Business Commons^™

The Effect Of Kurtosis On The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Abdullah Al Masud

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

In this study, I show an effect of the statistical fourth moment on stock returns. In the mean-variance framework, rational investors follow two strategies: optimize the mean{variance of return and diversify the portfolio. Regarding the first approach, investors intend to generate the maximum level of return while facing a constant level of risk (or, the standard deviation) of return. It is possible that firm specific risk can be concentrated in the portfolio. However, diversification of the assets can eliminate that (idiosyncratic) risk from the portfolio. After a long period of time, in a diversified portfolio the shape of the return …

How Does The U.S. Stock Market Affect The Stocks Of Chinese State-Owned Companies?, Yan Huang

Economics Honors Projects

This paper examines how the U.S. stock market affects the Chinese stock market, with a focus on Chinese state-owned companies, and compares the impacts on different industries and time periods. Results show that the U.S. stock market affects non-state-owned companies and state-owned companies with international business, but not state-owned companies without international business. The correlations between two markets are stronger in industries with lower percentages of state-owned companies. The impacts the U.S. stock market has on the Chinese stock market are increasing in time and in longer term.

Employee Compliance With Information Systems Security Policy In Retail Industry. Case: Store Level Employees, Bertrand Muhire

College of Management Honors Theses

In this digital era, information has become a very important component to any type of organizations. For some, it is not only an important component of daily routine operations but also required for competitive advantage. From big corporations to small businesses, non-profit organizations and governments, organizations need to safeguard and secure their information by implementing information security policies and make sure that all employees comply with such policies.

Since information is growing faster than in the previous decades, there is a need to safeguard and manage that information efficiently and effectively in order to make it useful. One of the …

The Impact Of The Arab Spring On Social Ventures In The Mena Region: A Case Study Of Morocco, Nacik Sadiq

College of Management Honors Theses

In this study, I analyzed the effect of the Arab Spring on the development of social ventures in the MENA region. Using a case study of Morocco, I tried to evaluate in which proportions the new Islamic governments transformed the social venture development context. After a detailed review of the Arab Spring and current literature on social ventures, I conducted a series on interviews of miscellaneous actors of the political, economical and social life of Morocco.

The study found that the Arab Spring did not have a direct impact on social ventures. Nevertheless, it was proven to be a main …

Lean Manufacturing Problem Solving Approach To Journal Access Issues, Linda Matula Schwartz Mde, Ahip, Cm, Kristine A. Petre Mls, Ahip, Cm

Department of Education

No abstract provided.

Late Night Television And Its Impact On The Music Industry Via Album Sales And Social Media, Matthew Robin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Experiential learning has been a large part of my college experience. My work experiences have allowed me to understand the music industry in a very unique way. One experience was my semester in Los Angeles, where I worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live! It was there that I was able to see the influence that these shows could have on musical guests and vice versa. The late-night landscape is as booming as it ever has been, with many different outlets for talent. I wanted to demonstrate that the process of getting an artist on a late-night show is a very …

Marketing Pastimes: Comparing The Brand Strengths Of Real Madrid & The New York Yankees, Colin Wilson Powers

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In March of 2012, Forbes Magazine ranked the most valuable brands in all of sports. Trailing only Manchester United’s $2.235 billion valuation, the next most valuable franchises are Spain’s Real Madrid of La Liga BBVA, and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees. As the two of the three most dominant brands in all of sports, Real Madrid and the New York Yankees are frequently mentioned in the same context as one another, but rarely discussed through more extensive market research comparing their brand management strategies. By utilizing Kevin Keller’s acclaimed Customer-Based Brand Equity model, the relative strength of the brands …

University Union: Becoming Syracuse University’S Official Programming Board And A College Programming Paradigm, Robert John Dekker

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This Capstone project completed per the requirements of the Renee Crown University Honors Program in form is part research paper, part personal narrative, part topical history, part business plan, part guide and resource, and part portfolio. It is structured in four critical parts. The first will be a history of programming at Syracuse University as it relates to the history of University Union, the university’s official programming board. This overview covers fifty years, beginning in 1962 with the founding of the board. Following this will be an assessment of the capacity of college programming to further the goals of unifying, …

Fifa 2014 World Cup: Brazil’S Unending Headache: An Economic Investment That Challenges The Country’S Future, Bruna Almeida Lopes Barreto

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Brazil is soccer. The game is so deeply ingrained in daily life - in Brazilian identity and self-esteem- that they define each other. Soccer is so profoundly intertwined with Brazilian culture that familiarity with the sport begins early, producing a bottomless pool of talent. Year after year, soccer stars seem to roll out of Brazil like cars off a factory assembly line; it’s a natural talent that grows in almost every Brazilian child. Soccer means passion to Brazilians; it is the symbol of their nationality, as they have proven to be very the best at it.

