Business Commons^™

What Happened To Venezuela?, Harris Jones

Honors Theses

By studying academic research, I investigate the root causes of the crisis in Venezuela today. The research studied lays out the historical factors that have contributed to the crisis. Venezuelan politics and global politics play a role in the crisis in addition to economic factors. The situation in Venezuela has been developing for years but has gained more attention recently as the economic crisis has caused a humanitarian and political crisis as well. I chose this topic because I am interested in how colossal crises occur and I am interested in Spanish speaking countries because it is my minor. Specifically, …

The Cross Section Of Expected Returns: Evidence From Implied Beliefs Of Active Mutual Funds Managers, Jorge Sabat

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

I develop a new test to compare the performance of asset pricing models. Using the industry allocations of active US mutual funds, I employ a structural model to estimate the implied expected returns on industry portfolios. For each asset pricing model, I use the factor loadings and the implied expected returns to calculate the implied expected factor risk premium. I compare the models based on the implied Sharpe ratio of the market portfolio. My methodology identifies the asset pricing model that not only generates the highest Sharpe ratio for the market but also best tracks the ex-ante Sharpe ratio. I …

Role Reversal: Exploring The M&A Process When The Family Firm Is The Acquirer, Darin Dredge

PhD in Business Administration Dissertations

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a popular strategy to grow a firm. The prevalent view is that large, publicly traded non-family firms acquire much smaller, usually privately held firms, many of which are family owned. This view neglects, however, that family firms also utilize M&A to grow. Moreover, the vast majority of companies – even the largest – are family controlled. However, we know little about why and how family firms use M&A as a growth strategy. Furthermore, the M&A process – defined as pre-acquisition decision making and post-acquisition integration – is different when families take on the role of …

Western Michigan University Stallions Club Hockey Business Plan, Zachary Roberts

Honors Theses

This project discusses the different areas in which the Western Michigan University Stallions hockey club can improve their organizational structure. Being a part of the club from 2015 – 2019, I saw the tremendous amount of growth that the club had throughout Western Michigan University and the hockey world, but also understood that there was much room for improvement. By addressing these issues and offering solutions of improvement, the club will have a strategic direction to move forward with and implement.

The objectives of this plan are: (1) improving internal operations (2) increase involvement with the Kalamazoo community (3) increase …

The Cfa Research Challenge, Kevin Grube

Honors Student Research

This paper explores the CFA Research Challenge, a financial analysis competition, and what it entails. The paper expands on a wide range of topics regarding the challenge, motivations of its competitors, class influences towards the challenge, and tips and tricks for future competitors. The paper includes my team's finalized research paper and includes our graded rubrics. It also discusses my opinions on the CFA as an organization, detailing my distaste with the professionalism I observed over the challenge.

Exploring The Perceptions Of Leaders In Investor-Owned Utilities In California On Managing Organizational Change Initiatives, Maria Liza Legaspi

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study employing in-depth interviews was to identify the strategies and practices executive leaders and midlevel managers of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) perceive are effective in creating employee acceptance and support of organizational change and to identify the supports and barriers executive leaders and midlevel managers perceive as affecting employee acceptance or resistance to organizational change in IOUs.

Methodology: A qualitative research design enabled the capture of deeper thoughts and insights of executive leaders and midlevel managers of 4 IOUs in California. The study delved into the strategies and practices used by IOUs that are perceived …

G.I. Jane Fem Etran Goes Corporate: An Exploration Of Post-9/11 Female Combat Veterans Transitioning To A Civilian Career, Tumona Austin

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore the experiences of post- 9/11 female combat veterans transitioning from military service to civilian careers, using the Schlossberg transition model factors of situation, self, social support, and strategies.

Methodology: This multiple-case study identified and interviewed post-9/11 female combat veterans transitioning from active-duty to civilian career. Respondents were purposively chosen based on specific criteria and expert panel recommendations.

