Business Commons^™

Financial Management Practices: Associations With Financial Well-Being And Risky Investment Among Families In Malaysia., Husniyah Abd. Rahim

Student Works (2010-2019)

Financial management practices predicting good financial well-being and participation in risky assets among families were identified in this study. It also seeks to find out other factors predicting financial well-being and participation in risky assets. Associations of time horizon with risk preference, and risk preference with financial management practices, differences in financial management practices among the main ethnicities in Malaysia and among families residing in urban and rural areas were also determined. The moderating roles of self-worth between financial management practices and financial well-being of families, and between financial management practices and risky investment by families were explored. Quota sampling …

An Investigation Of Female Career Progression And Development In The Irish Hospitality Industry., Richella Ryan Devereaux

Theses

In recent years, the increasing number of women at the lower positions in the hospitality industry and their underrepresentation in top management positions has made women’s status in the industry a great concern. The purpose of this study is to examine the career progression of female graduates in the Irish hospitality industry.

A qualitative approach in the form of in-depth interviews of twenty-one female middle and senior managers in the Irish hospitality industry provided the opportunity to gain insights into their experiences and barriers faced in advancing their careers to senior management positions.

The results of the current study identify …

The Effects Of Emotions On Strategic Decision-Making: A China-U.S. Cross-Cultural Experimental Study, Weichu Xu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation examines how two different emotions—pride and guilt—experienced by managers influence their strategic decision-making. Four different aspects of strategic decisions are investigated: risk, comprehensiveness, speed, and resource commitment. The dissertation also investigates how culture moderates the relationship between emotions and different aspects of the strategic decision-making process.

The hypotheses of this study were tested using a 2 x 2 experimental design with two emotions (guilt and pride) and two cultures (U.S. and China). The experimental design used scenarios to elicit these two emotions. Next, PANAS-X scale was used to check the effectiveness of emotion manipulation. Finally, respondents were asked …

Infusing Critical Thinking Into An Employability Skills Program: The Effectiveness Of An Immersion Approach, Sophie Kennedy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The demands of the knowledge economy have placed renewed emphasis on graduate employability and the development of higher-order thinking skills. Preparing graduates for the workplace requires new instructional approaches to develop a matrix of interrelated skills. This study investigates an immersion approach to developing employability skills with emphasis on the infusion of critical thinking skills in an undergraduate business degree.

The research is situated within the pragmatic paradigm and comprises a mixed methods approach. Analyses of project instructions, student reflections and test scores are presented in an explanatory case study in three parts: the infusion of critical thinking skills in …

Electric Vehicles: Market Opportunities In China, Shanna Hoversten

CMC Senior Theses

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer an exciting opportunity in China both in terms of the potential to build a domestic manufacturing base and the potential to create a strong domestic market for the product. The Chinese nation stands to benefit from both supply-side and demand-side promotion due to the economic stimulus from EV manufacturing and export, the environmental benefits of reduced air pollution and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the energy security benefits of transitioning away from foreign oil dependence. The Chinese have several advantages when it comes to stimulating EV industry development and EV deployment, including: leadership in battery technology, …

The Underlying Factors Of Regional U.S. Hotel Market Resiliency Post 9/11, Beaumont L. Heidrich

CMC Senior Theses

I was interested in researching the underlying factors that drove resiliency in regional U.S. hotel markets. I did this by conducting an empirical analysis of twenty nine different markets post September 11 and investigating general, leisure and business variables. I concluded that leisure variables were the underlying drivers of resiliency in regional U.S. hotel markets.

I then conducted an event study to try to apply my findings to stock market prices of publicly traded hotel companies. Although it was a challenge to differentiate between companies that depended more on leisure versus business customers due to their asset diversification, I categorized …

The Effect Of Age Upon Ceo Compensation: A Cross-Industry Study, Anthony Bouvier

CMC Senior Theses

The compensation of CEO’s has been at the forefront of the public’s mind for the past few years. During the recession, one could not go a day without hearing about the atrocious salaries and bonuses that executives were being paid. Although it only recently became an explosive topic, academics have been researching all aspects of compensation for many years. One of the earliest looked at the idea of pay for performance (Jensen and Murphy 1990), and the field has taken off from there. Many studies have been done on the determinants of compensation, and I was interested in how age …

