Business Commons^™

Determinants Of Major League Baseball Player Salaries, Tyler Wasserman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In 2003, Michael Lewis published Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which forever changed the finances and economics of baseball. It began a movement towards using advanced statistical analysis to determine the value of baseball players, in order to build a roster that will win the most games at the lowest cost. The Moneyball movement has resulted in a multitude of new statistics to try to drill a player’s value down to one number that represents his marginal revenue product, or his individual contribution to the team’s success.

Player salaries are typically the largest cost for Major …

The Struggle For Power And Pay: Implications Of Board Of Directors' Power On Monitoring Effectiveness And Pay For Performance Sensitivity, Mariana Judith Lebron

Business Administration - Dissertations

Boards of directors monitor and incentivize CEOs to make decisions that maximize shareholder value; however, research has been inconsistent in identifying the relationship between board composition and monitoring effectiveness (Daily, Johnson, Ellstrand, & Dalton, 1998). Integrating an economic perspective (agency theory) with a socio-psychological perspective (upper echelon theory), this paper examines how outsiders' and insiders' power bases relate to pay-for-performance by proposing and empirically examining a multi-dimensional model of board power bases: ownership, prestige, and structural. I argue that board structural and composition characteristics can be used as proxy indicators of board power. Using data from 37, 066 directors of …

The Use Of Bakhtin's Polyphony To Analyze Peer Relationships, Hannah Brunck

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how resident assistants integrate training on leadership and ethics with their personal beliefs in their roles as resident assistants (RAs). Data for this study was gathered using an electronic survey. Participants who have between one and four years of RA experience were to participate in this study. An announcement of the study with a link to the survey was sent to the resident director of all dorms on the UA campus with the request that the announcement be forwarded to the RAs. The survey included six questions that provided basic demographic …

A Leader's Impact On Sense Of Community In One Venue At The London 2012 Olympics, Laura Grouchy

All Theses

The importance of creating and maintaining sense of community in workplaces is becoming an increasingly essential facet to help restore bonds and develop support systems which can create happier and more efficient employees. The focus of this research will be on how leadership influences sense of community within one venue at the London Olympic Organizing Committee (LOCOG). This problem is of interest to scholars because Organizing Committees are rapidly growing, temporary and have symbolical strong cultures. In-depth interviews, participant observation and a big five-inventory questionnaire were administered to eight full-time employees at the same venue in London Olympic Organizing Committee. …

Fan Motivation For Attendance To Men's Division I College Soccer Matches, Stephanie Withey

All Theses

Fan attendance rates are a vital part to college athletics. With most athletic programs already losing money for universities, the recent decline in attendance rates has added further stress to budgets (Fulks, 2010). Most of the research on sports fans examines the socio-motivational and psychological motivations for attending games. Fan research has primarily focused on English soccer and American baseball, with little focus being placed on college soccer. While sports like college soccer do not generate enough revenue to sustain themselves, athletic departments still need to maintain positive attendance numbers at these events. Non-revenue sports provide free publicity and advertisement …

Gaap And Ifrs Convergence: The Effect On Lease Accounting, Ellen E. Bailey

Honors Theses

The research performed in this study has two main objectives. The first objective relates to lease accounting and the way accounting for leases differs between Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The second objective relates to how companies will be affected by the convergence of GAAP and IFRS.

Perceptions Of Workplace Bullying Among Practicing Registered Nurses, Crystal Regina Threadgill

Dissertations

Workplace bullying (WPB) is a social and organizational problem. Within the health care arena, employees, particularly registered nurses, are at risk. WPB has several adverse effects and has been cited in the literature as closely associated with burnout and nurses leaving their positions. This quantitative study examined workplace bullying among practicing registered and its relationship with burnout and nurses’ intent to leave their current position.

