Green Forever Landscaping and Design, Inc.: how an entrepreneur grew his business

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 463-484
Author(s):  
Minnette A. Bumpus ◽  
Nikita Floyd

Theoretical basis The case should be introduced after students have been exposed to the following topics: the practice of entrepreneurship, opportunity recognition, market segmentation and minority business enterprise. Research methodology The names of the companies and individuals in this descriptive case have not been disguised, with the exception of the solar company representative and his company affiliation. Information was obtained from interviews (i.e. first-hand accounts) with Nikita Floyd, President and Owner of Green Forever Landscaping and Design, Inc., and secondary sources cited. Case overview/synopsis Nikita, a 50-year old, African American male, had grown his business from a one-person seasonal landscaping business to a year-round landscaping and design business with full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and an array of services and customer segments. To his delight, he was able to unite his avocation with his vocation. With over 30 years of experience in landscaping and landscape design Nikita was always scanning the landscape for new business opportunities that would align with his company’s mission statement and help sustain Green Forever’s core business. Complexity academic level This case is most appropriate for introductory undergraduate and graduate level courses in entrepreneurship.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Glackin ◽  
Suzanne Altobello

Theoretical basis The Dudley Beauty case illustrates a contemporary branding, management and marketing challenge facing many companies that are 50 plus years old. Movahhed (2016) highlights the six elements to consider during brand strategy: the target audience, the brand promise, brand perception (past, current and future), brand values, brand voice and brand positioning. The times have changed with changing macroenvironmental factors including political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and other environmental (PESTLE) changes that affect a business but which the business does not directly control. Research methodology The case is based upon an interview with Dudley Beauty CEO and President Ursula Dudley Oglesby and secondary sources. Case overview/synopsis The “A Makeover for Dudley’s Q+” case explores the challenges of a second-generation textured hair care and personal care company in the direct selling channel as it faces an aging market and changing business and economic environment. A Black-owned company, begun in 1967 by her parents, Dudley Beauty is led by the founders’ daughter, Harvard College and Harvard Law School-educated, Ursula Dudley Oglesby. At over 50 years old, the company has continually created new textured hair products and has high brand awareness among older Black consumers but has not adequately addressed changing hair trends and shifting communication preferences of younger consumers. The company is at a critical point needing to reach a younger, larger market to survive. The business situation supports marketing, management, strategy, and/or entrepreneurship undergraduate students in understanding how macroenvironmental forces and internal structures affect businesses. Complexity academic level This case is intended primarily for use by undergraduates in a variety of courses. It is suitable for courses in Principles of Marketing, Entrepreneurial Marketing, general Entrepreneurship and Marketing Strategy courses covering topics such as direct selling, the role of environmental factors in business, rebranding efforts using digital and social media marketing and women/minority business owners.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 2089-2103
Author(s):  
Rosario Michel-Villarreal ◽  
Eliseo Luis Vilalta-Perdomo ◽  
Martin Hingley

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore food producers' motivations and challenges whilst participating in short food supply chains (SFSCs). This paper compares findings with previous literature and investigates the topic in the context of producers' motivations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper includes a literature review concerning producers' motivations to engage in SFSCs. A case study was designed to investigate motivations underlying producers' engagement in SFSCs, as well as the challenges that they face. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a farmers' market located in Mexico. Thematic analysis is used to identify the principal issues for producers'. Propositions based on findings are presented.FindingsFindings suggest that small, large, part-time and full-time producers are willing to engage with farmers' markets for diverse primary economic and non-economic motivations. Individual and collective challenges were also identified.Originality/valueThis research helps to explain producers' motivations and challenges within SFSCs in an under-researched context, namely a focus on producers' and in the Global South.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Laxman Panthi

Purpose Throughout Macedonia, beekeeping is becoming popular regardless of ethnicity. Studying ethnicity, the purpose of this paper is to determine what beekeepers in Macedonia thought in their own words about their beekeeping entrepreneurship. The objective is to identify whether motivations of ethnic Albanian beekeepers in Macedonia were the same or different compared to those of ethnic Macedonians in the same country, and if different, how. Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this objective, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 beekeepers in Macedonia. A total of 29 interviews were conducted face-to-face and the other 11 by phone. The first set of interviews took place between December 2016 and February 2017, followed by more interviews in June 2017. In total, 27 respondents said they were ethnic Albanians, and 13 identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians. Also, ten respondents were women. While eight were full-time beekeepers, 32 were part-time beekeepers. Findings The results indicated that beekeeping businesses play a significant role in the transition economy of Macedonia. Beekeeping provides additional earnings that support rural families and keeps them financially stable. The majority of both Albanians and Macedonians understood that beekeeping on a part-time job basis provided a needed supplement to their income. Some part-time beekeepers are also working as auto-mechanics, locksmiths, medical doctors, restaurant/cafeteria owners, and tailors. A few in the sample were retired from their jobs or full-time beekeepers. An important difference between ethnic Albanian beekeepers and ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia is that the majority of ethnic Albanian participants see beekeeping as following in “my father’s footsteps”, while most Macedonians were motivated by the perceived opportunity of having a good business. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the research are twofold. First, financial data of family beekeeping are not available, which would be useful in determining the contribution made to economic development. It is common, especially in transition economies such as the western Balkans, that financial results are very sensitive to their owners. Second, unavailable databases for beekeepers make any quantitative approach difficult, if not impossible, resulting in most research using the qualitative research approach. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to treat beekeeping as a form of artisan entrepreneurship, which also contributes to the understanding of family business. As in other countries, the important and operation of the family business among family members in Macedonia is passed from generation to generation. The results of this research revealed the value of networking, which was found to be very important to income. For beekeepers to develop, grow, and be branded in the community, networking is an important ingredient.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil K. Mehta ◽  
Shubham Chourasia ◽  
Aswini Devadas

