Business Commons^™

Back To Basics: The Little Book That Still Beats The Market, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Investment theories and principles can be complex and befuddling for many. Yet, one man has devised a formula so simple that it could speak to novices and children. In The Little Book That Still Beats the Market, Columbia University lecturer Joel Greenblatt explains, in large fonts, how he derived what has been termed "the magic formula" and provides some examples as proof of its wizardry. As for weather-beaten investors with no latitude left for "magic", Greenblatt offers a humorous revision of the fundamentals.

Running A Family Business: Building On What Runs In The Family, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Creating and preserving a family legacy is not just about giving future generations a free pass to inherit family fortunes. As each family is unique, they face different issues and challenges. Furthermore, true family legacy goes beyond money. It is also about reputation, beliefs, values and attitudes. In their book, 'Family Legacy and Leadership: Preserving True Family Wealth in Challenging Times', authors Mark Haynes Daniell and Sara Hamilton explain how families can build enduring legacies based on "true wealth".

China’S Red Capitalism: A Gravity-Defying Economy Built On A Foundation Of Sand?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

With more than US$3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, the clutch of four big banks and dozens more internationally-listed state-owned enterprises, there is not much doubt that China has some serious economic muscle. Yet, as authors Carl E. Walter and Frasier J.T. Howie explained in their book, 'Red Capitalism: The fragile financial foundation of China’s extraordinary rise', not all is as it seems in the labyrinth that is China's financial system.

Filling Stomachs Worldwide With Agriculture Risk Transfer Solutions, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

A confluence of factors, such as weather, energy and growing demand, has given rise to a volatile food supply situation worldwide. With few investors willing to take the plunge with this industry, supply and production problems perpetuate. Speaking at a recent seminar at the Singapore Management University, Roman Hohl, an expert in this field with Swiss Re, explains how this issue can be addressed with some help from the insurance industry in the form of risk transfer products. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In The Professionals’ Own Words: The Mark Of A Good Commodities Trader, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

The high stakes business of commodities trading is perhaps best avoided by those with high blood pressure or those who enjoy the predictability of a nine-to-five job. Yet, the wealth that can come with success has an overwhelming allure. At a panel discussion organised by the International Trading Institute@SMU, industry experts shared their views and identified some preconditions to 'success' within this precarious industry.

An Entrepreneur’S Voyage, With The Five Rs As His Guide, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Behind the glamour of the booming marine industry, are the various supporting players like ship chandlers and maintenance service providers that help keep the vessels well-oiled and their crews well fed. In a recent talk organised by SMU’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Danny Lien, founder of Amos International, shares how he run this business based on relationship, reputation, resilience, realism and recreation.

Empirical Methods-A Review: With An Introduction To Data Mining And Machine Learning, Matt Bogard

Economics Faculty Publications

This presentation was part of a staff workshop focused on empirical methods and applied research. This includes a basic overview of regression with matrix algebra, maximum likelihood, inference, and model assumptions. Distinctions are made between paradigms related to classical statistical methods and algorithmic approaches. The presentation concludes with a brief discussion of generalization error, data partitioning, decision trees, and neural networks.

Challenges And Opportunities For Developing Countries From Medical Tourism, Avinash M. Waikar, Samuel D. Cappel, Uday S. Tate

Management Faculty Research

Wikipedia defines “Medical Tourism” as the act of traveling to other countries to obtain medical, dental and surgical care. Rapid expansion of facilities for patients abroad has helped to spur this industry’s growth. Regardless of the destination, U.S. citizens are increasingly embracing the benefits of medical tourism due to dramatically rising U.S. healthcare costs. Medical care in countries such as India, Mexico, Thailand and Singapore can cost as little as ten percent of the cost of comparable care in the U.S. for some procedures. Statistical analysis revealed the costs to be significantly lower for many of these countries. Currently, patients …

The Archway Investment Fund Semi Annual Report, May 2011, Bryant University, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Deterministic And Stochastic Bellman's Optimality Principles On Isolated Time Domains And Their Applications In Finance, Nezihe Turhan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The concept of dynamic programming was originally used in late 1949, mostly during the 1950s, by Richard Bellman to describe decision making problems. By 1952, he refined this to the modern meaning, referring specifically to nesting smaller decision problems inside larger decisions. Also, the Bellman equation, one of the basic concepts in dynamic programming, is named after him. Dynamic programming has become an important argument which was used in various fields; such as, economics, finance, bioinformatics, aerospace, information theory, etc. Since Richard Bellman's invention of dynamic programming, economists and mathematicians have formulated and solved a huge variety of sequential decision …

One-To-One Laptop Project: Perceptions Of Teachers, Parents, And Students, Matthew D. Constant

Dissertations

One-to-one laptop programs are becoming more prevalent across the world in K-12 institutions. School districts are searching for more engaging tools that seek to have impact on school success, such as grade achievement, college/career preparation, and/or 21st-century skill preparation and attainment. Additionally, boards of education continuously want some positive indication of the return on their substantial financial investment.

