This dissertation theorizes about why a team’s network structure might affect team performance immediately and over time when membership changes. I propose that the low substitutability of a central team member immediately disrupts the structure of interactions between remaining members and leaves the team without an important resource that is relied upon to facilitate team process. This performance loss is expected to decay as time elapses because the saliency of the event creates the focus and urgency required for the team to implement widespread systemic change. Dense interaction and task redundancy among core members in a centralized structure is expected to help offset this performance loss both immediately and over time. I examine the effect of network structure on initial team performance (performance immediately following member exit and entry) and performance over time (the rate of performance change following exit and entry) in professional hockey teams experiencing membership change due to player injury. Results show that the departure of a central player has a significant and negative effect on a team’s immediate performance, but the centrality of the absent member has a curvilinear effect on team performance over time. Teams that lost a central player experienced a drop in performance immediately after that player’s exit; but subsequently demonstrated an improvement in performance over time. Teams that lost a peripheral player experienced a more positive performance trajectory over time when compared with their performance before the exit, while the performance of teams that lost a mid-central player remains constant over time. While team centralization had no influence on initial team performance, over time it dramatically altered team outcomes such that, regardless of the departing player’s network position, teams with a centralized structure improved over time, whereas decentralized teams performed more poorly over time.

The purpose of this program of research was to investigate ethical leadership as an antecedent, mediator, and outcome of variables of pragmatic importance to the workplace. Three interrelated studies examined the ethical imperative of the employment relationship using three independent datasets. Ethical leadership, as explained by social cognitive theory, was the central concept modeled in each study. Sample sizes of approximately 1,500 military members of the Canadian military were randomly selected for each study to participate in single-source, cross-sectional surveys conducted in a field setting. Correlation and Multiple Regression analyses were used to test relationships at the individual level of analysis. Key results and measures were replicated utilizing confirmatory factor analytic techniques. These studies contribute to ethical leadership research in three ways. First, findings indicated that a follower’s rank was positively associated with perceptions of ethical leadership of the immediate supervisor. Second, perceptions of ethical leadership were moderated by the type and level of follower ethical predispositions in boundary-spanning positions. Third, ethical leadership functioned as a partial mediator transmitting the effect of follower rank onto the workplace outcomes of follower affective commitment, organizational fairness climate, and career satisfaction. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. As a whole results suggest that organizations can effectively address the ethical imperative of the employment relationship through the clear lens of the individual being led – the ubiquitous follower.

We consider three problems on inventory, transportation and location in a supply chain. In Chapter 2, we study Multilevel Rationing (MR) and Strict Priority (SP) stock allocation policies for a centralized single product multi-class M/G/1 make-to-stock queueing systems. To obtain the total cost of the system under these policies, we introduce a new method called “customer composition”. Using this method, we focus on the proportion of customers of each class out of the total number of customers in the queue since the number of customers in M/G/1 queues is invariant for any non-idling and non-anticipating policy. We consider a series of two-priority M/G/1 queues with an exceptional service time in each busy period to characterize the customer composition. We derive closed form expressions for the costs of SP and MR policies using these results. In Chapter 3, we consider a two-echelon inventory system with a congested centralized production facility and several Distribution Centers (DCs). We assume that the production and transportation times are stochastic that are generally distributed, and customers arrive to each DC according to an independent Poisson process. Inventory at DCs is managed using the one-for-one replenishment policy. We use the customer composition approach to characterize the total inventory carrying and backlog costs of the system under the FCFS, SP and MR allocation policies at the warehouse. For the special case of exponentially distributed production and transportation times, we use the unit-flow method and derive closed form expressions for the optimal cost and base-stock level of the DCs. We numerically demonstrate that prioritization using either the SP or the MR policy could be very beneficial in comparison with the FCFS policy. In Chapter 4, we study a two-echelon supply chain with a set of suppliers, a set of retailers and a set of capacitated cross-docks which are to be established. The demand of the retailers could be satisfied from the suppliers through the cross-docks. The objective is to determine the number and location of cross-docks, the assignment of retailers to suppliers so that the total cost of pipeline and retailers’ inventory, transportation, and facility location is minimized. We formulate the problem as a non-linear mixed integer programming and derive several structural results for special cases of the problem. To solve the general problem, we show that it can be written as a cutting stock problem and develop a column generation algorithm to solve it. We investigate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm numerically.

