A Sweet Future For Sugar Makery: A Deeper Dive Into Small Business Consulting, Samuel Lauritsen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This case study investigates a local candy store in Glenwood and Council Bluffs Iowa. Processes, consistency and concise planning promoted the rapid growth of Sugar Makery into two locations in three short years. Results from the analyses indicate that the main problem facing Sugar Makery is sustaining its differentiated strategy from new industry entrants, key recommendations to sustain its success are presented. Every company has its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The key is identifying each to be able to capitalize on competitive advantages, mitigate the damage done by weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and create plans to avoid …

Uri And Its Students: A Contract For The Provision Of A Safe Environment, Danielle Joan Beatrice

Senior Honors Projects

DANIELLE BEATRICE (English; Philosophy; Business) URI and Its Students: A Contract for the Provision of a Safe Environment

Sponsor: Judith Swift (Communication Studies, Coastal Institute)

When students begin to attend college, they expect to be consumed with busy schedules, heavy workloads, and an exciting social life. Students do not anticipate being in dangerous situations. However, this does not mean that such situations do not occur. Therefore, it is essential to teach students to be active participants in educating themselves and their peers regarding prevention and response to emergency situations. My Honors Project aims to increase the awareness of safety-related issues …

Arbor Day Foundation Tree Programs Recommendations Report, Lane Knott, Mary Morton, Peyton Walker, Haley Faust, Kyler Caverzagie, Alex Sanchez

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Executive Summary

Project Description

We explored ways for the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) to increase the value proposition for Tree Cities and Tree Campuses through application addendums and existing organizations.

Recommendation

We propose including an addition to the Tree City application for a grant awarded to Tree Cities that plant trees in underserved areas of the community.

We also recommend inviting Tree Campus to join the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). Through membership, they will attend and participate in the Partners in Community Forestry Conference.

Rationale

The Tree City program is being under-utilized in connecting resources with communities. ADF can …

2021 Ijbe V1 Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

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

Carolina Consulting Scholars Cohort: Enabling Students To Be Stronger Analytical Thinkers And Problem Solvers, Alexis Mcconomy, Justin Farley

Senior Theses

Undergraduate students at the Moore School currently have limited avenues to pursue management consulting upon graduating from the University of South Carolina. The Darla Moore School of Business has academic excellence initiatives that have led to great success from certain programs and centers; however, there lacks a formalized support system to help students looking for internships or full-time roles in consulting. Our proposed Consulting Scholars cohort seeks to gather top students from all majors and offer them a cohort that will educate and prepare them for success as future consultants. By leveraging existing classes within the Management department and the …

Effect Of Information Technology Capital: Technology Infrastructure, Database, Software, And Brainware Toward Optimize The Use Of Information Technology (Case Study : Uin Sunan Ampel Of Surabaya), Rismawati Br Sitepu, Ilham M.Said, Tanti Handriana, Praptini Yulianti

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research was conducted to determine the extent of the influence of technology infrastructure costs, software costs, database costs and brainware costs to increase the information technology budget of the Sunan Ampel State Islamic University in Surabaya and efficient use of the budget. The purpose of this study is to prove that there is a positive and significant influence of technology infrastructure costs, software costs, database costs and brainware costs to increase information technology budgets by using validity and reliability tests and classic tests such as the Normality test, Multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test, Heteroskedasticity test , and Linearity test. This …

A Systematic Literature Review : The Influence Of Information Technology And Organizational Learning On Performance, Merlin Apriliyanti, Ilham M, Dian Ekowati, Tanti Handriana

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This Study is to discuss about literature review of Information technology enabler is a strategic asset in creating competitive advantage. The contribution of information technology investment to company performance does not appear immediately, but is independent in supporting business activities. The ability and mastery of information technology is not necessarily effective in contributing to company performance. Organizational learning plays a role in mediating the relationship between Information Technology enablers and company performance. This study aims to conduct a systematic literature review of research in the field of Information Technology Enabler and learning organization and performance with data from all international …

Less Commute Miles. Decreased Tire Wear. What Would You Do?, Dylan Schwarz, Brendon M. Ford, Brandon D. Hadinger, Abbie N. Pearce, Jacinta M. Pikunas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With the flagrant recognition of the coronavirus as one of those most impactful viruses in the history of the world, it is important to study how the effects of such a disease can create troublesome ripple effects in the world. Covid-19 has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of individuals and has negatively impacted the lives of American’s all across the country during the nationwide lockdown. Decreased work commuters, minimal road travel, and little need for car repairs hit the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company hard. The University of Akron has teamed up with Goodyear to explore such effects …

Market To Me: A Case Study On The Marketing Efforts Of Salesforce Software Company, Marissa Adrianna Spiess Espinola

Experience Industry Management

Social media platforms constitute outstanding channels for fostering relationships with consumers. Recently, there has been a drastic shift towards social media marketing and away from traditional marketing. Marketers are beginning to understand the importance of social media opportunity and are implementing social media marketing strategies and initiatives into companywide marketing practices. Companies cannot afford to lack presence on social media, as competitors could outpace them with marketing efforts of products and services to the public. Social media has become a necessary tool when marketing and advertising. The purpose of this study was to examine social media marketing practices of Salesforce …

College Of Business Dean's Report: 2019-2020, Ryan Butt

College of Business Dean’s Reports

No abstract provided.

