Business Commons^™

A Process For Optimal Resource Allocation For Integrated Resorts, Benjamin Mammina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For anyone involved in the development of casinos or Integrated Resorts the process of planning a successful project can be rather cumbersome, arbitrary and lacking of business data to make sound financial decisions. This study will organize that process to reduce those difficulties and identify those Resources needed to provide optimal results for return on investment (ROI), total investment (TI) and overall size of the project (SF).

To determine the size of an Integrated Resort (IR) owners and developers tend to look at the building characteristics of competing or admired projects and then set their Resource parameters such as: 2000 …

What Happens In Las Vegas? How Exhibitors Use The Tradeshow Floor And Social Venues To Facilitate Business, Chrissy L. Nanton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study illuminates how place characteristics shape the way in which tradeshow exhibitors “do” business on and off the tradeshow floor. A surge in framing tradeshows as temporary clusters has occurred in the recent decades. Temporary clusters are defined as “hotspots of intensive and dedicated exchange of knowledge, network building and generation of new ideas” (Maskell, Bathelt and Malmberg 2004). The idea that temporarily sharing geographic space can advantage firms is particularly noteworthy in a post-industrial globalized economy. In the literature, social scientists have paid specific attention to the connections between geography and spatial proximity, and information diffusion and knowledge …

The Political Economy Of Going Global: Understanding The Determinants Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment In The Middle East And Africa, Majid Shirali

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study seeks to explain the motivating factors behind Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) patterns to the Middle East and Africa through a quantitative framework that utilizes a pooled cross-sectional time-series data set that covers 57 countries from 2003-2010. Prior research on the issue has hypothesized that China attempts to use external FDI to developing areas to promote national interests and help sustain economic growth. However, there has been an almost exclusive focus on economic determinants while generally ignoring political variables. The approach in this project attempts to fill this scholarly void by employing a broad array of independent variables …

The Role Of The Integration-Responsiveness Framework In An International Branch Campus: A Case Study, Tammy Joy Silver

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Similar to multinational corporations, international branch campuses have the challenge of maintaining legitimacy in different cultural and regulatory environments across national borders. It is common for organizations to modify business practices when expanding operations abroad to respond to local demands and preferences based upon cultural expectations and regulatory requirements.

National culture is comprised of the underlying values, beliefs, and attitudes of a society that drives behavior and expectations (Hofstede, 1980). Differences in national culture determine the amount of local adaptation necessary to conduct business in a foreign country (Kostova & Roth, 2002). International branch campuses must also maintain quality assurance …

Impact Of Menu Designs And Personal Dietary Behaviors On Young Millennials' Restaurant Menu Choices, Yuan Tian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The global prevalence of obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In response to this health crisis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized the Menu Calorie Labeling Rule in 2014. It requires that food service chains post Calorie information next to all food items on menus. Young Millennials aged 18-24 reportedly have poor dietary habits, which contributes to obesity rates. This on-line study surveyed 505 young Millennials to evaluate the relationship between young Millennials’ Calorie choices on restaurant menus and various factors, including menu design, personal dietary behaviors, and demographic characteristics. The survey data was analyzed using logistic regression. …

Examining Factors Influencing Ncaa Division-I Conference Realignment, Ginikachi O. Nwosu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The landscape of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve and become

more dynamic. One of the most visible aspects of these changes is athletic conference realignment. During the period from 2010 to 2014 alone, over 30 institutions across the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) changed or announced imminent plans to change athletic conference affiliation (Mandel, 2012). Conference realignment is described as institutional changes in athletic conference affiliation (Covell & Barr, 2010; Groza, 2010; Sweitzer, 2009). Various literature has identified variables which influence NCAA Division-I institutions’ decisions in regard to conference realignment, yet no comprehensive study has examined …

The Impact Of Hotel Website Quality On Customer Reservation, Chen Tan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study focuses on the discussion of the relationship between the website design and customer reservations in Las Vegas, specifically, how important the website quality is to hotels and how the features affect the Internet bookings. Since the online market is growing and becoming more and more competitive, hotels are investigating an effective way to keep customers making reservation directly through the hotel’s own website, such as providing lowest guarantee rates, promoting loyalty points and cooperating with online travel agents. Consumers expect websites that are informative, attractive and engaging. Usability, security, personalization, usefulness, responsiveness and information content are the dimensions …

An Analysis Of Empirical Research Of Social Media And User-Generated Content In The Hospitality Industry, Didi Fan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hospitality remains highly competitive industry where establishments are always pushing new efforts to positively attract and retain consumers more so than the others. In recent years, the most significant trend in reaching to consumers is through social media. The research dives into great detail in the interactions and cause and effect between consumers and hospitality in social media such as the effect of user generated content. The research produces more details and ideas than simply engaging in social media helps hospitality establishments. The information was attained from a large content analysis of previous research, studies, surveys, experiments, statistical and quantitative …

The Economic And Social Effects Of Casino Development In Macau, Christopher Benton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explores the economic impacts that took place in Macau after the gaming monopoly ended in 2002, as well as the resulting social effects to the local region. The broader research on casino gaming was analyzed, and was then compared to the social and economic impacts that took place in Macau. Specifically, economic indicators such as employment and GDP were evaluated, along with social issues such as problem gambling, crime, and educational attainment. Many countries, specifically Asian countries, are now entertaining the idea of introducing casinos to their local communities in an effort to try and replicate the type …

Too Drunk To Gamble? Dram Shop Liability For Gaming Debts., Jeffery Benson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The service of alcohol to high-end gamblers may hinder your ability to collect unpaid debt. Gamblers have opted to use the legal theory of Dram Shop, to reduce, if not eliminate unpaid debt. Their position is that they were too drunk to gamble and therefore not responsible for their debts. Gamblers have been largely unsuccessfully using Dram Shop laws; however the casino executives should make themselves familiar with the legal precedent to ensure total liability protection.

