Business Commons^™

A Strategic Audit Of Seaworld, Jaden Capaldi, Rachel Jendro, Jacob Mir, Sophie Newman, Tommy Wolfe

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Imc Approach To Entrepreneurship: How Generation Z Is Changing The Landscape Of Entrepreneurship, Kylie Nicole Cockrell

Honors Theses

Generation Z entrepreneurs capitalize on the fast-paced environment of the marketing industry and adapt to changing customer needs and expectations to deliver the best product or service from their business. This thesis researches the current media trends and marketing approaches Gen Z entrepreneurs are using in their businesses and how access to entrepreneurial-focused programs make Generation Z the leading generation in entrepreneurship.

Inspired by the researcher’s own experience as an online clothing business owner, this thesis investigates how members of Gen Z are increasingly becoming entrepreneurs. A mixed methodology of primary and secondary research was deployed to explore consumer trends. …

The Oakland Athletics Use Of Sabermetrics And The Rise Of Big Data Analytics In Business, Jacob Moorefield

Honors Theses

The Moneyball phenomenon revealed how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager utilized advanced data analytics; Sabermetrics, to statistically analyze the data in baseball which aims to quantify baseball players’ performances based on objective statistical measurements. As technology increases and big data becomes more accessible, sports organizations like the Oakland Athletics are illustrating how businesses, small and large, can use advanced analytics to promote growth. This research paper provides a meta-analysis on the results of large businesses using big data analytic techniques similar to Sabermetrics, to show the improvements in marketing, consumer outreach, revenue, and employee retention while questioning whether …

Amazon.Com, Inc Strategic Audit, Ningzhi Luo

Honors Theses

Amazon.com, Inc (Amazon) was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online marketplace for books but later expanded to e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. This large variety of products and innovations has contributed to Amazon as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world (Eugene Kim, 2018). This study would specifically focus on the e-commerce area and analyze Amazon's position in this market from an external and internal perspective by using three models: Porter's Five Forces, PESTEL, and the SWOT model. The report would identify Amazon's competitive advantages and the challenges it …

The Future’S So Bright: A Business Plan And Market Research Analysis Of Fraze, Elizabeth Lanford

Honors Theses

This thesis is an overview of the creation and operation of Lindy and Liz, LLC dba Fraze. Fraze is an online boutique specializing in custom, beaded sunglasses. This thesis contains details of the founding, operation, and future of the business. The following business plan will give insights to marketing strategies, target audience demographics, and sourcing procedures.

Accompanying this business plan is market research relevant to the target market of Fraze. Part I details secondary research about the effects of social media on this target market and their consumption habits. It also contains insights about the products and marketing techniques most …

Green Delivery: An Arbor Day Foundation Partnership Program, David Petersen

Honors Theses

The Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) will partner with online retailers to create a ‘Green-Delivery’ option wherein customers can opt to delay the shipment of their order by a day in exchange for a tree being planted in their name. Each partner would fulfill their donation obligation to the ADF by allocating a portion of the cost savings generated by shipping their orders via a slower service.

A Study Of The Product Development Process For The Transparent Kitchen Knife Block, Benjamin Payne

Honors Theses

The purpose of this document is to summarize the research and planning, design, market evaluation, cost analysis, and production process for a kitchen knife block. The team began by researching multiple knife block designs and evaluating what strengths and weaknesses existed with the basic models that are currently offered in different marketplaces. After collecting data on material costs and discussing different design features, the team created a survey in order to gauge consumer preferences and gain a better understanding as to what features and price point the average customer would consider purchasing. The resulting information was used to create an …

Green Delivery: A New Approach For The Arbor Day Foundation, Cassandra Arritt, Vincent Malene, Anthony Hare, Sarah Schilling, David Petersen, Ross Grieb

Honors Theses

The Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) will partner with online retailers to create a ‘Green-Delivery’ option wherein customers can opt to delay the shipment of their order by a day in exchange for a tree being planted in their name. Each partner would fulfill their donation obligation to the ADF by allocating a portion of the cost savings generated by shipping their orders via a slower service.

