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Description
RIIIIING. The class bells ring to signal the end of the school day for Timmy and his classmates. Mrs. Clark, the boys’ sixth grade teacher, is in the middle of a vocabulary lesson, but as soon as the bell rings everyone rushes out the door. She sets her chalk down on the desk and waves goodbye to everyone as they head home. Timmy and his best friend, Ben, hop on their bikes and start their ride home.
Every day, the boys drive past Merlin’s Magic Shop on the way back from school. Today when Timmy and Ben ride past the store, Timmy sees something new in the window. It appears to be an old box. Wooden, a little worn in, but it still looks like something special.
The boys go inside to ask someone about the box. Towards the back of the store there is an older gentleman stocking the shelves. The gentleman sees the boys looking his way and he begins to head towards Timmy and Ben.
“How do you do?” the man asks. He can tell they are stealing glances at the box, too nervous to ask about it. He points towards the object in the window and says, “You know, that was my old magic box when I was a boy. I thought it looked like it might need a new home.”
Timmy thinks for a moment. The man seems a bit odd—could this really be magic or is he tricking us? By the way he talks, it’s as if he already knows what people are thinking. He knew right away that we wanted that box. He can be standing in the middle of an aisle and in the blink of an eye, he’s gone! Is he magic himself? The store is odd too. You won’t find more than two of an item in there. The store is full of wands and hats and capes, but none of them look the same. Nothing comes in packages or pretty boxes—everything comes as it is, as if it has been used before.
Every day, the boys drive past Merlin’s Magic Shop on the way back from school. Today when Timmy and Ben ride past the store, Timmy sees something new in the window. It appears to be an old box. Wooden, a little worn in, but it still looks like something special.
The boys go inside to ask someone about the box. Towards the back of the store there is an older gentleman stocking the shelves. The gentleman sees the boys looking his way and he begins to head towards Timmy and Ben.
“How do you do?” the man asks. He can tell they are stealing glances at the box, too nervous to ask about it. He points towards the object in the window and says, “You know, that was my old magic box when I was a boy. I thought it looked like it might need a new home.”
Timmy thinks for a moment. The man seems a bit odd—could this really be magic or is he tricking us? By the way he talks, it’s as if he already knows what people are thinking. He knew right away that we wanted that box. He can be standing in the middle of an aisle and in the blink of an eye, he’s gone! Is he magic himself? The store is odd too. You won’t find more than two of an item in there. The store is full of wands and hats and capes, but none of them look the same. Nothing comes in packages or pretty boxes—everything comes as it is, as if it has been used before.
ContributorsNictakis, Alexandra Marie (Author) / LaCroix, Kristin (Thesis director) / Sadusky, Brian (Committee member) / Morrison School of Agribusiness (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
By 2030, annual global automobile production is projected to reach over 110 million vehicles with an increasing quantity having autonomous capabilities. Based on this trend, Company X is poised to drive profits by leveraging advancing technology from their subsidiary to gain significant market share within the AV industry. This will solidify Company X’s position as a key player and leader within the AV industry, which is expected to grow to $7 trillion by 2050, and Company X can achieve this by providing a technology suite including a systems on a chip to auto manufacturers and creating partnerships in the technology and automotive industry.
ContributorsAvery, Hailey (Co-author) / Green, Ryan (Co-author) / Hall, Robert (Co-author) / Hummel, Haley (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis discusses the case for Company X to improve its vast supply chain by implementing an artificial intelligence solution in the management of its spare parts inventory for manufacturing-related machinery. Currently, the company utilizes an inventory management system, based on previously set minimum and maximum thresholds, that doesn’t use predictive analytics to stock required spares inventory. This results in unnecessary costs and redundancies within the supply chain resulting in the stockout of spare parts required to repair machinery. Our research aimed to quantify the cost of these stockouts, and ultimately propose a solution to mitigate them. Through discussion with Company X, our findings led us to recommend the use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) within the inventory management system to better predict when stockouts would occur. As a result of data availability, our analysis began on a smaller scale, considering only a single manufacturing site at Company X. Later, our findings were extrapolated across all manufacturing sites. The analysis includes the cost of stockouts, the capital that would be saved with A.I. implementation, costs to implement this new A.I. software, and the final net present value (NPV) that Company X could expect in 10 years and 25 years. The NPV calculations explored two scenarios, an external partnership and the purchase of a small private company, that lead to our final recommendations regarding the implementation of an A.I. software solution in Company X’s spares inventory management system. Following the analysis, a qualitative discussion of the potential risks and market opportunities associated with the explored implementation scenarios further guided the determination of our final recommendations.
