Business Commons^™

Revising A Summer Internship Course Using Student Evaluations, Holly B. Perry, Lynda J. Sperazza

Journal of Tourism Insights

Internships play an important role in a university curriculum because they allow students to gain practical experience and explore possible career paths. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the summer internship experience from the students’ perspective to determine whether they achieved course learning outcomes. We objectively examined the course evaluations from students who completed their summer internships within a recreation and leisure studies program. Student responses (n = 29) to the 14 self-appraisal items in their course evaluation were the central focus of data analysis. Our primary research question was, “In what KSA [knowledge, skills, attitudes] areas …

An Exploratory Study Of Wellness Travel: Differences Between U.S. And Non-U.S. Travelers, Rebecca Boulay, Nancy M. Hritz, Candace Ashton

Journal of Tourism Insights

Wellness tourism has become an increasingly popular trend as many resorts and destinations now offer these activities and amenities. Given that the “wellness travel” term is relatively new for U.S. travelers, it is unknown how they may differ in their wellness and travel choices from non U.S. travelers. Convenience samples of tourists in the US and Europe were surveyed about their differences in wellness travel motivations and perceived wellness. T-tests revealed significant differences. U.S. travelers were more likely to want to participate in outdoor activities such as hiking and camping when traveling compared to non U.S. travelers. Non U.S. travelers …

An Analysis Of Compensation Patterns And Job Satisfaction Issues Of Resort Recreation Professionals, A. Scott Rood, Andrew Holdnak

Journal of Tourism Insights

Job satisfaction among recreation professionals can be affected by many internal and external conditions. This study investigated the impact of 16 variables on the job satisfaction of private sector recreation practitioners. An additional 12 variables were used to describe job responsibilities and organizational characteristics. Three construct measures were used to determine individual wage, benefit and total compensation. The sample consists of 73 complete survey responses from professional members of the Resort and Commercial Recreation Association (RCRA). Regression analysis was used to identify the significant variables related to job and compensation satisfaction. The results of this data are compared with similar …

Resort Recreation Amenity Report, Mary Wisnom

Journal of Tourism Insights

Resorts are full-service lodging facilities that offer a range of amenities and recreation facilities to emphasize a leisure experience. To date there has been no single source of information on resort amenity offerings. The purpose of the report is to provide a comprehensive look at the most recent data on resort recreation amenity facility and service offerings in the United States. The Report also serves as a source for recreation amenity comparison data for industry professionals. A review of literature identified the latest resort recreation data and a survey of resorts was implemented to supplement and enhance the industry data. …

2013 Nonprofit Needs Assessment, Johnson Center At Grand Valley State University

Research, Reports, and Publications

No abstract provided.

M&A Update And Cross-Border M&As: Considerations For Middle-Market Firms, Stephen R. Goldberg, Carol M. Sanchez, Alexandra S. Schmid

Peer Reviewed Articles

Global activity in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) has weakened during the past year and a half. With continued concerns about the recovery of the global economy, many large companies were reluctant to close mega-deals. Economic and political events, such as increased fiscal crises in Europe, slowing economic growth in the BRIC countries, and political gridlock in Washington, reduced confidence among many dealmakers. Despite companies’ record cash reserves, many were reluctant to execute new M&A deals. In this article, we discuss global M&A activity in 2011 and the first half of 2012. The article concludes with a discussion of factors for …

Success At The Base Of The Pyramid: A Relational View Of Competitive Advantage, Carol M. Sanchez, Alexandra Schmid

Peer Reviewed Articles

In this paper, we propose a new framework to measure the success of projects at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), based on the relational view of strategy (Dyer and Singh, 1998; Lavie, 2006; Mesquita et al., 2008), and we test the framework using new case studies. We argue that the success of BoP projects depends on relation-specific resources and capabilities resulting from partnerships among participating organizations. Typical partners involved in a BoP project are firms that make a product or a service designed for BoP customers, a public or private agency that has local knowledge and presence, and a …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Weaving An Impactful Network, Anne E. Summers, Linda Honold

The Foundation Review

· The Brico Fund set out to test a common nonprofit theory of change: individual outputs lead to outcomes, leading to systems change. An alternate theory is that systems change happens through collective and strategic action of many organizations working together toward a common goal.

