Matching Items (133)
Description
The Walt Disney Company has been successful in developing adored brands for nearly a century. Although the company’s business ventures are in a wide variety of industries, Disney Parks and Resorts has become a staple of the company earning 20.3 billion dollars in revenue.
The Walt Disney Company theme parks would be nothing without its integral Disney branding. Utilizing characters and storytelling from both classic and brand new Disney brands, Disney Parks and Resorts creates a quality brand through unique theming and world class service.
This thesis will dive into the different areas of the Disney Parks and Resorts and how the company has managed and tailored their brand in these faucets to create an unforgettably Disney experience through storytelling and impeccable service.
The Walt Disney Company theme parks would be nothing without its integral Disney branding. Utilizing characters and storytelling from both classic and brand new Disney brands, Disney Parks and Resorts creates a quality brand through unique theming and world class service.
This thesis will dive into the different areas of the Disney Parks and Resorts and how the company has managed and tailored their brand in these faucets to create an unforgettably Disney experience through storytelling and impeccable service.
ContributorsHathaway, Catherine Elizabeth (Author) / Hass, Mark (Thesis director) / Paniagua, Krista (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Subsequent to the independence of the Republic of North Macedonia, there has been a revival of Greek nationalism. The Greek belief that “Macedonia is Greek” has united the Greek community around the world, and created a new Greek nationalism to protect the ethnic claim that the Macedonian name is Greek. To better understand how this resurgence of nationalism came to be, I examine certain elements and concepts such as: ethno-cultural and historical claims, politics, borders, Greek diaspora and media sources.
I provide a condensed history on the ancient Kingdom of Macedon (Macedonia) as well as the Balkan Wars and how it led to the breakup of Yugoslavia and independence of the (prior) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). I then go over the recent conflict over the “Macedonian” name and how the Prespa Agreement led to the name change of the Republic of North Macedonia. I use both the Republic of North Macedonia and North Macedonia interchangeably.
Following the history over the Macedonian name conflict, I provide a literature review to understand concepts such as “nationalism”, “borders”, “diaspora”, “media and politics”, and I analyze how a resurgence of Greek nationalism came to fruition from the aforementioned topics.
I provide a condensed history on the ancient Kingdom of Macedon (Macedonia) as well as the Balkan Wars and how it led to the breakup of Yugoslavia and independence of the (prior) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). I then go over the recent conflict over the “Macedonian” name and how the Prespa Agreement led to the name change of the Republic of North Macedonia. I use both the Republic of North Macedonia and North Macedonia interchangeably.
Following the history over the Macedonian name conflict, I provide a literature review to understand concepts such as “nationalism”, “borders”, “diaspora”, “media and politics”, and I analyze how a resurgence of Greek nationalism came to fruition from the aforementioned topics.
ContributorsOkeefe, Alayna Caramanis (Author) / Foote, Nicola (Thesis director) / Briggs, Jason (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Often considered to be one of the most promising solutions in the fight against global poverty, “microfinance is a term used to describe financial services, such as loans, savings, insurance and fund transfers to entrepreneurs, small businesses and individuals who lack access to traditional baking services” (Kiva). With hundreds of organizations committed or partially committed to the facilitation of microfinance loans on a domestic and global scale, the way scholarly communities have ultimately decided to view this type of giving is narrow but optimistic. The trends associated with microfinancing show it to have a positive impact on both lenders and borrowers. The goal of this thesis is to bring a level of personal context to these trends with qualitative research from the stories of individuals who have participated in the facilitation of a microloan.
ContributorsOlsen, Hannah (Author) / LaRosa, Julia (Thesis director) / Price, Sandra (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This study examines how a commitment to service can impact and come to exemplify a company’s brand image, customer loyalty, and overall organizational success. It examines the history and evolution of customer service, as well as what commitment to service looks like in present-day businesses. It differentiates companies that have attained a reputation for superior service and companies that have struggled to overcome service failures. Trader Joe’s, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Chick-fil-A, Southwest Airlines, and The Walt Disney Company are identified as five companies that have attained a reputation for remarkable service. This study includes five analyses to understand each company’s mission, history, leadership, employee engagement, and organizational culture. This study synthesizes how an unwavering commitment to customers, emphasis on employee empowerment, and ability to embed service in culture are common themes that can significantly contribute to a company’s ability to develop a reputation for remarkable service.
ContributorsBarr, Chandler Wallace (Author) / Desch, Timothy (Thesis director) / Shick, Jennifer (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to see if a correlation exists between young adults’ personal perception of thriving and a curated online and written course centered around thriving. The course, What Does It Mean for Ages 17 – 24 to Thrive, took place over the span of four weeks and focused on concepts of personal strengths, goal setting, gratitude and thriving. Through this course, students were expected to complete daily practices, weekly challenges and weekly reflections to help build healthy habits for their overall well-being. This course was created in hopes of seeing an improvement from the student’s levels and perception of thriving before and after the course. To collect data, the study began with qualitative interviews to gain an understanding of the participants and their current level of thriving. Throughout the duration of the course, data and feedback was gathered through the students’ assignment submissions every week. As the course came to a close, data was collected through a final round of qualitative interviews focusing on the students’ biggest takeaways from the course. In analyzing the data, one of the biggest challenges came from the students not having enough time to complete all of the daily practices. However, every student mentioned they were able to take something away from this course and hope to implement the exercises into their daily lives. One significant finding came from the survey question, “Do you actively think about your purpose in life?” Prior to the course, there was a mixture of responses stating yes, no, and somewhat. However, after the course, almost every student responded “yes” and one student responded “somewhat.” Overall, it is evident that young adults hope to thrive in life, however, their biggest challenge comes from finding enough time for themselves outside of school and work. This course allowed students to put thriving into perspective and allowed them all to grow.
