Faculty of Management Projects (Master's)

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Analyzing China's automobile industry competitiveness through Porter's diamond model
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2006, 2006) Wu, Di; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Olson, Bradley
This paper incorporates Porter’s diamond model to analyze China’s automobile industry. Besides looking at the four determinants of competitiveness in the original model, this study specifically examines the impact of government on industry competitiveness. This study retrieves archival data on multi-measurements used in prior studies. The author incorporates one case study of a Chinese auto firm to illustrate the specific impact of government policy and the responses of auto assemblers and component suppliers. Interviews with experts in auto-related industries are conducted to triangulate the findings. Results show that the Chinese auto industry is still in its early stages of development, whereas product quality and economies of scale of domestic automakers are approaching global standards; thus Chinese auto firms aim at becoming major players in the international market. The government plays an active role in assisting the industry development as the nation transitions from a planned economy to a free market.
Assessing the power of Porters' diamond model in the automobile industry in Mexico after ten years of NAFTA
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2005, 2005) Barragan, Salvador; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Usher, John
It has been ten years since the signature of the NAFTA agreement among Canada, U.S., and Mexico. For Mexico, this was a decisive step away from a protectionism model toward a free trade market. One of the main purposes for Mexico in joining NAFTA was to increase the competitiveness of its manufacturing sector, especially the automotive industry. In this paper, Porter’s Diamond Model of national competitiveness and some critiques that attempt to extend the usefulness of the model are analyzed. The Doubled Diamond and the role of MNEs in a host country are both examined through a case study research of the foreign-owned automobile industry in Mexico. The findings of this study show evidence of a broader role of MNEs than in the original framework, as well as the usefulness of the doubled diamond extension to explain alternative sources of competitiveness in early stages of development.
Burnout among Canadian physicians
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2003, 2003) Cahoon, Sandra L.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Boudreau, Robert A.
This study investigates the prevalence of burnout among Canadian physicians. The Boudreau Burnout Questionnaire (BBQ), distributed as part of the Canadian Medical Association Physician Resource Questionnaire (PRQ) 2003, was used to measure burnout levels, compared by gender, age, practice locale, and specialty. Using the Phase Model Approach (Golembiewski et al., 1986), 1870 physicians were categorized with respect to their HI or LO scores of emotional exhaustion, reduced personal achievement, and depersonalization. Overall, 45.7% of Canadian physicians were in advanced phases of burnout (Phases VI, VII, & VIII). A higher percentage of female physicians (47.6%) than male physicians (44.6%) reported levels of advanced burnout. Age negatively correlated with burnout measures, yet age groups 35 – 44 and 45 – 54 showed over 50% advanced burnout. Advanced burnout scores were almost identical across broad specialties. A slightly higher percentage of rural physicians (46.9%) than urban physicians (45.5%) reported levels of advanced burnout. These results indicate that burnout among Canadian physicians warrants attention.
Cause-related marketing as a peripheral cue?
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2002, 2002) Mardian, Neil; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Basil, Michael D.; Basil, Debra
Even though cause-related marketing has increased in popularity, academic researchers have only started to examine how consumers respond to it. In this study, the author examines cause-related marketing in combination with two major theories: (1) the prospect theory and, (2) the elaboration likelihood model. The objective of this study was to test for main and interaction effects of CRM, consumer involvement and price of product on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. The results of this study indicate that there were no significant interactions between price of the product, involvement situation and CRM when in an experimental magazine setting. The major overall finding, which was evident throughout all hypotheses, was that advertisements with a CRM claim were far more effective than advertisements without a CRM claim. Regardless of the price, it appears that cause-related marketing affiliations can substantially influence consumer perceptions and ultimately purchase behaviours. Due to its effectiveness in high involvement situations, these findings suggest that CRM does not operate only as a peripheral cue.
Conflict management approaches, customer expectation evaluation, and customer satisfaction : an empirical investigation
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2004, 2004) Mazaheri-Khorzani, Ebrahim; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Daroczi, Zoltan
This study investigates the potential impacts of different conflict management approaches and expectation evaluation on customer satisfaction. Using three approaches of conflict management theory and three possibilities for customers’ expectation evaluation, nine scenarios have been developed. The results of this experiment-based study suggest that the interaction of customer expectation evaluations and conflict management approaches do not have a significant effect on customer satisfaction. However, the study also suggests that both the style of conflict management and expectation evaluation have a significant, direct impact on customer satisfaction.
