Business Commons^™

A Brand New Bond: Shifting Strategies For 007 In The Age Of Conglomeration And Convergence, Katherine C. Skophammer

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Financial success would seem to be the logical goal of the film industry. If the current narrative formula reaps financial rewards for a film franchise there should be no impetus for change. Yet, that is exactly what happened to the James Bond franchise in 2006, with the release of the prequel Casino Royale. Sony Corporation and the Bond film :franchise traversed similar paths. In 2005, Sony purchased MGM, which held the Bond library as well as the rights to future Bond film productions.

Sony's industrial needs differed greatly from MGM's. MGM continually recycled the Bond formula for 20 films …

Consumer Receptivity Of Foreign Products: The Roles Of Country-Of-Origin Image, Consumer Ethnocentrism And Animosity, Larry Lee Carter Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

In business, the survival of a manufacturing firm is dependent upon the consumer's acceptance and purchase of its products. Globalization and the accessibility of markets worldwide have expanded the potential customer base from purely domestic to include international customers. It is imperative for marketing managers to accurately assess consumer product perceptions to forecast foreign market entry acceptance and develop some form of competitive advantage that will be sustainable over the long run. Despite the apparent relevance and importance of analyzing consumer product perceptions, there is a lack of research in modeling the relationships between primary antecedents that influence consumers' receptivity …

How Color Affects Food Choices, Costa Magoulas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Color has a very strong influence in the hospitality industry. How much thought has been given to food choices because of color, and how influential is that on customers’ satisfaction of a food product? Staff that prepares food must understand how color and taste work together through presentation and eye appeal to create the WOW factor since customers eat with their eyes first. People associate different foods with different colors. When this perception changes it often has a detrimental effect on the customer’s perception of how that food should taste. Scientific information was gathered on the history of food, the …

Exploring The Impact Of Economic Downturn And Method To Increase Hotel Sales Department Revenues, Amy Forss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how hotel sales are affected by the weak economy and determine a business plan for hotel sales departments to survive through the current economic downturn. The goal is to suggest ways that the sales department can increase revenues and survive through the downturn to come out ahead of the competition. Suggestions will be provided to, in particular, the sales departments of hotels to continue to increase revenues despite travel being down in the United States and internationally. In doing so, it will be important to discuss how down economies have an impact …

Promotion Induced Competitive Effects: Two Essays, Rajeev Airani

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the empirical generalizations related to retailer promotions. Two essays are developed addressing the generalizations. The first essay addresses the contradiction in the calculations of primary and secondary demand effects. A mathematical proof is developed to show that under Nested Logit modeling, competitors' gain assumption is violated. An alternative explanation is provided to calculate the primary and secondary demand effects. The second essay focuses on the empirical generalization of the neighborhood price effect. The effects of share and quality in shaping the neighborhood price effect are hypothesized and tested. Further, based on the evidence that neighborhood price …

Experiential Retailing: Extraordinary Store Environments And Purchase Behavior, Alana Nicole Garvin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how store atmospherics affect purchase behavior in experiential stores. It extended the Donovan et al. study, “Store Atmosphere and Purchasing Behavior” (1994), by determining the levels of pleasure and arousal in an experiential store and the affects on unplanned spending and unplanned time spent in the store. This was done by measuring customers’ emotions five minutes into the shopping experience and comparing planned amount of time and money spent to the actual amounts. The findings of this study showed that higher levels of pleasure and arousal did not affect unplanned time and …

The Relationship Between Psychological Capital And Social Venture Program Initiation, Paul L. Van Putten Ii

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Entrepreneurship is viewed as one of the greatest sources of societal productivity in cultural history (Spinosa, Flores, & Dreyfus, 1999), and recently social entrepreneurship has become an increasingly viable method for not-for-profit organizations to garner profit through implementing community enhancing programs (Hopkins, 2005, Morial, 2006; Wickham, 2005).

Literature suggests that psychological capital has an impact on an entrepreneurial administrators' ability to implement new programs, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the not-for-profit administrators' psychological capital and their ability to initiate social venture programs (Jensen & Luthans, 2006; Olson, & Bosserman, 2001).

