Business Commons^™

Reconsidering The User, Nathan M. Aleskovsky

Architecture Senior Theses

My thesis, Reconsidering The User, is a proposal for a digital application that unites the architect and the occupant in the design process of a home by transforming how design criteria are obtained and controlled.

Within the scope of the detached single-family house, my thesis argues that a design process that engages the expertise of both the architect and the occupant has the potential to create a design solution that is more accurately tailored to the preferences of the occupant. This is possible through reconfiguring the information phase of architectural design. Given my background and current entrepreneurial pursuit, best way …

The Tweet's The Thing: Exploring The Intersection Of Social Media And Broadway, Hilary Sutton

Masters Theses

In 2009 the little known Broadway musical Next to Normal rose to fame through the aid of an unprecedented Twitter campaign conducted by Situation Interactive, a digital marketing agency. The Next to Normal Twitter account gathered over one million followers throughout a six-week campaign in which the Situation Interactive team joined forces with the book writer and lyricist of Next to Normal to recreate the plot in one hundred and forty-character snippets. By analyzing the data collected the researcher cultivates a collection of best practices for running a successful Twitter marketing campaign for a live experience.

The Phenomenon Behind The Bite: Altercasting As It Applies To Apple Technology, Elizabeth Baldwin

Masters Theses

This paper investigates how the brand Apple markets their product so that consumers feel obligated to buy their product. By looking at five main categories of brand loyalty, environmentally friendly practices, being up-to-date with technology, pricing with value and customer service, this paper will rhetorically analyze how successful of a job it does. To get an inside look at what the public thought on the the way that Apple fulfilled their altercasting this paper analyzed what people said about Apple verses competing technology brands. By drawing overall conclusions, recording trends and making observations about the way that people had been …

Reevaluating The Intellectual Property Holding Company, Mark J. Cowan, Warren Newberry Jr.

Accountancy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In their zeal to save on taxes, many companies isolate their intellectual property in wholly owned subsidiaries called intellectual property holding companies (IPHCs). The IPHC landscape, however, is changing. Recently state actions have reduced the tax benefits of IPHCs, impacting the business and legal ramifications of managing intellectual property through a holding company.

Circuit City's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Jeff Smith, Peyton Hairston

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

Circuit City Stores, Inc. sold consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software, and appliances in the growing consumer electronics market.[1] Circuit City was founded by Samuel S. Wurtzel in 1949 under the name Wards Company. The store named “Wards” was an acronym of Wurtzel’s family name’s: “W” for Wurtzel, “A” for his son Alan, “R” for his wife Ruth, “D” for his son David, and “S” for his own name.[2] Circuit City was the first electronics superstore and was the nation’s second largest retailer of consumer electronics as recently as 2004.[3] Circuit City began the superstore concept for …

The Existence Of State Dependence And Switching Costs In The Transition From Myspace To Facebook, Taryn M. Ohashi

Scripps Senior Theses

In this paper, I examine the existence and roles of state dependence and switching costs in the mass transition from MySpace to Facebook during the 2007-2008 time period. Using a dataset that compiles individual browsing behavior and a discrete multinomial logit model, I find precise, yet extremely small amounts of state dependence for users of only MySpace, of only Facebook, and users of both MySpace and Facebook. Positive state dependence directly implies the existence of switching costs for each firm. While there is an abundance of literature regarding switching costs in the brick and mortar setting with tangible products and …

Oit Online Web Presence, Ali Alsahaf, Ryan Menze, Farzad Moshfegh, Jerrod Thomas

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) at Portland State University (PSU) migrated its website to a centrally provided Drupal content management system in the summer of 2012, leaving out a significant amount of content from the previous website in exchange for a quick implementation timeline based on an executive order to unify departmental branding across the division of Finance and Administration. This initial migration focused on public facing information and excluded large swaths of support articles that were broadly used by faculty, staff, students, and technology professionals. In early 2013, a new project was launched to reevaluate the design decisions …

Hazon Csa Community: Comprehensive Program Promotion, Lauren Sara Wasserman

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

In 2004, Hazon launched its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. As of 2012, Hazon had 58 CSA site locations. Each site has one or two CSA site coordinators, who act as a liaison between Hazon and their CSA site community members. CSA site community members are the shareholders at each CSA location. This research study examined how Hazon can better promote its comprehensive array of programming to its CSA site communities.