· This case study examines the implementation of this theory and describes the companion development of systems, structures, tools, and processes created in a cross-sector network of nonprofits. The evolution of Brico’s funding strategy is juxtaposed with the development of the network, revealing a unique funder/organization symbiosis, relying on each to provide expertise, thus fostering …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Measuring Dimensions Of Network Functioning: The Knowhow2go Network Survey, Tania Jarosewich, Nushina Mir, Linda Simkin

The Foundation Review

· As foundations more often encourage networks and other interorganizational strategies, they need tools to measure network effectiveness and outcomes. Gathering network members’ perspectives on their engagement with the network can provide insights and avenues for improvement.

· This article describes a network survey that was created for Lumina Foundation’s KnowHow2GO initiative, which focused on strengthening college access networks.

· The network survey measures five dimensions of effective networks: network management; sustainable service systems; data-driven decision making; policy and advocacy; and knowledge development and dissemination.

· The network survey provided useful information for the foundation, initiative partners, technicalassistance providers, network …

Benchmarking Evaluation In Foundations: Do We Know What We Are Doing?, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer, Patricia Patrizi, Elizabeth Heid Thompson

The Foundation Review

· Evaluation in philanthropy – with staff assigned to evaluation-related responsibilities – began in the 1970s and has evolved, along with philanthropy, in the four decades since. What has not changed, however, is a regular questioning of what foundations are doing on evaluation, especially since the world of philanthropy regularly shifts, and changes in evaluation resourcing and positioning tend to soon follow.

· This article presents new findings about what foundations are doing on evaluation and discusses their implications. It is based on 2012 research that benchmarks the positioning, resourcing, and function of evaluation in foundations, and follows up on …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Practical Project Management For Agile Nonprofits: Approaches And Templates To Help You Manage With Limited Resources, Megan Murphy

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Leadership: Connecting A Grantmaker's Investments In Collaborative Leadership Development To Community Results, Julia D. O’Brien, Jennifer N. Littlefield, Victoria Goddard-Truitt

The Foundation Review

· Foundations are increasingly supporting cross-sector collaboratives that focus on developing collaborative leadership skills, in addition to strengthening collaborative accountability. This article tests the Theory of Aligned Contributions change model, as implemented by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Leadership in Action Program.

· Path analysis results show that grantmakers can support cross-sector collaboratives by providing skilled implementation teams that promote public and individual accountability and build strong collaborative leadership skills. Through this support, collaboratives develop effective strategies that affect important social issues.

· This research sheds light on how grantmakers can fund and encourage a process for cross-sector community members …

Four Network Principles For Collaboration Success, Jane Wei-Skillern, Nora Silver

The Foundation Review

· This article identifies a set of four counterintuitive principles that are critical to collaboration success and offers insights for how nonprofit leaders can ensure that their collaborations can have an impact that is dramatically greater than the sum of the individual parts.

· Based on a decade of research developing detailed case studies on a range of successful networks, the authors have identified a common pattern of factors that are essential to effective networking.

· The principles are: focus on mission before organization; manage through trust, not control; promote others, not yourself; and build constellations, not stars.

Communicating, Collaborating, And Coordinating To Revitalize New Jersey Neighborhoods, Lois W. Greco

The Foundation Review

· Since 2003, the New Jersey public and private funding community has been organizing and implementing a shared, cross-sector approach to revitalizing the state's low-income neighborhoods that incorporates residents and stakeholders, encourages private investment, leverages corporate resources, and produces measurable results.

· The approach has been shaped by the programmatic alignment of the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation's Neighborhood Grants Program and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program (NRTC) with technical assistance from the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.

· The combined programs have supported initiatives in 26 neighborhoods, funded by $16 …

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Moving From Partnership To Collective Accountability And Sustainable Change: Applying A Systems-Change Model To Foundations’ Evolving Roles, Karen W. Linkins, Lynda E. Frost, Becky Hayes Boober, Jennifer J. Brya

The Foundation Review

· In a time of scarce resources and significant needs, funders may seek to maximize the impact of their grantmaking through collaboration. While many foundations move well from identifying a problem to building broader awareness and forging key partnerships, they typically flounder in trying to move beyond collaboration to a sense of mutual responsibility or collective accountability for the greater good, which is a precondition for sustainable systems change.