A Strategic Audit Of Hudl, Jennifer Bogle

Honors Theses

Hudl was the first mover in connecting video and performance analysis to sports in the sports technology industry. They first appeared on the scene in 2006 and have experienced rapid growth in the past fourteen years. This paper analyzes Hudl’s position in the market by using Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST, and SWOT models. It identifies the company’s competitive advantage of an established brand reputation and user-friendly multi-sport software platform. Hudl’s current strategy is evaluated, and three potential recommendations to continue Hudl’s growth are discussed. The first recommendation is to enter into the new Esports market. The second recommendation is to …

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla, Inc., Cody Mccain

Honors Theses

After Tesla completed its first every back to back profitable quarters at the end of 2018, sales started to decline in the first quarter of 2019 and many question if the company would every be profitable. Through a strategic audit of Tesla and the electric vehicle industry several key factors have been identified to help improve Tesla’s profitability. Analysis tools used to analyze the company and the industry include Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT Analysis, and PEST Analysis. At the conclusion of the audit there are three recommendations given to help improve Tesla’s strategy. First it is recommended that Tesla focuses …

Strategic Audit Of Facebook Through The Lens Of International Reputation, Ryan M. Mcmanaman

Honors Theses

This report investigates the history and current situation of Facebook, an international social media firm based in Menlo Park, CA. Facebook faces a number of international controversies and growing resentment from its userbase. In an industry where people are synonymous with capital, a strategic recommendation will be made to help Facebook regain some of its users’ lost faith and hopefully recapture old markets.

This report will analyze Facebook’s internal situation using the framework of SWOT analysis, and the external environment Facebook exists in through PEST analysis. These tools will provide a helpful foundation to understand Facebook’s competitive advantages, and render …

A Strategic Audit Of Runza Restaurants, Chase Caverzagie

Honors Theses

Runza is a well-known, Nebraskan restaurant. As Runza begins to expand, and a new generation of buyers approaches, it is important for Runza to examine the horizon and think critically about their future strategy. Runza will need to decide what their next steps will be to maintain a competitive advantage, and be successful for many more years to come. This strategic audit will look at the company’s background, business model, the internal and external environment, and company strengths and weaknesses. Then, several strategy alternatives are proposed, with the selection and implementation plan of the best strategic alternative.

Google Ads: A Strategic Audit, Jessee Zhang

Honors Theses

Google began as an internet search product, allowing users to find relevant sites based on a search query. Over the past several decades, Google has become an extremely large and profitable business though online digital advertisements. While Google has a diverse product mix, the overwhelming majority of its revenue is generated through ads. This strategic audit first looks at the current external environment, looking at the political, economic, social, and technological changes and opportunities relevant to the industry. Then, it looks at the current competitive environment and shows the profitability of the business because of the large barrier to entry. …

A Strategic Audit Of Nintendo Co., Ltd., Emily Wagner

Honors Theses

The astounding success of the Nintendo Switch since its launch in March 2017 has brought Nintendo back into the spotlight of the gaming industry. However, what strategies led to the Switch’s success, enabling Nintendo to come back from the complete and utter failure of the Wii U? Also, what does Nintendo need to do to maintain its success over the lifetime of the Switch and beyond? This paper offers a strategic analysis of Nintendo, examining the company’s history, recent products, competitive advantages, and reasons for the success of the Switch. It also provides an analysis of Nintendo’s internal and external …

A Strategic Audit Of Garmin Ltd, Jared Frenzel

Honors Theses

Garmin is a consumer electronics company that has been designing, manufacturing, and selling GPS products since 1989. Recently, however, Garmin has experienced growth well below the market average. This report examines Garmin past and present business situation using analysis techniques such as SWOT, PEST, and Porter’s Five Forces. The information obtained from these analyses will then be used to propose a business strategy that would bring Garmin’s growth back into line with the market average.

A Strategic Audit Of Oriental Trading Company, Isaac Coleman

Honors Theses

Oriental Trading Company is a direct marketer and seller of toys, novelties, wedding favors, custom apparel, and other event supplies. Its products are sold by five brands, each of which participates in a different market. Though its flagship brand, Oriental Trading, is a powerful market leader in novelties and is doing extremely well, the four most recent brands each face distinct challenges and have low name recognition. To increase name recognition and direct sales of these brands, this audit proposes that OTC revitalize its social media presence, add a blog to all of its websites, and resume public participation in …

Strategic Audit Of Moody's Analytics, Matthew Dottavio

Honors Theses

This thesis compiles research and analytics on Moody’s Corporation with a focus on Moody’s Analytics in order to provide a strategic recommendation for Moody’s Analytics. Analyses are preformed, including a SWOT and a PEST analysis, to determine the current state of Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Corporation. A strategic recommendation is made to strengthen Moody’s Analytics’ growth, along with a possible implementation plan.

Strategic Audit Of Allianz Life Insurance Of North America, Jacob Rosebaugh

Honors Theses

This report investigates the history and current situation of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, an annuity provider located in Minneapolis, MN. The company faces several challenges going forward, including determining how to best compete with large companies in the same market such as Amazon. This report looks at Allianz Life’s current standing using tools such as SWOT and PEST analyses and examines the company’s competitive analysis. Allianz Life is recommended to continue with their current strategy because while it doesn’t make them the best in the industry, Allianz Life adherence to its vision statement makes up for the …

Strategic Audit: Spreetail, Jake Rehwoldt

Honors Theses

This report is an in-depth look at the history and trajectory of Spreetail, an ecommerce company based in Lincoln, Nebraska. As the ecommerce market itself grows rapidly, Spreetail is facing challenges and obstacles to success in the industry, especially since it is competing with Amazon. This report breaks down the factors affecting Spreetail both internally and externally (using SWOT and PEST analyses) and outlines several strategic possibilities for moving forward. The final strategy recommendation for Spreetail is to increase their catalog size and focus on exclusives.

