Business Commons^™

Essays On Risk Measurement And Fund Separation, Fang Liu

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1 extends Cass and Stiglitz's analysis of preference-based mutual fund separation. We show that high degrees of fund separation can be constructed by adding inverse marginal utility functions exhibiting lower degrees of separation. However, this method does not allow us to find all utility functions satisfying fund separation. In general, we do not know how to write the primal utility functions in these models in closed form, but we can do so in the special case of SAHARA utility defined by Chen et al. and for a new class of GOBI preferences introduced here. We show that there is …

Capacity Planning And Resource Acquisition Decisions Using Robust Optimization, Aldis Jakubovskis

Dissertations

This dissertation studies strategic capacity planning and resource acquisition decisions, including the facility location problem and the technology choice problem. These decisions are modeled in an integrative manner, and the main purpose of the proposed models and numerical experiments is to examine the effects of economies of scale, economies of scope, and the combined effects of scale and scope under uncertain demand realizations using robust optimization. The type of capacities, or technology alternatives, that a firm can acquire can be classified on two basic dimensions. The first dimension relates to the effects of scale via distinction between labor-intensive (less automated) …

Combining Systems Methodologies To Reduce Allergen-Related Food Recalls, Jill Marie Sweney

Dissertations and Theses

The risk of poor food safety is a major focus for managers in the food manufacturing industry. Despite industry-led and regulatory efforts to improve the overall food safety of US packaged consumer foods, product recalls and market withdrawals are increasing. This is especially true for the most frequent cause for food recall: the undeclared allergen. With industry trends leaning toward adoption of third-party food safety management certifications, a popular food safety code from the Safe Quality Foods Institute is evaluated using Systems Analysis. Three changes to the food safety code are proposed to address three of the top causes for …

Factors That Influence The Implementation Of The Lean 5s Tool Within U.S. Automotive Suppliers, Randy R. Kazmierski

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study identified a number of key factors influencing the implementation of each of the phases of the lean 5S tool in suppliers to the U.S. automotive industry and to determine if these factors vary according to selected demographic variables. This study was conceived to develop a better understanding as to why some organizations fail to implement all five of the 5S phases and become stagnant. The research questions that guided the study included:

RQ1: What factors were perceived by the respondents to have influenced the implementation of the lean 5S phases and elements in suppliers of manufacturing products to …

The Effects Of Quantitative Easing In The United States: Implications For Future Central Bank Policy Makers, Matthew Q. Rubino

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects of the Federal Reserve’s recent bond buying programs, specifically Quantitative Easing 1, Quantitative Easing 2, Operation Twist (or the Fed’s Maturity Extension Program), and Quantitative Easing 3. In this study, I provide a picture of the economic landscape leading up to the deployment of the programs, an overview of quantitative easing including each program’s respective objectives, and how and why the Fed decided to implement the programs. Using empirical analysis, I measure each program’s effectiveness by applying four models including a yield curve model, an inflation model, a money supply …

Critical Analysis Of The Confounding Of Clinical Trials, Eleanor L. Jordan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

To provide a comprehensive overview of issues confounding clinical trials, Chapter 2 will discuss the parties involved in the research and development of medications and detail the individual responsibilities of each. However, the ambition of these individual entities often produces a conflict of interest especially when profits are involved [9]. Organizations and individuals such as insurance corporations, pharmaceutical companies (sponsors), pharmacy benefit managers, investigators (doctors/medical professionals) and most importantly patients, are all involved in carrying out clinical research and have definitive responsibilities they are required to follow for unbiased results. However, many rules are overlooked and biases go unrecorded causing …

Customer Complaint Management Systems (Ccms) In A Food Processing Industry, Maggie A. Macleish

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Abstract

The food processing industry must meet customers’ highest quality expectations at the lowest cost. I partnered with Nestlé’s pizza facility in Little Chute, WI, to improve the current customer complaint approach of the quality department, which aimed to improve product quality. To improve the total quality of the system, this project established a defensive method of addressing customer complaints. Some strategies used to improve the current Customer Complaint Management System (CCMS) include Quality Functional Deployment (QFD), fuzzy logic, Kano’s methods, Voice of the customer (VOC) and Go-See-Think-Do (GSTD). These strategies are all related, but have not previously been used …

Jmu Dining To Go, Austin R. Ford

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

JMU Dining to Go is a business plan that led to the development of two applications, both of which allow JMU students to order food from on-campus dining halls and have it delivered at their specified time and to their specified location.