This dissertation study developed a theoretical framework …

Marital Satisfaction Among Married Couples In Which One Or Both Members Play A Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (Mmorpg), A Michelle Elton Ahlstrom

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the gaming behaviors of married individuals and couples who play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game(s) (MMORPGs) including gaming addiction, time spent gaming, satisfaction in gaming participation, gaming interaction (between joint gaming spouses), and socio-demographic variables and the subsequent marital satisfaction levels of both individuals in the couple. Hypotheses were generally supported, excluding the hours spent gaming. 685 couples were separated and analyzed according to whether both individuals in the marriage gamed or just one individual gamed (couple-gaming type). Couples in which only one individual gamed (individual-gamer couples) had …

Creekside Farms Business Plan, Amanda K. Lemm

Horticulture and Crop Science

Creekside Farms is a developing small business in Paso Robles, where the Lemms have big dreams of hosting weddings and receptions. Incorporating their prime agricultural land in Paso Robles is a necessity to help make this business special. Creekside Farms has huge potential in being the first choice for those searching for a beautiful place to get married and/or have their special reception. Part of making this plan successful, is focusing on using country rose gardens to utilize in wedding flower arrangements as well as accenting the wedding sites. These unique roses allow the Lemm’s the ability to compete with …

Feasibility Study Of Cold Room Renovations For P.O.V.E., Kurtis Kobara

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

Analiza E Efikasitetit Të Procesit Të Prokurimit Në Kosovë, Drita Kaqandolli Gjonbalaj

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Does Student Leadership Participation Enhance The Development Of Emotional Intelligence, Michelle Breanne Curro

Master's Theses

Emotional Intelligence is believed to explain how emotions may be used, monitored, and measured to predict workplace success and failure, the suggestion that if individuals can balance the emotions within themselves and others, they can use their skills to better their organization. This study explored the development of Emotional Intelligence in the ASI Student Manager Team in comparison to Student Government members at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) during the fall 2008 quarter. The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was used to assess student leaders’ Emotional Intelligence (EI) development (N = 27). A two sample t-test …

Targeting And Positioning Hotel Atlet Century Park In Serving Two Distinct Markets: Commercial And Social, Grace Widiarti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hotel Atlet Century Park (HACP) is a government owned hotel located in the sports district in central Jakarta, Indonesia. The hotel was opened in November 1991 and is operated by PT. Lingga Hamparan Krida (PT. LHK), a private company. The hotel occupies 1.7 hectares of land and was formerly a dormitory for Indonesian athletes. With 17 stories and 600 rooms, it was indeed a large dormitory. When the government encountered difficulties in managing such a large dormitory, PT. LHK approached the government to discuss the possibility of converting the dormitory into a three-star hotel. The decision of PT. LHK to …

A Comparison Of Hospitality Human Resources Practices In Greece And The United States: An Analysis Of Human Resources Practices And The Potential Effects On Service Quality, John Philippakos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Proper approaches to managing an organization’s human resources are becoming more and more scientific. Most human resource managers would agree that the selection, training, and management of personnel are vital factors in the productivity of the operation. Although this statement has been proven repeatedly, in many industries, it is in the hospitality industry that we understand the true importance of human resource management.

An Evaluation Of Interventions Designed To Impact Nurses : A Pilot Project, Pamela G. Bing Perry

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This pilot project was designed from a systems approach as defined within the field of marriage and family (MFT). Systems theory has been used successfully in examining and working with organizational relationships as exemplified in the work of Edwin H. Friedman. His contribution includes several books specifically developed for use in organizations; one that was tailored for religious groups; and another for managers (Friedman, 2007). While other MFT modalities have also been used effectively with organizations, the complexity of the influences operating within an organization most closely matches the systems approach. For this reason, this is the conceptual framework applied …

