Matching Items (53)
Description
In recent years, companies have been expanding their business efforts on a global scale. This project explores this expansion of American-based multinational corporations (MNCs) in Ireland, and the comparison of how their culture motivation in the workplace. We did a cultural study using Hofstede and Trompenaars' cultural dimensions of the two countries then used McClelland's Needs Theory, Equity Theory, and Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory in order to create three research questions. (1) How does the manager define success for the firm as a whole and for their employees, (2) How is the definition of success reflected in the company's corporate culture (i.e. values, norms and practices), along with how cultural values, norms and practices affect the company, and (3) How do external forces (i.e. governmental factors, workplace technology, etc.) affect the workplace environment and motivation for employees? With these we hypothesized that for research question 1, we hypothesized that from our study of Hofstede's and Trompenaars' cultural frameworks, Irish employees will show a greater tendency to favor affiliation, nAff, as opposed to a need for achievement, nAch, in American employees, according to McClelland's Needs Theory. For research question 2, we predicted that motivation would be administered through style of feedback to employees and office norms, such as autonomy, flexible hours, and work-life balance. For research question 3, we hypothesized that Ireland would have an impact from external factors such as government and technology, whereas the U.S. employees would face no clear impact. We conducted eight, qualitative interviews using a questionnaire, either in person or via video conference. The interviewees were all managers in some facet and have all had some international experience. Through the analysis of the interviews, we found that the Irish employees focused on how employees are able to help or contribute to a group (nAff), instead of looking at how the contribution of a group can be used to meet individual goals (nAch). The American companies reflected Trompenaars' definition of individualism in which employees focus on collaborating in teams, as long as individual goals are met, and benchmarked collaboration as a performance measure, tying in the need for achievement, for research question one. For the second research question, we found that employees in Ireland had a focus on teamwork in the workplace and much higher respect for work-life balance. American firms, in contrast, had a greater focus on making sure employees were contributing, meeting their goals, and getting their work done. While American firms did acknowledge work-life balance and its importance, there was a priority for coming in early and/or staying late to make sure a job got done. Findings for our third question showed that government factors did impact Ireland more, due to labor laws such as required vacation days in Ireland, and that technology had less of an impact than expected, for both countries. More importantly was our finding that the companies in Ireland were greatly impacted by the decisions made by the business executives in the United States.
ContributorsSong, Jenny Jungwon (Co-author) / Brown, William (Co-author) / Arrfelt, Mathias (Thesis director) / Moore, James (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Anytime a new product is brought to market or a new business is established, there are several legal and regulatory matters that must be addressed in order to achieve sustainable success. There are certain legal implications that every new business needs to consider, such as business structure, obtaining intellectual property, necessary licenses, agreements, liability, etc. In addition, there are also some regulations and laws that apply to only certain types of businesses. For products created for individuals with disabilities, some of these regulations include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). In this thesis, I study the disability product market, and the major legal and regulatory obstacles that a company might face in creating and marketing a product for consumers with either a mobile or visual disability. The research I conducted was based on a year-long project I completed in an interdisciplinary program called InnovationSpace. This paper introduces the program and our product, including a summary of the business model we created. Then, I discuss the findings of my research, before developing a plan for complying with the laws when taking our product, Naavi, to market. The major strategy discussed includes getting our product involved in public school districts through the IDEA, to give visually disabled students access to our product by making it a required component of their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Being able to do so would give our company an enormous business-to-business customer, which would be great for our company while simultaneously offering these students an opportunity to learn a valuable skill that can improve their daily lives.
ContributorsLeclair, Jordan Tyler (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Koretz, Lora (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
E-commerce has rapidly become a mainstay in today's economy, and many websites have built themselves around providing a platform for independent sellers. Sites such as Etsy, Storenvy, Redbubble, and Society6 are increasingly popular options for anyone looking to open their own online store. With this project, I attempted to examine the effects of four different marketing techniques on sales in an online store. I opened a shop on Etsy and tracked sales in connection with promotion through social media, selling products in-person at a convention, holding a holiday tie-in sale, and using price anchoring. Social media accounts were opened on Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram to promote the shop over the course of the project period, and Etsy's web analytics were used to track which sites directed the most traffic to the shop. I attended a convention in mid-January 2016 where I sold my products and distributed business cards with a discount code to track sales resulting from being at the convention. A holiday sale was held in conjunction with Valentine's Day to look at whether holidays influenced purchases. Lastly, a significantly more expensive product was temporarily put in the shop to see whether it produced a price anchoring effect \u2014 that is, encouraged sales of the less expensive products by making them seem affordable in comparison. While the volume of sales data was too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, the project was a highly instructive experience in the process of opening a small online store. The decision-making steps outlined may be helpful to other students looking to open their own online shop.
ContributorsChen, Candice Elizabeth (Author) / Moore, James (Thesis director) / Sanford, Adriana (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis, entitled "A Community Perspective on Alcohol Education," was conducted over a ten month period during the Spring 2014 and Fall 2014 semesters, composed by Christopher Stuller and Nicholas Schmitzer. The research involved interviewing twelve professionals from Arizona State University and the City of Tempe to gather a holistic view on alcohol education and alcohol safety as it involves the students at ASU. Upon completion of the interviews, recommendations were made regarding areas of improvement for alcohol education and alcohol safety at Arizona State University. These recommendations range from creating a mandatory alcohol education class to passing a Guardian Angel Law to creating a national network of alcohol education best practices. Through this thesis, the authors hope to prevent future alcohol related injuries, deaths, and tragedies. For the final display of this thesis a website was created. For the ease of reading, all information has been presented in text format.
