Public Administration Commons^™

Hearts And Minds: An Analysis Of Checks And Safeguards, Monitoring, And Performance Review Of Executive Boards And Their Executive Directors Within Select Nonprofit Corporations., John Michael Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Horror stories of ineffective nonprofit organization management arise in the media far too often. When these stories emerge, the public demands accountability from those responsible. Ultimately, accountability rests with the fiduciaries of the organization. For nonprofit

organizations in the United States, fiduciary responsibility and accountability reside with the board of directors.

Board governance has been widely studied in the for-profit sector. Due to the critical nature of the work nonprofits perform, there has been an increasing effort to study board governance in nonprofit organizations. Employing in depth interviews, with both executive

directors and board members, checks and safeguards such as …

Volunteer Management In Faith-Based Organizations, Cheryl Regina Coleman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) rely heavily on volunteers to carry out their mission, making volunteer labor fundamental to an organization’s business operations and outcomes. A review of the literature revealed a significant gap in managing volunteers effectively in a nonprofit, faith- based setting. The standard business management practices typically employed when managing volunteers lack effectiveness in nonprofit FBO environments. Employing for-profit management practices to managing volunteer labor in nonprofit settings is especially challenging given the uniqueness of nonprofit organizations that rely on volunteer over paid labor. Challenges include the organization’s values, mission, identity, social goals, outcomes, and ideological characteristics. The purpose …

International City/County Management Association 1999 Revenue Estimation Survey Revisited, Benjamin Bond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1899 the National Municipal League declared that it was the duty of the Mayor to submit to the Council the annual budget of current expenses of the city, for almost as long, the budgeting process has been researched (Hou, 2006). Researching budgets is important and needed but comparatively little attention has been paid to revenue forecasts or to those responsible for the generation of revenue forecasts. Professional public administrators responsible for generating revenue forecasts have largely been overlooked in research. Judging by the lack of scholarly material available in academic journals, it appears the political process in which budget …

Foundation For An Independent Tomorrow: Treatment Effects Of The Stages Of Employment Job Readiness Program On Program Completion And Employment Outcomes For Ex-Offenders, Michael Hammer, Stephanie Pocchia, Stacy Howell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow (FIT) is a local not for profit organization that seeks to assist residents of Southern Nevada by providing workforce development services (e.g., interviewing skills, job searching techniques, resume assistance) to increase a program participant’s opportunities to obtain and maintain employment. FIT is currently being federally funded through the Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA) grant, with a specific goal of serving the re-entry, or ex-offender, population. This population presents with a very unique set of barriers to obtaining employment, and in order to combat these barriers, FIT created the Stages of Employment job readiness …

Integrated Casino Resort Plan In Korea: The Perception Of Korean Government Representatives, Donghwa Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Asian casino market has been rapidly expanding in recent years as evidenced by the success of recently built integrated resorts (IR) in Macau. In light of the successes in Macau, the Korean government has decided to allow an IR to be built near the Incheon International Airport in Korea. The airport, with its great number of transient passengers, provides ample potential customers for the proposed IR. Combining the two factors of Asian casino market growth, and the high number of potential customers, the Incheon IR has a great chance for success.

The Korean government entertained bids from two different …

Government Contracting: How To Tackle Rapid Growth And Hiring For Conference And Event Planner Positions, Karen Francisco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper plans to explore the issue of how conference project managers and other leaders working in government contractor positions can best approach the issue of rapid growth and hiring individuals for event and conference planning roles. In order to more thoroughly explore this problem, this paper will employ several strategies.

A Comparative Study Of Indicator Bacteria Present In Ice And Soda From Las Vegas Food Establishments, Kimberly Jo Hertin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microbial analysis has long been used as an indicator of water quality. Since the passing of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, microbial standards have been strictly set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the public health is protected from bacterial pathogens. The bacteriological quality of water generally deteriorates as it travels from water treatment facilities through the main distribution system and into private plumbing and distribution systems. For example, Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) values typically increase once the water has entered plumbing devices such as beverage vending machines. Upon reaching a private facility, the opportunity …

Centennial Hills Active Adult Center Business Plan, K. C. Brekken, Jeff Buchanan, David Gordon, Doug Guild