The surveys utilized were the Negative Acts Questionnaires-Revised (NAQ-R), Maslach Burnout Inventory Survey, Intention to Turnover Scale and a demographic survey. Of the surveys distributed, a total of 185 were returned from one selected hospital …

A Profile Of The Characteristics And Professional Development Needs Of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Ii Athletic Directors, Dustin Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to identify the personal, professional, and educational backgrounds of NCAA Division II athletic directors. The study was designed to detail the professional development opportunities that existed among the population, and determine how frequently the NCAA Division II athletic directors took advantage of the opportunities that were available to them. The significance of the study rested on the ability to identify the NCAA Division II athletic director population and describe the qualities and characteristics that comprised the target population. Since little data existed detailing this population, the study provided an opportunity to describe a …

An Analysis Of Firearms Training Performance Among Active Law Enforcement Officers, John Thomasson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Firearms proficiency is an implicit expectation, held by the public of police officers, due to presumption that the required firearm training is an adequate preparation for a deadly force encounter. However, anecdotal evidence and available data on police shootings suggest that conventional, unrealistic training methods are wholly inadequate. To present stress into firearms training, some departments have opted for exercises such as physical exertion and shoot-house training as a substitute for realistic simulation of force-on-force confrontations.

To determine whether such exercises are comparable, an observation of performance and heart rate levels was conducted on a group of eight police officers, …

A Study On Various Economic Factors Influencing Student Loan Cohort Default Rates, Jessamyn Ratcliff

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

In June 2010, student loan debt rose to over $800 billion, surpassing total credit card debt outstanding for the first time. Along with the increase in the amount borrowed to pay for education, so too, is the percentage of default rates. The analysis presented suggests that cohort default rates increase in number proportionately to annual unemployment rates, while exhibiting an inverse relationship with the average student loan debt upon graduation.

Social Entrepreneurship: The Ideal Business For Humanity And The Economy, Maya D. Horgan

Pomona Senior Theses

This essay argues that social entrepreneurship is the most efficient means to generate lasting social change and permanently reduce poverty. Using the support of scholarly research, interviews with experts in the field, and my own qualitative observations, I conclude that traditional aid models that are economically dependent on outside funding, as well as those that simply provide monetary and product contributions in order to sustain the poor or marginalized communities they serve are inherently structured in a way that prevents them from resolving social ills. Despite the influx of aid organizations over past decades, chronic poverty and other serious social …

Authentic, Transformational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Black/White Biracial Leaders, Carmen R. Zafft

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This phenomenological study described the racial identity and leadership experiences of eight community, education, and business Black/White biracial leaders. Four central themes emerged relating to the participants’ racial identity choices: (a) family discourse, (b) social networks, (c) appearance, and (d) identity work. Three central themes emerged relating to the participants’ leadership experiences: (a) cultural agility: “Blessed to be flexible”, (b) perceived representation: “I look like them”, and (c) transformational leadership: “I lead so others can grow.” Because the participants were conscious of their identity development experience, all demonstrated a strong sense of self which influenced how they experienced leadership. As …

The Value Of Nongovernmental Free Vocational Training In Vietnam; The Opportunities And Barriers In Teaching Japanese Cooking Skills To Disadvantaged Vietnamese Youth, Koji Asada

Capstone Collection

Nongovernmental free vocational training for disadvantaged youth has been provided by various organizations in the world and has had a positive impact on the learners. This is also true in Vietnam.

However, how is the training geared to employment opportunities, designed to overcome challenges to learning and employment, and with what potential impact on the learners and communities. These questions have not been well answered.

This study examines the value of nongovernmental free vocational training in Hanoi city, Vietnam, which is in the middle of rapid economic development. Specifically, this study researched the future prospects of skill training in Japanese …

Microequity A New Model For Microfinance In The U.S, Joseph Ball

HIM 1990-2015

Most of the research on microfinance focuses on the microloan activities of microfinance institutions such as Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and Banco Sol of South America. These institutions make small loans to the poor to help them engage in income generating activities. Many organizations have tried to translate this practice to the United States, but due to fundamental differences between the advanced U.S. business environment and that found in the developing world, such attempts have been met with limited success. There is a substantial amount of research on microfinance institutions and activities in the U.S., however almost all of the …

Will Leasing Lose Its Luster: An Analysis Of Lease Reporting Under Fas 13, Casey Gates

HIM 1990-2015

When standards for financial reporting are amended, potential for change in the appearance of financial position for companies reporting under those standards arises. Currently standards set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) allow for two methods of reporting lease obligations on the financial statements. The first of these methods is the operating method, which allows lease payments to be expensed within the period they are incurred and only a decrease in cash or an increase in an account payable is recognized on the balance sheet. The second method is the capital method, which requires the present value of …

How Sports Franchises Communicate Via Social Media, Christopher Jones

HIM 1990-2015

The aim of the research is to evaluate how professional sport organizations communicate via social media and lay groundwork on how to effectively do so in the future. The research focuses on the history of social media and its involvement in sport, how it's used today, examples of effective communication and how it can eventually drive revenue for a sport franchise and build a stronger fan base at the same time.