In this thesis, we study different scheduling policies in service networks. In Chapter 2, we consider two service level (SL) measures in a two-server tandem queue system: the average sojourn time and the probability of long waits. We demonstrate that a family of Threshold Based Policies (TBP) can reduce the probability of long waits while maintaining sojourn times that are only slightly higher than those of a non-idling policy. In Chapter 3, we present a case study for improving the operations of a healthcare provider that has an open-shop queueing network. We propose an effective implementation of Dynamic Scheduling Policies (DSPs) and a generalized TBP to improve the SL in an open-shop queueing networks. Using a simulation model we demonstrate that an open-shop queueing network can be managed in a systematic fashion to deliver improved SL. In Chapter 4, we study the waiting time distribution of two different priority classes in an M/M/c queue with different service times. For the c=2 case, we provide closed form expression of the Generating Function (GF) of the number of low-priority jobs in the system, which can lead to the waiting time distribution. For c>2 case, we present an efficient numerical algorithm for deriving this GF. We discuss several insights gained from numerical results. Both Chapter 2 and 3 were supervised by Professors Opher Baron, Oded Berman, and Dmitry Krass. Chapter 4 was supervised by Professors Opher Baron and Alan Scheller-Wolf.

In the first chapter, I study a recent and important innovation, the shift towards independent compensation consultants that provide advice only to boards. I construct a theoretical model to conceptualize the potential impact of independent consultants and then develop an empirical strategy to quantify the impact. One contribution of the paper is to provide strong identification of the impact of independent advice, something that has been challenged by the lack of appropriate data. I use a unique sample of Canadian firms which allows me to directly measure the impact of non-compensation related consulting fees on compensation advice. I conduct a number of empirical experiments but the main tests exploit a "quasi-natural experiment" provided by the creation of an independent consultant, Hugessen Consulting, as a spin-off from Mercer. I show that switching from an a ffiliated consultant to an independent consultant is associated with an increase in managerial incentives. Despite the benefits of independent advice, independent consultants may not be hired due to higher fees, the influence of powerful CEOs, or because boards already possess adequate expertise. In the second chapter, using a simple model of incentive contracting as a guide, I examine empirically whether some aspects of executive stock option backdating may be an optimal response of firms to distortions in the institutional environment, in particular tax law and accounting rules. Some of the findings suggest that firms may attempt to effi ciently lower the exercise price of the executive options in order to enhance managerial incentives for risk averse and poorly diversified executives. In the presence of restrictive accounting and tax rules, backdating may be a mechanism by which to achieve this objective of better incentives. Consistent with this explanation I find that backdating is associated with lower CEO pay levels but higher CEO incentives. In the final chapter, I use a dynamic structural model to show that on average firms excessively smooth their payout while maintaining larger than optimal levels of cash (excess cash) on their balance sheets. I provide an agency explanation for the positive correlation between dividend smoothing and cash savings. I show that the dynamic effect of managerial perceived cost to cutting payout results in accumulation of excess cash and distortion of shareholder value.

This research study looks at the ‘who’, i.e., who manages organisational change projects and what competencies they need to manage them effectively. Additionally, the study researches the factors contributing to the requirement for organisational changes that both influence and are influenced by the project.

Master of Science / Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Kevin R. Roberts / The present study examined polychronicity, an individual’s preference on engaging in multiple activities simultaneously as opposed to one at a time. In the restaurant setting, it is critical to understand whether a server prefers to engage in and switch among multiple tasks because it directly impacts the level of job satisfaction and work engagement the server experiences. The purpose of the study was to present a comprehensive view on relationships among time use preference, job satisfaction, work engagement, and turnover intention within a restaurant context. It was hypothesized that polychronicity positively predicted employee job satisfaction and work engagement and negatively predicted employee turnover intention. The sample of 251 respondents were full-time food and beverage servers working at full-service restaurants in the United States. A principle component factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted to identify the factor structure of polychronicity, job satisfaction, work engagement, and turnover intention. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. The result of the analysis supported that polychronicity positively predicted job satisfaction and work engagement. In addition, both job satisfaction and work engagement negatively predicted turnover intention. However, the result did not support the hypothesized negative relationship between polychronicity and turnover intention. The findings of the study will assist restaurant managers in selecting candidates that best fit their organization. It will also assist employees in determining which career path best matches their personality traits. Managerial implications, limitations of this study, and direction for future study were discussed.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael Langemeier / This thesis had two objectives. One objective was to compare one northeast Kansas farm's financial performance from 2002 through 2011 to various groups of farms participating in the Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) during the same period. The second objective was to compare the crop acreage growth trends of the same northeast Kansas farm from 2002 through 2011 to the same groups of farms participating in the KFMA. In this thesis the northeast Kansas farm was referred to as ABC Farm. The purpose of this thesis was to provide ABC Farm's owners and management with information that could be used to formulate long-term goals for ABC Farm and to help identify strategies for achieving those goals. ABC Farm's 10-year financial performance was compared to six different KFMA member groups using 12 different financial measures or ratios. The KFMA groups included all NE region farms, NE region farms in the highest value of farm production (VFP) category, STATE irrigated crop farms, NE region farms in the highest net farm income quartile, NE region farms in the highest crop acreage category, and NE region farms in the lowest adjusted total expense ratio quartile. The 12 financial measures or ratios included VFP, net farm income, adjusted total expense ratio, operating profit margin ratio, asset turnover ratio, percent return on assets, VFP per worker, total crop acres farmed, crop machinery investment per crop acre, crop machinery cost per crop acre, current ratio, and debt to asset ratio. ABC Farm's 10-year average financial performance was better than the 10-year average of any KFMA group for most financial measures. ABC Farm's VFP, net farm income, operating profit margin ratio, VFP per worker, total crop acres, and current ratio were all higher than any KFMA group. ABC Farm's adjusted total expense ratio, crop machinery cost per crop acre, and debt to asset ratio were also lower than those of the various KFMA groups compared to. ABC Farm did not compare favorably to other KFMA groups for some of the financial measures. ABC Farm's average crop machinery investment per crop acre was higher than every group. ABC Farm's average asset turnover ratio was lower than every group. ABC Farm's average return on assets was lower than all but one group, all NE region farms.