ContributorsHolohan, Joseph Michael Houston (Co-author) / Shahriari, Rosie (Co-author) / Aun, Jose (Co-author) / Heineke, Christopher (Co-author) / Gurrola, Macario (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Equifax data breach took place in 2017 and was the largest data breach of its time. The breach affected 143 million individuals and caused large amounts of confidential and sensitive data, such as credit cards, birthdays, addresses, and social security numbers to be stolen (Brinkley-Badgett, 2018). This paper will closely analyze the Equifax data breach. Specifically, Equifax’s background, crisis history, and breach timeline will be broken down. These three components are all important when it comes to understanding Equifax’s actions. Timothy Coombs is a founder of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, and his interpretation of the theory will be used as a framework for this paper. Both his book, Ongoing Crisis Communication and article, Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, will be heavily referenced. Using Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as a framework, these components will be assessed and categorized. “SCCT provides a mechanism for anticipating how stakeholders will react to a crisis in terms of the reputational threat posed by the crisis” (Coombs, 2007). By identifying the crisis type and crisis response strategies, Equifax’s actions will be analyzed and measured. The size, timeline, and media response will help identify what type of crisis Equifax falls into, and why their actions caused them to be categorized so. After analyzing the Equifax data breach, two other breaches will be analyzed and compared. The comparison of Equifax to Capital One and Home Depot, will help determine how Equifax could have been more effective through crisis response strategies. Capital One and Home Depot are two data breaches that were able to implement “effective” uses of crisis management and meet consumer expectations. Through the comparative analysis, recommendations as to what Equifax could have done differently will be made. The comparisons of their crisis type, actions, and response strategies will help shape recommendations for Equifax’s past crisis.
ContributorsLalani, Nadia (Author) / Bundy, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Semadeni, Matthew (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Our project examines The Blackstone Group’s $6.1 billion leveraged buyout of TeamHealth in 2016 in detail, as well as the broader implications of the transaction on the healthcare industry. The transaction was preceded by Blackstone’s initial acquisition of the company in 2005, followed by the company’s subsequent IPO in 2009. Our project first covers the history of the target company and profiles key subsidiaries, with an emphasis on the 2015 $1.6B acquisition of IPC by TeamHealth. We then detail the sources and uses of the transaction and explore Blackstone’s stated transaction rationale. We construct a base case financial model that explores Blackstone’s potential projected internal rate of return based on organic growth and potential synergies with IPC alone and without any further tuck-in acquisitions, as well as an acquisition case model that incorporates several future tuck-in acquisitions. Both cases include a detailed buildout of revenue projections, key income statement and balance sheet drivers (including an analysis of changes in healthcare economics and their impact on our revenue build), and forward-looking assumptions on various items including capital expenditures for the target company. Discounted cash flow analysis and leveraged buyout analysis outputs are detailed and discussed for both the base case and acquisition case. We examine the risks and mitigants associated with the transaction and how they may exacerbate issues in a downside case, namely leverage and public markets-related risks that may affect Blackstone’s strategy. Lastly, we investigate the impact the transaction may have on the broader industry from the patient, payor, and physician perspective.
ContributorsBamford, Maxwell Blake (Co-author) / Jha, Neil (Co-author) / Doughty, Alexander (Co-author) / Leibovit-Reiben, Zachary (Co-author) / Mindlin, Jeff (Thesis director) / Stein, Luke (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper takes a critical look at single-family real estate investment trusts’ generative returns since the 2008 Housing Crisis. The research paper presents an overview of REITs legal qualifications, the 2008 Housing Crisis and how the crisis led to the advent of the single-family home REIT industry, a case study on a single-family home REIT, the current market sentiment, trends that are impacting the performance of publicly traded single-family home REITs, and future opportunity for maximizing returns in the sector. Home pricing discrepancies will arise from the lack of housing starts and increased demand for available homes, leading to diminished returns with pure acquisition strategies. After detailing accessible empirical data on the American single-family home industry, we seek to find alternatives for single-family home REITs to continue to post their prior yield to investors after the 2008 Housing Crisis. Strategies such as development and expansion into rural markets will be examined as potential growth opportunities for single-family REITs.