Do Investors View Excess Capacity As A Determinant Of Mergers And Acquisitions In The Pharmaceutical And Biotechnology Industry?, Jennifer M. Volk

CMC Senior Theses

I examine investors’ reaction to the announcement of mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry from 2002 to 2008. Over this period, investors anticipate the announcements, as demonstrated by the fact that the cumulative abnormal returns are not statistically significant. In addition, I test to determine the effect of excess capacity on investors’ reactions. From 2002 to 2004, investors do not recognize acquisitions as a response to excess capacity, as the excess capacity measures utilized have no effect on the size of the cumulative abnormal return. From 2005 to 2008, however, excess capacity measures have a positive effect …

Corporate Sustainability And The Recession: Firms' Strategy Response In A Financial Crisis, Carolyn M. Campbell

CMC Senior Theses

As the modern world deals with an increasing number of environmental and social crises, corporate sustainability is becoming ever more imperative for business. There is broad agreement that profit maximization can no longer be the exclusive goal of a company, with firms working to align environmental, social, and financial performance. Companies have demonstrated a wide variety of experiences in regards to the financial crisis and its effects on corporate sustainability. While some firms experienced serious setbacks in achieving environmental and social goals others firms claimed to have been ramping up sustainability efforts during the recession. However, most firms report that …

Analysis Of Acquirer Stock Performance In Mergers And Acquisitions In Alberta's Oil And Gas Industry, Harrison A. Zivot

CMC Senior Theses

This paper develops a framework that analyzes how mergers and acquisitions in Alberta’s oil and gas industry affect stock prices. In this experiment, a multivariate regression is applied to several industry-specific variables to determine if they have impacts on the abnormal stock returns of acquirers. The results show that abnormal returns 5 days prior to the public announcement of the transaction are, in fact, driven by several industry-specific variables. However, the returns immediately after the M & A announcements are similar to previous research done in other industries. Acquirers’ gains 2 days after the announcement are essentially unaffected by the …

Diversification Premium On Indian Adrs During The Financial Crisis, Rajat Gupta

CMC Senior Theses

Non-arbitrage asset pricing has been an avenue of unending interest to financial academics and practitioners alike. With increased capital outflow being permitted by developing economies, investors now have easy access to securities issued by foreign firms. The issue investigated in this research is concerned with the persistent presence of arbitrage opportunities between depository receipts and domestic stocks of Indian firms during the recent financial crisis. Instead of being priced in parity with one another during the crisis, ADRs of Indian firms were overpriced by as much as 70% for months on end. This thesis investigates the reasons giving rise to …

Private Equity Transaction Bankruptcy Risk Prediction, Lewis A. Corson

CMC Senior Theses

This study utilizes a sample of private equity backed acquisitions to test whether certain factors, evaluated and quantified on the date of transaction completion, serve as indicators of future transaction bankruptcy. The results of this paper suggest that the effective federal funds rate is significantly and positively correlated with the bankruptcy of private equity backed transactions. Other measured factors specific to the private equity sponsor, the target firm in the acquisition and the characteristics of the transaction are found to be insignificant. Analysis on the influence of these factors is performed using two types of binary-response models, which predict the …

Factors Affecting The Forecasting Ability Of Implied Correlation In Currency Options, Justin S. Eskind

CMC Senior Theses

Little research has been done into implied correlations, and the small literature grows even smaller when referring to currency options. The existing literature has established that implied correlation is a good if not the best forecaster of future realized correlation, and that this ability to forecast is not necessarily universal. This paper will establish that the forecasting ability of implied correlations in currency options varies across currency pairs, thus proving that not all implied correlations are created equal. Using two different proxies for the quality of the forecaster, the paper attempts to explain which characteristics of an option on a …

Conflict Of Interest?: Executive-Auditor Relationship And The Likelihood Of A Sec-Prompted Restatement, Henry Lyford

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines the relationship between executives and their independent auditor to see if there is a conflict of interest in their interaction. This study was motivated by the meltdowns, partially caused by fraudulent accounting, of many public companies in the late 1990s and early 2000s and the consequent passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This study examines the variables of audit fees, fees for other services, and auditor tenure to see if they are connected with the occurrence of an SEC-prompted restatement. The results show no significant correlation between amount of fees and the likelihood of an SEC-prompted restatement but …