ContributorsHunsaker, Jenny Ann (Author) / Heywoord, William (Thesis director) / Fehler, Michelle (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
A nonprofit organization’s ability to help its target population depends strongly on the collaboration of the organization’s staff and leadership. An organization that spans across international borders must overcome adversity, particularly communication and power inequity. The International Alliance for the Prevention of AIDS (IAPA) is a nonprofit with staff in the U.S. and India, making it an international partnership. This research evaluates to what extent the Indian partners believe IAPA meets Sustainable Development Goal 17: “to revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.” I developed three semi-structured interview protocols for volunteers, employees, and IAPA beneficiaries. After interviews were conducted and transcribed, 5 major themes were identified from coding keywords. First, I grouped definitions of "success" in a partnership to create a baseline of expectations. Second, I assessed the extent of participants' knowledge about the U.S. role in IAPA. Third, I identified areas of strength. Fourth, I identified areas of improvement and grievances. Fifth, I assessed the Indian partners' views on mutualism within IAPA. Results indicated that participants believed communication, cooperation, and respect were traits of a successful partnership. The participants believe IAPA mostly exhibit these values, but that the U.S. role as a decision maker can hinder these. They desire more transparency but overall believe IAPA is beneficial and mutualistic. These findings can be furthered by assessing U.S. staff and board member perceptions of the partnership. By continuously investigating the state of international partnerships, we can learn more about how to create sustainable models for the future.
ContributorsChristensen, Stephanie (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Jehn, Megan (Committee member) / Gopi, Sheema (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This research examines the relationship between the famed organizational culture of Disney as a company and the profitability of Walt Disney World itself. There are several factors of the organizational culture within the employees or “cast members” of Walt Disney World that have become the reason Disney itself is so profitable. Those factors have included the training that every cast member must go through, knowledge of the company and the park alike and the positive treatment and benefits given to the cast members by upper management. The training of the cast members is known to establish high levels of trust and respect among the Disney organization and its guests, which can lead to a positive relationship and a long-term customer. The research in this study is to determine whether the organizational culture and the quality of the employees are what causes a Walt Disney World guest to become a customer and that has kept the profitability so high. The research discovered that Walt Disney World leadership has put too much of a focus on making profits. This pressure to make sales has caused organizational culture to become negative and motivation for cast members to sell to drop, causing more pressure from leadership to make sales.
ContributorsPorter, Megan Margaret (Author) / Maday, Renee (Thesis director) / Gimbal, AShley (Committee member) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Employers must go beyond diversifying their workforce and prioritize inclusion in their workplace. This thesis is written to employers to provide a comprehensive, introductory look into why and how an employer could prioritize inclusion in their workplace. In part one, a literature review answers the following questions: What is inclusion? How are diversity and inclusion related? How is the workplace exclusive? What is an inclusive workplace like? and What are the benefits of having an inclusive workplace? Then, in part two, a case study analysis reviews best practices of a company that has been recognized as being inclusive. Through both of these parts, three overacting principles emerge; inclusion should be a widespread value in an organization, new practices must move beyond the superficial to have real impact and all employees in the organization should be engaged in making the workplace more inclusive. Change also must happen in three areas including the climate, leadership and practices of an organization.
ContributorsMooney, Samantha Jean (Co-author) / Mooney, Samantha (Co-author) / Smith, Jacqueline (Thesis director) / Sully de Luque, Mary (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Residential Choice’s Impact on Sustainable Transportation Options: A Study in the Phoenix Metro Area
Description
This study adds to the literature about residential choice and sustainable transportation. Through the interviews and the personal stories gathered, there was diversity shown in the residential location choice process. We also noticed that “commute” means different things to different households, and that many people did not consider their commute to work to be a primary factor determining their final home location. Moreover, many people were willing to increase their commute time, or trade access to desirable amenities for a longer commute. Commuting time to work was one example of the tradeoffs that homeowners make when choosing a home, but there were also others such as architectural type and access to neighborhood amenities. Lastly, time constraints proved to be a very significant factor in the home buying process. Several of our households had such strict time constraints that limited their search to a point of excluding whole areas. Overall, our study sheds light on transportation’s role in residential choice and underscores the complexity of the location choice process.
ContributorsKats, Elyse Nicole (Author) / Salon, Deborah (Thesis director) / Kuminoff, Nicolai (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This case study is an analysis about the crisis communication tactics that were taken by Futbol Club Barcelona on September 20th and October 1st in regards to the events related to the Catalan Independence Referendum. This paper will analyze the Attribution Theory and what factors to consider when choosing a crisis response strategy. The case study will also analyze the events that took place leading up to and the day the vote took place in Barcelona. It is important to note that this analysis will be done from a general soccer fan’s point of view.
I will begin with a literature review that covers the different crisis communication theories and approaches that fall under the Attribution Theory. I will then discuss the background behind the crisis I am analyzing. This section will include history about the Catalan Independence Movement, the relationship between Futbol Club Barcelona and Catalan Nationalism, and FC Barcelona relationship and involvement with the Independence Referendum. Lastly, I will analyze FC Barcelona’s crisis communication methods and how it was received by the public surrounding the events that took place on and before October 1st 2017.
I will begin with a literature review that covers the different crisis communication theories and approaches that fall under the Attribution Theory. I will then discuss the background behind the crisis I am analyzing. This section will include history about the Catalan Independence Movement, the relationship between Futbol Club Barcelona and Catalan Nationalism, and FC Barcelona relationship and involvement with the Independence Referendum. Lastly, I will analyze FC Barcelona’s crisis communication methods and how it was received by the public surrounding the events that took place on and before October 1st 2017.
ContributorsMeraz, Alana Celeste (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Bagnato, Andrew (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05