1. School of Business and Economics
MBA Student Catherine Aasen Wins Second Place in the SEDSI 2016 Student Paper Competition
Update: Catherine Aasen's abstract for an oral paper presentation at the Student Research Conference 2014 (SRC 2016) at Fayetteville State University on April 1-2 has been accepted.
February Catherine Aasen, an online MBA student under Dr. Eric Dent's Organizational Behavior class at Fayetteville State University, presented her paper, "Applying Evidence Based Management at the North Carolina at Fort Fisher" at the South East Decision Sciences Institute's February 17-19, 2016 conference in place in Williamsburg, Virginia.
She was one of only four MBA students in the southeast region selected to present at the conference. Her paper won Second Place in the MBA Student Paper Competition. During her class at FSU, Catherine learned about equity theory and evidence based management. Afterwards she took an independent study under Dr. Dent's supervision and used her new knowledge to find ways to help the aquarium. Her paper, "Applying Evidence Based Management at the North Carolina at Fort Fisher" aids the efforts of the aquarium to implement evidence-based management techniques by identifying variables that affect the daily net revenue and attendance. She collected and analyzed 7.5 years of daily data. Then she conducted a series of regression analysis and identified a number of statistically significant independent variables. This was done in an attempt to locate profit maximizing/cost saving opportunities from a strategic and/or operational standpoint. Funds can then be reallocated to paying employees fair, livable salaries. The Decision Sciences Institute is a multidisciplinary international association dedicated to advancing knowledge and improving instruction in all business and related disciplines.