The Impact Of Consolidation And Strategic Considerations In The Motorcoach Industry

Little has been written about the motorcoach industry, an industry that is largely comprised of small family-run businesses, and an industry that has witnessed a changed competitive environment during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s due to the impact of consolidation.  In this paper, the author (an insider to the industry) discusses the motorcoach industry and the effect of consolidators.  Using survey data drawn from163  motorcoach owner/operators from across the country in early 2002, the author discusses the rising insurance cost crisis as the major concern by many operators in the industry.  The link between consolidation effects and insurance costs are examined.  From this analysis, strategic considerations for motorcoach owner/operators to ensure future viability are provided

Vietnams Developing Markets: How Do Perceptions And Strategies In The Negotiation Process Differ From The U.S.?

Growth in international trade has had a profound effect on executives and managers in their need to better understand differences in effective cross-cultural negotiation skills. The recent opening up of trade with Vietnam points to a need to better understand how the Vietnamese negotiating style differs from the U.S. style as managers are called upon to recruit the best and brightest in an increasingly competitive labor market. In this paper, survey data, taken separately from university students in the U.S. and Vietnam, are used to examine differences in the negotiation process. The results confirmed that cultural differences lead to differences in perceptions and strategies employed in the negotiation process. Theoretical and practical implications for managers involved in negotiations with the Vietnamese as well as directions for future research are discussed

Industry-wide response to terror: a political economy analysis of the owner/operator sector of the U.S. motorcoach industry post 9-11

The authors develop a political economy framework to study the post- September 11th environmental changes and firm responses in the owner/operator sector of the U.S. motorcoach industry. Based on a comprehensive analysis of both evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the competitive and regulatory environments faced by the firms in this industry, their policy and strategic responses to the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, on U.S. soil are examined. The industry’s response is captured (i.e., collective action response) by surveying 163 firms operating and competing in the owner/operator sector of the U.S. motorcoach industry. Several descriptive statistics are synthesized and analyzed for a structured presentation of the survey findings. In conclusion, contributions and limitations of this study, as well as directions for future research, are outlined

General Business Competencies Of Students As Outcomes Assessment

The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical framework to assess students’ general business competencies, acquired in core and capstone courses, as learning outcomes. First, the rationale for the use of students’ general business competencies as outcomes assessment is provided. Second, the methodology for measuring these competencies is presented and explained. Third, the underlying concepts and influential factors relative to general business competencies of students are analyzed and discussed. Finally, the findings and practical implications of the proposed approach for faculty development are examined

Looking Beyond the Enlightenment Mother-Teacher: Anna Letitia Barbauld and the Eighteenth-Century Maternal Ideal

Based on her popular prose writing for children, liberal Dissenter Anna Letitia Barbauld has been cited as a prominent example of the Enlightenment mother-teacher associated with the influence of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. However, close reading of her poetry reveals a complex maternal ideal in operation that was in part that of the Enlightenment mother-teacher, in part a modified form of republican motherhood, a strategic composite drawn, on the one hand, from classical republican discourse, which promoted the woman’s role in fostering patriotism and liberty, and, on the other, from contemporary defences of commerce, which highlighted women’s civilizing and humanizing roles. Barbauld’s poetic career is compelling in illuminating not only the complexity of the eighteenth-century maternal ideal but also its simultaneous opportunities and limitations for women. While the eighteenth-century maternal ideal allowed the possibility for exciting innovation and reinterpretation of traditional gender categories, expanding the boundaries of feminine authority and authorship, it could equally be exploited by those bent upon undermining women’s efforts to enlarge their social and cultural sphere of action

The Effect of Ethnic Minority College Students' Engagement in Effective Educational Practices on GPA and College Satisfaction, the Case of a Mid-Sized U.S. University

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