Business Commons^™

Zhvillimi I Sektorit Bankar Dhe Ndikimi Në Rritjen Ekonomike - Rasti I Kosovës, Arian Zenelaj

Theses and Dissertations

Rritjet ekonomike në vendet në tranzicion zakonisht varen nga forma e sistemit bankar të aplikuar, i cili njëkohësisht konsiderohet edhe si një lloj infuzioni për sektorin privat e publik. Pa zhvillimin e sistemit bankar nuk mund të kemi as rritje ekonomike, pasi si procese janë të ndërlidhura ngushtë njëra me tjetrën.

Kosova është një rast specifik në këtë drejtim, por sistemi bankar është vlerësuar si determinues i politikave ekonomike në vendin tonë për gjatë tërë këtyre viteve të pasluftës. Qershori i vitit 1999 e ka gjetur Kosovën në një kolaps ekonomik për shkak të luftës, ku sistemi bankar po njëjtë …

Are Single Tier Inventory Systems Still Relevant In The Business World Today?, Hank Massaro

Senior Theses

The goal of this paper is to identify whether single tier inventory management systems are still effective and useful for businesses in today’s more globalized economy. Multitier inventory management systems are very popular, especially for researchers who have mostly forsaken single tier systems in recent years so there was reason to question the viability of single tier systems. However, to determine whether these inventory management systems are still viable, I would also have to identify at least one significant business sector that would benefit from their use, as well as exploring their assumptions and mathematical background to identify the inventory …

Wage Penalties In Major League Baseball, Thomas Kraemer

Honors College Theses

This study examines discrimination both by race and by foreign-born status in the context of Major League Baseball (MLB). The goal of this study is to determine if employer-based discrimination is present in MLB by looking for average differences in wages amongst groups and by looking for differences in returns to on-field output for players of different groups. MLB is an interesting industry to look for evidence of discrimination because it is one of the few industries where employee output is clear to see and compensation information is widely available, which is unusual for labor market studies. Sports is an …

The Internal Revenue Code: A Burden For Taxpayers Or An Instrument For Social Change?, Heather N. Murray

Honors Theses

Social engineering in the tax code has been evident from the beginning of the U.S. tax history. Today, it is as much as ever a part of the fabric of the tax codification, but there is very little research that investigates 1) how social engineering plays a role in the creation of new tax law, and 2) whether tax law is effective in altering taxpayer behavior. This paper streamlines the history of social engineering in the most popular revenue-reducing measures and analyzes how they've affected the U.S. taxpayer, with notes on future policy implications.

Simulation Modeling Of Alternative Staffing And Task Prioritization In Manual Post-Distribution Cross Docking Facilities, David A. Cox

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many supply chains have grown increasingly complex, which has led to the development of different facility types. One such facility is known as a post-distribution cross docking system (Post-C). In these facilities, bulk sorted product is received from various suppliers. Each product has its own destination, so the bulk package is broken, sorted by destination, and staged by destination. Typical processing includes: sort received goods by product type; break bulk and sort out goods by destination; move palletized goods to the staging areas of their respective destinations. This paper compares a global staffing policy (in which all workers may perform …

Technology Increases Efficiency In The Workplace, But Often Creates Chaos In The Process, Kathleen Merz Prester

Information Systems & Operations Management Theses - Archive

There is a multitude of technology solutions used in the typical workplace, aimed at increasing efficiency, but often chaos is created in the process. Can this chaos be reduced or eliminated? This paper seeks to answer that question. Specific technologies used in workplace environments and how they are implemented, including deployment, project management, and end-user involvement are dissected for a common thread. Underestimating the importance of communication is the common thread identified when chaos follows the implementation of new technology. The end-user requires constant communication before, during, and after the implementation process, whether the news is good or bad. Without …

Determinants Of Profitability: Empirical Evidence From The Largest Global Banks, Anthony Iacobelli

Financial Analyst

This paper examines the factors determining the profitability of the top sixteen global banks according to market capitalization. Using panel data spanning the period 1980 to 2015, this study estimates several specifications to examine the impact of bank-level and country-level variables on profitability. Fixed effects and GMM results show that bank characteristics, industry structure and macroeconomics variables are important in explaining global banks’ profitability. Bank capital and productivity increase a bank’s profitability whereas credit risk and operating efficiency reduce it. With respect to the macroeconomic indicators, higher economic growth and inflation spur banks’ profitability. The study also provides evidence on …

Do Corporate Managers Time Stock Repurchases Effectively?, Michael Lorka

Financial Analyst

This study examines the performance of share repurchases completed by corporate managers, and compares the implied performance of the purchases to a mythical alternative investment in the S&P 500 index, and the company’s industry sector. The “repurchase” portfolio benefits from managers’ significant information advantage over all other market participants. The data was collected from Compustat, and return, risk and risk adjusted metrics were calculated to provide a comparison of the two portfolios. Overall, the portfolio of repurchasing companies experienced lower returns than the broad index and respective industry sector, but the volatility for repurchasers was lower as well.