Assessing The Feasibility Of A Collaborative Grant Initiative At The United Way Of Broome County, Alison E. Handy

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

The United Way of Broome County (UWBC) is interested in pursing a collaborative grant initiative, in which two or more agencies would receive a grant to implement a common program. UWBC lacked the information necessary to determine whether it should adopt a collaborative grant. In particular, it did not know if partners had the willingness or ability to participate in a collaborative grant or how partners would the grant to be structured.

Retention Of Volunteers In A Non-Profit Organization: Sustaining Motivation And Work Satisfaction Of Direct Service Volunteers At Accord, A Center For Dispute Resolution Inc., Olga Tyurina

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

Direct Service volunteers are a critical component to ACCORD's service delivery and mission accomplishment. Therefore, ACCORD is committed to maintaining its cadre of direct service volunteers. However, in 2012, ACCORD noticed a drop in the number of its direct service volunteers. The current Executive Director of ACCORD linked this drop wit h the budget cut the agency experienced in May 2011, which resulted in ACCORD's inability to provide as much support and to offer tangible rewards to its direct service volunteers as frequently as it used to.

Revenue Diversification And 501 (C) 6 Nonprofit Trade Associations: Technology Councils Of North American And The Pittsburgh Technology Council, Reuben Dacher-Shapiro

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

Since 2009 the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) has been experiencing a decrease in the revenue they generate from the sale of insurance to its members. This decrease is a significant problem because it is non-program related unrestricted revenue. This type of revenue is vital for PTC because it allows them to constantly adapt to the needs of their members in the volatile economic environment of the Southwestern Pennsylvania technology sector.

The Influence Of Social Networking Technology In An Engineering Organization, Derrick Marcus Tepaske

EMSE Doctoral Projects

Computer facilitated Social Networking (SN) is becoming more prevalent in our society, both in our personal and professional lives. As its use grows, there is a desire to determine how it will impact an organization. If it can positively impact an organization then it is an initiative that could be embraced and leveraged for any number of business related activities from marketing to engineering. This project develops and implements a social networking treatment for an engineering organization in order to determine how it impacts the responsiveness and performance of the organization. The treatment includes an online tool, a training package, …

Roli Dhe Ndikimi I Investimeve Të Huaja Direkte (Ihd) Në Zhvillimin Ekonomik, Granit Biqku

Theses and Dissertations

Si çdo vend tjeter i cili është në zhvillim e sipër dhe ështe në fazen e tranzicionit ashtu edhe Kosova ka nevoëj për investime të huaja direkte të cilat do të sillnin një gjallërim ekonomik dhe një rritje te standardit jetësor të qytetarëve të vendit.

Investimet e huaja direkte (IHD), janë një mundësi e mirë për shtetin pritës të investimeve që të hapet ndaj alternativave të huaja në mënyrë që të krijojë infrastrukturën për zhvillim dhe prosperitet të përgjithshëm.

IHD-të janë një fenomen shumë i përhapur në mbarë botën dhe i dëshiruar nga të gjithë vendet, në çdo stad të …

Rëndësia E Antarësimit Të Kosovës Në Fondin Monetar Ndërkombtar, Shend Abdullahu

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë studim seminarik kemi diskutuar për Fondin Monetar Ndërkombtar që u krijua rreth viteve të 50 ajo u krijua vetëm për një që ta krijoj një kornizë të ekonomis dhe të ndihmoj vendet që janë në transicion me këshilla ekonomike dhe këshilla financiare. Është një organizatë ndërkombëtare e 188 vendeve me seli në Ëashington, D.C. . Qëllimi primar i themelimit të fondit monetarë ndërkomëtarë ka qenë që të krijohet një bashkëpunim monetarë mes vendeve, stabilitet monetar në këmbim dhe marrveshje të rregullta të këmbimit monetarë për të shpejtuar rritjen ekonomike, për të ngritur nivelin e punësimit dmth zvoglimin e …

