Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Bric Ipos: How Do Capital Market And Economic Activities In Emerging Markets Relate?

Fordham Business Student Research Journal

Since the beginning of the millennium, the acronym BRIC has captivated the world and become synonymous with an extraordinary economic growth story that has defined the first decade of the 21st century. Along with newfound prosperity, entrepreneurs in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have been opening themselves up to further growth opportunities for investors all over the world through equity financing by issuing IPOs. This paper primarily attempts to explore the relationship between the capital market activities of the BRIC countries and their corresponding economic indicators. In the past decade, IPO activity has witnessed a rapid increase …

Response Of Long-Term Interest Rates To Overnight Interest Rates In The United States, Charles Kweku Konadu-Adjei, Roger W. Mayer, Wen-Wen Chien

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

The behavior of the long-term interest rates is a practical problem for private and public organizations. Organizations need to estimate interest rates for purposes of assigning value to long-term obligations such as defined benefit plans and long-term leases and making decisions related to long term capital purchases. The purpose of this study was to analyze the determinants of long-term interest rates in the United States, using 352 quarterly time series data points extending from 1999 to 2009. This study examines how a change in overnight interest rates, budget deficit, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, and net capital inflow impact on …

Energy Sources And The Production Of Electricity In The United States, David Manukjan

Honors College Theses

The current sources of energy that the United States uses to produce electricity are costly, extremely damaging to the environment, and cause us to rely on other countries for our energy needs. The Obama Administration has begun working on replacing coal and oil with cleaner sources of energy. Over the last decade, alternative energy sources have been slowly gaining popularity as the American public learns more about climate change. However, the U.S. government will not use renewable energy as a complete substitute for fossil fuels in the immediate future because of their higher market price. The world is struggling to …

Integrating A New Business Into The Financial Planning Process, Barbara M. Tarasovich

WCBT Faculty Publications

A new Controller in this case was recently hired by Unilever, a global 200 consumer products organization, to integrate a newly acquired business into Unilever’s financial planning process. The newly acquired organization was a publically held company and had its own existing financial processes and procedures. Financial planning and reporting are major company activities and finance and accounting professionals are expected to “get it right.” The purpose of this case study is to get students to think about the difficulties and challenges of revamping existing financial processes and procedures and alert them to areas where other financial professionals have encountered …

What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

State public pension plans, mostly defined benefit plans, cover pension benefits for 12.8 million active public employees and 5.9 million retirees and other annuitants. However, by the end of 2009, public pension plans had accumulated a total funding deficit of $697 billion (measured by the difference between actuarial pension assets and liabilities). On average, public pension funds cover 75 percent of their liabilities, but individual state results vary greatly.

The 2008 stock market crash strongly affected pension asset value in that equity allocation on average accounted for 56 percent of invested assets. The average 2009 pension asset beta of 0.63 …

F.A.C.E.S. (Faculty Academic Community Education Showcase): Professional Growth Experiences In A Career University, Paul J. Colbert, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Institutes of higher education exist for the purpose of developing, fostering, nurturing, and stimulating the intellectual growth and development of students. The core values of a college education provide students conceptual and practical educational opportunities that focus on improving their skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge translate into purposeful, real-life learning experiences. However, in the academic community, learning is not restricted to students. Faculty, too, must be supported and provided opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Although professional development is not a novel concept in the education profession, schools often take up the gauntlet, but fall short …

A Training Manual: To Increase Performance In Cost Management Of A Las Vegas Nightclub For Operations Managers, Mark F. Staudinger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to write a training manual on cost management for operating managers in the Las Vegas nightclub industry. The manual will be designed to be used as a tool to control and manage costs for managers responsible for making decisions that directly affect controllable costs. These decisions include but are not limited to staffing and par levels, price points, purchasing, and staff training and monitoring.