The Rise Of Artificial Intelligence: An Analysis On The Future Of Accountancy, Cara Jaslove

Psychology

The concern for the replacement of accountants with an artificial intelligence system is a current and pressing issue. As new certified public accountants enter the field, they must adapt to the rapid changes and innovations of today. This thesis will exam ine and analyze how the accounting industry has been impacted by artificial intelligence, as well as potential threats to new hires. Ultimately, accountants should not fear replacement, but rather must tailor their abilities to the newest technologies. Ove rall, artificial intelligence will add value to the accounting industry, as certified public accountants can shift their attention from monotonous tasks …

Exploring The Significant Differences Between Chinese And U.S. Corporations, Tianqi Liao

Accounting

This thesis explores the significant differences between a Chinese corporation and an American corporation. Their corporate structures, governance, compensation packages, shareholder rights, information transparency, types of disclosure, and government support were assessed. The two similar public companies which were selected included Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd., the Chinese firm and Best Buy Co., Inc. the American firm. The corporations were compared and contrasted and the advantages and disadvantages of each type of system were explored. A wide range of differences were discovered including the fact that the Chinese firm has two governing boards (Board of Directors and Supervisory Committee) and …

Equity Sell Disciplines Across The Style Box, Robert S. Krisch

Accounting

This study examines the use of four major equity sell disciplines across the equity style box. Specifically, large-cap and small-cap securities are tested to see which of the four sell disciplines consistently produces the best portfolio returns. Data from the Plan Sponsor Network (PSN) are used to calculate each portfolio’s benchmark-adjusted return (BAR), information ratio, and Sharpe ratio. These ratios are used to evaluate sell discipline strategy based on each portfolio’s market capitalization and style focus. Three regressions are run for each BAR, information ratio and Sharpe ratio. The analysis is repeated for all four corners of the style box. …

Ifrs In Higher Education: An Exploratory Study, Joshua A. Kalifeh

Honors Theses

Globalization of capital markets and technological advances enhancing global communications has led to the need for a set of international accounting standards. Comparability among financial statements prepared by numerous accounting standards depending upon the regulations of the country in which these statements are prepared is seriously impaired. Accordingly, serious convergence efforts have been made for the last few decades. Accordingly, higher education in the United States must reflect these changes in accounting curriculum available to students entering this environment. This exploratory study presents evidence that progress is being made in institutions. The progress, however, is not spread equally among the …

Sustainability Of Direct Sellers In Marketing, Ashten N. Holloway

Honors Theses

This paper examines the characteristics of people who are a good fit for a career in direct selling marketing as well as the characteristics of those who are not. It is also an examination of the motivations to join direct selling and the different levels of “success” that some may find in their careers as direct sellers. Some of the motivators for success came from emotional drives while some were situational. Analysis of the questionnaires given to each participant led to the discovery of three common determinants of what does make a successful direct seller and four determinants of characteristics …

Religious Commitment, Job Satisfaction, And Social Acceptability Among Religious Groups, Kathryn E. Dozier

Honors Theses

This study seeks to develop a better understanding of the relationships between religious commitment, social support, and job satisfaction. This research specifically investigated the correlations between religious commitment and social support, religious commitment and job satisfaction, and social support and job satisfaction. After surveying undergraduate students from a southern university, there was no statistical evidence supporting the idea that the indicated combinations contributed to job satisfaction. The research did demonstrate, however, a correlation between religious commitment and social support. In addition, groups were tested for significant differences in levels of religious commitment, social support, and job satisfaction; the groups based …

Implementation Of A Supply Chain Management "Intern For A Day" Program, Erin K. Mcconnell

