<p> Although the subject of ethics has been widely studied, no research has addressed the dilemma faced by government procurement professionals in underdeveloped countries, especially Togo. The purpose of this case study was to analyze insiders&rsquo; views concerning ethical dilemmas in public procurement for government contracting professionals in Togo. The study was based on deontological and teleological ethics. Research questions addressed ethical issues that are likely to arise from inappropriate interference by Togo government official in the public procurement process, and perceptions of public acquisition professionals regarding Togo government officials&rsquo; influence on contracting officers&rsquo; decision making. Data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. Findings showed that even though there are regulations in place, most public procurement professionals sometimes make unethical decisions, both because they are pressured to do so and because they are neither well-remunerated nor well-trained. Togo acquisition staff regularly deal with corruption, impunity, deception, and risk of retaliation. Based on results of this study, it is recommended that ethics training be established to improve Togo&rsquo;s public contracting system and that the training be sanctioned by a three-level professional certification similar to the one in the United States. Further research could involve surveying other African nations to determine the extent to which public acquisition staff see interference by government officials.</p>

<p> The concept of open innovation has been highly popularized both in academia and industry for the last decade. Various types of firms have been studied from high tech to service. Yet, there has been limited academic review of open innovation as a collective business ecosystem. In particular, little research exists on how a business ecosystem is generated, how it adopts concepts associated with open innovation in its business practice, and what sustains an ecosystem over time. </p><p> My dissertation demonstrates how one business entity &ndash; Chez Panisse &ndash; started its business journey and how it practiced what is popularly called open innovation within its community for over 42 years. In order to do so, I closely observed and participated in understanding the California Cuisine ecosystem to collect data. I employed a single-case study method by incorporating in-depth interviews, participatory observation, as well as a thorough collection of publically available data. The research findings indicate that (1) knowledge spillover was a conduit to expand and grow the Chez Panisse ecosystem, (2) co-creation of products and services with ecosystem participants contributed to collective ecosystem innovation, and (3) social innovation and learning were key factors in strengthening the bond among stakeholders and enabled the ecosystem's expansion to the nation, and global level. </p><p> I introduce the concept of an <i>Open Innovation Ecosystem</i> as a business ecosystem that co-creates innovations with its stakeholders and captures co-created values collectively within the ecosystem. The Chez Panisse case illustrates how what is popularly referred to as open innovation can be practiced at the level of a business ecosystem and become an important factor in its growth and expansion. The research outcomes suggest that business practitioners should consider employing the approaches identified in this thesis if they are interested in designing, creating and growing or maintaining a business ecosystem. These results additionally indicate that participants of the Chez Panisse open innovation ecosystem stayed engaged because of the educational and social innovation aspects; therefore businesses may want to consider the role that education and social innovation can play in sustaining a healthy business ecosystem.</p>

<p> As new employees come into their new workplaces, they engage in behaviors that make it easy for them to fit in with the already-established environment. Spanning across various industries, both Federal and private sector, 10 participants indicated that they believed their childhood experiences were the source of their socialization process development. Despite previous research, this research concluded that organizational socialization tactics had no real bearing on whether or not a newcomer perceived themselves to be successful in their socialization process. Results indicated that the two most important factors of a successful socialization was that the newcomers understood their jobs, were able to reduce their level of uncertainty through asking questions and seeking feedback, and establishing relationships with their co-workers.</p>

<p> Green supply chain models and carbon emissions tracking have become increasingly prevalent in the supply chain management literature and in corporate strategies. In this dissertation, carbon emissions are integrated into cost-based freight transportation models that can be used to assist operations and supply chain managers in solving the "last mile problem". The models presented herein serve to provide the decision maker with choices on which strategy to implement depending on the strength of the management's desire to reduce carbon emissions. By comparing the optimal solutions that result from using different delivery strategies, this research provides a basis for evaluating an appropriate trade-off between transportation cost and carbon emissions. </p><p> This dissertation contributes to academia and the literature in several ways. The discrete supply chain models provide a method for decision makers to analyze and compare the lowest cost delivery option with the lowest carbon footprint option. The stochastic last mile framework that is introduced provides a method for researchers and practitioners to measure the expected carbon footprint and compare probabilistic costs, carbon emissions, delivery mileage, and delivery times in order to make decisions regarding the most appropriate delivery strategy. This framework is then applied to two different problem settings. The first involves optimizing a delivery fleet to produce the lowest total cost with carbon emissions integrated into the total cost equation. The second compares the carbon footprint resulting from last mile delivery (ecommerce retailing involving a central store delivering to end customers) to customer pick up (conventional shopping at a brick-and-mortar retail location); the break-even number of customers for carbon emissions equivalence provides a basis for companies to determine the environmental impact of last mile delivery and to determine the feasibility of last mile delivery based on objectives related to minimizing carbon emissions.</p>