A Proposal Digital Marketing Strategy For Marcheluzzo Srl: Training And Evaluating A Prediction Model For The Number Of Adv. Impressions, Charles Alves De Castro

Articles

This research aims to describe a digital marketing strategy elaborated to be deployed in the MarcheluzzoSrl Company located in Italy. In addition, it intends to give a wide range of information to the company about its customers, target, competitors, market, digital marketing strategy, and potential recommendations. It is also important to highlight that this strategy is focused on the Brazilian market. Most of the information collected for the situational analysis and many other components for this research were gathered through the author`s perception during his internship in the company. The methodology includes secondary data collected through field observation in the …

Investigating The Effects Of Tax Cuts On Capital Expenditures As An Alternative To Restore The United States Economy From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Carlos M. Parodi

Honors College Theses

The Corona Virus has interrupted several years of strong economic expansion in the United States. In fact, it has disrupted the lives of every single person and organization in the world. After reaching its peak in mid-April, the rate of cases and related deaths has finally started to slow down. The U.S. Government passed three different pieces of legislation to address the effects of the virus. It is now considering legislation (referred to as Phase IV) to accelerate the return of the U.S. economy to its pre-pandemic level. Studies have shown that capital expenditures have been essential during periods of …

2020 Ijbe Front Matter

International Journal for Business Education

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

Under Pressure: Decision Making In Aircraft Maintenance And The Role Of Gender, Stephanie Douglas Ph.D., Bettina M. Mrusek Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

In aircraft maintenance, leaders are under near-constant pressure to maintain airworthiness. Every minute an aircraft cannot fly due to maintenance represents financial waste. Decisions are therefore made in a relatively quick fashion. A leader evaluates the situation, identifies a course of action and then communicates this message to a team of technicians. However, gender influences regarding leaders’ decisions can influence team members’ perceptions of those decisions.

The study will measure decision making methods of leaders in aircraft maintenance and the perceptions of the technicians. It informs how gender influences decision making from both the leader and follower perspective. The expected …

Employing A Visual Representation Technique To Understand Undergraduates’ Perceptions Of Civic Engagement Across Countries, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan

Articles

Purpose – This paper aims to present an interpretation of freehand drawings produced by a sample of final year degree level learners in response to the question: “What is civic engagement”? The aim in using this approach, with final year degree learners from different countries, but pursuing the same degree, was to compare and contrast their understanding of civic engagement.

Design/methodology/approach – Learners completed their drawings and then discussed their drawings in small groups. All of their drawings were initially examined quantitatively before a sample of six drawings were selected for in-depth qualitative examination.

Findings – Using learner-generated drawings enables …

Cambridge Analytica: The Scandal On Data Privacy, Carissa Boerboom

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Consumers need to understand the risks and consequences of sharing their lives with the world. For data analysts, even if you can create and implement a model, should you? This research paper discusses Cambridge Analytica’s methods using predictive analytics and Facebook to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election. Through examining the firm as a whole, key people involved in the scandal, methods of data collection, and Facebook’s role, the ethical boundaries of big data, predictive analytics, and data privacy are analyzed. Three perspectives were discussed in regards to ethical disparity: Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, and the consumers. Overall, this research exposes …

Analysis Of Newspaper Headlines: A Case Of Two Tanzanian English Dailies, Erasmus Akiley Msuya

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study analyses newspaper headlines in respect to three categories: international, local, and business news (irrespective of the geographical scope) of two English dailies: a government-owned Daily News, and a privately-owned The Guardian. The study sought to analyse newspaper headlines guided by semantic under-determinacy, an important theoretical framework in accounting for a balance between linguistic economy that characterises newspaper headlines and communicative precision. The data were collected via documentary review. The headlines were analysed under three categories: local, international, and business news that included local and international spectrums. A total of 2004 headlines were randomly selected for analysis: 1088 …

Csr-Contingent Executive Compensation Contracts, Atif Ikram, Zhichuan Li, Dylan Minor

Business Publications

Firms have increasingly started tying their executives’ compensation to CSR-related objectives. In this paper, we attempt to understand why firms offer CSR-contingent compensation and the conditions under which such compensation improves corporate social performance. Using hand-collected data from proxy statements, we find that this emerging compensation practice varies significantly across industries and across different CSR categories. Further, well-governed firms are more likely to offer CSR-contingent compensation, and such compensation does lead to higher corporate social standing. Such firms are more likely to offer formula-based, Objective CSR-contingent compensation. However, our results suggest that non-formulaic, Subjective CSR-contingent compensation also helps improve companies’ …

College Of Business Dean's Report: 2018-2019, Ryan Butt

College of Business Dean’s Reports

No abstract provided.

Executive Leadership Challenges In Today’S Environment, Herbert J. Degraffe Jr.

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Abstract

Individuals in top management positions often have conflicting interpretations concerning the authoritative qualities that align with the intrinsic and external relations of an organization. Although, researchers may still debate about the extent to which athletic development personality factors are important internal components of an individual. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if athletic development personality factors correlate with decision making at the executive leadership level. The research questions focused on determining if there was a relationship between athletic development personality factors and decision making. Social exchange theory, social representations theory, and leadership theories comprised the theoretical …

The Performance Of Military Defense Contracted Companies After September 11th, 2001: The Case Of Politically Connected Companies, Derek J. Larsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper examines the effect that the terrorist attacks on September 11^th, 2001 had on the stock prices of companies within the military defense industry. In addition, this paper studies the effect of the defense firms’ political engagement (through lobbying activities) and how this affected the stock price response to the terrorist attacks. Our study finds that the cumulative abnormal returns of these companies are positively significant and that companies who lobbied experienced higher returns relative to those who did not lobby.

2019 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

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

Are Women Executives Hurting Firm Performance? An Examination Of Gender Diversity On Firm Risk, Performance, And Executive Compensation, Krystal Diane Sung

CMC Senior Theses

In order to assess the continuing imbalance of top executives between genders, I examine the effects of gender diversity within top management teams on firm risk, performance, and executive compensation. Capitalizing on previous analysis, I apply three unique differentiators. First, I utilize current data from 2012 to 2017 from Compustat, CRSP, and ExecuComp. Second, I provide a unique subset view on a firm and individual performance of female CEOs to examine executive compensation. Third, my scope of analysis expands to S&P Composite 1500 companies. I use separate models to estimate the effect of gender diversity on firm risk by examining …

Yelp’S Review Filtering Algorithm, Yao Yao, Ivelin Angelov, Jack Rasmus-Vorrath, Mooyoung Lee, Daniel W. Engels

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper, we present an analysis of features influencing Yelp's proprietary review filtering algorithm. Classifying or misclassifying reviews as recommended or non-recommended affects average ratings, consumer decisions, and ultimately, business revenue. Our analysis involves systematically sampling and scraping Yelp restaurant reviews. Features are extracted from review metadata and engineered from metrics and scores generated using text classifiers and sentiment analysis. The coefficients of a multivariate logistic regression model were interpreted as quantifications of the relative importance of features in classifying reviews as recommended or non-recommended. The model classified review recommendations with an accuracy of 78%. We found that reviews …

Project Management And The Temporary Relocation Of The Decoupling Point: Hermeneutical Phenomenological Study, Christopher Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates, understands, and describes the value of engaging a project manager to support a customer-driven project that creates a random supply chain demand event. Specifically such an event would require the temporary re-positioning of the decoupling point between the supply push and demand pull within the supply chain. In response to the challenges of this type of event, this study will focus on two specific project manager roles. First, the project manager would act as an extension of a customer-driven project and serve as a conduit for the voice of the customer (VOC) into the supply chain. Secondly, …

Investigating The Impact Of Internationally Acquired Qualifications On Labour Market Performance: The Case Of Brazil, Charles Alves De Castro

Articles

The aim of this study is to examine the labour market performance of Brazilian students who have acquired international qualifications in the areas of engineering and science. A comprehensive analysis of the literature review demonstrates the importance of international qualifications covering both their benefits and challenges. The gaps found in the literature review are also discussed, as well as the need for a more concrete theoretical framework about the subject. The data used in this research was gathered by semi-structured one-to-one interviews conducted in both person and through telephone. The participants consisted of Brazilian students who have acquired international qualifications …

Cultural Disparity And The Impact On Work Life Balance, Bryan Campbell

Senior Theses

This research examines the differences in work life balances between varying countries around the world. In order to do so, a proxy index was created by investigating a portion of questions from respondents of the World Values Survey. Comparing this to Hofstede's Insights on National Culture allowed for a unique perspective as to whether the country individualism ratings could then be used to assert a relationship between these metrics.

Strategic Implications Of Blockchain, William R. Adams

Marriott Student Review

This thesis introduces blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and discusses how best to conceptualize it relative to other technologies. Following an explanation of the fundamentals of blockchain, also known as the distributed ledger, I identify the characteristics of the technology. Building upon blockchain’s inherent strengths and limitations, I explore potential business applications of blockchain. Finally, I recommend that leaders continue to track the development and adoption of blockchain technology, even if they decide that implementing it does not align with their organization’s strategy at present.

Dynamic Logistics Enabled By Iot, Madeline K. Conner

Honors College Theses

The implementation of Internet of Things technology is becoming increasingly popular in the logistics industry due to its promise of valuable payoffs. The benefits will span across the entire logistics value chain, and benefits from IoT implementation will also impact areas such as operational efficiency, safety, security, and customer experience, while redesigning traditional business models. This report specifically focuses on creating a dynamic logistics system using the Internet of Things. The findings of this report focus on the associated cost savings between traditional logistics systems, and a daily dynamic model enabled by IoT technology. By applying IoT to logistics operations …

2018 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

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