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The economic indicators for the state of Nevada indicate a bleak financial future. The foreclosure rate of the Las Vegas Valley is five times the national average and the highest rate in the country (Hoak, 2010). Sales tax revenues continue spiraling down and fell by 6.6 percent in December 2009 from December 2008 (Garcia, 2010). State politicians face an estimated budget deficit of $3.5 billion. Local conditions are equally dire. The City of Las Vegas faces a budget shortfall of nearly $69 million for this fiscal year (Choate, 2010). City administrators struggle to find creative solutions to fill financial gaps …

Analysis Of Boys Hope Girls Hope Of Nevada, Andrea Sundberg, Brad Giles, Cedric Pittman, Imelda Delatorre, Rebbeca Morris Fridley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the most important components of any business is the ability to effectively market the organization. Marketing is critical in shaping the public's knowledge of services offered and how an organization distinguishes itself from other organizations within a community. This type of recognition ultimately affects an organization's sustainability. To effectively conduct outreach and create an effective marketing strategy nonprofit organizations are increasingly becoming reliant on volunteers to meet these missions. With nonprofit organizations taking on larger caseloads with limited staff, organizations are becoming more reliant on volunteers, which include the Board of Directors, to assist in marketing and fundraising. …

City Of Las Vegas Human Resources Promotional Selection Process Program Evaluation, Rik Holman, Cecil Johnson, April Thomas, Steve Weber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas Human Resources Department requested the evaluation team examine the perception of fairness in the promotional selection process as demonstrated by the results of the 2007 Diversity and Inclusion Survey and related complaints from some of the employees. Based on discussions with the Human Resources department and subsequent interviews with other stakeholders, the main focus of the evaluation team covered the strengths and weaknesses of the promotional process and determining the reasons for the perceived preferential treatment in the promotional process as expressed by city employees who responded to the 2007 Diversity and Inclusion Survey. While …

Boulder City, Nevada Revenue Generating Analysis, Mayra A. Castro, Dolores P. Leyva, Arnetta M. Meagher, Wade Zimmerman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Boulder City (City) is unique in the State of Nevada as being a non-gaming city, maintaining a controlled growth ordinance, and steadfastly holding to its “small town” values and character. The City has been facing budgetary challenges as future expenditures are anticipated to continually exceed revenues if current services levels are maintained. Indeed, fiscal reviews indicate the City has been transferring contingency monies between funds to cover overages for the past several fiscal years. This “robbing Peter to pay Paul” methodology may offer a temporary solution to the shortage but may be detrimental as a long term solution.

Workplace Violence: A Case Study, Robert F. White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper addresses the problem of workplace violence. Because research into workplace violence is relatively new, there is not much research into managerial response to violent incidences. This paper helps to establish a template that may become a useful managerial tool to decrease the potential for future workplace violence that may lead to loss of life and unnecessary monetary loss. Managers are not necessarily equipped to develop appropriate measures to effectively deal with violent issues. Given the proper tool, managers can often work wonders. The paper focuses on homicide in the workplace, which has been the second leading cause of …

An Empirical Study Of Attitudes Towards Telecommuting Among Government Finance Professionals, Joseph J. Grippaldi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study to evaluate attitudes towards telecommuting among finance employees who are employed by special district governments in the United States. Original data was collected by using a self-administered mail survey sent to 400 special district government finance employees who are members of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. This paper will examine variables including employee support for telecommuting, the likelihood of employees working away from the office, and the number of days employees wish to telecommute. A factor analysis was employed to determine if patterns of …

‘Sworn’ Versus ‘Civilian’ Career Development Paths In The Fire Service In Nevada, Kelly Blackmon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Fire Department has no formal career development path for fire prevention (civilian) personnel as it does for suppression (sworn) personnel. The purpose of this paper is to compare the career paths developed for suppression personnel and prevention personnel in five fire departments throughout the State of Nevada. Each department was chosen because they have over 100 total employees. Three dimensions relevant to the extent to which a career development path exists were identified and each department was assessed terms of these dimensions. The results illustrated the need to enhance the career development path in prevention to more …