Now, Brazil finally has …

The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment On Sovereign Debt Sustainability In Latin America, Oriana I. Fuentes

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Sovereign debt has been a central political issue in Latin American nations for many years, especially considering the region’s long history of defaults and restructurings. Finding ways to grow sustainably at manageable levels of indebtedness has certainly been a challenge, especially with the large number of factors that play into how a nation finances itself and its growth. One of these factors, foreign direct investment (FDI), has attracted significant attention after countries became more politically stable and protective of investor interests in the early 1990s. As a result, inflows of FDI have grown at record levels reaching over $112 billion …

Perceptions Measurement Of Professional Certifications To Augment Buffalo State College Baccalaureate Technology Programs, As A Representative American Postsecondary Educational Institution, Christopher N. Brown

Industrial Technology Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess, measure, and analyze whether voluntary, nationally-recognized professional certification credentials were important to augment technology programs at Buffalo State College (BSC), as a representative postsecondary baccalaureate degree-granting institution offering technology curricula. Six BSC undergraduate technology programs were evaluated within the scope of this study: 1.) Computer Information Systems; 2.) Electrical Engineering, Electronics; 3.) Electrical Engineering, Smart Grid; 4.) Industrial Technology; 5.) Mechanical Engineering; and 6.) Technology Education. This study considered the following three aspects of the problem: a.) postsecondary technology program enrollment and graduation trends; b.) the value/awareness of professional certifications to employers …

Accounting For Goodwill Pre&Post Sfas 142 And The Implications For Earnings Management, Liang Jian Wu

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis explores how impairment charges driven by management assessment have led to the possibility of earnings management under the SFAS 142 standard. The goal of carrying out this research is to help the user understand the implications behind allowing management to judge impairment charges (US GAAP) versus pre SFAS 142 when intangibles such as a goodwill were amortized (currently IFRS).

How has SFAS 142 opened the door for earnings management? If there is evidence to prove this assumption, then what factors drive management's impairment decisions. This information is pertinent to investors when analyzing a potential investment as goodwill can …

Rights Of Ownership In The United States As Identified Through Defined Benefit Plan Conversion, Richard Burke

HIM 1990-2015

Employer provided Qualified Plans ("Qualified Plans") are the most efficient supplement to Social Security savings and benefits. Given the significance of the benefits provided as well as the short-term Revenue constraints upon the Federal government in the form of substantially protracted tax deferrals, Qualified Plan legislation should maintain a conservative disposition. Incremental legislative action in the right direction will steadily graduate ERISA to its intended purpose. Unfortunately ERISA is a convoluted maze of formalities, definitions, and regulation that are only substantially understood by an expert and have yet to be adequately explained to the public at large. Recent publications such …

Managing In Brazil A Guide For American Managers, Melanie Senosiain

HIM 1990-2015

As the Brazilian economy is growing, more and more companies are looking to open businesses in Brazil. This may require some managers to hire Brazilian employees. By using the Hofstede and GLOBE studies, as well as other cultural traits, I have gathered a significant amount of knowledge on the Brazilian culture. I compared these traits to the American culture to find what American managers should focus on changing to best manage Brazilian employees. This guide determined techniques that American managers should follow when traveling to Brazil. In addition I have added other traits that American managers should look into before …

Towards Self-Emancipation In Ict For Development Research: Narratives About Respect, Traditional Leadership And Building Networks Of Friendships In Rural South Africa, Kirstin Krauss

The African Journal of Information Systems

In this paper, the author contends that if the outsider-researcher involved in Information and Communication Technology for Development really wants to make a difference and honestly address the emancipatory interests of the developing community, social transformation will have to occur on both sides of the “development divide.” This statement implies both an understanding of the researcher’s own ethnocentrism, prejudice, assumptions and inabilities as well as local concerns, needs, expectations and realities. Using critical social theory as a position of inquiry and learning from the enculturation phases of critical ethnographic fieldwork in a deep rural part of South Africa, the paper …