Nonprofit Leadership: A Study Of Governance Changes Over Time, Daisha M. Merritt

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This is a leadership study understood through board governance in nonprofit organizations. The study sought to discover if there were indicators of coercive institutional isomorphism occurring in human service nonprofit organizations in the United States. IRS 990 tax forms were compiled from 2008- 2012 to determine if there were increasing levels of reported governance practices. Methodology included factor analysis, comparison of means, trend analysis, and regression models. Results indicated that there is an overall trend of increasing reported practices of governance in human service nonprofit organizations. Board size is the most significant indicator associated with changes in reported governance practices. …

The Congruence Of The Social And Conventional Entrepreneur: An Examination Of Goal Split Distribution, Emergence By Age, And Antecedent Model Congruence, Eric M. Korn

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Defined social and conventional entrepreneurs enjoy very different levels of support and educational offerings in the United States and abroad. With the launch of more and more nonprofit organizations being spurred on by the entrepreneur, the extent to which those that seek a distributed bottom line for their intended organization differ from those with economic goals becomes an important line of inquiry.

The study of the entrepreneur began, in many ways, with Schumpeter in that late 1930’s, and the echoes of his economic background remain implicit in the definition of the breed to this day. This work seeks to determine …

Instagram: Builiding A Following In Niche Audiences And Captivating Strangers Utilizing Visual Social Media, Maia Henderson

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, are used by advertisers to create brand identity and connect with consumers on a personal level. With the invention of Instagram however, fashion enthusiasts have been able to create their own visual accounts and build a following within a niche community. They don’t have to represent a specific brand or be sponsored, yet they are followed by many because of the quality of their content and by utilizing certain Instagram conventions. There is no known formula about how these accounts become so popular. These “Instafamous” accounts resonate deeply with their followers and …

The Role Of Investor Relations In Crisis Communications, Rebecca Leigh Warren

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

By the end of the 2000s, Domino’s Pizza Inc. was facing decreasing sales and a dwindling stock price, as consumers were frequently disappointed in the quality of the chain’s food. In April 2009, the pizza giant was faced with a sudden crisis when a YouTube video surfaced showing employees contaminating food with bodily functions.

This study will focus on the events following the crisis. Specifically, the study will examine Dominos’ unique pivot towards a transparent communications strategy in hopes of revitalizing its business model and its share price.

The methodology used to explore Domino’s new communications approach includes an in-depth …

Financing Small Market Baseball: A Case Study Of The Auburn Doubledays, Derek Wohlfarth

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Professional baseball has been played in Auburn, New York, since 1958, but over the last few years, the team has experienced a period of financial losses. The biggest hit was in 2013, when the team lost $125,000. The City of Auburn, which owns the team, no longer has the money to support the franchise, so in order to keep baseball in Auburn, the team must become self-sufficient. Auburn is the second-smallest market in the league, so the community needs to get behind the team in order for it to stay in operation. New management came in for the 2014 season …

Map Centered Analysis Of San Francisco Crime Trends, Brittany Moore

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The original purpose of my Capstone was to analyze crime statistics in San Francisco to draw conclusions that could help prevent crime. I chose to analyze crime statistics in my hometown because I believe that using a place that I’m familiar with and engaging in a project that would be addressing a problem that has affected my family would help to motivate me. I’m also deeply passionate about using data analysis skills in ways that will directly improve the human condition. I did this by accessing a dataset online, using R Program Language and creating maps of relationships of crimes …

Viewability: An Exaggerated Crisis, Jared Rosen

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This thesis addresses the ongoing debate surrounding Viewability within the digital advertising industry. Since advertising is the lifeblood of many publishers and sites across the web, it is vital that brands and marketers derive value from this relationship. The Media Rating Council and Making Measurement Make Sense Movement both over exaggerate the value of Viewability in the digital advertising marketplace. By examining a plethora of articles and regulatory standards, I have been able to conclude that Viewability is a soft metric that does not provide media insights into the success of a given campaign. By conducting interviews and reviewing articles …