This study utilized surveys of three important stakeholder groups (parents, students, and teachers) related to a one-to-one laptop project in a moderately-sized rural Midwestern school district. Perceptions about how often laptops were used in the classroom setting and across content areas (Language …

Attributes Affecting Preferences For Traffic Safety Camera Programs, Lindsey M. Higgins, W. Douglass Shaw, Aklesso Egbendewe-Mondzozo

Agribusiness

With just a few notable exceptions, research supports the concept that red light cameras (RLCs) improve safety. However, many communities that have implemented RLC programs have faced a firestorm of public opinion associated with the use of RLCS, with many communities having to remove the cameras. What makes or breaks a red light camera program? Because of the experimental design process, stated choice is recognized as a tool that can resemble a laboratory experiment for the public policy arena. In this research, a stated choice model was developed and used to explore public preferences for a RLC program through an …

Food Safety And Cage Egg Production

Agribusiness Reports

States have begun legislating against cage egg production and dozens of major U.S. food retailers, restaurant chains, and foodservice providers—as well as hundreds of U.S. universities—are switching to cage-free eggs. Extensive scientific evidence strongly suggests this trend will improve food safety. All sixteen scientific studies published in the last five years comparing Salmonella contamination between caged and cage-free operations found that those confining hens in cages had higher rates of Salmonella, the leading cause of food poisoning related death in the United States. This has led prominent consumer advocacy organizations, such as the Center for Food Safety, to oppose the …

Huntsman Alumni Magazine, Spring 2011, Usu Jon M. Huntsman School Of Business

Huntsman Business Magazine

Alumni magazine for the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.

The Psychology And Behavior Of Consumers In The Fashion Industry, Jessica Delace

Senior Honors Projects

I have always been interested in all aspects of the fashion industry, from apparel production to retail sales. After interning in the sales department of a New York based designer, I became fascinated by the customers who spent over $10,000 to revamp their wardrobe every season. Were these women buying their clothes based on their own preferences, or did they buy the original $3,000 design to fit their lifestyle as a New York City socialite?

After completing a literature review on the psychology of apparel consumers, I wanted to determine if shoppers’ preferences were based on their own opinions, or …

Developing Mechanisms For The Transfer And/Or Adjustment Of Rock Lobster Shares Between Sectors In Western Australia And South Australia., Chris Reid

Fisheries Management Papers

The purpose of this report has been to investigate potential reallocation mechanisms for the transfer and/or adjustment of catch shares between sectors and the requirements to allow for their implementation, with particular reference to their application in the Western and South Australian rock lobster fisheries. While the report focuses on the commercial and recreational sectors of these fisheries, potentially all non-commercial fishing sectors could be included under a given mechanism in the same manner as that outlined for the recreational sector, subject to the appropriateness of allowing the sector’s allocation to be transferable

Do Marketing Media Have Life Cycles? The Case Of Product Placement In Movies, Ekaterina Karniouchina, Can Uslay, Grigori Erenburg

Business Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines the economic worth of product placement in movies over a time span of 40 years (1968-2007). The authors find an inverted U-shaped relationship between the year of the movie release and the returns associated with product placements. In addition, a similar inverted U-shaped relationship characterizes the economic worth of tie-in campaigns associated with product placements. These findings are consistent with the habituation tedium theory used to explain the inverted U-shaped pattern in response to novel advertisements and suggest that the same mechanism could be influencing the response to an entire marketing medium. Overall, the results reinforce the …

Economic Impacts Of Drought On Kentucky Corn, Hay, And Soybeans, Kortney E. Craft

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Understanding climatic impacts is important if we are to comprehend the relationship between climate and society. Weather phenomena can have environmental, economical, and social impacts. Drought is the natural hazard that affects people the most. It is also the most complex and least understood. There is no one universally accepted definition for drought which makes its examination difficult. Droughts’ duration is also difficult to determine because it has no clearly defined onset and end. Also, drought varies both geographically and temporally making uniform drought monitoring difficult. Since drought is difficult to monitor and access, drought impacts are often poorly documented. …

Leadership Tendencies Of Pakistanis: Exploring Similarities And Differences Based On Age And Gender, Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, Talat Afza, Naseem Habib

HCBE Faculty Articles

The management styles of people are influenced by their cultural contexts and urgency of completing tasks. For example, it is expected that people will get things done in a speedy manner when their jobs are on the line, but they will still try to minimize the negative impact to their relationships. To explore the leadership tendencies of working adults in the Pakistani workplace, this paper focused on comparing the leadership orientation of 232 respondents based on their age and gender. Pakistanis have a significantly higher score on task orientation. Their relationship orientation score is also on the moderately high range. …

Franchise Partnership And International Expansion: A Conceptual Framework And Research Propositions, Dhruv Grewal, Golpalkrishnan R. Iyer, Rajshekar G. Javalgi, Lori Radulovich

Business Faculty Publications

Although academic research has provided tremendous insights about the organizational form of franchising, considerable work remains with regard to understanding the critical factors that enable international franchise expansion and performance. The authors advance the argument that a franchise relationship is essentially an entrepreneurial partnership, and that this partnership influences the speed, scale, and scope of franchise expansion into international markets. In the proposed conceptual model, the authors detail the links among the franchise partnership, international expansion, and franchise system performance.