Consumer perceptions of company environmental requests : an experimental examination of hotel reuse programs
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2007, 2007) Shang, Jingzhi; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Basil, Debra
Consumer response toward companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts has received much attention in the consumption context. However, little is known in the anti-consumption context. The present research studies one anti-consumption CSR program – reusing, which suggests that customers in a hotel use towels and linens more than once in order to reduce the use of fresh water and the generation of waste water. The impact of source credibility, argument strength, and fit on consumer response was assessed. It was found that a high credibility source (i.e., the hotel source) generated less egoistic attributions than a low credibility source (i.e., the Project Planet source). Regardless of the charity type, making a charitable donation can positively influence subjects’ attitudes toward the hotel and value-driven attributions, while negatively influenced egoistic attributions. Moreover, subjects’ perceived strong arguments positively influenced attitude, behavior intention, value-driven, strategic, and stakeholder-driven attributions, while negatively influenced counterarguments.
Culture and gender effects on ethical reasoning in an auditing context : a comparison of Canada and mainland China
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2004, 2004) Ge, Lin; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Thomas, Stuart; Kopp, Lori
This study investigated culture and gender effects on ethical reasoning in an auditing context using Kohlberg’s (1969) cognitive moral development theory in conjunction with Hofstede’s culture theory (1980, 2001). The study was conducted using Canadian (71) and Mainland Chinese (64) final year undergraduate accounting students. The results indicated that Canadian accounting students had significantly higher ethical reasoning levels than Mainland Chinese accounting students. This suggests that cultural differences affect ethical reasoning in an auditing context. The difference in ethical reasoning scores between Canadian males and females was not significantly different from the difference between Chinese males and females.
Deinstitutionalization in major sports leagues : analyzing the NHL's path to competitive balance and financial stability including ideas for implementation
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2003, 2003) Cutting, Jared; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Usher, John; Alpern, Paul
Using the theory of deinstitutionalization, this paper illustrates the NHL’s evolution from an entity comprised of singular owner interests whereby players were exploited to a cooperative organization in which players have received significant employment gains. A historical analysis was done using the sports league as the unit of study. In comparing the NHL to the NFL, NBA and MLB, and using several studies in the sports literature, the paper found that increased cooperation among owners as well as a certain amount of liberality for players has enhanced the competitive balance and financial stability of some sports leagues. The findings were then applied to the NHL’s situation using change dynamic insights from deinstitutionalization theory to suggest a new business structure for the league.
Developing a strategic cost management model : combininig the balanced scorecard and activity-based costing in the context of diabetes education
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2006, 2006) Venkatramanan, Atulya; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Downey, Angela; Kelley, Helen
The study presents the development of a strategic cost management model that combines activity-based costing (ABC) with principles of the balanced scorecard (BSC). The purpose of the combined ABC/BSC model is to provide cost information that could be used to evaluate strategy implementation, monitor premises underlying strategy that may need to be revised, and provide a strategic perspective to operational decisions. While ABC provides activity-specific cost information, the BSC framework of different performance perspectives (or activity dimensions) provides structure to data collection and organization, and facilitates strategic analysis. The model is applied in the healthcare context of a diabetes client education program, and the study includes a list of activities, activity drivers, and cost drivers for Type-2 diabetes education. It also provides a summary of costs per client category and proportion of resources consumed by different activity dimensions for a specific program.
The effects of cultural differences on consumer perceptions of celebrity athlete endorsement : a comparative study between Canada and China
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, c2009, 2009) Wang, Hao; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Drollinger, Tanya
Celebrity endorsement has long been examined in advertising research due to its effectiveness in persuading consumers. Cultural difference is an important topic with regards to celebrity endorsement. This study was a two stage design which investigated: (1) the impact of sports dimension as it relates to cultural meanings in individualistic and collectivistic societies; (2) the impact of cultural differences on the perceptions toward an Asian endorser; and (3) the impact of athlete endorser’s characteristics on purchase intention in Canada and China. Data were collected from 398 subjects via an online survey and revealed three primary findings. First, the sports dimension did not significantly influence the respondents’ level of perceptions with regards to identification. Second, Chinese subjects had more favorable perceptions toward the Asian athlete endorser. Third, differences between the Chinese and Canadian samples were found with regards to the celebrity endorsers’ characteristics and consumer’s purchase intention.