Honors Projects

This program was developed to send students to local corporations to attain a better understanding of a business professional environment and the Supply Chain Management departments at those companies. Students were sent to Therma Tru Doors, in Maumee, Ohio to be "interns for a day". They received the chance to shadow employees in all aspects of the Supply Chain field and learn about what their day to day job responsibilities entail. There are many benefits to this externship program for both the students and Therma Tru. Students gain valuable experience and knowledge while Therma Tru gains access to some of …

An Interrogation Of Turnover Antecedents At An Automobile Manufacturer In Northwest Ohio, Emily Boyle

Honors Projects

The manufacturing industry is one of the largest industries in Northwest Ohio. With the growing influence of Lean/Six Sigma manufacturing systems, the industry is becoming much more automated and team-oriented. The manufacturing facility in question is a Tier 1 and 2 automotive manufacturer that is a part of one of the largest global companies in this sector and uses many Lean and Six Sigma processes across three shifts. In recent years, this company has seen a trend of high turnover and it is a constant point of contention for both supervisors and Human Resources. The current study aimed to determine …

The Entrepreneurial Philanthropist: Can It B?, Abby M. Kinnard

Honors Theses

The corporate culture is constantly shifting and with change comes the need to reexamine the priorities of a company. Social responsibility is no optional for companies and with the help of Benefit Corporations and B Corps the Entrepreneurial Philanthropist can be.

Who Am I? Customer Identification: A Quantitative Synthesis, Omar S. Itani

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

Customer identification defined as ‘customer’s perceived oneness with a company/brand’ is receiving increased attention in marketing. Despite the critical role customer identification plays, there is a lack of comprehensive work explicating the antecedents, outcomes, and possible boundary conditions of customer identification. The current study fills this gap in the literature by conducting a meta-analysis that synthesizes studies conducted over the past 25 years. The meta-analysis includes 167 independent samples (N = 87,538 customers) from which 24 antecedents and 7 outcomes of customer identification are identified and tested. Significant antecedents are grouped into two categories: company/brand antecedents and customer antecedents. Findings …

When The Ultimate Goal Is Running Yourself Out Of Business: The Extent To Which For-Profit Strategic Management Tools Apply To The Nonprofit Sector, Haley Mcdonnell

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Competitive advantage is important to any entity committed to success in its respective space. However, competitive advantage – and competition in general – becomes a complex concept when applied to a context like the nonprofit sector so often marked by cooperation and collaboration. This research explores the gap in availability of applicable strategic management tools, like competitive advantage frameworks, between the for-profit and nonprofit realms. This research draws on 20 interviews conducted with nonprofit executives around the United States and compares the findings with literature currently available about the nonprofit context and competitive advantage. A framework of nonprofit competitive advantage …

Intrusive Or Beneficial: Do Corporate Cell Phones Affect Workplace Obligation?, Jamie Gelberg

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

As mobile devices have crept into our personal lives, they have become a staple in professional’s lives as well. While these devices have made individuals better at instant communication, does this affect work-life balance? This paper aims to address this question through literature review, two primary data sources and an overall analysis. The target audience of this paper are employees with corporate cell phones and executives making decisions on mobile phone policies for their company or organization although, anyone can read it if they are interested in how technology influences daily routines.

Total Immersion: Virtual Reality's Path To Mass Adoption, Joshua Daghir

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

With the release of devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Daydream in 2016, virtual reality seems poised to take over the tech and media landscape. Professional estimates of the projected popularity of these devices span extremely wide ranges, and many of these predictions fall victim to a self-serving bias. The purpose of this research is to identify the variables that affect the spread of the use of virtual reality, and to analyze how the characteristics of modern virtual reality relate to these variables. The framework used to identify and assess these variables comes from Everett Rogers’s …

Coupling Mobile Technology, Position Data Mining, And Attitude Toward Risk To Improve Construction Site Safety, Khandakar Mamunur Rashid

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Construction sites comprise constantly moving heterogeneous resources that interact in close proximity of each other. The sporadic nature of such interactions creates an accident prone physical space surrounding workers. Despite efforts to improve site safety using location-aware proximity sensing techniques, major scientific gaps still remain in reliably forecasting impending hazardous scenarios before they occur. In the research documented in this thesis, spatiotemporal data of workers and site hazards are fused with a quantifiable model of an individual's attitude toward risk to generate proximity-based safety alerts in real time. In particular, two trajectory prediction models, namely polynomial regression (PR) and hidden …

Assessing Organizational Health Literacy At An Academic Health Center: A Quantitative Research Study, Latrina Y. Prince

