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Best Practice Customer Value and Satisfaction Cultures

Michael S. Garver, Central Michigan University
Robert L. Cook, Central Michigan University

To use customer value and satisfaction data effectively, the company culture must embrace, support, and encourage customer value and satisfaction initiatives. The purpose of this article is to discuss the nature of a customer value and satisfaction culture and to model how best practice companies transform their cultures. The research results make a contribution to the literature by revealing unique insights into […]

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Investment Patterns

Kenneth K. Boyer, Michigan State University

This study presents a longitudinal analysis of patterns of investment in advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) and financial performance. Investments in AMT from fifty manufacturing plants in the metalworking industries are examined. Data was collected via mail surveys administered to fifty manufacturing plants at three separate data collection times: 1994, 1996, and 1998. This study seeks to fill a void in the area […]

Strategies Used by Small Business Entrepreneurs

Robert N. Lussier, Springfield College
Matthew C. Sonfield, Hofstra University
Joel Corman, Suffolk University
Mary McKinney, Duquesne University

This descriptive study of 184 small firms identified strategies most frequently used by their managers. These strategies were identified using the Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix, a situational model in which the identification of levels of innovation and risk lead to prescriptions of appropriate strategies. Concurrently, this model was empirically tested and its validity supported. Of the strategies used, the five most common were: […]

People, Prose, and Processors: The Haworth College of Business Electronic Portfolio Project

Pam Rooney, Western Michigan University
Alan Rea, Western Michigan University

This article describes the origin, design, and implementation of the Haworth College of Business Electronic Portfolio Project, a curricular innovation that is one of the key components of the college’s newly revised and reaccredited undergraduate business program. Included in the article is a description of the portfolio process, its creation, and initial implementation, including implementation challenges and issues. Throughout the discussion, goals and […]

Student and Employer Perceptions of Desirable Entry-level Operations Management Skills

Daniela Gabric, Cap Gemini Ernst and Young
Kathleen L. McFadden, Northern Illinois University

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant difference between employers and students on their perceptions of the importance of skills and traits critical for securing entry-level employment in operations management. Another major concern in this study is whether employers value general skills more than technical abilities. To address our research questions, a two-page questionnaire was developed. […]

The Impact of Nonbusiness Majors in a Business Core Course

Peggy D. Brewer, Eastern Kentucky University
Vernon L. McGlone, Cumberland College
Teresa A. McGlone, Eastern Kentucky University
Virgil L. Brewer, Eastern Kentucky University

Most four-year business degree programs have a common body of knowledge (CBK) or “business core,” composed of courses from all the major disciplines in the business curriculum. All business majors, regardless of specialization or area of concentration, are required to take these courses, or their equivalent, as a part of their degree programs. On […]

Personality Differences and Computer Related Stress in Business Students

Elizabeth R. Towell, Carroll College,
Joachim Lauer, Northern Illinois University

There has been long-term interest in the processes that affect human-computer interaction, particularly those causing stress. Computer related stress has previously been correlated to general stress (Cohen, Kamarack, and Mermelstein 1983) and to somatic complaints (Derogatis et al. 1974). A negative correlation between perceived stress and academic performance has also been documented (Hudiburg and […]