Race And Gender In Public Relations: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Experiences Of Women And Women Of Color In Pr, Emelia Armstead

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The purpose of this research project was to better understand the state of diversity in the PR industry by examining the unique experience of women and women of color working in PR. Using qualitative coding methods, five blogs by both women of color and White women were coded to determine emergent themes. While some themes were consistent among all authors, other trends emerged only among White women or women of color, respectively. From the personal and professional experiences of these women, these themes offered insights into the effects of both race and gender on the experience of female PR professionals.

More Than Just A Game: From Regional Sports Rivalry To Separatist Politics, Ruitong Zhou

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In the Capstone, I will explore one of the most intense football clashes in history: El Clásico (The Classic), which refers to a match-up between Real Madrid C.F. and FC Barcelona. When these most successful football clubs meet on the field for 90 minutes of intense action, it soon becomes very clear that this is much more than just a game or just sports. The field can be seen as a battleground, and the game could be a substitute for war between two ideologies, cultures, and social classes. This rivalry has a real and profound political tone, which goes back …

Graphtracker: A User Opt-In Approach To Web Tracking, Kevin Daniel Aziz

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The web is a collection of interconnected documents and sites. A user will often jump not just from one site to another, but from one site to two or three others. How we explore the web is just as important as what we explore and what we discover as a result. In computer science, graphs are used to represent relationships between entities. By applying this concept to web tracking, graphs can capture the relationships between the sites we visit. We are building GraphTracker to tackle the difficult problem of tracking a user’s web activity. GraphTracker builds a “browsing graph” to …

Examining The Relationship Between Ethical Strategies And Consumer Perceptions In The New Age Of Social Technology, Anabelle Uy

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Technology’s growing influence on the daily lives of individuals in modern society is ubiquitous. The increased demand for transparency in business has affected not only consumer perception but the ethical strategies of firms as well. Today, consumer trends illustrate the importance of ethically sourced products and services. They use the platform of technology to gather and disseminate company information and discuss their satisfaction, or lack thereof, with the ethical strategies of firms. This higher value placed on ethical practices and transparency has transformed our previous viewpoint of conventional business. Firms must be able to meet the demands of consumers to …

The Rising Power Of The Renminbi As A Trade Currency In The Asean Countries, Brian Cheung

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper looks at the renminbi as a trade settlement currency in the countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The paper first looks at the trade picture in ASEAN, and how the old trade dynamics with the United States were broken down during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In the ensuing power vacuum, China started to replace the United States as a trade partner, growing today to become even larger of a trade partner than the U.S ever was. The following section explores the role of the growth of the renminbi in use as a trade …

The Health Benefits Of Red Wine, Shannon Morgan Anfindsen

Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to prove the health benefits or red wine. By comparing red wine to other forms of alcohol and researching the various health benefits, readers will see that when choosing to drink alcohol, red wine is the most healthy alcoholic drink of choice.

Rebranding Hillel At Syracuse University, Marisa Bunis

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

My rebranding of Hillel at Syracuse University was a multi-step process. First, I had to understand what rebranding truly meant – what made a successful rebranding, what to avoid during a rebranding, etc. I gained this critical knowledge by reflecting on my education as an advertising major and consulting credible online sources on the topic. The next step was to gain a deeper understanding of my client, Hillel at Syracuse University. I again drew insights from my own experience as a student highly involved in the organization, and I also learned critical information from resources provided to me by Brian …

Technology Transfer And The Instrumentality Of Bayh-Dole: A Comparative Study Of Patent And Publishing Data, 1973-2007, Ethan M. Rothschild

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Technology transfer is the process by which universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) channel discovered knowledge and innovations into commercialization. Increasing commercialization has been a feature of HEIs in the United States, especially, for the last several decades. A turning point can be seen with the passage of what is known as the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. This landmark piece of legislation allowed universities to keep licensing rights from federally funded projects, an institutional ownership model that spurred innovation. HEIs with medical schools are especially affected due to the lucrative nature of biotechnology.

