Browsing by Author "McTavish, Donald G"

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2001 Labor Force Assessment Northeast Minnesota
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001) Lichty, Richard W; Porett, Matthew; Moore, Scott; O'Brien, Maureen; McTavish, Donald G; Skurla, James A; Jacobson, Jean; Almquist-Minko, Vickie; Smith, Eric; Simonson, Jeremy
Business Start-Up Intentions in Urban and Rural Minnesota
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1993-05) Elder, Tait; Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G
From 1987 to 1991 the percent of Minnesota adults who intended to start a business increased from 13.2% to 15.8%, based on probability samples from the state and its northeastern region. Interest in starting a business was higher in urban cores and within the following subsets: among male respondents, although interest among females grew more during these four years; among self-identified minorities, among those self employed already; among those who had invented something, particularly younger respondents; and among respondents living in households with more than two adults. Expectations that drive the decision were different at different ages, as was the degree of commitment sustained.
Consequences of an Entrepreneurial Development Program: Tracking a Cumulative Panel 1988-93
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1994-06) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G; Braun, Richard E
Outcomes for 112 proposed start-ups and expansions involving 149 participants in the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) Entrepreneurial Development Program (EDP) are examined. The panel of businesses included represents 91 planned start-ups and 21 planned expansions. The first group of participants joined the EDP in 1988 and the last group completed initial training in 1993. The EDP panel is not a statistical panel, it represents the result of a process involving recruitment, selection, training and follow-up over a 6 year period. Thus, the panel allows a view of the entrepreneurial process through time as individuals and teams attempt to start or expand a business, aided by a systematic process provided by professionals experienced in business development. Of the 51 businesses and expansions that were implemented as a result of the program, 38 or 75% are still in operation in 1994. The rate is somewhat higher for expansions than for start-ups. For the 6 years from 1988-93, the overall conversion rate from proposed to actual businesses was 36%. Better than one out of three proposed start-ups actually happened. This number does not include proposed expansions. Of the start-ups and expansions implemented during the 1988-90 period, 68% are still in operation in 1994.
Cook County Winter Trail Use Study: Technical Report
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003) Kreag, Glenn M; Skurla, James A; Lichty, Richard W; Jacobson, Jean; McTavish, Donald G; Barkataki, Malita; Paukner, Amber
The following technical report on the Cook County resident survey was developed as a part of the larger research project “Tourism and Winter Trail-based Recreation: An economic and environmental comparison of motor and quiet sports.” The project was designed to document and compare the impacts of snowmobiling and cross country skiing in a destination county. It will measure the economic impacts and assess the perceived social and environmental impacts of these activities. This study employed questionnaires with snowmobilers and cross country skiers and survey local residents in Cook County, Minnesota. An understanding of the differences between motor sports (snowmobiling) and a quiet sport (cross country skiing) is useful in planning future development, minimizing negative impacts, and improving marketing decisions.
Cook County Winter Trail-based Visitor Study
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003) Kreag, Glenn M; McTavish, Donald G
Minnesota Sea Grant and the University of Minnesota Duluth Bureau of Business and Economic Research conducted the Cook County Winter Trail-based Visitor Study in the last quarter of 2002 (an atypical winter with little snow). Research assistants contacted a random sample of 162 households in Cook County, MN, by phone. A random adult in the home was asked a short set of questions about visitors who cross-country (x-c) ski and snowmobile in Cook County (65% cooperation). Additionally, 96 randomlychosen Cook County hospitality businesses were interviewed using the same questions (53% cooperation). The 51 business respondents and the residents, broken into two groups of 31 business owners or managers, and 74 non-business respondents, did not differ much in their perceptions of winter visitors. However, statistically significant differences in views are seen between respondents when grouped by their winter recreation participation (ski only, snowmobile only, both, and neither).
Interest in Going into Business in Minnesota 1987 and 1991: A Technical Report
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1992-09) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G
Interest in Venturing in Minnesota
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1988-09) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G
Management Perspectives
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1986) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G; Felt, Debbie
In this initial study, we find increasing "connectedness" among fifteen sets of assumptions, norms, functional beliefs, and sanctions relating to managers' beliefs about managing, across three levels of involvement in management somewhat differently for both men and women. Patterns in the level of endorsement of management items are more broadly shared.
The Measurement of Job Characteristics: A Content and Contextual Analytic Look at Scale Validity
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1986-01-02) Pierce, Jon L; McTavish, Donald G; Knudsen, Kjell R
This investigation provides an examination of the validity of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and the Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI). The verbal content of the two measures is examined, as are the contrasts between the verbal content of these scales and the verbal content of three popular measures of job satisfaction. The Minnesota Contextual Content Analysis program is used to examine the ideas emphasized by these research scales. Both measures of job characteristics were found to discriminate from certain measures of job satisfaction, to emphasize an instrumental and not an affective context, and to possess some internal dimensionality problems.