We study three problems on supply chain location and inventory under uncertainty. In Chapter 2, we study the inventory purchasing and allocation problem in a movie rental chain under demand uncertainty. We formulate this problem as a newsvendor-like problem with multiple rental opportunities. We study several demand and return forecasting models based on comparable films using iterative maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian estimation via Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. Test results on data from a large movie rental firm reveal systematic under-buying of movies purchased through revenue sharing contracts and over-buying of movies purchased through standard ones. For the movies considered, the model estimates an increase in the average profit per title for new movies by 15.5% and 2.5% for revenue sharing and standard titles, respectively. We discuss the implications of revenue sharing on the profitability of both the rental firm and the studio. In Chapter 3, we focus on the effect of travel time uncertainty on the location of facilities that provide service within a given coverage radius on the transportation network. Three models - expected covering, robust covering and expected p-robust covering - are studied; each appropriate for different types of facilities. Exact and approximate algorithms are developed. The models are used to analyze the location of fire stations in the city of Toronto. Using real traffic data we show that the current system design is quite far from optimality and provide recommendations for improving the performance. In Chapter 4, we continue our analysis in Chapter 3 to study the trade-off between adding new facilities versus relocating some existing facilities. We consider a multi-objective problem that aims at minimizing the number of facility relocations while maximizing expected and worst case network coverage. Exact and approximate algorithms are developed to solve three variations of the problem and find expected--worst case trade-off curves for any given number of relocations. The models are used to analyze the addition of four new fire stations to the city of Toronto. Our results suggest that the benefit of adding four new stations is achievable, at a lower cost, by relocating 4-5 stations.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to show that corporate governance affects the value relevance of earnings in the presence of earnings management. The role of corporate governance is to reduce the divergence of interests between shareholders and managers. The role of corporate governance is more useful when managers have an incentive to deviate from shareholders’ interests. One example of management’s deviation from shareholders’ interests is the management of earnings through the use of accounting accruals. Corporate governance is likely to reduce the incidence of earnings management. Corporate governance is also likely to improve investors’ perception of the reliability of a firm’s performance, as measured by the earnings, in situations of earnings management. That is, corporate governance will be value relevant when earnings management exists. The results of this research support these propositions.In this thesis, the value relevance of earnings is measured using the earnings response coefficient. Earnings management is measured using the magnitude of abnormal accruals as estimated by the modified Jones (Dechow et al., 1995) model. A review of the corporate governance literature revealed nine attributes that were expected to impact on shareholders’ perception of earnings reliability due to their role in enhancing the integrity of the financial reporting process. The nine attributes represent three categories of corporate governance: 1) organisational monitoring; 2) incentive alignment; and 3) governance structure.Although not all corporate governance attributes suggested in the literature impact on investors’ perception of a firm’s performance, the primary proposition that corporate governance affects this perception when earnings are managed is supported. The primary contribution of the study is finding evidence supporting the moderating effect of earnings management on the relationship between corporate governance and the value relevance of earnings. These results validate Hutchinson and Gul’s (2004) claim that the role of corporate governance attributes in firm performance should be evaluated in concurrence with a firm’s organisational environment. Future research should control for corporate governance and earnings management, as indicators of earnings reliability, when using returns-earnings regressions to address a research question.