Student Honors Papers

The Student Honors Papers collection represent exemplary work in Business Administration at Illinois Wesleyan University. The Ames Library is proud to archive these and other honors projects in Digital Commons @ IWU, the University's online archive of student, faculty and staff scholarship and creative activity.

Advertising Aimed Toward Working Women Before and After World War II
by Jennifer Bowman '94

Even at the start of the war in Europe in 1939, women workers were only turned to as a last resort, The war in Europe had brought a flood of economic activity to America. Recovering businesses damaged during the Great Depression were once again prosperous, bringing hope to the American public for a bright future. In fact, World War II quickly "turned the unemployment problem into one of a labor shortage and rocketed the economy into new heights of production and prosperity." (Hartmann, 2) Business was booming and people were working.

Traditional beliefs "that men should be the primary or sole breadwinners in the family was especially significant in limiting women's job opportunities as long as unemployed men were still available to fill the labor needs." (Anderson, 24) The resistance to hiring women before all sources of male labor were depleted was encouraged by the War Department itself. A Civil Defense official was quoted as saying "give the women something to do to keep their hands busy as we did in the last war--then maybe they won't bother us." (Kessler-Harris, 274) Meaning women were still only expected to volunteer and do housework.

The German Automobile Industry's Reaction to the Announcement of German Reunification: An Event Study
by Rhea E. Rosenlof '91

This study seeks to explore more deeply the economic and political aspects of Reunification and the role of the West German automobile industry in the Reunification process. Due to the importance of the automobile industry in rebuilding the East German economy, an examination of the German automobile industry's reaction to the announcement of Reunification would be an important and informative economic consideration in evaluating the positive and negative consequences of German Reunification. Therefore, through the application of a "special event" methodology utilized in financial research, I intend to discover whether the German automobile industry as a whole, and the individual firms which make up the industry, reacted positively or negatively to the announcement of German Reunification, and what these reactions could mean for the future of the industry and for the future of a united German nation.

This paper details the economic and political outlook in Germany during the early months of 1990, the investments made by the West German automobile industry in East Germany prior to the announcement of Reunification, and the methodology to be applied in this study. I will then provide an analysis of the automobile industry's reaction to the announcement of German Reunification.

Effects of Store Atmosphere on Shopping Behavior
by Wendy L. Billings '90

There is little sound documentation for the actual effects of store atmosphere on shopping behavior. Some retailers have claimed that they have influenced customers' buying behavior by manipulating store atmosphere via layout, color, lighting, and music (wysocki 1979; Stevens 1980). However, this evidence is solely anecdotal. Researchers have been unable to document strong effects of store atmosphere for a variety of reasons. First, the effects evoked by store atmosphere are primarily emotional states that are difficult to verbalize. These emotions are temporary and therefore difficult to recall accurately. In addition, they influence behaviors within the store rather than more easily identifiable behaviors such as selecting which store to patronize (Donovan and Rossiter 1982). Previous retail image studies have used structured questionnaire surveys which ask respondents to rate various researcher-specified attributes according to their importance for patronage. However, this method clearly does not capture the consumer's true emotional responses to the store's atmosphere; it simply lists atmosphere as one component of store image.

In addition, the majority of previous store-atmosphere measurement, which was usually done in the context of store image research, has been conducted outside of the store environment, long after the actual shopping experience. This method is not very reliable, since it is difficult for respondents to recall accurately their emotional responses to a particular atmosphere while in a different setting.

Thus, if store atmosphere can actually affect shopping behavior within the store, it is necessary to develop a framework with which to study such effects. This study will attempt to apply the Mehrabian-Russell model, an environmental psychology framework, to explore environmental variables in retail settings.

