Current Search:  Enterprising (x)

View All Items

  • CSV Spreadsheet
(1 - 9 of 9)
The Missing Middle: Understanding the Effects of Social Enterprise on Nonprofit Performance
Title
The Missing Middle: Understanding the Effects of Social Enterprise on Nonprofit Performance.
Creator
White-Jones, Angela, Feder, Lynette, Stevenson, Robyne, Norris Tirrell, Dorothy, Nobles, Matt, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The 2008 financial recession has seen increased poverty, job loss, and homelessness as well as decreased spending in health care, education, sanitation, and housing. These factors can lead to tensions across a number of sectors and underscore the need for innovation in for-profit, nonprofit and government organizations. One area of innovation in the nonprofit sector to supplement revenues is by adding social enterprise activity. Social enterprise is the pursuit of earned income activities for...
Show moreThe 2008 financial recession has seen increased poverty, job loss, and homelessness as well as decreased spending in health care, education, sanitation, and housing. These factors can lead to tensions across a number of sectors and underscore the need for innovation in for-profit, nonprofit and government organizations. One area of innovation in the nonprofit sector to supplement revenues is by adding social enterprise activity. Social enterprise is the pursuit of earned income activities for an organization that is driven by a community mission or value.Because financial and social problems are becoming increasingly intertwined, this study seeks to understand the impacts of social enterprises on nonprofit organizations. The research uses existing data from Guidestar based on nonprofit IRS Form 990 as well as responses to an original survey administered to nonprofit organizations throughout Florida. This study will indicate if there are financial and social impacts on nonprofit organizations that have a social enterprise.Multiple regression analysis is used to estimate the impact of social enterprises on their respective nonprofits. Examining financial and social outcomes, the study determines the impact of social enterprises on a nonprofit's finances and mission.
Show less
Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006419, ucf:51456
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006419
POST-IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS FACTORS FOR ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) STUDENT ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Title
POST-IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS FACTORS FOR ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) STUDENT ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.
Creator
Sullivan, Linda, Bozeman, William, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This research study investigated the post-implementation experiences of 6 higher education institutions following the initial implementation of a Student Administration ERP system and explored how these institutions used the post-implementation phase to maximize the benefits from the ERP system. A mixed-method approach consisting of an online survey and qualitative case study was utilized for data collection; within-case and cross-case analyses were performed to generate the research results...
Show moreThis research study investigated the post-implementation experiences of 6 higher education institutions following the initial implementation of a Student Administration ERP system and explored how these institutions used the post-implementation phase to maximize the benefits from the ERP system. A mixed-method approach consisting of an online survey and qualitative case study was utilized for data collection; within-case and cross-case analyses were performed to generate the research results and findings. The overall post-implementation experiences of the case study institutions were found to be similar in nature, regardless of institution size. Several post-implementation characteristics were also found to be shared in varying degree among all case studies. Customizations and third-party software were used by all case studies in post-implementation to meet operational needs not provided by the Student ERP system. The number of customizations and enhancements completed or under consideration by the case study institutions indicate that there are many areas in which current Student ERP systems do not fit the needs of higher education institutions. The results of this research can inform and guide higher education administrators on the institutional impacts and changes that will occur in the ERP post-implementation environment. Administrators will be enabled to better evaluate the overall success of their project based upon post-implementation characteristics and experiences of the institutions in this study and apply the outcomes to improve planning for future ERP system projects.
Show less
Date Issued
2009
Identifier
CFE0002698, ucf:48226
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002698
A COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-FACETED APPROACH FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES ESSENTIAL FOR COMPANY SUCCESS IN MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES
Title
A COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-FACETED APPROACH FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES ESSENTIAL FOR COMPANY SUCCESS IN MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES.
Creator
Ferreras, Ana, Crumpton-Young, Lesia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Profit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are critical components that greatly impact company success within manufacturing organizations. Therefore, it is essential that a valid and reliable systematic approach that encompasses all of these factors be developed for use by top management in today's rapidly changing manufacturing environment. Organizational-level decisions made based upon a single goal or narrow perspective that only considers one of...