Forecasting The Inland Empire's Economic Recovery, Jesse C. Franklin

CMC Senior Theses

The Inland Empire -Riverside and San Bernardino Counties - was one of the hardest hit areas in all of the United States during the Great Recession. Home prices have declined over 50%, significantly more than the 25% decline in the surrounding Los Angeles County, and housing starts have declined to over 90% from 2005. The Inland Empire has one of the highest unemployment rates in the US at 14.8%. This paper attempts to forecast the recovery for the Inland Empire. Employing univariate forecasts along with VAR(12) forecasts, focusing on housing starts and unemployment rates as the underlying variables, we find …

Saving America's Automobile Industry: The Bailouts Of 1979 And 2009, An Overview Of The Economic Conditions, Factors For Failure, Government Interventions And Public Reactions, Taylor A. Wall

CMC Senior Theses

This paper will discuss the bankruptcies experienced by U.S. automakers in both 1979 and 2009. The main factors which led the automakers into financial ruin was the uncontrolled power of labor unions, the severe financial impact of oil embargos, the aggressive imposition of federal regulations and the increasing dominance of Japanese imports. After discussing these important factors, the paper will describe the specifics of Chrysler’s bailout experience in 1979 with the positive public acceptance of the government loans, largely due to the character of Lee Iacocca. After delving into Chrysler, this paper will explain the specifics of the government’s bailout …

Spain And The 2004 Expansion Of The European Union: A Case Of Fdi Diversion?, Christopher M. Preston

CMC Senior Theses

With the expansion of the European Union there have been concerns over increasing competition for FDI attraction between member states. This study will examine to what extent, if to any extent at all, the admission of the Central and Eastern countries to the EU has raised completion for FDI in Spain. Spain and the CEECs will be compared in terms of advantages in FDI attraction. Ultimately, evidence and analysis will suggest that given current trend, there is no serious threat to diverting foreign assets from Spain to the CEECs.

The Impact Of Ceo Compensation On Firm Performance In The Oil Industry, Christophe M. Bindert

CMC Senior Theses

Critics often cite poor executive compensation schemes as one of the leading causes of the recent credit crisis. This paper investigates whether compensation structures at the end of the 2006 fiscal year created incentives for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the oil industry to take on excessive risk, which subsequently may have lead to weaker firm performance during the crisis. I find no evidence to support the argument that higher pay sensitivity through option and other incentive awards lead to worse firm performance. In fact, results do not provide any evidence that company performance during the crisis was related to …

Impact Of The Federal Estate Tax On The La Dodgers, Mark Gose

CMC Senior Theses

This paper addresses the impact of the federal estate tax on a family-run business as well as the optimal estate planning techniques that can be implemented to ease the estate tax burden.

An Economic Impact Study Of The "Boom" Period Of Baseball Stadium Redevelopment, Emily Mcnab

CMC Senior Theses

The intention of this study is to analyze the economic impact of redeveloped Major League Baseball stadiums opened between 1991 and 2004. Using two empirical models, including an event study, this impact analysis captures the economic conditions of the cities during the opening year of the stadium, as well as the prior conditions leading up to the opening of the stadium, along with any lingering effects or gradual changes in conditions. The impact was measured in relation to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas corresponding to the 18 ballparks included, specifically looking at the impact on employment rates and per capita personal …

An Examination Of The Government Accounting Standards Board, Christopher D. Jones

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the Government Accounting Standards Board by considering its history, current structure, and treatment of a current accounting standards debate. It then uses this examination to make recommendations as to reforms of the GASB and government accounting.

The Secondary Market For Gift Cards And The Role Of Corporate Bankruptcy Risk, Kaitlyn A. Desai

CMC Senior Theses

The website, Plastic Jungle, is taking advantage of the rapidly growing gift card phenomena by creating a secondary market that enables consumers to buy, sell, and exchange gift cards online at a discount. This paper examines the relationship between this secondary gift card market and the corporate bankruptcy risk of companies with gift cards listed on the market. When a company issues a gift card, the card is unsecured debt and the cardholder becomes an unsecured creditor to the company. This paper investigates whether the cardholder acts similarly to other unsecured creditors or as someone who is merely holding another …

How Users Actually Use Financial Statements: A New Tool For Research In Experimental Accounting, Kevin Burke