Testing For Hysteresis In Entrepreneurship In 23 Oecd Countries, Simon C. Parker, Emilio Congregado, Antonio A. Golpe

Business Publications

We explore the macro structure of entrepreneurship rates in a panel of 23 OECD countries over 1972-2006. We find that rates of entrepreneurship in OECD’s countries exhibit persistence rather than hysteresis. Implications for the design of entrepreneurship policies are discussed.

Global Multisourcing Strategy: Integrating Learning From Manufacturing Into It Service Outsourcing, Ning Su, Natalia Levina

Business Publications

“Multisourcing” has emerged as an important strategy for global information technology (IT) service outsourcing in today's turbulent business environment. The existing literature on IT service provides only limited insights into this phenomenon. However, in the manufacturing domain, a similar concept, supply base management, has been extensively studied. In this paper, we integrate related research in IT service and manufacturing to explore how firms can successfully pursue global multisourcing strategy in IT service. Specifically, we first conceptualize a firm's multisourcing supply base along the dimensions of breadth and depth and theorize about the impact of these two dimensions on outsourcing outcomes. …

Muslim Entrepreneurship In Ireland, Thomas M. Cooney, Jennifer Manning, Amr Arisha, Peter Smyth

Reports

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Potential Marketing Strategies For Entry Into The Shiitake Mushroom Industry In Utah, Imran Khan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This study provides an analysis of the mushroom industry in the Utah with a focus on identifying opportunities for entry into the specialty mushroom market. Determining the strategic position of the mushroom industry requires the use of local information. In this study, a local survey of consumers in Northern Utah was used to generate specific information about consumer preferences and attitudes about mushrooms and how a new entrant might be positioned to address consumers’ wants and needs related to mushrooms, and specifically specialty mushrooms. Regression analysis and trend analysis were also performed using data obtained either from the survey or …

The Strategies For Product Life Cycle Extension, Alban Bunjaku

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains a study of what and which are strategies that a company should use to extend the life of the product.

Product Life Cycle (PLC) is process which is used by companies to measure their product life in different stages of PLC. In the next chapters I will explain how this process work, its phases and most important how the companies try to make strategies in order to be a step ahead from competitors.

PLC is a small part of Marketing but I would say that it is one of the most important part and process for a …

Identifikimi I Faktorëve Që Ndikojnë Në Kënaqshmërinë E Klientëve Me Bankën, Burbuqe Xheladini

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Si Motivohen Punëtorët Në Ndërmarrjet Private Në Kosovë, Arta Hajdini

Theses and Dissertations

Qëllimi i këtij punimi është të kuptojmë së si motivohen punëtorët në ndërmarrjet private në Kosovë, motivimi si fenomen paraqet një tërësi elementësh si dëshirat, nevojat, shtytjet, kërkesat, ashtu që të arrihen njëkohësisht qëllimet e kompanisë dhe të plotësohen nevojat personale të individit.

Motivimi ka të bëjë më mënyrën së si shtytja, aspirata, nxitja dhe nevoja e qenieve njerëzore drejtojnë, kontrollojnë apo shpjegojnë sjelljen njerëzore.

Ne në fillim filluam të marrim informata të përgjithshme në lidhje më motivimin e punëtorëve në ndërmarrjet private në Kosovë, mirëpo më formulimin e pyetësorit dhe më intervistat të cilat i kemi bëra në arritëm …

Roubini On Global Economic Risks: “Dr Doom” Or “Dr Realist”?, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Renowned as the brutally frank commentator that correctly predicted the 2008 financial crisis, New York University's economics professor Nouriel Roubini has made a reputation for himself as the prophet of doom. What does 'Doctor Doom' make of all the fuss about Asia's tiger and dragon economies? He shares his take at a lecture organised by SMU's Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics while informing audiences that he prefers to be known as 'Doctor Realist'.

Value Investment And Market Timing: Opportunities In Times Of Crises, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Luminary 'small-cap king' Dr Tan Chong Koay sees opportunities in crises. After all, this industry stalwart's most prolific performances have been during the periods of global economic meltdowns. Beyond financial gains, those who survive these crises would have gained much confidence, he believes. Sharing his investment philosophies at SMU's Centre for Asset Securitisation and Management in Asia, Tan, founder of Pheim Asset Management, explains what he sees as the art and science of investing.

Explanatory Audiovisual About Cps Process, Ainhoa Otaegui Ainhoa

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Explanatory Audiovisual about CPS Process
With this Master’s Project, my aim is to create a medium to help raise awareness of "Creative Problem Solving". To this end, I believe that the creation of audiovisual material could provide an excellent medium to be used as a support for explanation sessions, and that it will facilitate understanding, specially for the Spanish and Basque Country’s market, where the CPS process is still very unknown.
The idea behind creating this material, or the necessity to do so, arose from several educational, facilitation and training sessions that I have run. When working with groups of …