Show moreProfit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are critical components that greatly impact company success within manufacturing organizations. Therefore, it is essential that a valid and reliable systematic approach that encompasses all of these factors be developed for use by top management in today's rapidly changing manufacturing environment. Organizational-level decisions made based upon a single goal or narrow perspective that only considers one of the aforementioned components, such as profit, while ignoring others, such as employee morale, have proven harmful to the long term viability and success of manufacturing companies. Often organizational leaders are not adequately equipped to consider multiple factors that are pertinent to company success due to the complexity associated with considering a large number of organizational variables and the lack of quantitative tools and techniques to assist in this process. Thus, valid, reliable and readily available tools, methods, and techniques for integrating into decision making multiple components of profit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are highly needed in today's complex manufacturing business environment. This research responds to the need to develop quantitative models by creating a company success index. This index was developed using an approach to analyze and evaluate multiple factors at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels of an organization that are essential to achieve company success in manufacturing enterprises. The resulting company success index model was validated using information on market share (Specificity = 0%, Sensitivity & Accuracy = 87.5%). Future research related to this topic area should include additional studies to expand upon model validation and verification techniques.
Show less
Date Issued
2008
Identifier
CFE0002173, ucf:47504
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002173
The Impact of Technology on Management Control: Degradation, Empowerment, or Technology Dominance?
Title
The Impact of Technology on Management Control: Degradation, Empowerment, or Technology Dominance?.
Creator
Canada, Joseph, Arnold, Vicky, Roberts, Robin, Sutton, Steven, Benford, Tanya, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The evolution of technology brings with it the evolution of business processes. Without a doubt, technology changes how work is performed. At first glance, workplace technology appears to be a great boon to society. However, research presents opposing views on how workplace technologies impact the individual. One perspective argues that organizations utilize technology to redesign work processes, such that the worker requires less skill, autonomy, and compensation. The opposing perspective...
Show moreThe evolution of technology brings with it the evolution of business processes. Without a doubt, technology changes how work is performed. At first glance, workplace technology appears to be a great boon to society. However, research presents opposing views on how workplace technologies impact the individual. One perspective argues that organizations utilize technology to redesign work processes, such that the worker requires less skill, autonomy, and compensation. The opposing perspective argues that organizations utilize technology to empower employees to improve efficiency and profits. This dissertation consists of three interrelated studies examining workplace technology's impact on decision makers. The first study examines the capability of an enterprise system to increase the application of scientific management techniques to middle management and, consequently, to degrade middle management's work by limiting their autonomy. The second study investigates the capability of an enterprise system to facilitate the empowerment of managers via mutual monitoring and social identification. The third study builds upon the first study by examining how limiting autonomy through technology impacts the intrinsic motivation of decision makers and, as a result, affects the decision making process. Study one applies labor process theory to explain how enterprise systems can degrade the work of middle management via scientific management techniques. The purpose of this study is to test if the expectations of labor process theory can be applied to enterprise systems. In order to test this assertion, a field survey utilizing 189 middle managers is employed and the data is analyzed using component based structural equation modeling. The results indicate that enterprise system integration increases two scientific management techniques, formalization and performance measurement, but do not reveal a significant relationship between enterprise system integration and routinization. Interestingly, the results also indicate that routinization is the only scientific management technique, of the three studied, that directly limits the autonomy of the middle managers. Although performance measurement does not reduce autonomy directly, performance measurement interacts with routinization to reduce autonomy. This study contributes to the enterprise system literature by demonstrating enterprise systems' ability to increase the degree of scientific management applied to middle management. It also contributes to labor process theory by revealing that routinization may be the scientific management technique that determines whether other control techniques are utilized in a manner consistent with labor process theory. The ability of an enterprise system to facilitate the application of Mary Parker Follett's managerial control concepts are investigated in the second study. Specifically, Follett theorizes that information sharing facilitates the internalization of group goals and empowers individuals to have more influence and be more effective. This study employs a survey of 206 managers to test the theoretical relationships. The results indicate that enterprise system integration increases information sharing in the form of mutual monitoring, consequently, leading to social identification among peer managers. Additionally, social identification among peer managers empowers managers to have more influence over the organization. The study contributes to empowerment research by acknowledging and verifying the role that social identification plays in translating an empowering work climate into empowered managers. The study's conclusion that enterprise system integration facilitates the application of Follett's managerial control concepts extends both enterprise system and managerial control literature. The third study builds upon study one by examining the affect