Clark County School District: Bonds And Debt. Can They Be Divided Equally?, Jocelyn Izumigawa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Clark County School District is one of the largest school districts in the nation with a student population of 203,616 for 1998-1999. Talk of deconsolidating Clark County School District has been proposed by Assembly persons. However, as recent as November 2000, another initiative for deconsolidation and reconfigurations had not been approved by the voters. One of the issues surrounding deconsolidation is the district's bond debt. An equitable division has not been reached should Clark County School District deconsolidate. This paper deals with dividing the bond debt equally among eight districts (identified in an earlier study of deconsolidation) and assessing whether …

Will Succession Planning At The Department Of Energy/Nevada Succeed?, James H. Winget

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The topic of this professional paper is the succession planning program at the Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV). I have prepared this paper for the Department of Public Administration in partial fulfillment of a Masters of Public Administration degree. The paper centers on the interpretation of data that was received through an office-wide survey of the staff and leaders of the DOE/NV. The data presented supports the theory that there may be significant weaknesses found in the current structure of the succession planning that may directly affect whether or not the program will succeed. The analyses performed focuses …

Impact Of The American's With Disabilities Act On Local Government (A Retrospective Review Of 10 Years Of Action) Specific To Personnel Administration, Mark A. Dascalos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law on January 26, 1990. This Act was intended to overcome many perceived or actual acts of discrimination against persons with disabilities residing in the United States of America. To date, no author has looked back to see what the impact of this comprehensive law has been on local government. This author through study will be determining what, if any, impact this law has had on the State of Nevada counties. This study is being limited in scope to personnel administration, and personnel related remedies. Recommendations for the future …

An Analysis Of The Socio-Economic Impact Of Casino Gambling In Mesquite, Nevada, And Its Implications For Public Policy, Janice K. Herfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a preliminary analysis of the socio-economic impact of casino gaming in Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite is being studied from this perspective in order to provide policymakers with information that will aid in the determination of public policy relevant to and in conjunction with casino gaming activity. A combination of site visits to the area and interviews with casino executive personnel and relevant law enforcement was conducted for the purposes of gathering information for this study. Three police departments (Mesquite, Nevada, Cedar City, Utah and St. George, Utah) were interviewed to determine the crime rate in jurisdiction. Relevant data …

An Analysis Of The Socio-Economic Impact Of Casino Gaming In Mesquite, Nevada, And Its Implications For Public Policy, Janice K. Hetfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a preliminary analysis of the socio-economic impact of casino gaming in Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite is being studied from this perspective in order to provide policymakers with information that will aid in the determination of public policy relevant to and in conjunction with casino gaming activity. A combination of site visits to the area and interviews with casino executive personnel and relevant law enforcement was conducted for the purposes of gathering information for this study. Three police departments (Mesquite, Nevada, Cedar City, Utah and St. George, Utah) were interviewed to determine the crime rate in jurisdiction. Relevant data …

The Legislative History Of Gambling, 1861 - 1915, Ben Hetfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nevada’s way of regulating gambling has been of such interest over the past years that it has been given a name, the “Nevada Model”. Interested parties usually are seeking to learn if this model of gambling regulation will work in other political units of this country. The point of this paper is to give some background to the “Nevada Model” by looking at how the acts of the legislature of the state evolved through time. Of equal importance is the understanding of the role the miners played in the formation of Nevada’s culture and lifestyle. The miners brought Nevada its …

Public Finance Of Professional Athletic Facilities: Case Studies In Stadium And Arena Finance, Larry Harala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the course of the 1990s cities across the country opted to expend public monies at record levels on stadium and arena construction. The focus of this paper will be an examination of whether or not spending public money on private athletic facilities is justifiable. For the purpose of this paper “justifiable” will mean; that the overall economic benefit to the community can be clearly and quantifiably demonstrate to have a net positive economic impact on the community while benefiting all socio-economic elements of the community at large. The types of facilities that this paper will examine are arenas and …

A Comparison Of Public Agency And Casino Employee Turnover Rates In Las Vegas, Timothy A. Clemens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The primary focus of this professional paper is to determine and then compare turnover rates between public agencies and the gaming industry in the Las Vegas area. The paper's intention is to discover what differences and similarities in employee turnover rates exist between public agencies and casinos. A secondary focus is to determine if the public sector can provide any lessons to lower employee turnover to the Las Vegas gaming industry. This secondary focus is based on the assumption that public agencies have higher employee retention (and, therefore, a lower rate of turnover) than those found within the Las Vegas …