The effects of OCB on work group conflict
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2007, 2007) Pyne, Tom; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Miller, Diane
This study examined how Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) climate affected levels of task and relationship conflict within work groups. Moderating effects were provided by the attributions the participants gave to the OCB activity. Participants were 141 employees of various fast-food restaurants in a western Canadian city. Each participant completed a questionnaire assessing OCB climate in the workgroup, to what they attributed the OCB, and the levels of conflict present in the work group. As predicted, OCB climate does affect levels of relationship and task conflict although, surprisingly in the same direction. The results of this study suggest that there is a correlation between OCB climate and conflict in workgroups.
The effects of partial acquisitions on stock performance of target firms
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2002, 2002) Oloo, Michael; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Torabzadeh, Khalil; Gardner, Eldon
This study analyzes the returns to target stockholders for partially acquired firms surrounding the acquisition announcements through one year after the announcements. A sample of fifty-three Canadian firms partially acquired by domestic firms from 1993 through 1999 is considered. The examination of the return behaviour found significant positive abnormal returns from event-day t = - 2 through t = + 1. No significant abnormal returns are realized thereafter. The findings imply that the announcements positively affect the surrounding returns. The lack of significant positive abnormal returns thereafter suggests that the announcement does not have a positive impact on the stockholder returns one year later.
Employment issues and challenges facing older workers in Lethbridge, Alberta
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2001, 2001) Stephenson, Jacquiline Henrietta; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; McKenna, Ian
This study assesses the current perceptions of older workers, defined as aged 50 and over, in Lethbridge, Alberta and area. Specifically, the study addresses two research questions. The first seeks to determine the primary challenges facing older workers in their quest to find suitable employment. The second examines the value which older workers place on programs currently in place to assist in their search for employment. The intent of this study is to inform Government and private sector policies and programs as they relate to the provision of services which will alleviate the unemployment difficulties of older workers. A mixed methods approach was employed with the use of structured interviews and survey questionnaires. This results from this study suggested partial support for ageist attitudes and stereotyping as barriers to employment. There was also some support for the improvement of current employment programs targeted at older job seekers.
An experimental comparison of celebrity spokespersons' credibility, attractiveness, expertise, and identification on attitudes toward the ads and future interest
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2005, 2005) Zhao, Jing; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Basil, Michael D.
This study examines several attributes of celebrity spokespersons in advertising. More specifically, credibility, attractiveness, expertise and identification with the celebrity are examined with regard to attitudes toward the ads and future interest in the product or service. The hypotheses imply that celebrity endorsers’ credibility, attractiveness, expertise, and identification with the viewers enhance the attitudes toward the ads and future interest in the product or service. Results showed that perceived expertise and identification had significant effects on both attitudes toward the ads and future interest in the product or service. Increased credibility had significant effects on future interest about the product of service but not on attitudes toward the ads, while increased attractiveness had significant effects on attitudes toward the ads but not on future interest about the product or service. Implications of advertising strategy and limitations of this research were discussed.
Exploring changes in management compensation structure in Canada : evidence on the consequences of section 3870
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, c2010, 2010) Geremia, Karrie; Carnaghan, Carla; Nelson, Toni
Existing research findings are mixed on whether increased executive stock option (ESO) use is due to favorable accounting treatment enabling earnings management (EM) and opportunism, or to efforts to improve pay for performance. I investigate executive compensation changes in 215 Canadian companies for the years surrounding the amendment to Handbook Section 3870, which requires expensing of ESOs. I find that while ESO use was reduced, ESOs still dominate share-based compensation. Of the opportunism and EM antecedents examined, only political visibility is significant. The substitution rate of RSUs for ESOs is more equal post-amendment, in keeping with firms being more willing to use RSUs once ESOs had to be expensed. However, the pay for performance relationship has not improved post-amendment, even for firms who most reduced ESO use. My results overall provide little support for opportunism or EM being a key driver of increased ESO use prior to the amendment.