· This article discusses three complex initiatives that made sustainable changes in integrated behavioral health and primary care. Using a conceptual framework based on the Building Blocks of Systems Change model, …

Getting To Collective Impact: How Funders Can Contribute Over The Life Course Of The Work, Douglas Easterling

The Foundation Review

· Foundations have a long tradition of convening and funding collaborative groups with the hope that this will lead to large-scale impact.

· Although funder-driven collaboration sometimes leads to breakthrough solutions, foundations have also pushed the participating organizations into artificial, awkward, and unsustainable efforts.

· This article argues that funders should support naturally emerging networks and should tailor their support to match the network’s stage of development.

· A five-stage developmental model is introduced and illustrated through a case study of the Central Appalachian Network (CAN).

· Over CAN’s 20-year history, a succession of regional and national foundations have played …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Designing For Learning: One Foundation’S Efforts To Institutionalize Organizational Learning, Rosanna Tran, Sanjay Shah

The Foundation Review

· This article explores the California HealthCare Foundation’s internal efforts, inspired in part by the process of design thinking, to institutionalize organizational learning.

· One outcome of this process has been a “grantmaking toolbox,” which represents an attempt to document new, effective, and innovative grantmaking tactics.

· While creating this toolbox, the foundation realized that the process of learning holds as much – if not more – value as the products of learning. Moreover, we gained three valuable insights that may be relevant for other foundations interested in advancing their learning efforts: effective learning is a collaborative, rather than an …

Eyes Wide Open: Learning As Strategy Under Conditions Of Complexity And Uncertainty, Patricia Patrizi, Elizabeth Heid Thompson, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

· Foundation strategy is hampered by a failure to recognize and engage with the complexity and uncertainty surrounding foundation work. This article identifies three common “traps” that hinder foundation capacity to learn and adapt: 1) linearity and certainty bias; 2) the autopilot effect; and 3) indicator blindness.

· This article urges foundations to alter their mindset, questions, and processes to foster a more committed approach to strategy and adaptation. In essence, it argues for learning as strategy.

· This article draws on literature from systems theory, business strategy, and philanthropic practice as well as data from foundation benchmarking surveys.

Book Review Of The Generosity Network: New Transformational Tools For Successful Fund-Raising, Terry Horton

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Resource Review Of Leveraging The Power Of Foundations: An Analysis Of Program-Related Investing, Ashley Rosener

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Focus On Sustainability: A Nonprofit’S Journey, Matthew Downey

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

When Local Solutions Aren’T Enough: A Strategic Funding Partnership To Restore A Large River System, Pam Wiley, Ken Bierly, Todd Reeve, Kendra Smith

The Foundation Review

· Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly imperiled, and funders, nongovernmental organizations, community groups, and government agencies around the world are working to restore ecological function and resiliency to these critical resources.

· What does it take to structure, support, and implement truly effective, broad-scale watershed restoration? This article will describe the unconventional funding strategies catalyzing collective impact across multiple restoration groups working in a diverse set of watersheds and share the challenges and opportunities encountered while implementing these strategies.

· In Oregon, an experimental 10-year collaboration aimed at improving the health of the Willamette River system is being led by the …

Achieving Synergy With Collaborative Problem Solving: The Value Of System Analysis, Douglas Easterling, Elizabeth Mayfield Arnold, Jessica A. Jones, Allen J. Smart

The Foundation Review

· Collaborative problem solving has a long and important tradition in philanthropy. While there are notable success stories, it is clear that large-scale impact does not occur by simply bringing various stakeholders together around a common agenda and then offering them funding for planning and implementation.

· One of the most critical ingredients is a high-leverage strategy, which in turn requires a coherent understanding of the system that surrounds the problem.

· Reclaiming Futures, a national initiative aimed at promoting juvenile-justice reform at the local level, explicitly promotes system-level problem-solving by offering a conceptual framework that each site uses to …