Integrating A New Business Into The Financial Planning Process, Barbara M. Tarasovich

WCBT Faculty Publications

A new Controller in this case was recently hired by Unilever, a global 200 consumer products organization, to integrate a newly acquired business into Unilever’s financial planning process. The newly acquired organization was a publically held company and had its own existing financial processes and procedures. Financial planning and reporting are major company activities and finance and accounting professionals are expected to “get it right.” The purpose of this case study is to get students to think about the difficulties and challenges of revamping existing financial processes and procedures and alert them to areas where other financial professionals have encountered …

The Evolution Of The U.S. Logistics Outsourcing Industry: An Organizational Ecology Perspective, Wei Ping Saw

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study intends to shed some light into the evolution of the logistics outsourcing industry in the U.S. with the help of the predictive power of organizational ecology, and to further emphasize the usefulness of organizational ecology as a tool to predict the evolution of other industries as well. This paper will hopefully be beneficial to managers in the logistics outsourcing industry as well as to scholars in the academic community. Managers in the logistics outsourcing industry could potentially utilize the findings from this study to better understand the evolution of the industry and hopefully better strategize future actions and …

International Marketing And Walmart's Missed Opportunity, Michelle Geisler

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Walmart is considered a strong global player in the retail industry, but not all of their expansions have bee successful. In 1998, Walmart took their first steps into the European market starting with Germany. Many mistakes were made and despite strong effort to fix major oversight, Walmart left the German market in 2006. This thesis analysis what went wrong with the expansion into Germany and what lessons Walmart has taken away from the fiasco.

Is Differentiation Better?: Consumer Memory For Online Advertisement Selection, Keri Wood

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The proliferation of internet content has generated a significant online marketing increase in recent years. While there exists a relatively broad base of knowledge regarding the impact of traditional advertisement structures and their effects on consumer behavior, less is known about the impact of the interactive world of online advertising, particularly video advertising. Research has been done to address the question of identifying a more suitable model for the online video format than a standard pre-roll advertisement. The Pool Lane One of VivaKi found that the most effective model was the ad-selector, which allowed consumers to choose their preference from …

Exploring The Differences Of The Grocery Experience Between Spain And The United States: Is It More Than Just Potato, Patata, Tomato, Tomate?, Madison Dowell

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the increasing globalization of the world economy, companies looking to take part in this trend must pay attention to the differences between aspects of their home country and the country in which they are trying to sell products. Being well informed on criteria that could affect the purchase decision of foreign consumers is essential to avoiding self reference criterion and ethnocentrism, or the unconscious referral to and focus on one’s own culture rather than the targeted culture. “Sociologic differences around the world largely outweigh the similarities. People in the global community are influenced and driven by different things. Lack …

The Observing Public's Perception On Individual's Behavior When Pressured With Unethical Decisions, Amanda Hancock

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines how public perception of individuals pressured with unethical decisions can be dependent on perceived personality traits of the individual. An observer's perception is analyzed through two perspective behaviors: normative (desired) and expected. The two personality traits examined are perceived ambition and perceived individual power distance. Data was obtained for this study from a sample of 152 undergraduate students through a survey where respondents were randomly given one of four manipulated scenarios. The survey measured the respondent's beliefs on what an individual in the scenario should (normative) and would (expected) do when faced with an unethical decision. The …

On Shelf Availability: A Literature Review & Conceptual Framework, Kristie Spielmaker

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

On-Shelf Availability (OSA) is a key performance indicator for the retail industry, greatly impacting profit and customer loyalty. Strong competition in the industry causes retailers and suppliers to put heavy emphasis on improving performance in an effort to satisfy consumers and keep them coming back to their store or product. Over 40 years of research has been done on OSA and its complement, out-of stock (OOS), however very little progress has been made in improving performance in these areas, leading to the belief that gaps in extant research exist. In order to solve the OOS problem, the key drivers of …