The Effects Of Gaming Taxation On Capital Investment In Gaming Businesses, Jeremy Pollock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microeconomic theory generally supports the idea of an inverse relationship between taxes and capital investment. The gaming industry however does not operate on a free market equilibrium of supply and demand. Regulation and taxation of this industry can distort competitive forces and, as a result, investment decisions. Forces are described herein which either strengthen or weaken this inverse relationship, as well as how they affect the value of the limited number of casino operating licenses which states grant. Higher tax rates are generally shown to result in small-scale properties, which cater to a narrow base of consumers. In contrast, low …

Customer Delight: How Do We Achieve It? Customer Service And Exceeding Expectations, Katherine Landahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Customer loyalty is one of the greatest marketing goals of any organization. Traditionally, the key to loyalty has been satisfaction. More recently, consumer delight has been linked as having a stronger connection to loyalty. This paper explores through a literature review, the connections between customer service, loyalty, satisfaction, and delight through the lens of the experience economy. Then, recommendations are provided for academics and hospitality professionals alike on how to delight customers through future research and front-line employee policies and procedures.

Transforming For The Future: The New Economic Driver For The Las Vegas Tourism Industry, Kwangbok Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Tourism transformation has recently become a key strategy in today's competitive business environment, as continued rejuvenation is required for a tourism destination to succeed over time. However, transformation can prove problematic for many emerging tourism destinations, which suffer from a lack of long-term decision-making tools and leadership from institutions at a local level. Therefore, this paper aims to use the theoretical framework of transformation theory—particularly the institution dimension— to demonstrate that Las Vegas’ ongoing transformative shift over the last 80 years from a mining town to a gaming destination, and then, to a multi-dimensional tourist attraction, has been largely successful …

Competency Based Learning In Hospitality Education And Its Impact On Future Leadership Skills, Colleen S. Wong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the past five years, hospitality educational programs have seen a distinct decline in enrollment from year to year (Oakley, 2016). Upon reflection of this decline, there could be many reasons, which caused a consecutive downward trajectory regarding enrollment. First, individuals are finding that a formal degree is not required for entry-level positions in the hospitality industry. Second, people are utilizing technology and videos to substitute for formal education and are finding success in the entry-level hiring process. Third, this generation does not see the value in formal education for entry-level employment. True as that might be, trends have shown …

Evaluating E-Relationship Marketing Features On Hotel Mobile Apps, Xiaolin Lu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The advent of technology has changed the course of marketing in both the academic and the business field. Given the increasing number of mobile transactions, hotel companies have launched mobile applications (apps) as an alternative e-relationship marketing (e-RM) channel. This study modified a progressive five-level e-relationship building model. The model was employed to evaluate e-RM features of the top 10 hotel companies’ mobile apps. The results indicated that these hotel companies maintained e-RM feature sophistication at the lower levels (Basic and Reactive), but relatively speaking, they did not utilize e-RM features extensively at the higher levels (Accountable, Proactive and Partnership). …

Mega-Regional Trade, Joshua Meltzer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture will discuss the impact of the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations on U.S. economic competitiveness and leadership in Asia and Europe. This will lead into a discussion of large Free Trade Areas (FTA), or groups of countries that have few or no price controls in the form of tariffs or quotas between each other. FTAs allow the agreeing nations to focus on their comparative advantages and to produce the goods they are comparatively more efficient at making, thus increasing the efficiency and profitability of each country. We will explore the impact …

Mountain Monitor - 4th Quarter 2014, Kenan Fikri, Mark Muro

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

With the national economy gaining steam, the 10 major metro areas of the Mountain West ended 2014 with another quarter of strong economic performance. On the four indicators of economic vitality measured by the Mountain Monitor—employment growth, output growth, changes in unemployment, and house price growth—with only a few exceptions, every metro area registered advances on every indicator. Such widespread progress heretofore eluded the region, where recovery from the Great Recession has been characterized by unevenness.

In aggregate, the 10 Mountain metro areas ended 2014 with their fastest quarter of job growth of the year. Employment increased by 0.8 …

Mcnair Research Journal - Summer 2015, Kelly Abuali, Starr Bailey, Krystal Courtney D. Belmonte, Brittaney Benson-Townsend, Jennifer Bolick, Mihaela A. Ciulei, Ashley Crisp, Daniel N. Erosa, Richard V. Foster, Gisele Braga Goertz, Michael A. Langhardt, Kara Osborne, Julienne Jochel Paraiso, Shawn M. Rosen, Bella V. Smith, Jeevake Attapattu, Ernesto H. Bedoy, Michael G. Curtis, Wanda Inthavong, Marielle Leo, Primrose Martin, Tamieka Meadows, Rosa Perez, Jessica Recarey, Shea Silver, Linda Tompkins

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff