Other Education Commons^™

Airbnb Strategic Audit Overview, Andrea Curnes, Audrey Kreun, Tyler Royal, Jacob Zadalis, Cody Hohn, Jason Dirks

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study provides an overview of Airbnb, an online marketplace for short-term rentals and experiences. It highlights the company's history, business strategies, value chain, acquisitions, code of ethical conduct, and organizational structure. With a Blue Ocean strategy combining differentiation and cost leadership, Airbnb has achieved remarkable success, boasting a valuation of over $67B and generating annual revenue exceeding $1.5B. The company's unique business model involves participating in all parts of the value chain, and it has expanded geographically through acquisitions and product market expansion. Airbnb's code of ethics reflects its core values, and its organizational structure fosters flexibility and remote …

Vanmoof Strategic Audit, Chi-Chun Chang

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

VanMoof is an e-bike brand originated in Amsterdam that has expanded to Western Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America. This paper will analyze the e-bike industry using PESTEL analysis. It will also analyze the industry’s competitive environment using the framework of Porter’s Five Forces, followed by an analysis of the strategy VanMoof’s currently employing. Based on the results, the paper will end with a recommendation for future strategies.

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla Inc., Jayden Boesch

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research paper examines Tesla's competitive advantages and challenges, as well as its strategy and objectives in the electric vehicle industry. The paper begins by providing an overview of the electric vehicle market and Tesla's position within it. It then discusses Tesla's business model, strategy, and objectives, as well as its competitive advantages over other firms in the industry. The paper also highlights key resources that Tesla needs to maintain its sustainable competitive advantage in the future, such as research and development, charging infrastructure, and top engineering talent. Finally, the paper identifies challenges that Tesla may face in the future, …

Johnson & Johnson Strategic Audit, Hannah Headley, Lucy Peterkin, Ryan Nyffeler, Joshua Wiemers, Bailey Birkholtz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is a healthcare company that generates economic value from its three core business segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices. Recent innovations include new pharmaceutical products, remote clinical trials, automated patient recruitment, improved scientific and digital literacy amongst employees, and innovative digitized models for supply chain planning. J&J has a competitive edge in R&D efficiency, with a 4.35 return on research capital ratio. Sociocultural, technological, and economic factors will play a large role in changing the pharmaceutical industry environment, and J&J is well positioned to benefit from sources of growth such as the increase in aging …

Nvidia Corporation: Pc Gaming Industry Strategic Audit, Charlie Peng

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nvidia is a semiconductor company focusing on high-performance computer graphics technology. The company designs graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used in a variety of fields such as data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and gaming. This paper seeks to examine Nvidia’s position within the PC gaming industry. First, PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses are used to detail the overall PC gaming industry. The next section examines how Nvidia competes through its strategy, resources, and competitive advantages. Finally, future challenges and recommendations to position the company are explored.

Mckinsey & Company: People And Organizational Performance Strategic Analysis, Sadie Richards

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

McKinsey & Company is an international management consulting firm for businesses, governments, and institutions. It is one of the five largest consulting services in the United States and one of the “Big Three” management consulting firms of the United States. This report focuses on McKinsey & Company’s People and Organizational Performance sector and provides an internal and external analysis to understand how it has gained and maintained a sustainable competitive advantage in its industry. Specifically, this report uses Porter’s Five Forces and a PESTEL Analysis as tools to analyze the macro environment and competition within the industry. Recommendations are given …

Marriott International: A Managerial Strategic Audit, Brooke Eschenbrenner, Alex Zlatic, Madison Bechtel, Brandon Collins, Charlotte Straley, Grant Gubbels

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

A strategic management audit of the public firm, Marriott International, was conducted to identify various factors and managerial strategies that affect Marriott and the global hotels and tourism industry. At the industry level, we conducted a PESTEL and Five Forces analysis, researched the competitive landscape, and assessed the total value potential. We found that the industry experienced a major decline during the COVID-19 pandemic but saw recovery as international travel opened up again. On the company level, we conducted an internal analysis, identified Marriott’s management structure, and identified the firm’s structure and strategies through a SWOT analysis and other relevant …

Nintendo Strategic Audit, Stephanie Herridge

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nintendo is a Japanese-based multinational company that is one of the primary competitors in the video game industry. It has smaller headquarters located in North America and Europe and continues to pursue new markets and customers. Having remained successful for over a century, Nintendo pursues unique forms of strategy to maintain relevance for current generations of consumers. This strategic audit seeks to dissect Nintendo’s long-term profitability by analyzing the company’s history, competitive resources and advantages, and the current challenges and trends in the video game industry as a whole. The tools used to explore the industry include Porter’s Five Forces …

A Leadership Laboratory: Exploring The Use Of Case-In-Point Pedagogy To Develop Complex Thinking In Leaders, Erica Corley Jackson

Dissertations

Leadership scholars have identified a growing gap between the complexity of 21^st century organizations and the capabilities of individuals in positions of leadership to adequately address these challenges. This gap has contributed to a so-called complexity crisis—a situation in which the demands placed on those in leadership positions increases “at a rate that significantly outstrips the rate at which” leaders are cognitively developing (Rich-Tolsma & Oliver, 2016, p. 1). One way to respond to this growing need for complex adult thinking is through metacognitive development initiatives. However, finding educational methods to promote metacognitive development has proven to be …

John Deere Construction Equipment - Strategic Audit, Michael Pallesen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

John Deere construction equipment is an operating segment of the equipment manufacturing giant John Deere Corporation. The company is considered the second largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world. This report seeks to understand the operating environment of John Deere’s construction equipment manufacturing segment, its resources, its competitive advantages, and its future challenges. This analysis uses both PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses to evaluate the external environment. Additionally, strategic recommendations and explanations are offered into how John Deere can effectively navigate the challenges facing the construction equipment manufacturing industry in the near future.

Diageo Strategic Audit: A Deep Dive Into The Management Strategies Of Diageo, Hailey Hoogers, Maria Alessandro, Joel Myers, Abigail Grimm, Harrison Gates

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Diageo is a multinational premium drink producer and supplier with over 200 brands and sales in over 180 countries. A conglomerate since its founding, Diageo controls and operates some of the world’s well-known and loved drinks, like Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Bailey’s, Captain Morgan, and Crown Royal. The firm is an industry leader in consumer insight, innovation and creativity, and sustainability efforts. Diageo believes pursuing sustainability, efficiency, and positive drinking allows them to compete, now and in the future. This audit analyzes the history, leadership, business model, mission, external environment, internal environment, core competencies, recent performance, competitive dynamics, business level …

Following The "Iron Lady" And Finding A University: A Phenomenological Study Of Organizational Identity, Erin Pearson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Higher education culture is steeped in institutional identity and ties to history. But what happens when that history is challenged, and an institution must change its name? While a merger was not initially intended for Kearney State College, merging into the University of Nebraska system was the only way to reflect the change and growth that emulated the type of institution it had become. By interviewing sixteen participants that lived the experience of the merge, a concise and collective history of the events that led to the creation of the University of Nebraska at Kearney was obtained and studied. Through …

Boyer Model Of Scholarship In Practice, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

The four types of scholarship in the Boyer framework are relevant to teaching or training at any level of post-secondary education, both directly in terms of knowledge and indirectly through the impact of enthusiasm [2,9]. This outline is a simplified introduction to the salient features of the system, with some general examples of what each type could mean in practice. The boundaries of the types are fluid and can overlap in theory and in practice [4,6].

Lumina Review Of Learning Frameworks: Tools For Building A Better Educational Experience, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

A reason for summarising this document (Travers et al, 2019) is that the Lumina Foundation in the USA is one of the few educational think-tanks which seems to be aware of the effects on the workplace from the exponentially accelerating growth in soft-computing, especially artificial intelligence, which will be seen in the next fifteen years (cf. Jankowski and Marshall. 2017).

Summary Of And Comments On Strengthening Skills: Expert Review Of Australia's Vocational Education And Training System, Steven Joyce

International Journal for Business Education

The following extracts have been compiled in this order to give a feeling for the total report (168 pages). The order of what follows is quite different from Joyce. It has been summarised this way for the benefit of readers who are not involved in the VET sector on a day-to-day basis. Most of the data are from 2017-2018. The summary is by Tony Shannon; it has no official status. To give perspective to this important report, the summary and comments are in three parts, namely,

• A general view of Australian Vocational Education & Training
• Recommendations – road map
• Some …

Report Of The Independent Review Of Freedom Of Speech In Australian Higher Education Providers, Tony Shannon

International Journal for Business Education

This summary does not claim to be preferred in any way to a reading of the complete report with its succinct and simple recommendations, including “A Model Code for the Protection of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom in Australian Higher Education Providers”. The review is an important document for all institutions dedicated to teaching, particularly at the tertiary level, in having a shared understanding of freedom of speech within an institution.

The Review involved a two-stage consultation process with universities and other stakeholders between November 2018 and March 2019, and it also considered recent pertinent debates in Canada, New …

What Kind Of Pedagogies For The 21st Century?, Cynthia Luna Scott

International Journal for Business Education

Since the emergence of a global movement that calls for a new model of learning for the twenty first century, it has been argued that formal education must be transformed to enable new forms of learning that are needed to tackle complex global challenges.

Reflective Journals, Tony Shannon Am

International Journal for Business Education

A reflective journal helps to think honestly about one’s actual thinking. This can be uncomfortable at first!

Uk Universities Face Their Toughest Test, Andrew Jack

International Journal for Business Education

The School of Oriental and African Studies seemed a symbol of stability when it celebrated its centenary in 2016 by taking over and renovating the University of London’s imposing Senate House building in central London. It was a bold move to lure the best students. But just three years later its future has become much shakier, with its undergraduate intake down 40 percent and a £7m operating deficit. “The competition is brutal,” says Professor Stephen Hopgood, Soas’s international pro-director. “We are small and specialist, and if undergraduate fees are cut, it’s going to be very hard for an institution of …

The Futures Of Learning 3: What Kind Of Pedagogies For The 21st Century?, Cynthia Luna Scott

International Journal for Business Education

Since the emergence of a global movement that calls for a new model of learning for the twenty first century, it has been argued that formal education must be transformed to enable new forms of learning that are needed to tackle complex global challenges. Literature on this topic offers compelling arguments for transforming pedagogy to better support acquisition of twenty-first century skills.

“Listen To Me” – A Systematic Literature Review About Learning From Others’ Failure Narrations, Verena Liszt-Rohlf

International Journal for Business Education

The dedicated stream of learning from others’ failure has gained increasing attention in entrepreneurship education research and—because of the COVID-19 crisis—among practitioners. The emerging literature on entrepreneurship education addresses this important phenomenon but lacks specific theoretical underpinnings; its new approaches to and empirical inquiry are one-sided. Therefore, a systematic literature review is warranted to provide a more comprehensive view of learning from others’ entrepreneurial failures and to develop a research model. Unprecedentedly, the author explores the type of research streams and gaps that can be included in a research model for entrepreneurship education research in the area of learning from …

Blackstone Launchpad University Of Montana Strategic Analysis/Jacob Treece Honors Capstone Report, Jacob R. Treece

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Strategies Used By Small Traditional Retail Business Owners For Sustainability, Linda Ogbah Faas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses fail at an alarming rate, negatively affecting job creation because small business owners create a major portion of jobs in the United States. In March of 2020, 274,000 businesses failed in the United States, resulting in 76,000 lost jobs. Owners of small traditional retail stores are significantly challenged to avoid financial failure. Grounded in Schumpeter’s entrepreneurship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies owners of small traditional retail stores used to survive beyond the first 5 years of operations. Participants included five owners of small traditional retail stores in Missouri whose businesses survived …

Small And Medium-Sized Enterprise Beauty Salon Employer Strategies Used To Improve Employee Retention, Angela Lynette Loyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retention strategies are important to beauty salon leaders as they directly affect retaining a reliable workforce. Grounded in self-determination theory, the purpose of this generic qualitative case study was to explore retention strategies used by some SME beauty salon leaders in the United States to improve employee retention. The participants were five SME beauty salon leaders who retained at least two employees for 2 consecutive years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and company documents. The four themes from the thematic analysis were leadership, psychological needs satisfaction, motivation, and engagement. A key recommendation is to have SME beauty salon leaders …

Professional Staffing Small Business Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee, Gwendolyn L. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some small business owners need help reducing voluntary employee turnover, often putting the business at risk for performance failure. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies professional staffing small business owners used to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The participants were five professional staffing small business leaders in the Washington, D.C., area with successful strategies to retain talented employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s five-step process. Three themes emerged: (a) employee recognition, (b) communication, and (c) advancement and training. A key recommendation for small business owners …

Sustainability Strategies For Nonprofit Organizations, Ramchand Francisco

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit leaders face the challenges of ensuring their organizations are financially healthy while navigating economic and organizational issues that require strategies to support program growth with limited financial resources. Grounded in Markowitz’s modern portfolio theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies nonprofit leaders used to support program growth and sustainability with limited financial resources. The study participants were three leaders of a nonprofit organization in the northwest region of the United States who had expertise related to the focus of the research. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, analyses of the client organization’s internal …

Walt Disney Theme Park Strategic Audit, Joseph Peraino

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Walt Disney theme parks are a part of the Theme parks, Resorts, and Cruise line sector of The Walt Disney Company. Despite many world changes to its environment throughout the years, Disney has remained one of the leaders in the entertainment industry. This Strategic audit will use PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces to analyze the industry as a framework to understand how Disney can remain a strong competitor in its changing environment and industry.

Sustainability Strategies For Nonprofit Organizations, Ramchand Francisco

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit leaders face the challenges of ensuring their organizations are financially healthy while navigating economic and organizational issues that require strategies to support program growth with limited financial resources. Grounded in Markowitz’s modern portfolio theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies nonprofit leaders used to support program growth and sustainability with limited financial resources. The study participants were three leaders of a nonprofit organization in the northwest region of the United States who had expertise related to the focus of the research. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, analyses of the client organization’s internal …

Strategies Hotel Leaders Use To Improve Employee Engagement, O'Neil Orlando Dacres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement is a significant factor that drives performance and productivity in many organizations. Hotel leaders are typically concerned with the negative impact of disengaged employees, which reduces profitability. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies hotel leaders use to improve employee engagement. The participants were five hotel leaders in Jamaica who have successfully implemented strategies to improve employee engagement. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and five themes emerged: staff engagement, communication, rewards and recognition, employee training and …

Professional Staffing Small Business Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee, Gwendolyn L. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some small business owners need help reducing voluntary employee turnover, often putting the business at risk for performance failure. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies professional staffing small business owners used to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The participants were five professional staffing small business leaders in the Washington, D.C., area with successful strategies to retain talented employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s five-step process. Three themes emerged: (a) employee recognition, (b) communication, and (c) advancement and training. A key recommendation for small business owners …