Browsing by Subject "Business"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Business and Human Rights: Recommendations to Advance Access to Remedy
    (Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2013-05-06) Abdallah, Moxamuud; Ahmed, Abdi; Donaldson, Julia; Lance, Krista; McInerney, Janice; Molloy, Connor; Naadha, Mariyam; Reilkoff, Thea; Sande, Erik; Guerra de Sims, Maria del Carmen
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    Busted: Executive Misconduct and Its Implications for a Firm's Tax Avoidance
    (2023) Manna, Jackson;
    The title of ‘CEO’ confers upon an individual considerable influence over his or her organization, from corporate culture to financial reporting. Prior research has documented that the individual acting as CEO has a significant impact on a firm’s tax planning activities – the degree to which tax is avoided and the aggressiveness of tax positions taken. With such power comes substantial responsibility – particularly in recent years, corporate CEOs have faced heightened scrutiny and accusations regarding personal behaviors outside of work. This thesis analyzes whether an accusation of personal misconduct against a CEO has a significant impact on the tax planning activities of his or her firm. Tax avoidance is an appropriate means through which to measure the impact that personal misconduct allegations against the CEO have on the business-related aspects of a company. In the context of ethical misconduct and the allegations that follow, tax avoidance is unique from other financial metrics in that it has strong ethical considerations. It may follow, therefore, that decisions made by a firm in light of alleged ethical violations by the CEO will be reflected in the firm’s tax planning. I hypothesize that perceived scrutiny against a CEO for personal misconduct will motivate the firm to perform less aggressive tax avoidance in the years that follow. I examine this hypothesis through a multi-year event study which compares the change in tax avoidance for firms that experienced a CEO “violation event” against firms that did not. Through correlation and regression analyses, my results do not show significant evidence that personal misconduct allegations against a CEO influence a firm’s level of tax avoidance. However, there still exists strong motivation for further research.
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    Employee Perceptions and Financial Performance
    (2011-07) De Georgeo, Michael R.
    A number of studies have found evidence supporting a link between the organizational environment and financial performance. However, several studies have found a mixed support or no support for this link. This study builds on these findings to address the question: Is there a relationship between organizational environment factors and financial performance? Organizational environment data for this study came from employees of a sales and service division of a global manufacturer located in the Midwest of the U.S. A sample of 1,518 respondents, from a total population of 1,615 employees organized in 100 teams, completed a 68-item survey instrument for a response rate of 94%. An exploratory factor analysis generated a model with 11 subscales using 52 items from the original instrument. The subscales are (1) operational effectiveness, (2) immediate manager/supervisor, (3) senior management, (4) mission, (5) valuing employees, (6) training, (7) involvement, (8) corporate social responsibility, (9) satisfaction, (10) teamwork, and (11) inclusion. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for all subscales on the survey were acceptable, ranging from .85 to .90. Team-level factor scores, the predictor variables, were generated by computing factor scores for individual respondents, followed by computing a mean of each of the factor scores from members of each team. This approach produced 11 factor scores for each team. Contribution margin ratio, a measure of profitability, was the outcome variable. This variable was calculated at the team level and is the quotient created when dividing operating income by revenue. This study used contribution margin ratios from five financial periods: four consecutive fiscal quarters and the fiscal year overall. This study found that team-level employee perceptions of organizational environment factors had no to weak relationships between various organizational environment factors and various measures of financial performance. The regression analyses, subsequently, found that organizational environment factors were able to explain only single-digit percentages of variation in financial performance. Implications of these findings with regard to organizational performance are discussed.
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    A futures study of internationalization of the Carlson School of Management: diverse perspectives of key stakeholders.
    (2010-08) D’Angelo, Anne Marie
    Internationalization is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and complex concept described most notably as a higher educational process that integrates an international perspective into its organizational leadership, vision, and curricular goals. Success is dependent upon ongoing engagement of a multitude of internal and external stakeholders with an approach towards the future (Ellingboe, 1998). Today businesspeople operate in an open, global environment wherein interactions manifest themselves differently for each individual and depend upon one's abilities to adapt to and access interpersonal and inter-organizational relationships. The intricacies of these interactions occur at multi-dimensional levels - individual, organizational, and global - and present unique challenges for managers to maintain balance between independence and interdependence. Studies suggest that corporate leaders expect business schools to prepare graduates to be more competent and adaptive to these dynamic global challenges (Webb, Mayer, Piocher, and Allen, 1999). Using StoryTech, a futuring tool to develop desirable scenarios, this qualitative, futures study draws on specific ethnographic tools and methods and employs the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management as an exemplar of analysis regarding its internationalization strategies. The researcher examines how stakeholders, both internal and external to a business school community, envision their contributions in shaping internationalization strategies and how business school leaders should engage them in ways that are more effective and future-oriented. Preliminary data suggest stakeholders define internationalization in myriad ways reflecting unique perspectives consisting of cognitive, relational, and transactional factors for business schools to be more innovative in the development of internationalization strategies. Additional data support a systems approach to internationalization as most effective with business schools serving as focal points for these interconnected stakeholder communities. Broader implications of the study recommend that business school leaders develop and adopt a global meta-strategy approach to enhance broader school-wide initiatives. Moreover, a meta-strategy serves as a means to engage stakeholders from business school communities in unique ways focused on present day realities of globalization (global actualization) while creating desirable future scenarios and engagement for the betterment of new knowledge and applications for future professionals in the workforce. A consequence is the examination of a new, expanded role for international educators, one that broadens the professional realm.
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    If You Build It, Will They Come? Replacing the BCS with a Playoff in College Football
    (2011-04-13) Behrens, Michael
    Instituted in 1998 to dispel doubts as to college football‟s true national champion, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has done anything but. Controversy abounds with regard to the legal implications of the system and its mathematical legitimacy. Thus, there is widespread demand among various scholars, members of the media, and college football fans for a playoff. I examine how a playoff might affect postseason attendance in Division I-A (now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision). Using an attendance model built from linear regression analysis, I compare 2005-2009 what-if playoffs with actual bowl attendance. I conclude eliminating all bowls in favor of a playoff dramatically reduces attendance while allowing bowls to coexist with a playoff dramatically increases attendance.
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    Minutes: Senate Committee on Social Conerns: May 2, 2005
    (2005-05-02) University of Minnesota: Senate Committee on Social Concerns