ContributorsSchmitzer, Nicholas (Co-author) / Stuller, Christopher (Co-author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Scott Lynch, Jacquelyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Once enrolled in a university setting, a student's learning style begins to emerge. As time progress, students begin their search for career prospects and as an extension, the workplace culture as well. After immersing themselves into a company's environment, students may realize their learning styles may or may not are in conflict in their line of work. As a result, this research will explore the relationship between learning styles and majors. With a sample size of 552 students enrolled at W. P. Carey School of Business within Arizona State University, learning style preferences will be calculated for each business major; other influences, such as ethnicity and age, will also be taken into consideration.
ContributorsOsofsky, Michelle (Co-author) / Nguyen, Christine (Co-author) / Moore, James (Thesis director) / Sanford, Adriana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Modern Americans ignorantly live under a blanket of unread terms, conditions, and binding contracts. Often, these contracts (mostly associated with products and services) come and go with little effect. Periodically, the products or services cause the consumer harm, leading them to seek repair. The consumer then realizes that all the fine print they failed to read makes an impactful legal difference. This paper analyzes the work of Professor Radin through her book, Boilerplate. It goes on to explore many other arguments presented by contract theorists and makes substantial claims regarding the dangers of boilerplate (unread terms and conditions).
ContributorsBecker, Alexander Daniel (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Calleros, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis explores three predominant theories of language in cultures, considering them with the use of multilingual automated phone systems. It presents an analysis of Internet based (primarily through blogposts) reviews of such systems. As these reviews are insufficient to form a conclusion as to how the public sees such systems, this thesis also presents an original study of 90 participants, which assesses both the functional difference between English only and multilingual systems, as well as respondents' personal ethical (as defined by participants themselves) beliefs as to the necessity of such multilingual automated systems. The study's primary hypotheses assert that these systems will not have any large functional difference, and that the majority of respondents will find the use of such multilingual automated systems ethically necessary. Both of these hypotheses are found to be correct.
ContributorsRupp, Garrett Adam (Contributor) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Kalika, Dale (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Trekster is an online outdoor website that provides the tools and information necessary for any person to complete a given outdoor activity that matches his/her ability, age, location, and desires with a focus on United States National Parks and National Monument travel. Over time, Trekster will create a sizable repository of trails and activities that reflect a geographically diverse nation and the equally diverse interests the population of the world seek to enjoy in these awe-inspiring locales. Trekster will focus on content creation and the updating of existing content to continually offer the most precise and voluminous information on a given trail, activity, or news item. Trekster is a Limited Liability Company with roots in Arizona and Colorado. Trekster will be managed by Kurtis Zinger, an outdoorsman and businessman keen on finding solutions to problems he has experienced in his travel planning within the national parks. The idea for Trekster originated with a lack of helpful content available from the National Park Service websites for travel to the United States National Parks and National Monuments. Visitation at parks has continued to increase most years over the past three decades, yet the National Parks Service has not been able to successfully serve the demand of an eager outdoor demographic. Trekster is designed for ease-of-use and its target market ranges from senior citizens and foreign visitors to American citizens that are avid backpackers, hikers, and/or campers. Trekster will provide these markets with the tools needed to improve their outdoor or National Park experience, especially because of the lack of these resources at other websites for a reasonable price. As revenue will be Trekster's primary revenue stream, but by keeping expenses limited to marketing efforts after the first year of operation, Trekster will reach its break-even point by 2017 and will make positive profits that grow exponentially during the years that follow. After 2020, Trekster will have content for all 50 states and will begin exploring unique ways to deliver content and explore other potential revenue sources. Trekster will be the premier online destination for travelers to National Parks and adventurers hoping to find more than a superficial introduction to a complex maze of information. By providing quality content free of charge, Trekster will become a favorite resource of outdoor enthusiasts and a source of community for those who find solace and adventure in the outdoors.
ContributorsZinger, Kurtis (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Facinelli, Diane (Committee member) / Ehrlich, Susan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The following paper examines the current international code of ethics and customs accompanying global supply chain management. It specifically addresses the legal aspects that contemporary supply chains must consider when conducting business internationally as well as the customary traditions associated with major regions of current trade. In particular, it describes the simultaneously growing and tepid interest in conducting business with the B.R.I.C. (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries to supplement the aforementioned topic with a contemporary issue. In particular, it details the amount, if any, of corruption occurring in each country and describes the influence that these practices have and the complications they create on international trade with the United States.
ContributorsChakkera, Shawn Vinay (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Carter, Craig (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
A cost analysis was done on the participant recruitment for an ongoing research project to promote colon cancer screening in Phoenix, Arizona. The aim of the 5-year project is to navigate people, who do not regularly see primary care physicians, from the community to a nearby clinic to be screened, using an intervention strategy called tailored navigation. Through tailored navigation, participants' barriers to being screened are addressed by Community Health Navigators, who call the participant over the span of 8 weeks following an initial class at a community site and give them information on how to overcome his or her specific barrier. The objective of this cost analysis is to explore the costs of recruiting a participant from the community to the initial class to a potential program manager. The process of recruitment involved recruitment of a community site, project introduction, the sign-up of interested participants, eligibility, baseline, and consent tests, and the class itself. A Community Site Liaison recruits sites and schedules class times. The Community Health Navigator conducts eligibility, baseline, and consent surveys and teaches the class, a sixty minute presentation on colon cancer screening. The cost of recruitment per community site was $541.23, and the cost per participant attending class was estimated to be $1,594.41 per participant with variation between $1,379.97 and $1,770.71 in optimistic and conservative scenarios, respectively.
ContributorsMishra, Shovna (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Herman, Patricia M. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05