Findings: Examination of case-study interview data and artifacts from the 3 post-9/11 female combat veterans indicated nine major findings:

1. The factor of situation clearly outweighed the other Schlossberg factors in impact.

2. …

Demonetization In India: An Analysis Of An Instant Decision, Jaymin Patel

Honors College Theses

This analytical study examines the impact of demonetizing the Rs. 500 and the Rs. 1000 legal tender in India, which occurred on November 8^th, 2016. The study analyzes impacts on the GDP of India, employment rate, stock market volatility, agriculture sector, and the overall economy. The study shows that the demonetization movement had more short-term impacts than long-term and it generally failed to achieve its main objective.

Examining The Effects Of Brain Education On Employee Stress Management, Work Performance, Relationships, And Well-Being, Ericka Crawford

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify, examine, and describe the lived experience of employees who received Brain Education training in the areas of stress management, work performance, relationships, and well-being.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data from employees trained in Brain Education. Employees were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria, including those trained in Brain Education for at least three months, worked for organizations that employee more than 20 people, and were located in California.

Findings: Analysis of the data showed 10 major findings across 29 major themes and 76 associated codes. …

Cooperation In Community Colleges, Frederic S. Gore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the mounting pressures on institutions of higher education to do more with limited resources, the opportunity to collaborate with other colleges has emerged as a viable tool to create efficiencies and obtain valuable knowledge otherwise unattainable by an institution, even if that collaboration takes place with a competing institution. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are critical to managing student information and college operations, but can be challenging for colleges to implement. Consortia present a unique solution to colleges to address gaps in their expertise and skills needed to achieve a successful ERP implementation. This study explores the factors that …

Essays On Time Series And Machine Learning Techniques For Risk Management, Michael Kotarinos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Capital Asset Pricing Model combined with the Sharpe ratio is a standard method for choosing assets for selection in a portfolio. However, this method has many structural issues and was designed for a time when high dimensional computing was in its infancy. An alternative to these methods using a mix of Multi-Level Time Series Clustering, the MACBETH algorithm and traditional time series techniques was constructed that minimized data loss and allow for customized portfolio construction for investors with different risk profiles and specialized investment needs. It was shown that these methods are adaptable to cloud computing environments and allow …

Directed Gifts, Love Offerings And The Uncertain Guidance Of Irs Publication 526 For Donors And Donees To Non-Profit Organizations: Literature Review, Victoria Liggett

Honors College Theses

Love offerings are donations given to an identified beneficiary of a non-profit organization. It can be challenging for tax experts to make accurate tax assessments based on such offerings and enormously difficult for the layperson. This is exacerbated by the unclear directives of the IRS, which include the sometimes nearly inscrutable guidelines of IRS Publication 526. The lack of clarity makes this a hazard for accountants and attorneys involved in tax preparation. Against this backdrop, this paper provides a literature review exploring the history of the issues, current guidelines as decided by court cases, and research done with regards to …

The Dollar Is Green, And American Banks Should Be Too; Clean Energy Finance And Its Circulation Through Green Banks, Erin C. Moore

Honors College Theses

The earth is at risk for irreversible damage if the carbon footprint of humans is not drastically reduced immediately. The power of financial institutions to initiate change has been utilized by countries around the world against climate change. Financial systems known as green banks mitigate the risks associated with financing environmental projects. Through an examination of the financial performance of major green banks in the United States and the green energy superpowers, the paper discovers Green Banking is not only socially responsible by supporting a clean environment, but also produces a profitable fiscal environment. In this paper, I will explore …

Identifying City Attributes For Place Branding That Create Strong Self-Brand Connections, Matthew Vollrath

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Self-brand connection is a stream of brand research that focuses on how individuals form relationships with brands. Self-brand connections are of interest to marketers because individuals who form a self-brand connection with a brand are more likely to be loyal to, advocate for, and engage with that brand (Escalas & Bettman, 2003). The purpose of this study was to determine if specific city attributes could be identified as antecedents of self-brand connection for a city brand. Data were collected through a survey of a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, and analyzed using multiple regression. Results showed that Columbus’ outdoor opportunities, business …

Two Essays On The Impact Of Cybersecurity Risk Management Examinations On Investor Perceptions And Decisions, Rebecca R. Perols

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) recently adopted cybersecurity risk management examination on investor perceptions and decisions. The dissertation implements a two-essay approach.