<p> Automated Logistics Environment (ALE) is a new term used by Navy and aerospace industry executives to describe the aggregate of logistics-related information systems that support modern aircraft weapon systems. The development of logistics information systems is not always well coordinated among programs, often resulting in solutions that cannot be easily integrated or made interoperable with other information systems used within the Department of Defense. A phenomenological approach was used to explore ALE program managers' lived experiences of coordinating defense acquisition programs toward the goal of creating a common environment in which information systems are well integrated and interoperable. The business problems associated with smart aircraft diagnostic, prognostic, health and usage monitoring systems, and the challenges created by the large volumes of data that are being collected by sensors onboard newly deployed smart aircraft also were explored. This qualitative study was accomplished by conducting interviews with 18 logistics and information technology managers from Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland with first-hand experience in dealing with ALE. The study results were presented in the form of a composite description derived from the textural-structural descriptions for each study participant. Results of the study included the structures of meaning surrounding ALE and identified social, organizational, and other non-technical components of systems integration that have been largely ignored in the information systems literature. Study results also included the perceived benefits and disadvantages of a common Automated Logistics Environment. Future researchers should consider the rich opportunities available to study other system of systems environments in federal government agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense, military departments, and subordinate defense agencies. While scholars may desire to simplify complex phenomena, future researchers should take care to avoid oversimplification of systems integration constructs in system of systems environments. As shown by this current ALE study, some technical and nontechnical issues may be inseparable in a real world setting. The ALE study results indicated that research that focuses on either technical or non-technical aspects of systems integration may not fully account for dynamic, interrelated (and often subtle) factors and may restrict our understanding of systems integration.</p>

<p> Mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;A) have become an important business strategy to help improve organizational performance. M&amp;As have been identified as one of the key strategies to help organizations compete in the global economy and have become attractive business strategies widely adopted and utilized among industries and global businesses. From the employee perspective, a merger or acquisition event can create uncertainty, changes and job losses. The literature suggests that some mergers and acquisitions fail not so much because of financial factors but more often because of the lack of integration of organizational cultures and other human factors. There is general agreement among some authors that studying human factors, rather than just M&amp;A financial factors, provides a far better understanding of M&amp;As' successes and failures. Research on M&amp;As suggests that managers should encourage employees to support an organizational (or collective) identity in order to maximize the positive outcome of M&amp;As. Through an extensive systematic review of the literature and an evidence based research methodology, this dissertation critically analyzed and examined the following questions: 1) How does the process of cultural integration during the post-merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) period impact the performance outcome of M&amp;As, specifically, on employee commitment, employee turnover rates and employee job satisfaction? 2) What is the impact of employee identification with the organization in the M&amp;A's organizational cultural integration process? 3) What is the effect of leaders' communication on employee identification with the organization during the post-M&amp;A cultural integration period? Based on the findings from the systematic review of the literature, the research questions are addressed and recommendations for ensuring successful post-merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) cultural integration are presented.</p>

<p> In the United States, since 1980, excess weight reached epidemic levels and labeled a public health crisis. Obesity rates correlated with chronic disease drive health care expenditures, absenteeism, worker compensation claims, co-morbidities, mortality rates, and more. </p><p> Many organizations offer employee wellness programs but are difficult to measure benefits and determine the most effective strategies. Wellness program effectiveness was seldom linked to organizational variables. Research questions were: (1) What organizational variable effects, such as organizational size, engagement in policies that encourage participation, and median income of the school district, determined by zip code income census data, have on school employee health outcomes, perceived health and wellness participation rates; and (2) Will the employee's residence effect health outcomes, perceived health and wellness participation rates, determined by employee's residence zip code and median income zip code census data. </p><p> Research generally focused on one organizational variable or health outcome in a variety of organizations, whereas this study examined multiple organizational variables and health outcomes within many school districts. The hypotheses were: (1) Mid-sized districts have better employee health outcomes, perceived health and participation rates than larger-sized districts; (2) Districts with better developed wellness policies using best practices have a positive effect on employee health outcomes, perceived health and participation rates; and (3) Organizational effects on employee health outcomes, perceived and participation rates vary by where the employees' resides and works, as it links to median income zip code census data, with employees residing and working in lower/medium income areas having the worst health outcomes, perceived health and participation rates, and best results with the highest income. </p><p> This longitudinal study had several layers of organizational effects on employee wellness in Southern California School Districts. The program impacted almost 10,000 employees, self-selecting a variety wellness options, such as wellness challenges, health screenings, coaching, incentives, and staff development workshops. Data collected yearly included: (a) objective health measurements, such as body mass index and systolic/diastolic blood pressure; (b) self-reported perceived health measurements, such as health, stress, energy, confidence, self-esteem, and body image; and (c) the type of interventions. The data was archival and collected from 2005 to 2012.</p>