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inadequate health literacy is a national health problem that affects about 90 million Americans. Health literacy is the degree to which a person is able to make good health decisions based on his/her ability to read, understand, and use health information and services. Organizational Health Literacy (OHL) is the degree to which an organization considers and promotes the health literacy of patients by providing easy to read, understand, and use health information and services. Since it is difficult to determine which patients have inadequate health literacy, a recommended intervention for addressing health literacy is to use OHL practices at all …

The Effect Of Floss Bands On Elbow Range Of Motion In Tennis Players, Kenna Hodeaux

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Floss bands have been used to improve ROM, restore joint mechanics, and break down adhesive tissue from previously injured musculature, however, there is limited research available and the few research studies have mixed results on the usefulness of floss bands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of floss bands in increasing elbow range of motion (ROM) in tennis players. Twelve elite tennis players (6 female and 6 male) participated in this randomized crossover design study. Subjects attended two separate sessions. Passive ROM measures were taken with a standard goniometer for elbow flexion and extension and forearm …

A Social Marketing Plan For 7hills Homeless Center, Kendra Labri Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

7hills Homeless Center is located in Fayetteville, Arkansas and is committed to ending homelessness in Northwest Arkansas by developing and implementing innovative services to equip the near-homeless and homeless in leading healthy and productive lives through strategic community partnerships with citizens, business, and government agencies. This thesis offers 7hills Homeless Center a comprehensive social marketing plan. The goal is to increase awareness of homelessness in Northwest Arkansas and to increase donor and volunteer involvement with 7hills. In order to accomplish these goals, a social marketing plan was developed by researching target volunteer and donor audiences, homelessness, and successful campaigns from …

Bank Specific Determinants Of Profitability In Turkish Banks, Ahmet Karakuza

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This paper examines the profitability of Turkish commercial banks during the period 2005 – 2014. We use bank – specific determinants to predict the following years’ profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). Among the performance measures, the amount of net interest income as a proportion of total operating income is positive related to profitability. It remains important for banks to loan money out at a rate higher than their cost of capital. Non-interest income as a proportion of total assets is strongly positively related to profitability. Consumer loans as a proportion of total loans is negatively related to profitability. …

Exploring The Abilities Of 3d Printing And Its Viability For Consumption In The Fashion Industry, Laura C. Corral, Kaitlyn J. Walker

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

With the ever-evolving state of today’s technology, designers and retailers in the apparel industry are seeking out new technological methods that have the capacity to revolutionize and individualize their brand, as well as meet consumer needs and preferences. An emerging technology is 3D printing, which utilizes computer-aided technology and a variety of filaments to construct an object. Though 3D printing technology offers the ability for rapid prototyping, a condensed supply chain, and a sustainable additive manufacturing process, there is question as to whether or not consumers are ready for 3D printed clothing to enter their wardrobes. In this creative …

Capture Theory & State Regulation Of Animal Cruelty, Kyla Henderson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In this thesis I theorize that regulatory capture impacts animal cruelty laws in several different ways. Capture theory is the process by which regulatory agencies eventually come to be dominated by the industries they were charged with regulating. Regulatory capture happens when a regulatory agency, formed to act in the public’s interest, eventually acts in ways that benefit the industry it is supposed to be regulating, rather than the public. Animal cruelty regulations are an important factor in the way that everyday products are produced. Capture theory affecting animal cruelty is an important look at the growing concern with animal …

The Relationship Between Defense Expenditures And Economic Growth: A Granger Causality Approach, Colin Manchester

Business/Business Administration

This paper examines the relationship between defense spending and economic growth in the United States of America between 1947 and 2016. Using quarterly data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis Economic Data and the Granger Causality methodology, this study examines the potential two-way causality between defense spending and economic growth. The results suggest that over the longer time span of 6-7 years, Granger Causality was not seen between defense spending and economic growth. However, while analyzing incremental periods in smaller sections, there were differing findings about the nature of causality.

Leadership And Performance In Various Group Dynamics, Jonathan Fedczuk

Business/Business Administration

This thesis will begin by providing a summary of the differences between flat and tall organizations. The bulk of the research will aim to explore leadership styles and demands that are effective in flatter organizations. More specifically, it will examine several aspects of autocratic and participative leadership in relation to managerial success. It will also assess certain need satisfactions of managers in flat organizations and the extent to which they have achieved success. The second portion of this thesis is intended to explore whether structural differences influence performance. A number of laboratory studies are evaluated to measure performance in tall …