that autonomy has upon the decision maker. This study marries self-determination theory and technology dominance theory to understand the role that self-determination, intrinsic motivation, and engagement have upon technology dominance. Self-determination theory asserts that higher degrees of self-determination increase intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, self-determination research finds that intrinsic motivation increases engagement, while technology dominance research indicates that lack of engagement is an antecedent of technology dominance. Thus, applying self-determination theory as a predictor of technology dominance suggests that autonomy and relatedness associated with a task increase the intrinsic motivation to complete that task and consequently increase engagement in the task. Task engagement, in turn, reduces the likelihood of technology dominance. The proposed theoretical model is tested experimentally with 83 junior level business students. The results do not support the theoretical model, however the findings reveal that intrinsic motivation does reduce the likelihood of technology dominance. This indicates that intrinsic motivation as a predictor of technology dominance should be further investigated. Additionally, the study contributes to technology dominance literature by exhibiting a more appropriate operationalization of the inappropriate reliance aspect of technology dominance. This dissertation reveals that various theories concerning workplace technology and management control techniques have both validity and limitations. Labor process theorists cannot assume that all technologies and management control techniques are utilized to undermine the employee's value to the organization, as Study 2 reveals that enterprise systems and mutual monitoring lead to empowered managers. Likewise, proponents of enterprise systems cannot assume that the integrated nature of enterprise systems is always utilized in an empowering manner, as Study 1 reveals the increased performance measurement through enterprise systems can be utilized to limit managers in a routinized job environment. While the third study was unable to determine that the control features in technology affect the intrinsic motivation to complete a task, the findings do reveal that intrinsic motivation is directly related to technology dominance. The findings and theoretical refinements demonstrate that workplace technology and management control have a complicated relationship with the employee and that the various theories concerning them cannot be applied universally.
Show less
Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFE0004980, ucf:49569
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004980
Systems Geometry: A Methodology for Analyzing Emergent System of Systems Behaviors
Title
Systems Geometry: A Methodology for Analyzing Emergent System of Systems Behaviors.
Creator
Bouwens, Christina, Sepulveda, Jose, Karwowski, Waldemar, Xanthopoulos, Petros, Kapucu, Naim, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Recent advancements in technology have led to the increased use of integrated 'systems of systems' (SoS) which link together independently developed and usable capabilities into an integrated system that exhibits new, emergent capabilities. However, the resulting SoS is often not well understood, where secondary and tertiary effects of tying systems together are often unpredictable and present severe consequences. The complexities of the composed system stem not only from system integration,...
Show moreRecent advancements in technology have led to the increased use of integrated 'systems of systems' (SoS) which link together independently developed and usable capabilities into an integrated system that exhibits new, emergent capabilities. However, the resulting SoS is often not well understood, where secondary and tertiary effects of tying systems together are often unpredictable and present severe consequences. The complexities of the composed system stem not only from system integration, but from a broad range of areas such as the competing objectives of different constituent system stakeholders, mismatched requirements from multiple process models, and architectures and interface approaches that are incompatible on multiple levels. While successful SoS development has proven to be a valuable tool for a wide range of applications, there are significant problems that remain with the development of such systems that need to be addressed during the early stages of engineering development within such environments. The purpose of this research is to define and demonstrate a methodology called Systems Geometry (SG) for analyzing SoS in the early stages of development to identify areas of potential unintended emergent behaviors as candidates for the employment of risk management strategies. SG focuses on three dimensions of interest when planning the development of a SoS: operational, functional, and technical. For Department of Defense (DoD) SoS, the operational dimension addresses the warfighter environment and includes characteristics such as mission threads and related command and control or simulation activities required to support the mission. The functional dimension highlights different roles associated with the development and use of the SoS, which could include a participant warfighter using the system, an analyst collecting data for system evaluation, or an infrastructure engineer working to keep the SoS infrastructure operational to support the users. Each dimension can be analyzed to understand roles, interfaces and activities. Cross-dimensional effects are of particular interest since such effects are less detectable and generally not addressed with conventional systems engineering (SE) methods. The literature review and the results of this study have identified key characteristics or dimensions that should be examined during SoS analysis and design. Although many methods exist for exploring system dimensions, there is a gap in techniques to explore cross-dimensional interactions and their effect on emergent SoS behaviors. The study has resulted in a methodology for capturing dimensional information and recommended analytical methods for intra-dimensional as well as cross-dimensional analysis. A problem-based approach to the system analysis is recommended combined with the application of matrix methods, network analysis and modeling techniques to provide intra- and cross-dimensional insight. The results of this research are applicable to a variety of socio-technical SoS analyses with applications in analysis, experimentation, test and evaluation and training.
