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This dissertation investigates the role of credit in the evaluation of risk and return. The research comprises three essays, which analyze the use of credit from different perspectives. Chapter 1: The first essay proposes a comprehensive theory for the assessment and implementation of "acceptable" underwriting and rating variables. While the use of personal credit was the driving force behind the essay, we extend our theory and models to include all controversial rating classifications. It is shown that a rating classification would be appropriate when the cost to society is relatively small. The use of personal credit in the automobile insurance industry is provided as an application of the proposed models, and other considerations are explored. Chapter 2: For many years, gamblers have developed strategies to reach specific monetary and survival goals. In the second essay, a strategy is introduced in which a speculator engages in bet doubling to increase his chances of walking home a winner. It is shown that with enough credit it is quite possible to become a winner with a high degree of certainty--99.9%, even while facing a losing proposition. However, huge returns require huge risks, and so adopting such a strategy would eventually lead to large losses and negative expected profits. It is also shown that limited liability and a cost of obtaining credit are important factors to consider when analyzing expected gains. Chapter 3: "Hazardously immoral" contracts force external parties to bear significant losses without their consent. Abuses are particularly likely to occur when the threat of system-wide disruption is sufficient to make governments and international agencies bail out the offending organizations in order to limit total damages. The models provided in chapter 2 are presented in the third essay as strategies for externalizing extreme risks, and several results are derived. / Business Administration

Satisfactory resolution of customers' complaints in service recovery is a critical driver of customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, cross-buying from the firm's portfolio of offerings, and firm's long-term financial performance. Yet, despite the costs and benefits associated with service recovery, many customers who encounter service failures are dissatisfied with the handling of their complaints. This research takes a non-traditional approach and empirically investigates the area of service recovery process from the customer's perspective whereby empowering customers to play the central role in service production and delivery may bring about their satisfaction. In the field of tourism and hospitality services, it appears that no study has developed an integrative model capable of investigating effectiveness of service recovery by examining the relationship between customer empowerment and customer satisfaction indicators. Moreover, a growing body of research shows that the issue of service recovery is at the development stage in tourism and hospitality literature, and there is a paucity of empirical research in this area. Thus, this study addresses these gaps by developing a theoretical model of service recovery process. The model proposes that the degree of customer-perceived empowerment during service recovery process determines both the level of customer's affective/cognitive responses and the level of subsequent process complaint satisfaction. A portion of the theoretical model is then examined using regression and Path Analyses to analyze data that was collected through a web survey of undergraduate tourism and hospitality students. The results indicate that process complaint satisfaction is indirectly shaped by customers' perceptions of empowerment and their affective (emotional) and cognitive (process quality and equity/fairness) responses. / Business Administration

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<p> Organizations have an immense opportunity to raise employee awareness regarding the best values, skills, and attitudes that each generation offers. This study was an appreciative inquiry with an intact multigenerational corporate team located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, studying the strengths that each generation brings to intergenerational collaboration. Perceptions about collaborative strengths were gathered in a workshop and via pre- and post-workshop surveys. Through analysis and interpretation of the study findings, unique strengths for each generation were revealed; discoveries were made around foundations for intergenerational collaboration and the role of the individual contribution to multigenerational collaborative behavior was acknowledged. Recommendations emerged, including: to build generational competence, lay the foundation for intergenerational collaboration, bridge intergenerational collaborative gaps, and apply knowledge to organizational policy and program development. Developing an appreciation for what strengths each generation brings to collaboration provides an opportunity for organizations to enable diverse teams and ultimately improve business performance.</p>