One such measure of innovation and, …

Ethics Of Thailand's Tourism Industry, Ganjanaporn Lertpipat Luther

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how ethical sales behavior related to the likelihood of tourists to return to Thailand. The Ethical Tourism Industry survey used was adapted from previous studies found in the literature. The sample of 300 participants was drawn from international tourists who travelled in the North, Central, and South regions of Thailand. Tests of correlation used Pearson, logistic regression, and linear regression to analyze the research questions in this study. An analysis found that most tourists who were revisiting Thailand were male, and 49% of tourists came from Europe and Africa for leisure purposes. …

Government Shutdown: A Test Of Market Effeciency, Jessica H. Woodard

Theses & Honors Papers

How does the market react to a government shutdown? Can investors earn above normal returns by acting on this type of information? How efficient is the market in reacting to the announcement of this type of event? This event study tests market efficiency theory by analyzing the impact of two recent US Government shutdowns on the risk adjusted stock price returns of a sample of 50 firms. This study used the standard risk adjusted event study methodology found in the finance literature. Evidence confirms the significant and consistent negative reaction of the risk adjusted returns for the two 50 firm …

An Examination Of The Volunteer Coordinator's Influence On Church Volunteers' Intent-To-Continue At The Largest Protestant Churches, Jason Berton Golden

Dissertations

Volunteers contribute to the production of goods and services by easing the burden of the paid workforce while not increasing costs. Today’s volunteers tend to be highly trained, skilled professionals looking for a place to invest their time and skills. Churches are the largest single recipient of many volunteers’ efforts. Despite this fact, volunteerism is on the decline in churches.

Once recruited, attrition rates can climb as high as 40% in the first 12 months following training of volunteers. Therefore, the greatest challenge churches face is turnover. Not only does turnover lead to reduced production; it also incurs added expenditures …

Fast Food Industry Ethics: Can Employee's Ethical Awareness Be Improved?, Joanna L. Moore

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

There has been recent evidence that the fast food industry is unethical. Training helps employees learn what they are responsible for doing. Can training on ethics increase ethical awareness? To determine if this can happen, a study was done with the local Taco Bueno employees. The workers were given a pre-training survey, then participated in a case study training session, and finally took a post-training survey. Ethical awareness increased, but the results were not statistically significant in the small study sample. Further study is recommended to learn how long the increase of ethical awareness will last and if future training …

Inland Vet Supply Employee Training Manual, Jessica Crawford

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this senior project was to create an informative manual that would aid new employees in learning proper store protocols at Inland Vet Supply. The project included the creation of the manual based on the wants of the employer, Tammy Horal, as well as the needs of the store itself. The manual was written in a way that could be easily understood, and quickly referred to. The intended goal for the manual was to improve the ease of learning, and to reduce the amount of confusion when teaching new employees store procedures. It is with hope that once …

National Collegiate Athletic Association Head Coaches' Satisfaction With Athletic Training Services 2015, Whitney Larson

Master's Theses

Athletic trainers and coaches have a significant amount of interaction regarding the care of an athlete. This communication and cooperation is necessary to providing effective care. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of satisfaction that head coaches have with those providing athletic training services across all three NCAA Divisions. Overall satisfaction and four satisfaction categories (professionalism, communication, knowledge/ability, and accessibility) were examined. A total of 40 head coaches from NCAA Division I, II, and III schools participated in the study. The instrument used was originally developed by Beer (2004) and was modified to fit the current …

Fast Fashion: At What Cost?, Fiona Hall-Roulac

Senior Theses

Fashion has played a large role in society and the production of clothing has greatly changed for American consumers over the past hundred years. I will examine the notion of fast fashion and how these practices have changed how people shop and as a result how workers work. I will examine how some companies are creating transparency by showing their factories, actual prices of the goods, as well as focusing on small locally produced goods and the cost for Americans receiving low cost fast fashion goods. The 20^th century marked the industrial revolution where clothing production greatly transformed. It …