Show less
Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFE0005135, ucf:50696
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005135
Total Ownership Cost Modeling of Technology Adoption Using System Dynamics: Implications for ERP Systems
Title
Total Ownership Cost Modeling of Technology Adoption Using System Dynamics: Implications for ERP Systems.
Creator
Esmaeilian, Behzad, Karwowski, Waldemar, Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh, Xanthopoulos, Petros, Ahram, Tareq, Kincaid, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Investment in new technologies is considered by firms as a solution to improve their productivity, product and service quality and their competitive advantages in the global market. Unfortunately, not all technology adoption projects have met their intended objectives. The complexity of technology adoption along with little consideration of the long term cost of the technology, are among the factors that challenge companies while adopting a new technology. Companies often make new technology...
Show moreInvestment in new technologies is considered by firms as a solution to improve their productivity, product and service quality and their competitive advantages in the global market. Unfortunately, not all technology adoption projects have met their intended objectives. The complexity of technology adoption along with little consideration of the long term cost of the technology, are among the factors that challenge companies while adopting a new technology. Companies often make new technology adoption decision without enough attention to the total cost of the technology over its lifecycle. Sometimes poor decision making while adopting a new technology can result in substantial recurring loss impacts. Therefore, estimating the total cost of the technology is an important step in justifying the technology adoption. Total Ownership Cost (TOC) is a wildly-accepted financial metric which can be applied to study the costs associated with the new technology throughout its lifecycle. TOC helps companies analyze not only the acquisition and procurement cost of the technology, but also other cost components occurring over the technology usage and service stage. The point is that, technology adoption cost estimation is a complex process involving consideration of various aspects such as the maintenance cost, technology upgrade cost and the cost related to the human-resource. Assessing the association between the technology characteristics (technology upgrades over its life cycle, compatibility with other systems, technology life span, etc) and the TOC encompasses a high degree of complexity. The complexity exists because there are many factors affecting the cost over time. Sometimes decisions made today can have long lasting impact on the system costs and there is a lag between the time the decision is taken and when outcomes occur. An original contribution of this dissertation is development of a System Dynamics (SD) model to estimate the TOC associated with the new technology adoption. The SD model creates casual linkage and relationships among various aspects of the technology adoption process and allows decision makers to explore the impact of their decisions on the total cost that the technology brings into the company. The SD model presented in this dissertation composes of seven sub-models including (1) technology implementation efforts, (2) workforce training, (3) technology-related workforce hiring process, (4) preventive and corrective maintenance process, (5) technology upgrade, (6) impact of technology on system performance and (7) total ownership cost sub model. A case study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system adoption has been used to show the application of the SD model. The results of the model show that maintenance, upgrade and workforce hiring costs are among the major cost components in the ERP adoption case study presented in Chapter 4. The simulation SD model developed in this dissertation supports trade-off analysis and provides a tool for technology scenarios evaluation. The SD model presented here can be extended to provide a basis for developing a decision support system for technology evaluation.?
Show less
Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFE0004836, ucf:49686
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004836
Three Studies Examining the Effects of Psychological Distance on Judgment and Decision Making in Accounting
Title
Three Studies Examining the Effects of Psychological Distance on Judgment and Decision Making in Accounting.
Creator
Weisner, Martin, Sutton, Steven, Arnold, Vicky, Robb, Sean, Messier, William, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This dissertation comprises three studies, a literature review and two experimental studies, that center on the effects of psychological distance on judgment and decision-making in accounting. Construal level theory (CLT) of psychological distance (Liberman and Trope 1998; Trope and Liberman 2003), a framework recently developed in the field of social psychology, constitutes the theoretical foundation for each study.The first study reviews extant literature on CLT and illustrates the theory's...
Show moreThis dissertation comprises three studies, a literature review and two experimental studies, that center on the effects of psychological distance on judgment and decision-making in accounting. Construal level theory (CLT) of psychological distance (Liberman and Trope 1998; Trope and Liberman 2003), a framework recently developed in the field of social psychology, constitutes the theoretical foundation for each study.The first study reviews extant literature on CLT and illustrates the theory's potential for investigating previously unexplained phenomena within the accounting domain. Selected publications that apply CLT in contexts that are of particular interest to accounting researchers are emphasized and a series of broad, CLT-based research questions pertaining to various accounting domains are offered. The second study applies CLT to the audit context by investigating whether the performance of common auditing tasks that require varying degrees of abstract thinking affect decision-makers' overall mindset and hence their subsequent judgment. Results from the second study have important implications for audit practice as auditors work in environments that require frequent shifts in focus due to multiple client or project demands. The third study applies CLT to the enterprise risk management context by examining how spatial distance from a risk assessment object and risk category (i.e., the type of risk) affects decision-makers' assessment of the probability that the risk will materialize. The third study thus informs the corporate governance literature by identifying psychological distance as a potential source for judgment bias during the risk assessment process.Overall, the results reported in this dissertation suggest that psychological distance systematically affects individuals' judgment subject to the caveat that the judgment of concern falls within the domain of the decision-maker's routine cognition. By presenting empirical evidence from both the audit and the risk management domain, the studies contribute to our understanding of the heuristics and biases in judgment and decision-making in professional settings that are of interest to accounting research.