ContributorsKania, Adrian Janusz (Co-author) / Buyer, Jason (Co-author) / Lawrence, Licon (Thesis director) / Koblenz, Blair (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Abstract: Handling the multiple functions of monetary policy that protect the U.S. economy not only on a short term, but also long-term scale is a complicated responsibility assigned to Federal Reserve, in which their actions present a profound impact on consumer confidence towards financial markets and global economies. Specifically, one of the most important goals of the Federal Reserve is to mitigate the risk of the United States to enter a recession, while maintaining a balanced approach when making those policy decisions. In this thesis, we focus on the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, particularly, their role in controlling interest rates to prevent recessionary sentiment in the current state of the economy. Since 2008, markets have been stronger and previous policies like Dodd-Frank have ensured that market collapses during the Great Recession do not repeat itself. Yet, fluctuations in the yield curve, polarizing investment views, and unsettled consumer confidence has pointed to another recession in the near future. In this case, we will look at the way the Fed has implemented short term policies to lower this risk in order to fight volatile markets, however, fluctuating interest rates has its consequences. The goal of this thesis is to analyze the various ways the Fed has managed interest rates in the past and present, and further, to offer a framework to serve as the most effective policy to combat volatility and recessionary sentiment in the U.S. economy.
ContributorsPatel, Dylan (Author) / Sacks, Jana (Thesis director) / Simonson, Mark (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between locus of control and the influence of an unethical authority figure. This research is a preliminary, exploratory study given research design limits. It was hypothesized that subjects oriented towards internal locus of control are better able to resist pressure from an unethical authority figure. Subjects oriented towards the powerful others and chance orientations were hypothesized to be less able to resist pressure from an unethical authority figure. The results found that the presence of an unethical authority figure had little to no influence on self-perceived unethical decision-making; the difference in unethical behavior between cases with an authority figure present and without one present was not statistically significant. Further, no support was found for the hypotheses as no statistically significant relationship between locus of control orientations and the difference between the control case and test case was found (R2 = 0.02, model P-value > 0.05). Further analysis confirmed the results of Detert et al. (2008), finding no relationship between survey subjects’ locus of control orientations and unethical decision-making. Additional analysis indicates a relationship between unethical decision-making and gender (B = -5.14, P = 0.03, P < 0.05), providing some interesting avenues for future research.
ContributorsAmorosi, Kaitlin (Author) / Samuelson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Orpurt, Steven (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Women’s financial literacy and its translation into financial capability is becoming a pressing issue as women are living longer than men, while experiencing shorter employment periods, and lower incomes and benefits (Weir & Willis, 2000). More alarming is the lack of access to credible and trustworthy educational resources for women. Through a detailed analysis of the players in the women’s financial wellness sphere, many resource gaps were found to be present. Across prominent platforms, these issues were found (1) content was incorrectly conveyed to viewers, (2) presentation of the information was complex and/or confusing, and (3) the content was not visually appealing nor engaging.
In an environment of increasing connectivity due to the advent of 3G and 4G networks, and the increase in the number of users subscribing to social media platforms, it is an opportune time to utilize social media as an educational platform. With that being said, the goal of this project, the Sisterhood of Money (SOM), is to inform and educate women about essential financial topics. Using a variety of social media platforms such as Instagram, SOM intends to educate viewers with the help of aesthetically pleasing content that is engaging, informative, and easily digestible.
In an environment of increasing connectivity due to the advent of 3G and 4G networks, and the increase in the number of users subscribing to social media platforms, it is an opportune time to utilize social media as an educational platform. With that being said, the goal of this project, the Sisterhood of Money (SOM), is to inform and educate women about essential financial topics. Using a variety of social media platforms such as Instagram, SOM intends to educate viewers with the help of aesthetically pleasing content that is engaging, informative, and easily digestible.
ContributorsDeGravina, Gabrielle (Author) / Michael, Mokwa (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Sustainability disclosures have existed and been in use for over 20 years. Over the last century, corporate social responsibility ideals changed drastically from both the perspectives of consumers, investors, and corporations. Shifting from a start as an innovative initiative to now a crucial instrument in maintaining a public image and keeping up with competitors, sustainability can now be used to an economic benefit. The benefits of sustainability disclosure exist now as major factors of key performance indicators and major impactors of the bottom line.
ContributorsLe, Sarah Nguyen (Author) / Cheng, Chingwen (Thesis director) / Dalrymple, Michael (Committee member) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05