Nation Branding: A Case Study Of Singapore, F. Woo Yee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nation branding, or country branding is a relatively new concept. The purpose of this paper is to develop a case study of Singapore as a nation brand. It will first review the conceptual foundation of nation branding and study nation branding application. This study will use the case study approach to gain insight into nation branding concept and inspect Singapore as a nation within the parameters of nation branding. The specific objectives of this paper are to first review the conceptual and theoretical foundation of nation branding by leading researchers in the marketing field; second, to examine and define nation …

The Financial Performance Of Two Singapore Boutique Hotels: A Comparative Analysis, Kah Seng Fong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the decades when business and international travel expanded, the leading hotels began to set typical formats for their room layouts and décor, their restaurants, and their related services. For example, everyone recognizes that successive corporate decision-makers in hotels like Starwood, Hyatt, and Marriott converted their individual properties so each looked and acted like the others. Part of the motivation toward standardization was intended to comfort the traveler who then could depend on the expected quality no matter where the hotel was located.

Enterprise Information Technology Organizational Flexibility : Managing Uncertainty And Change, Karen Prast Patten

Dissertations

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) lead enterprise information technology organizations (EITOs) in today's dynamic competitive business environment. CIOs deal with external and internal environmental changes, changing internal customer needs, and rapidly changing technology. New models for the organization include flexibility and suggest that CIOs should create and manage an enterprise IT organization that is more flexible in order to manage change and prepare for uncertainty, but they do not define what is meant by flexibility.

The first objective of this exploratory and ethnographic research study was to understand how uncertainty and unexpected change are currently managed by CIOs. The second was …

Leadership In Partially Distributed Teams, Linda Plotnick

Dissertations

Inter-organizational collaboration is becoming more common. When organizations collaborate they often do so in partially distributed teams (PDTs). A PDT is a hybrid team that has at least one collocated subteam and at least two subteams that are geographically distributed and communicate primarily through electronic media. While PDTs share many characteristics with both traditionally collocated and fully distributed teams, they also have unique characteristics and issues.

This dissertation reports on a field study of PDTs conducted over two semesters with student participants, This research was conducted as part of a larger series of studies investigating PDTs, In these studies, participants …

The Influence Of Organizational And Information Systems Factors On The Effectiveness Of Post-Merger Technology Integration, Gianilda A. Morsell

Dissertations

This dissertation explores how ten specific organizational and information systems factors influence post-merger IS integration success, and the role that degree of IS integration plays in moderating the influence these factors may have on IS integration success. Data were gathered, using a self-administered survey instrument, from senior IS executives at firms that experienced a U.S. public merger greater than $25 million between 2004 and 2007. Support is found for the study's Conceptual Model, indicating that all ten factors in unison influence post-merger IS integration success. The data support the hypotheses that quality of merger planning, quality of communication of merger …

Perceptions About Rollersoccer Youth Programs, June Solomon

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to investigate the demand for structured

RollerSoccer Youth Programs and to examine the perceptions about this type of

Program. The market for RollerSoccer is untapped and unrepresented in the

world of sports. To date, there are no articles about the development of

RollerSoccer Youth Programs or scholarly work on marketing the emerging sport

of RollerSoccer. The RollerSoccer International Federation (RSIF), the governing

body for this fast‐paced, high scoring hybrid sport aims to expand its reach to

youth in diverse communities by developing this sports initiative.

Three hundred and ten youth participants from selected schools …

Mission Statements: The Soul Of An Organization, Brian Johns

Honors Theses

When a culture is created or decisions are made, the presence of a viable mission statement is critical. This document can be used as a tool to create a business environment employees are attracted to, as a model for how decisions should be made, and is an image of who the company is and what it does. This paper looks to explore the makeup of a good mission statement through scholarly articles and research and the effect it has on corporate culture through real life examples of top companies in a variety of industries, supported by first-hand experience from the …

Exploring Calvin And Hobbes: Comic Strip Illuminates Issues Surrounding Family Recreation, Christijan D. Draper