Essay 1 examines the effect of voluntary disclosures of joint or separate provisioning of cybersecurity risk management examinations on investor perceptions and decisions, and whether these effects differ when a subsequent cybersecurity incident occurs. Conducting a 2 x 2 between-participants experiment, I find that the negative signal of a subsequent cybersecurity incident reverses investors’ positive perceptions of auditor competence and increases investors’ sensitivity to …

Essays On Migration Flows And Finance, Suin Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, I examine stock market implications of state-to-state migration flows that are known to provide the basis for social and business networks. I observe sizeable and robust excess return comovement between migration-flow receiving and sending states at both the individual stock and the state portfolio levels. Although I find that migration flows are associated with firms’ business activities, this comovement is not fully explained by economic fundamentals and decreases substantially when firms relocate to other states. In line with the view that migration networks form the basis for a common investor base for receiving and sending states …

The Underutilized Tool Of Project Management - Emotional Intelligence, Gerald C. Lowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has typically focused on singular attributes that impact a leader’s effectiveness. This study, instead, looks at whether emotional intelligence moderates the anticipated negative effect of distributed presence on engagement and influence, and ultimately, leader effectiveness. Buttressed by emotional intelligence, engagement, and influence theories, the research question focused on how emotional intelligence skills moderate the impact of a project manager’s distributed presence to render the leader effective. The study sample for this research came from voluntary participants who work for a U.S. government agency comprising leaders co-located with their teams and distributed presence leaders. Descriptive statistics showed that leaders …

Unifying Power Of Sport Fandom, Anna Faso Miranda

Sport Management Undergraduate

Through previous research, it was known that sport has many physical and non-physical benefits to participants and is a powerful tool used to bring people together in light of social and political differences. However, little was known about the impact of sport fandom on feelings of social connectedness. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of feelings of social connectedness in sport fandom within the context of the current polarized political environment in the United States. Survey methodology was used to capture demographics and other variables including political identity and behaviors, sport fandom identity and behaviors, and …

Virtual International Leadership Within Organizations: Overcoming Cultural, Language, And Physical Barriers, Jaye Goulet

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Advances in technology are allowing members of a team to collaborate while being geographically and spatially apart. These new teams, known as virtual teams, have benefits for both the organizations to which they belong and to the individual members. Organizations are able to utilize highly-skilled experts without the associated relocation costs. Team members are able to contribute to projects in their field of expertise without having to leave their homeland. These teams require a leader whose interactions build trust and loyalty without the benefit of face-to-face contact with other team members. Although virtual teams are rapidly growing, research is lacking …

Benefits Of Onsite Health Programs In The Corporate Setting, Nathan Cook

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Worksite health care clinics and corporate wellness programs are becoming a staple of companies at all levels. Companies are finding that having onsite healthcare clinics as well as comprehensive wellness programs are not only good incentives for employees but actually able to save large amounts of money with injury prevention, decrease in lost productivity and a number of other factors. A 2010 meta- analysis looking at the Return-Of Investment (ROI) found that there was an average of $3.27 per dollar spent on wellness initiatives ROI. Yearly savings can be upwards of $225,000 in some cases as the Sygenta Crop Production …

The Use Of Blockchain Technology To Solve Common Challenges In The Supply Chain, Michael Cohen

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

When blockchain was first invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 it was thought to only be used for Bitcoin; a digital currency. It had been used to record transactions made without needing a third party authenticator. Blockchain showed the ability to reduce costs, speed up transactions, and reinvent the processes of how things are done. Once people fully understood what blockchain does, entrepreneurs and investors realized it could be used for much more than just a cryptocurrency. It could be applied to transportation, products sold, food, the medical industry, and much more.
With the help of blockchain, industries can operate …

Effects Of The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act’S Increase In The Standard Deduction On Not-For-Profit Organizations, Rachel Hiestand

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

An Economic Regression Analysis Of Homeless Rates In The United States, Jessica Silber