Trajnimi I Punëtorëve, Altina Krasniqi

Theses and Dissertations

Trajnimi dhe zhvillimi i punëtorëve është shumë i rëndësishëm për kompaninë dhe për motivimin e tyre por gjithashtu edhe për performancën. Trajnimi i punëtorëve zhvillohet për rifreskimin e njohurive dhe që punëtorët e rinj të jenë në gjendje ti kuptojnë detyrat dhe përgjegjësitë e tyre. Por departamenti i burimeve njerzore ka edhe detyra të tjera përveç zhvillimit dhe trajnimit të punëtorëve, prandaj mbikqyrja ose monitorimi i trajnimit ka shumë përparsi, dy nga të cilat janë kompletimi i punëtorëve me aftësitë e nevojshme për të zhvilluar punën dhe njëkohësisht krijimi i një stafi me të përgatitur për situata të ndyshme. Metodat …

Women, Leadership, And Transformation In Africa: A Study Of Social And Structural Factors Affecting Women’S Participation, Decision-Making Processes And Leadership Capabilities In Nigeria, Remi Alapo

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

2013 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Hostess Brands, Inc. Bankruptcy, Kathryn K. Ganier, Frederick L. Conrad Iii, Wendy G. Patrick

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

In 1930, the Hostess Corporation[1] began as the Interstate Baking Corporation (IBC). In Kansas City Missouri, flour, wheat, and grain marched from machines as workers placed sliced white squares into Wonder Bread’s iconic yellow, red, and blue packaging.[2]

Hostess grew from its small town beginnings into a large corporation thanks in large part to its innovation in its product lines as well as growth through the acquisition of its competitors. By the end of 2012, “Hostess [was] one of the largest wholesale bakers and distributors of bread and snack cakes in the United States [and] operate[d] 36 bakeries, …

A Blockbuster Failure: How An Outdated Business Model Destroyed A Giant, Todd Davis, John Higgins

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies

The rise of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s rapidly created new markets. Companies like Apple seized on the ability to distribute music online for a lower price than independent record stores, or even large-scale ones like Tower Records could afford, driving record stores to near-extinction.[1] A similar fate has fallen upon the video rental stores. Giants Movie Gallery and Blockbuster, driven by physical rental stores, began struggling to compete with streaming and mailing platforms. Both were driven into bankruptcy because they failed to adapt quickly enough. A series of poor choices by Blockbuster, including passing on the …

Slavery Is Bad For Business: Analyzing The Impact Of Slavery On National Economies, Monti Narayan Datta, Kevin Bales

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article, using a novel dataset, demonstrates that slavery is empirically bad for business. Building upon the work of Robert Smith, the authors analysis examines the relationship between the prevalence of slavery in a country (in terms of the proportion of the population enslaved) and several economic measures (the United Nations Human Development Index, growth domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity, access to financial services, and the Gini coefficient). In each instance, controlling for alternative explanations, greater levels of slavery are associated with a decline in economic growth and human development. The findings imply that beyond the morality …

Your Prized Executive Is Leaving. Now What?, John R. Ledgerwood, Stephen N. Morgan

Publications

The departure of a key member of your organization can quickly throw things into turmoil if the person is tightly tied to the firm in the minds of investors. For these reasons and others, nonprofits and for-profits alike should have an established succession plan for identifying a worthy replacement. This article examines how one global nonprofit is planning proactively for the future.