Alcohol Advertising: Freedom of Speech v. Social Responsibility
by Reona Jack '91

In Illinois, 10% of the population, or approximately 800,000 citizens, meet the criteria to be classified as problem drinkers; nationally, one out of four children comes from an alcoholic home; and, alcohol plays a role in nearly half of America's murders, suicides, and accidental deaths, claiming at least 1,000,000 lives per year.' Not only do these statistics add up to social problems but they also reflect an increasing economic cost to society. Estimates of the cost of alcoholism and alcohol abuse reach nearly $117 billion a year, considering premature deaths, reduced work effort, and treatment.

The Adaptation of Flour Milling Based Companies to Environmental Change
by Thomas B. Welge '92

It might well be argued that no other industry was as important in the civilization of man as flour milling. As man discovered the process of grain milling he was able to evolve from wanderer, to farmer, to city dweller. The sale of flour is considered by many historians to be the first industrial enterprise. Wheat, grown for over 10,000 years, was regarded as a symbol of life and power by the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, and Romans (steen p. 19). Both the art and business of grain milling evolved as world population grew. The cUltivation and milling of wheat migrated with man from the ancient Syrian/palestine region to Europe, Asia, and Africa (Storck & Teague p. 35). Each new society contributed some innovation which increased productivity in the industry.

Accounting For Derivatives
by Craig Ward '96

This paper will address the issue of disclosure concerning the derivative acitivities of publicly traded companies. The paper will begin by explaining the basics of derivatives and proceed to explain the current requirements in place to date. It will also detail the current developments of proposed new regulations for derivative activities. Then, the paper will present the results of how a sample of publicly traded companies currently account for and report their derivative positions in the financial statements. Finally, I will propose new requirements to account for and report derivatives in the financial statements. These requirements will combine ideas already proposed by some in the accounting profession, some current practices, and some original ideas to form a new set of standards in this area of accounting.

Consumption Taxes: An Examination
by Joshua E. Richardson '97

The current in orne tax system fails to achieve several of these goals. This paper will examine three alternatives to the income tax: a national sales tax, a value added tax, and a personal expen iture tax. The three taxes create the same tax on an item of consumption through different methods. These options will be discussed in comparison to the current income tax on the basis of administrative efficiency, equity, economic consequences, and transitional difficulties.

Risk Management through Derivatives Securitization
by Stefan Filip '07

With the fluctuations in the financial markets reaching tens ofbillions of dollars in just one day, using complex financial instruments instead oftypical insurance could be more effective and cheaper to finance high-severity and low frequency risk exposures. Insurance-linked derivatives such as catastrophes bonds and weather bonds have been used for some time in the United States and European Union. The risks that they cover vary from property catastrophes, weather, general liability, and extreme mortality risks. As the number ofissuers for these securities increases and new over-thecounter (OTC) products appear on the secondary markets there is a growing need to understand how they should be priced and considered by law. I intend to analyze the methods ofpricing as well as creating a model for a weather derivative for the Illinois com production and test its impact based on past statistical data

The Pricing Effects of European Union Insurance
by Andrew Heikes '06

Shifting from a government-controlled system ofmotor insurance regulation to a marketbased system has caused unexpected outcomes in Italy. Although there is more competition since deregulation occurred twelve years ago, the government has had mixed results attempting to continue to control the market. This paper will examine how pricing deregulation on the European Union level has caused significant changes in the Italian market. Furthermore, it will seek to develop a national solution for regulation ofauto insurance pricing within the United States using Italian experience. Regulation in the insurance industry in the United States has been a subject ofdebate for quite some time, and although there has been consensus among researchers on the need to change current regulations, agreement on changes to make has not been quite as simple. The recommendationofthisstudyisto implementasystem offederal supervision in pricing regulation, while allowing states to conduct day-to-day oversight.

A Different Approach to Term vs. Whole Life Insurance
by Neil Rubenstein '96

This is study comparing term to whole life insurance. These two life insurance vehicles will be compared using the after-tax dollar figure of the surrender value or death benefit (for the whole life policy) and the total after-tax value of the "difference" and/or death benefit (for the term life insurance policy). These comparisons are not intended to be used to extrapolate the average rate of return needed in the future to justify the extra risk inherent in term life insurance.