Show less
Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFE0005735, ucf:50091
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005735
DECIPHERING HOLLAND'S CODE
Title
DECIPHERING HOLLAND'S CODE.
Creator
Turner, Dennis, Mottarella, Karen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The Party Exercise found on countless career guidance websites and popularized by the best-selling, job-hunting book What Color Is Your Parachute (Bolles, 2015) purports to provide an estimate of an individual's Holland's code. This study examines whether this commonly used Party Exercise accurately predicts an individual's Holland's code (Holland, 1997). Undergraduate students (N=473) completed The Party Exercise and then the Self- Directed Search (Holland & Messer, 2013). The results of...
Show moreThe Party Exercise found on countless career guidance websites and popularized by the best-selling, job-hunting book What Color Is Your Parachute (Bolles, 2015) purports to provide an estimate of an individual's Holland's code. This study examines whether this commonly used Party Exercise accurately predicts an individual's Holland's code (Holland, 1997). Undergraduate students (N=473) completed The Party Exercise and then the Self- Directed Search (Holland & Messer, 2013). The results of this study do not support the use of this popular "Party Exercise" as a valid estimate of an individual's Holland code.
Show less
Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFH0004911, ucf:45496
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004911
ENTERPRISE BUSINESS ALIGNMENT USING QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT, MULTIVARIATE DATA ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS MODELING TOOLS
Title
ENTERPRISE BUSINESS ALIGNMENT USING QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT, MULTIVARIATE DATA ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS MODELING TOOLS.
Creator
GAMMOH, DIALA, Elshennawy, Ahmad, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This dissertation proposes two novel ideas to enhance the business strategy alignment to customer needs. The proposed business alignment clock is a new illustration to the relationships between customer requirements, business strategies, capabilities and processes. To line up the clock and reach the needed alignment for the enterprise, a proposed clock mechanism is introduced. The mechanism integrates the Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) with the House of Quality (HoQ). The relationship...
Show moreThis dissertation proposes two novel ideas to enhance the business strategy alignment to customer needs. The proposed business alignment clock is a new illustration to the relationships between customer requirements, business strategies, capabilities and processes. To line up the clock and reach the needed alignment for the enterprise, a proposed clock mechanism is introduced. The mechanism integrates the Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) with the House of Quality (HoQ). The relationship matrix inside the body of the house is defined using multivariate data analysis techniques to accurately measure the strength of the relationships rather than defining them subjectively. A statistical tool, multivariate data analysis, can be used to overcome the ambiguity in quantifying the relationships in the house of quality matrix. The framework is proposed in the basic conceptual model context of the EBA showing different levels of the enterprise architecture; the goals, the capabilities and the value stream architecture components. In the proposed framework, the goals and the capabilities are inputs to two houses of quality, in which the alignment between customer needs and business goals, and the alignment between business goals and capabilities are checked in the first house and the second house, respectively. The alignment between the business capabilities and the architecture components (workflows, events and environment) is checked in a third HoQ using the performance indicators of the value stream architecture components, which may result in infrastructure expansion, software development or process improvement to reach the needed alignment by the enterprise. The value of the model was demonstrated using the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) process at the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems department at the University of Central Florida. The assessment of ABET criteria involves an evaluation of the extent to which the program outcomes are being achieved and results in decisions and actions to improve the Industrial Engineering program at the University of Central Florida. The proposed framework increases the accuracy of measuring the extent to which the program learning outcomes have been achieved at the department. The process of continuous alignment between the educational objectives and customer needs becomes more vital by the rapid change of customer requirements that are obtained from both internal and external constituents (students, faculty, alumni, and employers in the first place).
Show less
Date Issued
2010
Identifier
CFE0003298, ucf:48506
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003298