Modeling Interest in Entrepreneurship: Implications for Business Development
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1989-04) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G
Interest in starting a business was assessed for a general Minnesota sample of 1,204 adults in 1987. A substantial number of individuals in the sample (13.2%) were seriously considering starting a business. A follow-up study indicated that 24 percent of those initially interested had started a business within a year. Available variables on personal characteristics, resources, and assessments of the economic situation were used to move toward an overall explanatory model of interest in going into business. We discuss a number of important main effects and interaction effects which impact interest in going into business.
Northeast Minnesota Skills Assessment
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1998) Lichty, Richard W; Jesswein, Wayne A; McTavish, Donald G; Jacobson, Jean; Amundsen, Sheilagh; Zelenak, Jennifer; Heyne, Mark; Barkataki, Monali; Barkataki, Sharad; Naimpally, Amrita; Frantzen, Ryan; Kukanich, Susan
Strategic Decision-Making in Context
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1985) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G; Aamodt, Johan G
This paper suggests that the kind of organization in which strategic decisions are made has a significant impact on the strategic decision-making process and the strategic decisions themselves. It is further suggested that the creation, maintenance and change of organizational context or character is a critical executive responsibility and an important strategic issue. The paper reports on the construction and validation of an organizational simulation laboratory intended for executive development and research on the design and impact of organizational context (climate, character, culture) on strategic decision-making. In the simulation executives are randomly assigned and re-assigned to one of three organizations, each of which has been planned to represent a different organizational character. The three organizations are the "Bank," a formal, bureaucratic, traditional and risk-averse organization; the "Holding Company," an aggressive, instrumental, hierarchical, bottom-line oriented "one man show;" and the "Consulting Firm," a collaborative, person-oriented and professional organization. In addition, there is the "Company Itself," represented by a Harvard Case. This organization does not have a preplanned organizational character. During simulations the "Bank" (bureaucratic organization) is typically involved in loan applications from the "Company Itself", the "Holding Company" (instrumental organization) is considering the "Company Itself" as a potential acquisition, and the "Consulting Firm" (collaborative organization) is doing analysis and formulating recommendations to the "Holding Company". Individuals and organizations interact by mail, telephone and in meetings during the simulations. The organizations in the lab are created through manipulation of structural variables and norms for behavior. The main mechanisms used are written instructions and the behavior of Chief Executive Officers, all of whom are role played by the simulation staff. Experience from eight implementations of the lab demonstrates that the nature of strategic analysis and quality of decisions are significantly impacted by organizational context. The differences are especially marked between the bureaucratic and collaborative organizations simulated in the lab. To validate the manipulations of organizational context and to look at some behavioral consequences, data were collected during two recent labs. After each of three simulations (and before debriefing) data were collected on perceptions of structure and norms for behavior as well as on a recently developed scale for measuring organizational self-esteem. Participants also reported their desire to work for the same organization again. Data analysis shows that individuals within organizations experienced the organizations the way they were intended. The results are in the direction that would be expected given a bureaucratic, instrumental and collaborative organization. The differences are especially marked between the bureaucratic and collaborative organizations. In conclusion, it appears that participants in the lab recognize the character of the organizations and conduct analysis and make decisions in a way that suggests that organizational context rather than indvidual "personality" influences the process of strategic decision-making as well as other behaviors.
UMD Library Survey UPDATE 1998
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1998) Lichty, Richard W; McTavish, Donald G; Jacobson, Jean; Barkataki, Monali; Naimpally, Amrita; Kukanich, Susan
As in the 1997 survey, this 1998 survey of UMD undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff suggests that the UMD Library is viewed very favorably and its services are found to be very useful. Conducted in the spring of 1998, this survey received 387 responses with an overall response rate of 32%, up slightly from 1997's 29% rate but especially low for undergraduates (10%). The potential response bias means that responses should be taken as suggestive rather than definitive for these four stakeholder groups. As before, this survey was mailed with follow-up to a stratified random sample of each group (all graduate students were included). The questionnaire was slightly modified from the one used in 1997; however, most items remained identical for comparison of the two years. The results are summarized in six tables.
Under, Over, and Mismatched Skills Employment in Northeast Minnesota
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2005) Skurla, James A; Lichty, Richard W; O'Brien, Maureen; McTavish, Donald G; Jacobson, Jean; Malik, Nitya; Williams, Joshua; Almquist-Minko, Vickie
This survey project collected data from households in seven counties of Northeast Minnesota, Crow Wing County, and the Port Cities of Duluth and Superior, WI, in order to study the current labor force and report on workers who might be available, under what conditions, and how they can be found. The report includes descriptions of survey findings, preliminary analysis of the data, and comparisons within the data. Factors in the better use of the effective labor force are also discussed. The first section of the report summarizes the report which is detailed in sections B and C. The appendix includes detailed tables that provide comparisons between under-employment, over-employment and mis-matched employment, plus tables contrasting characteristics of all employed and all unemployed.
Venturing: The Search for the High Potential Entrepreneur
(Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1988-10) Knudsen, Kjell R; McTavish, Donald G

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