciative Inquiry To Discover School Administrators' Learning Management Best Practices Development, Michelle Estes Tittle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Department of Education has mandated that each U.S. state develop successful initiatives to help students navigate their educational experience. Yet in Alabama students neither advance academically nor in improved life skills development. It is unclear if school administrators in Alabama Schools have contextual best practices for strategic planning and implementation to support and improve the experiences of vulnerable K-12 students. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore how administrators of Alabama schools develop contextual best practices for strategic planning and implementation to support students. The conceptual framework was designed using collaboration theory, organizational learning theory, …

Strategies For Insurance Agency Managers To Retain Customers And Improve Revenue, Daniel Lee Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cost of creating new property and casualty insurance accounts is much greater than the costs associated with sustaining current accounts. Property and casualty insurance agency managers lack strategies to retain customers, the retention of whom has been found to improve revenue. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies for insurance agency managers to retain customers and improve revenue. The population used for the study was 4 insurance agency managers in the Northeastern United States. The conceptual framework was customer relationship management, which is a technological and organizational mechanism for buffering market instability by understanding customer …

Financial Crowding Out Of Ghanaian Private Sector Corporations, Andrews Kwablah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The government of Ghana borrows from both domestic and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit. By the year 2013, the domestic debt was 55% of the public debt. Government domestic borrowing is competitive and can potentially crowd out the private corporate sector. Therefore, the specific research problem addressed in this study was whether the Ghanaian government's domestic debt (DEBT) caused financial crowding out (FCO) in Ghana. FCO theory is not conclusive and not proven specifically for Ghana, so the purpose of this research was to investigate its presence in Ghana. The neoclassical theory of FCO underpinned the research. The …

The Relationship Between Big Five Personality Traits And Burnout: A Study Among Correctional Personnel, Sharon Maylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout is a serious work related syndrome that is a result of exposure to chronic work stress. In addition to the consequences of burnout on the individual, the symptoms of burnout can adversely affect the organization, the clients the individual works with and the individual's close family and friends. The literature has focused on the history of burnout and the level of burnout experienced by various high stress occupations; however there has not been extensive research into the role personality traits play in burnout. The main research question of this study was to identify personality traits that are more susceptible …

Strategies For Employee Turnover Of Southeastern Wisconsin Manufacturing Workers, Jonathan Singer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover is a challenging problem for manufacturing leaders. Leaders today are challenged to find and retain human capital to remain competitive. The lack of strategies to reduce voluntary turnover among manufacturing leaders has contributed to high turnover rates and increased costs for manufacturing firms. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that some southeastern Wisconsin manufacturing leaders used to reduce voluntary turnover. The conceptual framework supporting the study was Herzberg's 2-factor theory. Results for the study were derived from the analysis of semistructured interviews of 6 manufacturing leaders across 4 manufacturing locations, as …

Strategies For Retaining Employees In The Nonprofit Sector, George Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover is a concern for nonprofit leaders due to human capital's strategic role in achieving performance excellence. The consequences of volunteer turnover include loss of profitability, productivity, knowledge, and financial stability. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies used by 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization in the Washington, DC, area who have experience with the nonprofit's employee retention efforts. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and organizational documentation and analyzed through the conceptual lens of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Data gathered from interviews and analyses of organizational data and performance outcomes were …

Workplace Bullying From A Nurses Perspective, Dawn Reid White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bullying has long been associated with school children. In recent years, however, more attention has been paid to the bullying that has reached beyond the playground and into the workforce. One population facing this problem is staff nurses. To date, no one has found an effective way to address workplace bullying in the healthcare field, nor have effective methods been found for retaining trained nurses affected by this problem. The focus of this dissertation was on understanding nurses' lived experiences and how nurses decided to remain in their current working position despite these problems. Taking a phenomenological approach and using …