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to inductively examine the content of the popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by analyzing its latent and subjective meaning to discover basic social psychological issues associated with family recreation. The entire collection of 1,360 Calvin and Hobbes strips was evaluated using Grounded Theory techniques influenced by the art scholarship evaluation tool iconography. Review of the strip suggests one way to assess the meaning associated with time use is through preemptive retrospection by which a person looks at current experiences through the lens of an anticipated future to estimate how meaningful that time will …

The Design Of A Web Based Athlete Development And Monitoring System., Jeremy Gentles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the available resources and research pertaining to the process of athlete monitoring as well as how this information can be used to build an internet based athlete monitoring system. There is currently no system available that provides proper communication tools while also providing the means to track numerous variables to include strength and conditioning programs, performance testing, competition performance, injuries, therapy, pharmaceuticals, medical procedures, psychological status, and academic standing.

The objective of this thesis is twofold. First, is to review the literature and determine the needs of a web based athlete monitoring system. Second, is to provide …

Social Ties And Team-Member Exchange As Antecedents To Performance In Networking Groups, Jeffrey Pollack

Theses and Dissertations

The present research examines the role of social ties and team-member exchange quality (TMX) in enabling small business owners involved in formal networking groups to gain access to new business. I report on data from two studies. First, initial data from a pilot study of 23 small business owners in networking groups revealed that more numerous social ties and more positive perceptions of team-member exchange quality (TMX) predicted performance outcomes. Specifically, individuals who had more numerous social ties within a networking group, and who reported higher TMX perceptions of their group, received significantly more referrals to potential clients compared to …

An Analysis Of The Female Experience In The School Superintendency: Understanding Female Motivations For Assuming And Exiting The Superintendency With Relevant Applications For Mentoring Programs, Laura Allport Hammack

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There were three primary purposes of this study. First, the study sought to increase the knowledge base of motivations that females hold for assuming the school superintendency while simultaneously comparing and contrasting results with male counterparts. Second, the study analyzed the degree to which motivations for assuming the superintendency were realized once the female assumes the position. The third purpose of the study was to analyze the degree to which female superintendents have profited from a role model, or mentor, to help them find their way through the unexpected anxieties while assuming the profession. 111 Of the 222 respondents, 32 …

Color Rhetoric: The Social Construction Of Neutrality In Real Estate Design, April Davis

All Theses

Many interior designers believe that the key to selling a house is using conventionally labeled neutral colors. Yet, in relying solely on what convention dictates as a universal real estate rule, designers are promoting an ideology that privileges conventional standards to audience analysis, and consequently, call into question the usefulness of their own careers. Using Lloyd Bitzer's rhetorical situation principles, this thesis will analyze pictures taken from homes on the real estate market. Examining these pictures will establish the concept of neutrality as a rhetorical social construction that is shaped within historical, social, and cultural contexts. Moreover, this thesis presents …

Investigating The Persistence Of Hedge Fund Returns Over The Period Of 1998 To 2005, John Conway

Financial Analyst

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Supply Chain Packaging Increasing Density For High Cube Low Weight Textiles, Caryn Espy

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This thesis explores techniques for efficient, sustainable packaging of high cube, low weight products. It is based on a project initiated at Macy’s Merchandising Group, a product development division of Macy’s Inc. The company challenged its interns to create an environmentally conscious business proposal that would also reduce expenses. This thesis is an extension of the original proposal.

As part of the production of soft goods at Macy’s, samples of each item are sent air freight from overseas manufacturers to theNew York Cityheadquarters. Sample shipping amounts to a significant expense because products are sent via air freight.

In the process …

The Changes In The Portrayal Of Women In Cosmetic Advertisements Throughout The 20th Century, Paulina Han

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Women today have become desensitized to the massive clutter of cosmetic advertisements. In order to compete in the overly saturated market, cosmetic marketers need to start taking a different approach in making cosmetic advertisements appeal to women. The method used for this thesis project was secondary research; past experiments and case studies on women and advertising were examined and analyzed. Many of these were done by psychologists in the field of advertising and organizations and published in places such as the Journal of Advertising Research. Advertising and creative briefs from advertising agencies were also examined, in part, with other work. …