The Recession Of 2008: For Better Or For Worse, Kelsy Litchenburg

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With nonstop discussion about the current recession in the government, news, classroom, social media, and any other type of communication outlet, there is seldom a minute that Americans are not impacted by our current economic condition. Constantly, we are faced with pitfalls of the recession, like job loss and a declining house market, but who is to say that the motion of our economy doesn't follow Newton's third law stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction? Meaning that for each negative this recession brings, might there also be a positive social effect as well? After …

Drivers Of The Cash Conversion Cycle In Retail: A Test Of Resource Dependency Theory, Katie Mcclellan

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study analyzes the role of resource dependency theory in the supply chain, specifically investigating the supplier-retailer relationship. Resource dependency theory attempts to summarize the power-seeking behavior found in interorganizational relationships, as firms attempt to increase their own independence while increasing other firms’ dependence on them. The interdependent nature of a supply chain provides an ideal environment to analyze this type of relationship. In order to assess a firm’s influence over other members, the cash conversion cycle was used as it considers the interlocking nature of the supply chain, since each action taken to constrict one firm’s cycle affects that …

Business And Cultural Implications For Walmart In Spain, Ariel Spencer

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Technological advances in the modern era have led to the incredible phenomenon of world collaboration, more commonly known as globalization. The whole of the world is behaving increasingly as a single market. Within this massively intertwined economy, companies are facing new challenges of communication, management and adaptation as their reach of business extends across the world. An integral part of conducting business on a global scale is gaining an accurate and well-developed understanding of each area into which the business extends. Therefore, one of the most important factors when entering a new environment is learning to adapt to the cultural …

Colour Markability: Registrable In A Few Nations, But Debatable Among Many!, Deli Yang

School of Business Faculty Research

Colour marks have been equally debatable before and after they became registrable in few countries. Before some landmark cases set the broad legal framework for colour mark protection, debates centred on the registrability. Nowadays, registrability remains an issue, but heightened debates have been surrounding the conditions and interpretations of this non-traditional mark. With the increasing importance of marks for businesses and organizations, colour mark issues have become internationally controversial. This Global IP debate thus, opens with two landmark cases: Qualitex v Jacobson and BP v Woolworths. It then focuses on some conceptual issues relevant to the colour mark itself, its …

A Global System Growing Itself To Death -- And What We Can Do About It, H. Thomas Johnson

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The underlying purpose of today's global economy, most assume, is to transform natural resources into a continuously growing quantity of goods and services for human consumption. Even when people acknowledge the existence of myriad social and environmental problems such as wide-spread poverty, climate change, extinction of species, and the increasingly unequal distribution of income and wealth, they fail to see economic growth as a fundamental cause of these problems. In fact, many propose that we can "grow our way" out of serious social and financial challenges. Because they see growth as beneficial, they do not recognize that it makes "solution" …

The Economic Impact Of Right-To-Work Laws On Employment And Living Standards In The State Of Arkansas, Brinkley Cook-Campbell

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This reaseach paper looks at the effect that right-to-work laws have had on the economy of Arkansas. Analysis reveals that RTW laws have no effect on unemployment, labor force participation, and wage growth. However, RTW laws do have an economic impact on population growth in certain periods, as well as increased rates of GDP growth. This paper concludes that RTW has been good for Arkansas.

Energy Sources And The Production Of Electricity In The United States, David Manukjan

Honors College Theses

The current sources of energy that the United States uses to produce electricity are costly, extremely damaging to the environment, and cause us to rely on other countries for our energy needs. The Obama Administration has begun working on replacing coal and oil with cleaner sources of energy. Over the last decade, alternative energy sources have been slowly gaining popularity as the American public learns more about climate change. However, the U.S. government will not use renewable energy as a complete substitute for fossil fuels in the immediate future because of their higher market price. The world is struggling to …

Can One Size Fit All? An Application Of Management Theory On The European Sovereign Debt Crisis, Amanda Grayson

Honors College Theses

The European Union is a combination of twenty-seven different and unique cultures under one common government. Can culture help explain the continued problems emanating from the European debt crisis?

In undergraduate management courses around the world, from Harvard University to Beijing International, eager young minds are taught the same fundamental management theories. Among others, one of the most popular would inevitably be Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions.

Geert Hofstede, while working for the IBM research department, undertook a detailed survey and analysis of the various cultures of the world. He defined four dimensions of culture, now expanded to six, that can be …