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis presents a new methodology based on directly measuring user behavior and making decisions based on experimental results. I have built and tested a tool which will enable researchers to use the methodology to determine whether particular financial statement presentations are more beneficial than others. The tool records user movement on a computer screen with mouse tracking, which allows researchers to track user behavior in greater detail than ever before. The methodology was tested on a subject pool of non-professional financial analysts and junior professionals, who were presented with a company’s financial data in the current GAAP and a …

Solar Development In The Mojave Desert, Joseph B. Swartley

CMC Senior Theses

For more than two centuries, humans have been spewing “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and the development of land, causing the planet’s surface temperature to increase at an accelerated rate. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues that the world is facing today, and in order to combat the effects of climate change, it is necessary to adopt the use of more renewable technology, namely solar energy. The United States' best region for solar development is the Mojave Desert, and many large-scale projects are being built or proposed to be built …

A Valuation Of U.S. Not-For-Profit Summer Camps With A Comparison Of Two Members Of The Association Of Hole In The Wall Camps, Kristine N. Staley

CMC Senior Theses

Despite their prevalence throughout the United States, summer camps are rarely considered as businesses or high-functioning not-for-profit entities. This paper explores the camping industry with a focus on not-for-profit camps. It adapts typical not-for-profit efficiency metrics to camps in order to demonstrate that powerful missions are not always enough to keep not-for-profits in operation. The paper examines two members of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps which serve children with serious and life-threatening illnesses. Ultimately, this paper is a tool for donors to observe how organizational performance is a crucial factor when donating to organizations with similar mission.

Transfer Pricing: Current Problems And Solutions, Ronald Wu

CMC Senior Theses

The current problems and possible solutions surrounding United States transfer pricing regulations are discussed and studied. The schemes large multinational companies are implementing to legally evade taxes are uncovered as the financial effects to the United States Treasury and government are becoming material. The benefits for these schemes are financially advantageous for corporations as they are able to report larger profits and higher returns for investors. But this is being done at the expense of our government. Corporations are finding ways to escape the high U.S. corporate tax rate and lower their global tax liabilities by allocating income to lower …

Faculty Inside A Changing University: Constructing Roles, Making Spaces, Leslie D. Gonzales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The notion of a multiversity was stamped into the higher education literature by Clark Kerr in 1963 when he spoke about the numerous purposes tied to U.S. higher education. Kerr highlighted how the University is often pulled in many directions at once, asked to fulfill promises of the cultural, educational, national, societal, and now, of the global kind. Yet it is imperative to remember that these multiversities are not empty spaces. They are occupied and brought to life by the people who work inside them, especially the faculty, who Gregorian (2005) names as the "heart and soul, the bone marrow …

Repeated Measures Of Impact Verbal Memory Scores Of Concussed And Non-Concussed Individuals, Deshea Davis Gornowicz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study compared ImPACT verbal memory scores of concussed and non-concussed athletes (n=6). This purpose of this study was to determine stability of verbal memory scores with repeated measures. Stability was determined using the ImPACT normative data for university of men and women published in the ImPACT manual. Based on visual inspection of the data, differences between groups was observed. All concussed participants demonstrated scores that were not stable according to the operational definition. All non-concussed participants were demonstrated stable verbal memory scores.

The Premium, Breakeven, And Discount Exchange Rates Of The Mexican Peso In The El Paso Retail Sector, Raul Anton Munoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper studies the exchange rates at which Mexican pesos are accepted by different retail sectors in El Paso, Texas. A random sample of 1,155 firms was surveyed to examine two aspects of reverse dollarization in the El Paso/Juarez border region. The first is to determine the percentage of retail businesses in El Paso that accept foreign currency in the form of Mexican pesos. The second is to calculate the effective exchange rate at which firms accept Mexican pesos. Out of 1,155 retail firms surveyed, 586 responses were obtained. The results of this investigation suggest that less than 14 percent …

“Make It Happen With Momentum”, Stavros Michailidis

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The “Make it Happen with Momentum” workshop is a 90 minute interactive experience developed for the 11th Annual European Conference on Creativity and Innovation.  It was first presented on October 29, 2009 in Brussels, Belgium by Stavros Michailidis and Donald M. Drost, Phd.  The workshop was well received and selected amongst the best workshops of the conference.

The purpose of the workshop is to introduce participants to the Momentum Framework, developed by Stavros Michailidis to diagnose and nurture the successful implementation of creative works.  Work to date includes a formula for momentum, a diagnostic tool for assessing momentum and basic …