Servant Leadership and Its Impact on Ethical Climate

Many leaders in intercollegiate athletics are under attack due to an overemphasis on winning and revenue generation. In response, some have recommended a transition to a servant leadership approach because of its focus on the well-being of followers and ethical behaviors (Burton & Welty Peachey, 2013; Welty Peachey, Zhou, Damon, & Burton, 2015). The purpose of this study was to examine athletic directors’ potential demonstration of servant leadership and possible contribution to an ethical climate in NCAA Division III institutions. Participants were 326 athletic staff members from NCAA Division III institutions. Results indicated athletic staff members believed athletic directors displayed characteristics of servant leadership. Athletic department employees perceived athletic directors exhibited servant leadership characteristics of accountability, standing back, stewardship, authenticity, humility, and empowerment most often. Staff members who perceived athletic directors displayed servant leadership characteristics were more likely to report working in an ethical climate. If athletic directors choose to model the characteristics of servant leaders, they could promote more fully the NCAA Division III philosophy of prioritizing the well-being of others, being a positive role model for employees, and fostering ethical work climates within their athletic departments

Shopping Facilities and Mobility Behaviour in East Germany

After the collapse of the socialist system, far-reaching structural changes took place in East Germany, with particular rapidity in two specific areas: in retailing with the trend towards large-scale outlets in peripheral locations, and in passenger transport with the trend towards longer journeys made by car. As far as attractive local retail facilities are concerned, it is important to establish what potential they have in this specific context with regards to both supply and demand. A closely linked issue is that of the significance of distance as a deter- mining factor in the choice of store for grocery shopping

An investigation into the impact of diversity training on a community service organisation

Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of diversity training in a Community Service Organisation in Cape Town. The impact of such training is gauged / measured by monitoring staff's perceptions towards training. A strategic sample of 31 staff was chosen, ranging across different race groups (White, Coloured, Indian and African), professional ranks (senior managers, middle managers and staff) and genders. The sample was taken exclusively from one section in the finance department (Revenue). The research methodology was qualitative, in that in-depth interviews, observation and document study was used. With the aid ofcomputer assisted software for qualitative data analysis (Nvivo), the analysis was conducted in three phases. The first phase entailed initial coding, the second phase. required focused coding and the final phase involved analytical writing. The results of this study indicated that participants had mixed perceptions about the training they had received. Many felt that the training had been an eye opener, that it had created acceptance amongst staff and that it had enlightened them about diversity issues. A good number of the participants felt that the training had its own weaknessesand that there were no visible results from the training. More specifically, the findings indicated that a major constraint of the training was, amongst others, the lack of follow up and feedback.From the responses of the participants, the researcher concluded while largely ambivalent, that the training had made a positive impact on the organisation to some extent and the majority of staff interviewed did seem to support the training and were hopeful that it would continue to bring about positive changes in the organisation. However, these findings were only applicable to the department and section of the organisation where the study was done; further research would need to be done on the other departments and sections to determine their responses. In general, the findings of this study showed no specific pattern / similarities with previous studies, althoughthere were some similarities, notably of gender playing a role in influencing the training. The main issues in the recommendations relate to the need for further research on the impact of diversity training in Comm Service

Claire Achen Honors Portfolio

Claire Achen\u27s honors portfolio captured in May 2018

Building Relationships between Fans and Teams in the National Basketball Association through Facebook: The Influence of Engagement on Relationship Quality and Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between National Basketball Association fans' engagement with their favorite teams' Facebook pages, fans' relationship quality with their favorite team, and their purchase and referral intentions using relationship marketing as a framework. Additionally, the types of content fans preferred teams post on Facebook were examined. Two convenience samples, one collected by posting a link to Facebook and the other by purchasing a Qualtrics panel, were collected. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and frequency tables. Results indicated in both samples that individuals who engaged more on Facebook also had greater relationship quality. Additionally, in the Qualtrics panel, a higher level of engagement with teams' Facebook page had a statistically significant, positive impact on purchase intentions. In both samples, the indirect effects of Facebook engagement on purchase and referral intentions as mediated by relationship quality were statistically significant and positive, suggesting more engaged individuals on Facebook had higher relationship quality and were more likely to intend to purchase tickets and merchandise in the future and refer others to do the same. Overall, respondents indicated they preferred content related to players, including injury and movement, as well as score-related posts, suggesting they might prefer using Facebook as another way to receive information instead of choosing to actively engage with their favorite team. However, because results from modeling suggest engaging individuals on Facebook has positive impacts on future behavioral intentions, sport marketers should consider engaging individuals on Facebook while still fulfilling their need for information about players and game results

Pooling, tranching, and credit expansion

Traditionally banks have used securitization for expanding credit and thus their profitability. It has been well documented that, at least before the 2008 crisis, many banks were keeping a high proportion of the securities that they created on their own balance-sheets. Those securities retained included both the high-risk ‘equity’ tranche and the low-risk AAA-rated tranche. This paper builds a simple model of securitization that accounts for the above retention strategies. Banks in the model retained the equity tranche as skin in the game in order to mitigate moral hazard concerns while they post the low-risk tranche as collateral in order to take advantage of the yield curve. When variations in loan quality are introduced the predicted retention strategies match well those found in empirical studies

Evaluating Classroom Time through Systematic Analysis and Student Feedback

The purpose of this action research was to examine the use of class time through classroom observation and student feedback. Students’, the teacher’s, and whole class activities during class were categorized every two minutes. Students also were given pre- and post-course surveys to assess perceptions on lecture time, impact of learning strategies, and enjoyment of learning strategies. Results indicated students spent the majority of class time actively engaged in their learning instead of passively listening to lectures. However, their views of the optimal amount of lecture time did not change. Even though students overwhelmingly enjoyed engaging learning activities and found them helpful, they still believed teachers should lecture more than 60% of the time, even though the teacher in this course only lectured 30% of the time. Evaluating the way class time was spent was very useful to the teacher for course assessment and planning

Strategy and Sample Selection -- A Strategic Selection Estimator

The development and proliferation of strategic estimators has narrowed the gap between theoretical models and empirical testing. But despite recent contributions that extend the basic strategic estimator, researchers have continued to neglect a classic social science phenomenon: selection. Compared to non-strategic estimators, strategic models are even more prone to selection effects. First, external shocks or omitted variables can lead to correlated errors. Second, because the systematic parts of actors? utilities usually overlap on certain key variables, the two sets of explanatory variables are correlated. As a result, both the systematic and the stochastic components can be correlated. However, given that the estimates for the first mover are computed based on the potentially biased predicted probabilities of the second actor, we also generate biased estimates for the first actor. In applied work researchers neglect the potential shortcomings due to selection bias. This paper presents an alternative strategic estimator that takes selection into account and allows scholars to obtain consistent, unbiased, and efficient estimates in the presence of both selection and strategic action. I present a Monte Carlo analysis as well as a real world application to illustrate the superior performance of this estimator relative to the standard practice