Rapidly growing companies often start out well, but hit a "wall" as they continue to expand. This wall is partly due to a lack of structure within the organization, but is also due to a lack of leadership and training to build new initiatives or to implement change. This thesis examines two...

In this thesis, I argue that accelerating government research and development (R&D) with private financing could simultaneously improve the nation's war fighting readiness and economy. I submit that better utilization of United States Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories through alternative...

The research conducted for this thesis was performed at "Company X", a U.S.-based engineered goods manufacturer. This project focused on Company X's overall manufacturing strategy, with an emphasis on how global expansion of manufacturing can allow the company to achieve greater international...

Due to the general macroeconomic downturn, many companies have turned to offshoring - sending a function overseas - to reduce production costs. While some companies elect to outsource overseas production to outside companies, many companies choose to keep production in-house and therefore create...

Appropriate inventory management is important for many businesses throughout the world. For the vaccines industry, appropriate inventory policies impact both the business' profitability and people's lives. An optimal policy must consider challenges such as product expiration, country specific...

Since Michael Dell returned as CEO in 2007 the company has undergone several changes such as utilizing third party manufacturers, reentry into retail, and a new focus on solution based offerings. Although historically Dell has been a build to order business, it is now expanding into build to...

An organization's decision on which aspects of its operations to outsource represents a key, strategic issue that should be based on maximizing performance throughout the entire value chain. In certain instances strategic outsourcing decisions make it ideal for firms to source from one...

Organizations are quickly realizing the need to leverage data and analytics to stay one step ahead of the competition as fast-paced global markets continue to emerge and grow and the world becomes increasingly complex. More than ever, corporate executives are executing data-driven decisions and...

Sustainability is a vague concept specifically in the context of a corporate world. There are numerous definitions for corporate sustainability and just as many ways of evaluating it. This work attempts to define, structure and assess corporate sustainability in a standardized robust manner...

This thesis consists of three essays in financial economics. Chapter 1 is entitled "Inside Debt." Existing theories advocate the use of cash and equity in executive compensation. However, recent empirical studies have documented the prevalence of debt-like instruments such as pensions. This...