Factors influencing supervisors' discipline severity when facing rule violations
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2005, 2005) Shao, Ruodan; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Perlow, Richard; Kopp, Lori
The present research examined the effects of three situational factors: causality ambiguity, severity of personal injury, and injury target on supervisors’ discipline severity following a rule violation. Participants were 207 supervisors who either currently make or have made disciplinary decisions as part of their job. The participants read three of 24 scenarios about rule violations and made disciplinary decisions based on information contained in the scenarios. Results revealed statistically significant main effects for all three situational factors and a statistically significant injury severity X injury target effect on the discipline severity. When the injury targets are coworkers, more severe injuries lead to harsher discipline. When the injury targets are the violators, more severe injuries lead to less harsh discipline. The results support the notion that supervisors formulate discipline as a function of the context of rule violation rather than the violating behavior itself.
Financial statement misrepresentation : could investors detect it?
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2004, 2004) Kwasitsu, Deliah Leonie; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Nelson, Toni
The current study is designed to develop a model to improve investors’ ability to identify firms that engage in financial statement misrepresentation by carefully analyzing published financial reports. Earnings management literature indicates that financial statement information is not fully utilized by investors and that fundamental analysis provides useful information about a firm’s financial performance. The study examines accruals and the components that firms commonly use to violate GAAP in order to develop a probit regression model as an early detector of financial misrepresentation. The analysis consists of a matched-paired sample of 30 U.S. fraud firms and 30 non-fraud firms extracted from the GAO and Compustat databases. The results show that an investor who is comparing two firms from the same industry may use the lower Z score of the model and improve the chances of avoiding a fraud firm by at least 23%.
Fitness for change and Alberta health care organizations : a management perspective
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2001, 2001) Steinke, Claudia; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Dastmalchian, Ali
What constitutes the definition of organizational effectiveness and the capabilities required for dealing with change among the Regional Health Authorities in Alberta was investigated. The perceptions of Regional Administrators and Medical Directors from across the province were measured in accordance to a dual methodology approach (survey plus case study interviews). The Survey of Organizational Fitness provided a means to acquire a measure of “fitness” along the key dimensions of environment; performance; capabilities and characteristics; levers for change; the capacity to change and learn; and strategic orientation in approaches to change (Theories E, EO or O). Theory E is based on the creation of economic value and Theory O on developing lasting organizational capabilities, the ideal objective is to integrate the two (Theory EO). The results indicate that although the majority of Regional Health Authorities perceive themselves as subscribing to a combined theoretical approach to change (Theory EO), those that subscribe solely to Theory E rate themselves as achieving overall higher levels of organizational effectiveness.
I am father : an analysis of masculine identities of professionally employed fathers and their parental leave decisions
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, c2008, 2008) Rice, Joseph Robert; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Runté, Mary
This thesis project attempts to apply Hearn’s (2004) proposed seven aspects of the hegemony of men by investigating the decision-making process of male professors deciding whether to exercise parental leave benefits available to them. Focusing on the parental leave decision allows me to gather detailed data about how men relate their family and work obligations into their perceptions of masculinity and their identities as fathers. Recognizing that parental leave taken by men is socially progressive, it may constitute a weakness in the hegemony of men as described by Hearn (2004). The motivation behind fathers’ parental leave decisions may go beyond legalities and organizational policies. Masculinity’s predetermined gender roles combined with identity may be a source of contradictory influences on the decision to pursue parental leave rights provided by the Canadian government. Therefore, I studied the extent to which the hegemony of men influences the individual’s decision-making process.
The impact of telecommunication technology on the nature of managerial work
(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, 2001, 2001) Patrick, George; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Management; Williams, Bernard
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of whether telecommunications technology (cell phones and pagers) serve to facilitate the performance of the three managerial roles identified by Mintzberg (1973). It was further the intent of this study to explore the ways cell phones and pagers create interruptions and false urgencies that could impede the performance of the managerial roles. The study also investigated the ways managers use boundary controls to manage their interruptions and false urgencies. The effective performance of the three managerial roles was determined by the relevant information exchanged by respondents using cell phones, which had direct correlation to the managerial roles. The issue of whether cell phones and pagers create false urgencies and interruptions was related to the non-expected calls received and the importance and urgency of calls received. It was anticipated that managers who used extensive boundary controls would tend to receive fewer calls and thus manage their interruptions more effectively. The research design involved a cross section analysis of data, which created a pattern of relationship between the issue of false urgency, interruptions and boundary controls. It was found that cell phones had indeed assisted managers to perform their managerial roles. It was also found that the issue of false urgency and interruptions was contingent upon the expectancy of calls received, importance and urgency of calls received and the effective management of the boundary controls.