Expectancy Theory And Major League Baseball Player Compensation, Edward Leonard

HIM 1990-2015

Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations spend millions of dollars each year on athletes with the end goal of winning a World Series title. However when an organization signs a player to a long term contract are they actually receiving the production that they paid for? Under the MLB's current form of player compensation players may not be properly motivated or at least not motivated to perform at their highest level. The intent of this thesis was to apply expectancy theory in assessing Major League Baseball's current form of player compensation. It evaluates how well players are currently motivated to perform …

Human Capital Effect On Second Generation Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Ali Mazahaem Flores

HIM 1990-2015

Interest in entrepreneurship has increased in the past few years as more schools are beginning to incorporate subject and degrees specializing in the area as well as individuals mobilizing into an entrepreneurial lifestyle due to the lack of opportunities in the standard workplace environment. Historically, immigrants have made up a large majority of entrepreneurs and it has been their primary way of upward mobility in society. The boom in high tech start-ups and other small businesses in the last decade have primarily been driven by children of immigrants. As a result of these recent trends this study analyses the foreign …

Social Norms Marketing, Social Networks And Alcohol Consumption: A Collegiate Context. Investigating Feasability In Ireland., Sarah Samdani

Doctoral

The current Irish policies have not been adequately effective in reducing alcohol consumption. There is a need to consider alternative strategies, such as the increasingly popular SN marketing campaigns, which have been applied successfully in the US college system. However, the potential of these campaigns has not been evaluated in Ireland. It is also not clear from the literature if descriptive or injunctive norm types will be more likely to induce behaviour change. Further, while SN interventions tend to provide ‘friends’ or ‘typical student’ as referent groups, little is understood about how individuals visualize these groups and how salient these …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Is What’S Good For Society Also Good For Business?, Nicole Elizabeth Gillette

Business/Business Administration

The objective of this study was to determine whether a company engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities would experience a financial reward or penalty for the strategy. It is imperative that corporations act as partners in the attempt to improve conditions of society and the environment in which we all live. Two competing corporations were selected; one, which has employed green strategies whereas the other appears less, committed. The two firms were analyzed and compared and contrasted to assess the financial implications. It was discovered that green oriented company has a growing return on equity and also return on …

Investment In Treasury Bills As A Means Of Stock Portfolio Revenue Generation, Ryan Heller

Business/Business Administration

In a world with differing opinions regarding capital investments, it is necessary to understand the expected returns for each investment option an investor may exercise. All investors seek maximum returns on their investments, and here the study evaluates the projected incomes of initial investments when exposed to two different strategies. Approximately $36,000 was invested into each, a portfolio of stocks entered into a Dividend Reinvestment Plan, and a portfolio of stocks exposed to a new strategy. This new strategy was a risk averse alternative to the DRIP and its portfolio market value was compared to that of the DRIP portfolio …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Path To Profits Or Track To Losses?, Kevin Spiletic

Business/Business Administration

Growing concerns for the general welfare of society as well as the environment have become a pertinent aspect of many cultures throughout the world. Corporations have begun to realize that their customers expect them to act in socially responsible ways. This investigation is aimed at discovering if socially responsible behavior has a positive correlation to firm financial performance. A socially responsible firm will be compared to a less socially responsible firm in order to determine if a correlation exists. Profitability ratios will be analyzed between the two firms in order to see which company is experiencing more financial success. It …