<p> The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model has demonstrated the influencing factors for various business technology uses within the organizational system. However, in the context of African American small businesses (AASB), there was very little evidence of research to determine factors affecting the intention to use social media based on the UTAUT model. This quantitative study investigated factors that were expected to influence the intention of AASB owners to use social media based on modified constructs of the UTAUT model. The modified constructs represented several independent variables, namely performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), and facilitating conditions (FC) as moderated by age, gender, and experience in using social media tools. A random sampling method was used for the study. African American small business owners (<i>n</i> = 152) between the ages of 21 and 64 years participated in the study. Results showed that PE, SI, and FC were positively related to the AABB owners' intention to use and use of social media, while age, gender, and experience showed no evidence of any significant interactions. This study shed new lights on research of acceptance and use of social media by AASB owners. As a result, it is expected that knowledge gained will encourage increased use of social media tools by AASB, not only for social value but also as a vital socioeconomic option for a competitive advantage.</p>

<p> Human beings have engaged in trade, conducted war, created shelter, obtained food, practiced healing, and lived in community throughout the millennia. Historically, religion served as the overarching container used to create meaning within these human activities. In contemporary culture, the myth of "the bottom line" which is the Market economy has become the overarching container for a culture continually seeking to monetize human activity and create meaning through narratives of profitability. </p><p> Archetypal psychology employs polytheistic metaphors to describe the multiple autonomous forces or archetypes that exist within the human imagination. The work of archetypal psychologists and depth psychology authors including James Hillman, Ginette Paris, Michael Vannoy Adams, Karl Ker&eacute;nyi, Charles Boer, and Thomas Moore form the foundation for an archetypal analysis of the myth of "the bottom line." James Hillman calls for attention to the narratives of business and names the myth of "the bottom line," in <i>Kinds of Power </i>, "The drama of business, its struggles, challenges, victories and defeats, form the fundamental myth of our civilization, the story that explains the underlying bottom line of the ceremonies of our behavior" (1). </p><p> This dissertation is an exploration of the way the myth of "the bottom line" and the Market economy affect human experience of the archetype of War in the form of outsourcing of military functions; the archetype of Home in relationship to the commercial entity of a house and the recent market bubble; the archetype of Food in the form of agribusiness, patented seed stock, and processed food; the archetype of Healing in the form of industrialized health care; the archetype of Relationships within social media and technology. This analysis is achieved through an archetypal interpretation of authors who critique the forces of the Market on each of the respective archetypes. In addition, there is archetypal analysis of the voices of the businesses involved in these territories by "reading through" their annual reports and web sites. </p><p> Keywords: archetypal psychology, Hillman, Hermes, market, war, home, food, health care industry, social media, technology.</p>

<p> Local retail jewelry leaders of Saudi Arabian (S.A.) small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have struggled to survive through declining profits and increasing business foreclosures, thus threatening the sustainability of the Saudi retail sector and the Saudi economy. A globalization strategy to enhance profitability for jewelry retail SMEs in S.A. is needed, given the limited options for improving profitability. Despite this acknowledged need, leaders in S.A. have refrained from such a strategy because they lack knowledge of economic attraction features to target in the globalization process. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study using discriminant analysis was to examine specific countries' economic attraction features in the historical globalization strategy of a leading U.S. global jewelry company that could facilitate the implementation of a successful globalization strategy for a local Saudi jewelry SME retail company. The study addressed the effects of 6 independent predictor variables of 25 target countries' economic attractions on the dependent grouping variable, which distinguished among 3 order-of-entry groups according to the U.S. company's date of entry in each country between 1972 and 2009. Results indicated that except for the Hofstede index, no other variable had a significant role in the classification of the target countries. Because there was a scarcity of research on this topic, the study is beneficial for its theoretical and academic value, and may be practical for the derivative benefits of catalyzing business growth by empowering leaders of local, successful luxury brands in S.A. to implement their own globalization expansion process and increase employment in the Middle East.</p>