Nvidia Corporation: A Strategic Audit, Daric Teske

Honors Theses

NVIDIA is company that has been involved with the production of computer hardware known as a graphics processor units (GPUs) since the turn of the century. Over the past decade, NVIDIA has begun to explore other applications of its proprietary technology, including the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing. Looking from a business perspective, this strategic audit analyzes the history of the company and its current state, as well as industry outlooks to provide a strategic recommendation. Annual reports, market reports, and press releases were all utilized to provide the best perspective of the industry possible. Though NVIDIA …

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla, Abigail Hoelzlhammer

Honors Theses

This strategic audit will examine the problems Tesla is currently facing, do a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the company, review environmental factors affecting Tesla, state Tesla’s current strategy, evaluate their distinguishing resources and competitive advantages, and end with a strategic recommendation along with implementation requirements.

One of Tesla’s vehicles crashed in March 2018 while on autopilot, which caused their stock to drop significantly. They’re also experiencing issues with the production of the new Model 3. The current political situation and growing demand for the parts Tesla needs are environmental factors that are having a negative effect. On the other …

Business And Plurilingualism: The Advantage Of A Foreign Language, Anabelis E. Martinez

Honors Theses

Nowadays, global economy has implications that suggest the need for an adaptation to operate efficiently in this new environment. Is bilingualism a skill that professionals should be acquiring? To investigate this aspect, I am researching how many online job postings come out over the course of a week asking for language proficiency across three different business specialties (Accounting, Management and Marketing). My project will answer the following questions: How often do job openings require bilingualism within the sample? Which states have a higher demand for bilingual candidates? And which languages are the most sought after?

Strategic Business Audit Of Nelnet, Matthew Kachek

Honors Theses

This thesis serves as a strategic audit for the company Nelnet. This covers Nelnet’s background, structure, and financial situation. Changes in Nelnet’s core student loan business has created uncertainty in their future. Multiple analyses, both internal and external, are performed and examined to determine Nelnet’s position as a company and within the marketplace. A strategic recommendation to continue growth in new technologies is presented in response to these analyses along with implementation details and alternatives.

Strategic Audit Of Spreetail, Aryn Huck

Honors Theses

This report investigates the history and current situation of Spreetail, a local ecommerce company in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company faces several challenges going forward, including determining how to best compete with large companies in the same market such as Amazon. This report looks at Spreetail’s current standing using tools such as SWOT and PEST analyses and examines the company’s competitive analysis. Spreetail is recommended to speed up its rebranding process to maintain the benefits of the more fitting name and rebranding efforts already underway.

Investors' Reaction To The Passing Of The Indian Companies Act, 2013, Melisa Ann Ruhupatty

Honors Theses

This research seeks to determine whether mandated corporate social responsibilty (CSR) is value relevant to investors, specifically investors of Indian companies affected by the Companies Act, 2013 which requires companies meeting specific financial criteria to spend 2% of their three-year average net profits towards social initiatives. Recommended social initiatives include the development and implementation of environmentally sustainable businesss practices. Using the event study methodology, this study compares the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of companies recognized as CSR-active on the Bombay Stock Exccange (BSE) with those not recognized as CSR-active. Recognized CSR-active companies were determined through the use of the BSE …

Battle For Control: How Venture Capitalists Affect The Development Of Businesses, Jeffery Neil Wacaster

Honors Theses

In my new podcast series, I interview business leaders to determine the affect of venture capital on the entrepreneur. First, I interview a serial startup entrepreneur to find out the true nature of venture capital, how to go about getting it, and how it affects the creative process. Next, I interview a blogger who thinks that venture capital can be very detrimental to business startups, and get his perspective on related issues.

The interviewees:

1. Michah Baldiwn a) current CEO of Grahic.ly b) He and his team have raised over $350 million dollars of startup money

2. Peter Ireland a) …

Communityspot, Daniel Graham, Ryne Dubach, Chris Norcross

Honors Theses

Communityspot.com does for the community what Facebook does for the individual. Our website allows cities to develop a profile for their community in a standard format, presenting information about businesses, classifieds, attractions, local news, public services, and events. In addition to the basic information, our site also allows the members of that community to contribute personal comments and photos, giving a very real representation of what community is like in that city. The best part about this is our site is completely free, since our profit is made in advertising.