Empirical Properties Of Functional Regression Models And Application To High-Frequency Financial Data, Xi Zhang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Functional data analysis (FDA) has grown into a substantial field of statistical research, with new methodology, numerous useful applications and interesting novel theoretical developments. My dissertation focuses on the empirical properties of functional regression models and their application to financial data. We start from testing the empirical properties of forecasts with the functional autoregressive models based on simulated and real data. We define intraday returns and consider their prediction from such returns on a market index. This is an extension to intraday data of the Capital Asset Pricing model. Finally we investigate multifactor functional models and assess their suitability for …

Social Media Strategy For The Hank Greenspun School Of Journalism And Media Studies, Irene Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, communication online has evolved tremendously toward social media. This rapid change has been difficult for higher education institutions (HEI) to adapt to, leaving this important area underexplored. This strategic social media plan was developed to improve internal and external communication for the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS). By initiating social media platforms, relationships are cultivated with present and future students on Facebook and Twitter. This strategic social media plan develops and maintains Facebook and Twitter pages for JMS and interprets social media site visitation data. These data provide information on users, …

Virginia Woolf & Michel Foucault: Methods Of Justice, Elizabeth K. Doré

Senior Honors Projects

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is primarily known today as a central British modernist novelist. In addition, she was also an important theorist of power, subjectivity, and ethics, especially as she turned her attention in the 1930s--as fascism spread and intensified across Europe--toward the public sphere in which European women were still then more or less without (easy) access. I read her late novels and essays alongside her diary in order to excavate the theoretical/political/ethical premises of her thought. I contend that she shares with the late thought of French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) an original conception of ethics. Woolf and Foucault’s …

Rhody's Run For Dana Farber 5k, Mark Albanese, Bryan Poston

Senior Honors Projects

The event itself was designed to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. In the early stages of the project, it was clear that a charity event would have the largest impact both on our experiential learning as well as the community as a whole. Dana-Farber was selected as the events beneficiary due to their impressive contributions to cancer research worldwide. While the success of the project isn't solely determined by charitable contributions we collected, it provided a form of measurement of progress throughout the semester. With the goal of simultaneously promoting student health, the event was organized …

Off-Price Vs. Department Store Retailing, Denise Aghion

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

There are multiple forms of retailing in the United States – two of the most common forms are department store retailing and off-price retailing. Both types of retailers are looking to create profits by negotiating costs with vendors to create suitable gross margins; however, they go about doing so in very different ways. Because I have interned at both types of corporations, my Capstone is to identify which, if either model, is more sustainable in today’s conditions.

Department store retailing is the most well-known form of retailing, and is currently the largest sector of retailing in the United States. They …

A Changing Dynamic: The Business-To-Individual Relationship, Robert Bloomberg

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

As the Digital Revolution sweeps the world over, modern marketing strategies have had to adapt and change. Power has shifted from brands into the hands of consumers. This paper explores how this relationship is changing, and offers a glimpse of how this new relationship manifests itself in two forms of digital marketing strategy: the digitization of the in-store experience and the gamification of the modern day loyalty program. These strategies are intended to enhance the consumer experience and ensure that any interaction they have with the brand is a fulfilling one. This paper also discusses how digital technology has broken …

Gender, Politics, And The Media: An Analysis Of Media Coverage During The 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination, Janelle Bridson

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This thesis examines media coverage of female politicians. Through conducting background research, a personal interview with a nationally acclaimed political strategist, and a content analysis of 640 online articles published by The New York Times, the thesis presents a thorough review of media coverage. Results revealed that the media did not provide a consistent standard of coverage between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination. The New York Times depicted Obama in a more favorable light than Hillary Clinton. Additionally, Clinton was significantly more likely to be described in terms of her family life, physical appearance …

Clearview Church: An Online Brand Management Model For Nonprofits, Lindsey Nicole Colegrove

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project aims to provide specific recommendations to ClearView Church, and by extension nonprofits in similar situations, on how to strengthen their online presence. The recommendations are formed through in depth research into ClearView’s resources, goals and requirements as well as calling upon my expertise and experience in the technical and communications sides of the nonprofit field.

Through multiple interviews with church staff and members, I determined an overarching goal of sharing the warm, welcoming personality of the church with young families in the surrounding community. However, this goal was not guiding their online outreach efforts and therefore needed to …