Analysis Of The Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) Industry, Frederic Juillet

MBA Student Scholarship

In 2009, most REITs opted for the recapitalization of their balance sheets in order to respond to the recent global credit crisis, thus reducing their leverage and strengthening their financial statements (REIT, 2011b). In 2011, the REIT industry represented $54.3 billion in revenue and a profit of $7.8 billion. The industry annual growth expectation for the next 5 years (from 2011 to 2016) is 5.1% or $69.7 billion (IBISWorld, 2011b). The Hotel & Motel industry counted 14 REITs in the lodging/resort sector in the U.S. (REIT, 2011c) and represented 10.5% of the equity REIT Industry (IBISWorld, 2011b). The REIT structure …

Upjohn Institute Policy Paper: Public Pension Crisis And Investment Risk Taking: Underfunding, Fiscal Constraints, Public Accounting, And Policy Implications, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Public pension funds that cover retirement benefits for almost 20 million active or retired employees have been significantly underfunded. An important, though largely overlooked, issue related to pension underfunding is the excessive investment risk levels assumed by public plans. Our analysis suggests government accounting standards strongly affect public fund investment risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher investment risk.

Public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing fiscal constraints allocate more assets …

2011-2012 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2011-2012 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Creditor Rights And R&D Expenditures, Bruce Seifert, Halit Gonenc

Finance Faculty Publications

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question?Issue: This study examines the impact of creditor rights on R&D intensity (R&D/total assets). We argue that managers in countries with strong creditor rights have more incentives to reduce cash flow risk and therefore limit expenditures on R&D more than managers located in countries with weak creditor rights.

Research Findings/Insights: Using a sample of over 21,000 firms from 41 countries, our research is one of the first to document that strong creditor rights are indeed associated with reduced R&D intensity. This negative relationship is observed in market‐based countries, but not in bank‐based countries. Moreover, the results …

The Impact Of Institutional Arrangements On Educational Efficiency, Trevor Collier

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Per-pupil expenditures on education in the United States have grown immensely in recent decades, yet student achievement has been stagnant. An abundance of research has sought to solve this enigma, much of it centered on the incentive structure facing administrators. Some recent papers use TIMSS data to analyze the relationship between institutional arrangements—that typically do not vary within a single country—and student achievement. Similarly, we utilize TIMSS 1999 to determine if there is an indirect relationship between institutional arrangements and student achievement, via a relationship with school efficiency. Our results show that the specified link between institutional arrangements and student …

Ceos, Cfos, And Accounting Fraud, Douglas M. Boyle, Brian W. Carpenter, Dana Hermanson

Faculty Articles

The article focuses on fraudulent financial reporting, which has been a long-standing concern for the U.S. investors. It discusses the findings of a study that provides valuable insights into the role of chief executive officers (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) in the prevention of such situation. Also provided are key anti-fraud resources including a fraud risk management program, the assessment of fraud risk exposure and prevention techniques.

Fund-Management Gender Composition: The Impact On Risk And Performance Of Mutual Funds And Hedge Funds, Angela Luongo

Fordham Business Student Research Journal

This paper examines gender differences in fund managers’ risk tolerance and performance. We explore these differences in both the universe of U.S. mutual funds and hedge funds using risk and performance metrics that cover one-year, three-year, and five-year horizons. We find that funds managed by women outperform those managed by men with less risky portfolios. The outperformance persists after adjusting for risk. Overall, the results indicate that female fund managers are severely underrepresented despite their quality performance. A workgroup comprised more equally of male and female managers is likely to lead to greater stability in the financial markets due to …

Performance Measurement And Improvement At Finca Uganda, Aaron Cowans

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report summarizes a six week internship undertaken by the researcher with FINCA Uganda Limited, an affiliate of FINCA International (Foundation for International Community Assistance). The broad objective of this internship was to assess FINCA Uganda’s operations from a financial standpoint and engineer methods to sustainably reduce operating costs. FINCA was chosen because they are a prominent MDI (Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institution) in Uganda and expressed interest in the proposed project.