Location And Competitive Strategy In Retail: The Case Of Gamestop In Michigan, Karl P. Schrantz

Masters Theses

The State of Michigan offers a unique retail environment that offers a diverse arena for firms to interact and compete in. The state has many cities of different size and a multitude of retail chains that operate within them. Over the past two decades this competition has become even stiffer with the rapid growth of big box retailers. In spite of this general notion there are often the less known stories of small retailers that have been able to compete and survive big box retailing. This research aims to assess how a smaller retail chain, GameStop in this case, is …

Integrating Strategic And Tactical Rolling Stock Models With Cyclical Demand, Michael F. Gorman

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

In the transportation industry, companies position rolling stock where it is likely to be needed in the face of a pronounced weekly cyclical demand pattern in orders.

Strategic policies based on assumptions of repetition of cyclical weekly patterns set rolling stock targets; during tactical execution, a myriad dynamic influences cause deviations from strategically set targets. We find that optimal strategic plans do not agree with results of tactical modeling; strategic results are in fact suboptimal in many tactical situations. We discuss managerial implications of this finding and how the two modeling paradigms can be reconciled.

Can Ethical Business Behavior Be Legislated?, Emily C. Owens

Senior Honors Theses and Projects - Management

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been landmark business laws established with the intent to shape business practices and procedures in a way that we as a country deem ethical. In this paper I discuss some of the most important landmark acts passed by U.S. lawmakers in order to establish standards for ethical business practices and values that we strive to maintain and improve upon in corporate America today. My research question is, "Can ethical business behavior be legislated?" There are five dominant themes that emerge from this study. First, it is often a corporate scandal or …

American Consumer Confidence & Income: Relationship With The Stock Market, Caitlin C. Tappan

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs, Christopher Schwab

Honors Theses and Capstones

A.R. (Venky) Venkatachalam, Ph.D. (Associate Dean of Academic Programs & Professor of Information Systems) and I believe that the steps to insure future entrepreneurial success have not been taken; therefore my intention is to provide quality insight regarding the importance of embracing our next generation of entrepreneurs.

Patron-Driven Acquisition Optimization At Liberty University, Erin Crane, Lori Snyder

Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2010 Liberty University began a Patron-Driven Acquisition pilot program with ebrary. Since then, the program has grown dramatically. The presenters describe how the library uses past usage data to create a predictive formula for ebook use. New ebook titles were added to the program based on formula selections. Success of the formula was evaluated, and overall the results are positive. The presenters also explain how the library handles the purchasing and cataloging of the ebooks.

Differential Relationships Of Internal And External Networking Behaviors With Turnover, Caitlin M. Porter

Open Access Theses

Although networking behaviors are proven to be beneficial for career success, less is known about how networking influences organizational outcomes such as turnover. Using a professional and an academic sample of "stayers" and "leavers", the present study addresses how two types of networking behaviors, networking focused either internal or external to the organization, differentially influence the voluntary turnover process. Data gathered from "stayers" suggested that internal networking behaviors were positively associated with perceived desirability of movement (i.e., job satisfaction), whereas external networking behaviors were associated with perceived (i.e., perceived employment opportunity) and actual (i.e., job offers) ease of movement. For …

News - Don't Hang Up! Learn How To Better Serve Customers With Hearing Or Speech Loss With Georgia Relay Partner, Ellen Rolader, Lindsay Hebert

Georgia Library Quarterly

Georgia Relay, the free public service provided by the State of Georgia that makes communicating by telephone easy, accessible and reliable for everyone, wants to make Georgia’s libraries friendlier for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, late-deafened or who have difficulty speaking. This article provides an overview of Georgia Relay Partner, a free program that provides local businesses with online educational and training materials about Relay services so that employees will be able to easily accept and place calls to customers who have hearing loss or speech difficulties.

What Causes Bank Failures During The Recent Economic Recession?, Qingyu Li

Honors Projects

More than 400 banks failed during the recent financial crisis. Bank failures have a significant impact on the financial system and the economy as a whole. It is important to identify factors that may contribute to bank failures so that banks can take measures to reduce their default risk. This paper examines how bank specific characteristics and economic conditions affect bank failures during the recent financial crisis. We employ the logistic regression model to study this issue using the U. S. commercial bank data over the sample period 2007-2012. We find that the ratio of the loan and leases to …