Senior Honors Projects

During my time at John Carroll, I was a member and President of the Labre Project, a homeless outreach student organization founded fifteen years ago. I spent almost every Friday at John Carroll out on the streets of Cleveland delivering meals and chatting with people experiencing homelessness. Through this experience, I learned many facts and lessons about what it is like to be homeless, how people become homeless, and how the city of Cleveland is trying to solve problems surrounding the homeless population. Although I explored the topic of homelessness a vast amount, I never got the answer to two …

Amarcord Inc: Combating Money Laundering Using Data Analytics, Alyssa Ardai

Honors Program Contracts

This case study of Amarcord Incorporative will be discussing how Amarcord combats money laundering using data analytics. With the addition of new laws from 1970-current, it is harder for money laundering to be committed due to the requirement of reports and bank inspections. Using data analytics techniques such as the time-series analysis, we can analyze data sets to look closer and tell what transactions are money laundering, and what are actual ones.

With Great Power: Assessing The Social And Environmental Responsibilities Of Small And Medium Businesses, Danielle Tetrault

Community Engagement Student Work

The purpose of this study is to assess the potential that small businesses hold to improve the social and environmental conditions of the communities in which they reside. The existing literature focuses on the socially responsible activities of corporations. Large corporations are generally expected to participate in “socially responsible” activities, such as contributing funds, volunteers, and other resources to philanthropic causes. Often, the main motivation behind such activities is to improve the public image of the corporation, which has ultimately been shown to increase sales, thus increasing the economic power of corporations. This study surveyed representatives of smaller businesses in …

Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Spanish Wines (And A Few Things You Did), John Phillips Wacker

Senior Theses

The Spanish wine scene is incredibly diverse, and an immense number of different wines are made in the country. Likewise, Spain is incredibly rich in culture, with a wide array of languages, histories, cultures, and cuisines found throughout the nation. The sheer number and variety of Spanish wines and the incredible variety of cultures found in Spain may be daunting to the uninitiated. Thus, a guide to Spanish wine and culture, which not only details the two but links them, as well, may prove very helpful to the Spanish wine newcomer or perhaps even a sommelier.

This thesis-guide was compiled …

Innovative And Introverted: How Introverts Function In The Creative Workplace, Rose Needle

Senior Theses

Open office plans have become the dominant style for creative workplaces, designed to encourage constant collaboration and proximity. Little research assesses the validity of that conventional practice, or the impact of open environments on creativity, productivity or employee satisfaction for introverts, who require time alone for highest functioning. Though the “Extrovert Ideal” permeates these industries, nearly 50% of the general population is introverted—and introverted traits correlate positively with creativity. This thesis includes a survey of 143 people working in creative industries, assessing perceptions of productivity and satisfaction along with personality type. A majority of respondents yearned for solitude to complete …

Leadership And Community In The Arts: A Case Study Of Legend And Culture In Chiusdino, Italy, Amanda Svetlak

Arts Administration Masters Theses

The complexity of culture goes beyond artistic expression, nationality, race, and religion. Culture shapes our communications, interactions, and our perceptions of the world around us (Hall, 1989). Studies show that self-awareness of our own culture through exposure to the unfamiliar leads to intercultural competences (Herlo, 2015; Crossman, 2011; Hermond 2018; Hall 1989). As technology, travel, and community diversity continues to shrink our world and diversify our workplaces, these intercultural competences support modern processes of marketing, community engagement, and organizational leadership. This thesis is a case study of the community culture, organizational culture, and structure of arts institutions in Chiusdino, Italy. …

The Stock Market Effects Of Amazon’S Sales Tax Collection Announcements, Andrew Chenevert

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Study About The Impact Of Internet In Smes, Albert Aliu

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research was to find out the current trends of usage of new technologies, with a special focus on the impact of the Internet based on chosen variables. The target group of the current research were small to medium size enterprises – SMEs, which are considered as the most-influential entities within a country. This is due to their influence on economy and employment opportunities they offer in every country. The results of this research show a better image about the current technological trends in Kosovo and no other research with identic approach was found out by the …