Working from the broad internship objective, the Chief Executive Officer of FINCA Uganda and Africa Regional Finance Manager of FINCA International helped refine specific projects to assess performance and improve …

Three Essays On Opacity, Corporate Governance, And Credit Ratings, Yiwen Gu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, utilizing a more recent and expanded 20-year sample 1991-2010 of dual-rated bonds issued, I confirm Morgan's (2002) finding that banks are relatively more opaque than nonbanks. The likelihood of a rating split is higher, and the magnitude of the rating gap is larger, for banks than nonnbanks. Moreover, rating agency disagreements are more significant for banks with relatively higher loan and trading securities holdings and maintain lower capital, and for banks engaged in mortgage securitization. Importantly, I find that rating agency disagreements reflect market proxies of information uncertainty. Further, opacity makes external financing more costly. Equity …

Key Findings Of 2011 Atrs Global Airport Performance Benchmarking Project, Tae Hoon Oum, Chunyan Yu, Yapyin Choo

Publications

The ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Project measures and compares the performance of several important aspects of airport operations: Productivity and efficiency, unit costs and cost competitiveness, financial results and airport charges. The report also examines the relationships between various performance measures and airport characteristics as well as management strategies in order to provide a better understanding of observed differences in airport performance. This report includes 156 airports and 19 airport groups of various sizes and ownership forms in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. This presentation highlights key findings on efficiency and cost.

Identify Key Business Strategies To Target The Mass Market In Macau, Chia-Li Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Statement of Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to examine Macau’s present gaming environment and identify factors that will contribute to the success of a mass gaming market in Macau. The study intends to provide economic justification and tourism policy considerations which support the growth of Macau’s mass gaming market by taking advantage of the booming Chinese economy and the fast growing popularity of gaming in China. In addition, this study will examine literature supporting Macau’s transformation from a simpler gamblers’ destination into a Las Vegas style international gaming, entertainment, and tourism destination, as well as arguments for sustaining …

Sustainability’S Correlation To Profit, Cheryl Annissa Drummond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sustainability and its correlation to profits in hospitality institutions is the subject of this paper. The lack of knowledge about sustainability and the benefits of sustainable practices are discussed. The evaluation of a GreenSeal (2010) Bronze certification G46-Restaurant audit is also examined. Research includes the review of industry experts’ findings on the subject and the social costs and benefits are evaluated based on the goal of economic, ecological, and social sustainability.

Evaluation Of A Walnut Orchard And A Cost Study Of The Redevlopment Of A Walnut Orchard, Jacob F. Samuel

Agribusiness

A comprehensive study of the redevelopment of a walnut orchard taking into consideration all the factors from planting to harvest. Also a comparison of two orchards where orchard A is well producing and orchard B is poor producing. The study examines the value of the two orchards, where their profitabliltiy is, and whether or not the poor producing orchard should be redeveloped.

Red Lion Hotel Corporation, Yin-Chia Shao

MBA Student Scholarship

This paper is a strategy executing research project of Red Lion Hotels Corporation. The research content includes the nature of the business, environmental analysis, strategy position within the industry, competitive advantage, strategic history, evaluate strategy and a conclusion. The company grew from a focused differentiation strategy to a broad differentiation diversification. Examining the business environment analysis, the external environment has a moderately strong impact on the company and the internal environment has a moderately weak position. The inferior position is a disadvantage to the Red Lion Hotel Corporation's growth. In addition, compared the company with Choice International Hotels, Inc and …

2010-2011 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2010-2011 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Essays On Reverse Leveraged Buy-Outs, Mark Richard Gruskin

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ESSAYS ON REVERSE LEVERAGED BUYOUTS

by

MARK GRUSKIN

August 2011

Advisor: Dr. Sudip Datta

Major: Business Administration (Finance)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation is the first study to investigate public-to-private reverse leveraged buyouts (RLBOs). The first essay measures changes in profitability, financial structure, operations, and cost structure to detect actions taken during the private period. Results show that approaching the leveraged buyout there is an above industry level of free cash flow and capital expenditures, while growth options are at competitive levels. These factors in the presence of low ownership concentration suggest the existence of overinvestment.

