Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Retained interest in seedstock bulls: a transaction cost analysis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Kaiser, Rebecca Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. RuckerSeedstock cattle producers invest in bulls to introduce high quality genes into their cattle herds. Because the genetic traits bulls pass on to their calves are sometimes unobservable before breeding season, the quality of the bull at the time of the sale is uncertain. Some producers choose to sell bulls with retained semen interest, which grants them rights to the specified percentage of revenues from semen sales from the bull after it has been sold. This thesis examines the practice of retained semen interest in bulls and its effects on sale prices for the bull. After adapting the theory of auctions and share contracts and developing a theory of retained interest, I empirically test my hypotheses that 1) if there is more uncertainty regarding the attributes of the bull, the producer will be more likely to use a retained interest contract, and 2) a retained interest contract increases the value of a bull. I use a logit model to test the first hypothesis and hedonic price model, estimated using OLS, to test the second model. I find evidence to support both predictions, which supports my transaction cost model of contract choice. After controlling for quality, producers are more likely to retain interest in bulls that have greater variation in their quality. Also, bulls that are sold with retained interest earn significant premiums compared to bulls sold with lump sum prices. These results add to the transaction cost and share contract economic literature, as well as inform seedstock producers about the economic costs and benefits of retaining semen interest.Item The influence of transformational leadership and diversity climate on using TRIZ to generate ideas: a case study from UAE companies(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2019) AlDhaheri, Abdulla Saeed Obaid Saeed; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bill SchellThe rapidly changing dynamics in global industry are forcing companies to continually improve methods for harnessing the creativity of their employees and to use that creativity to drive innovation. Frequently, projects to develop new products fail at the end of the development process or during commercialization. These failures often have their origin at the very beginning of the development process, during the pre-development phase called the Fuzzy Front End (FFE). To manage this phase, there is a need to focus on idea and concept generation, for instance by using new techniques like the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). To improve the pre-development activities in the FFE phase, there is a further need to understand how TRIZ methods interact with transformational leadership behaviors and team make-up to improve the effectiveness of the FFE. Prior work has shown that transformational leadership has positive impacts on organizational outcomes, including improved performance of research and development (R&D) functions. This research applied TRIZ problem-solving in several semi-government companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and investigated the influence of leadership, diversity climate, knowledge management practices and organizational change variables, to measure participants' perception of being able to apply TRIZ in problem-solving. Measures of team performance during a two-day TRIZ session were also made using organization-specific challenges. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was utilized to understand the relationships between the measured factors. Hypothesis analysis showed that transactional leadership did not support knowledge management practices while group and organizational diversity climates positively impacted knowledge management practices and particpants' perception on being able to apply TRIZ. Transformational leadership, knowledge management practices, and organizational change positively impact participants' perception of being able to apply TRIZ. The implications are as follows: the full range of the leadership model along with group and organizational diversity climate strongly effect the relationship between knowledge management practices and particpants' perception of being able to apply TRIZ. The presence of transformational leadership improved the particpants' perception of being able to apply TRIZ in problem-solving. Workers' knowledge converted information into a general solution based on TRIZ training outcomes.Item Mary Meigs Atwater: the many lives of an American new woman(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Biehl, Mary Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter Fleming and Robert Rydell (co-chair)This dissertation explores the various parts of one woman's life, chronologically but also thematically. Mary Meigs Atwater, known among a group of artisans as the Dean of American Hand-Weaving, was a New Woman, born in 1878 in a time when Victorian American ideals of the Cult of Domesticity dominated society's conscripted gender roles. However, throughout her life, she proved herself to be a pioneer in many fields, regardless of societal norms. Through study and utilization of primary documents -- letters and memoirs serving as the dominant sources -- I have divided this dissertation, and her life, into six chapters: 'The Six Little Meigs Girls (1878-1893)', 'The Fin de Siecle Artist (1894-1902)', 'The Mining Engineer's Wife (1903- 1916)', 'The Weaver Emerges (1916-1922)', 'The Pioneering Businesswoman (1923-1947)', and 'The Dean of American Hand-Weaving (1947-1956)'. Throughout the dissertation are the stories of Mary's five sisters, who also led extraordinary lives. The three takeaways from this dissertation are: 1) Mary Meigs Atwater was more than just a weaving pioneer -- she was a pioneer in every occupation and task she pursued; 2) the symmetries between events of the past and present are incredibly evident through analysis; and 3) just as Mary Meigs Atwater resurrected weaving during a time of machine-made textiles, humans of the 21st century must continue to create beauty with their hands as technology advances and the Artificial Intelligence automation of professions threatens to make the Humanities obsolete.Item Mentoring for women to move up : the case of MPC(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1987) Hedrick, Marlene Reilly; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Krishna K. TummalaItem Usage of computers in the Montana business community(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Business, 1991) Alexander, Tracy Lin