Increased leverage …

Determinants Of Corporate Cash Holdings, Yun Lai (William) Li

CMC Senior Theses

The paper explores the driving forces behind corporate cash holdings by analyzing past literature and extending this research to the behavior of firms after the 2008 recession. I look at the cash to assets and net debt to assets ratios from October 1980 to October 2011 to obtain an understanding of the past and current state of cash holdings. A comprehensive literature review is done on agency costs and transactional motives to give the reader an overview of the costs and benefits of holding cash. This provides the foundation for the precautionary motives for companies today to keep cash as …

Take Me Out Of The Ball Game: The Efficacy Of Public Subsidies In The Success Of Professional Sports Stadiums, Jonah Chodosh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper weights the relative advantages of multiple factors that lead to the success of professional sports stadiums in major markets, though a discussion of the arguments for and against public subsidies towards these projects. Using a logit statistical model, the paper determines that the two factors determining the highest likelihood of venue success include multiple tenants and access to mass transit. The analysis demonstrates that public subsidies towards stadiums don’t generate sufficient economic returns, and that successful stadiums can be created without using taxpayer funds.

Corporate Governance And The 2008-09 Financial Crisis, Martin Conyon, William Q. Judge, Michael Useem

Management Faculty Publications

The financial crisis of the late 2000s resulted in enormous costs to the economies of many countries and the fortunes of millions of families, and it challenged a host of our conceptions and theories of corporate governance. The governing boards of many financial-services firms seemed unable to prevent the risky and ill-fated decisions that jeopardized their firms, devastated their investors, and helped precipitate a financial meltdown that morphed into global recession. Company boards were also directly responsible through their compensation committees and consultant advisors for a sharp rise in executive compensation during the 2000s that may have contributed to undue …

Economic Development Incentives And The Legal And Economic Issues Of Open Versus Sealed Bids, Sherry L. Jarrell, J. Neal Robbins, Gary L. Shoesmith, Brendan A. Fox

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

Did Board Configuration Matter? The Case Of Us Subprime Lenders, Maureen I. Muller-Kahle, Krista B. Lewellyn

Management Faculty Publications

Research Question/Issue: The origins of the global financial crisis have been attributed to the combination of a housing price bubble and innovative financial instruments, as well as the lack of restraint by corporate executives and boards to engage in excessive risk-taking. The rise in subprime lending between 1997 and 2005 played a crucial role in inflating the housing price bubble. We take a unique dataset of US financial institutions heavily engaged in subprime lending and ask the following research question: Did board configuration play a role in determining whether a financial institution specialized in subprime lending?

Research Findings/Insights: We use …

Aligning Financial Strategy With Customer Categorization Based On Environmental Scanning, Timothy Osita Anyiwe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inadequate environmental scanning, poor financial strategy, and misaligned customer focus are responsible for 79% of retail profitability losses. The purpose of the qualitative study using a multiple-case study design was to explore the strategies needed to align financial strategy with customer-oriented processes in the retail industry. The research question involved understanding trends and operational risks influencing the establishment of financial alignment strategies. Porter's five forces model of customer influence, Pearce's environmental and economic factors affecting society values, and Albright's strategic planning of environmental influence served as the theoretical foundations for the study. 30 executives, managers, and team leaders in 2 …

Church Leaders' Financial Coping Strategies During A Recession, Cecil Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An economic recession can disproportionately affect the financial stability of churches because their income relies primarily on voluntary contributions. The purpose of this phenomenological study, framed by servant leadership theory, was to explore lived experiences and perceptions related to church leaders' strategies for coping with the economic downturn in 2008. A purposive sample of 20 church leaders from Tennessee was recruited to explore the changes that have been made in church operational strategies in order to cope with the recession. The interview data were iteratively examined by using keywords, phrases, and concepts and were coded into categories, which led to …