Theoretical basis This case uses concepts from Korten’s strategies of development-oriented four generations of non-government organizations (NGOs) and social psychology such as stereotypes, prejudices and actions to explain the social phenomenon. In furtherance, the case presents Aristotle’s approach to creating a message for masses that include use of ethos, pathos and logos. Stood’s (2017) narrative, engagement and technology (NET) model of social leadership was used to analyse the characteristics of social leaders. Research methodology Prima facie the case was developed from primary sources i.e. interviewing with Ashish Thakur. Literature from secondary sources was obtained to make teaching notes. List of references is presented towards the end that depicts the use of textbooks, research papers, websites and blogs. This case was tested in the classroom with MBA students learning business communication. Case overview/synopsis The case dealt with the challenges of an NGO that included conducting respectful last rites of unclaimed dead bodies. As the NGO grew, Ashish Thakur, the initiator of Moksh started facing resource management challenges, namely, volunteer induction, fundraising and managing non-human resources. These issues are deeply embedded in several social stereotypes about dead bodies. Learning covers strategies of four generations of NGO development, a NET model of social leadership, breaking social stereotypes related to dead bodies and last rites (necrophobia), designing social communication and opportunity to assess faulty rationalizations and do critical thinking around the socio-religious practices. Complexity academic level This case is intended to be used for the students of the social leadership or social entrepreneurship, social psychology, business communication or communication skills, organizational behaviour, advertising and social media.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Ah Kim ◽  
Seok Woo Jeong

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relation between gender diversity in employees and earnings quality. Specifically, how gender diversity among full-time and part-time employees is associated with discretionary accruals in Korea is examined. Design/methodology/approach The author analyzes the association between women ratio among full-time (part-time) employees and discretionary accruals by using 3,687 firm-years of Korean listed companies from 2010 to 2012. The regression model used in Barua et al. (2010) is adopted. The dependent variables, the absolute value of discretionary accruals, are proxied by the Modified Jones Model of Dechow et al. (1995) and the Performance Matched Model of Kothari et al. (2005). Findings First, a higher ratio of women among full-time workers is related to lower discretionary accruals, whereas that of part-time female employees is not related to discretionary accruals. Second, the effect of gender diversity in employees varies depending on the possibility of earnings management. Third, the results are robust with sample firm-years without female executives, thereby suggesting that the results are not driven by the existence of female executives, and robust to accounting standards and firm-year clustering. Originality/value This paper expands the understanding about the determination of discretionary accruals by demonstrating the impact of full-time female employees on earnings quality. Previous studies demonstrated that female workers are more ethical in the workplace, and the quality of accounting information disclosed by firms with female CFOs or directors, i.e. high ranking officers, is higher. It is observed that accounting information quality is higher when firms simply have more female workers, regardless of their relative position in the firm. This complements the results of previous studies and indicates gender diversity among employees is a sign of accounting information quality.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunhong Hao ◽  
Jie Hao ◽  
Xiaochen Wang

Purpose Focusing on the corporations in China and aiming to figure out the significant connection between organizational justice perception and job satisfaction from Chinese setting, this study aimed to examine the effects of organizational justice upon job satisfaction of the full-time and part-time employees in the state owned enterprise (SOEs) and primate Chinese companies. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the questionnaire to investigate more than 300 employees, and the empirical data of this paper is based on statistical analysis, such as confirmatory factor analysis, correlational and regression analysis. Findings The paper arrives at the conclusion that in SOEs, the employees’ perception about procedural justice was higher than distributive justice. While in private enterprises, the procedural justice and interactive justice were tested to have similar coefficients. The relationship between organizational justice and job satisfaction differed between full-time employees and part-time employees. Practical implications This study opens a new window for understanding how organizational justice influences employees’ job satisfaction in Chinese context, taking a further step to explore the different impacts of organizational justice on job satisfaction among different types of employees. Originality/value This paper collected data from both SOE and private companies in China, increasing the external validity of the findings. Meanwhile, the authors observed consistent findings with the studies in Western Society, which increase the generalization of our findings as well. The findings highlight the value of integrating literatures on organizational justice and job satisfaction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-533
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Duguet ◽  
Rémi Le Gall ◽  
Yannick L’Horty ◽  
Pascale Petit

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the effect of labour market status on the current probability to be invited to a hiring interview. The authors compare the effect of periods of unemployment, part-time job and short-term contracts (STCs). Design/methodology/approach Correspondence tests were conducted for accountants and sales assistants. The authors estimate the discrimination components from the response rate of each candidate by the asymptotic least squares method. Findings The authors find that men with a part-time profile suffer discrimination in both professions. Other differences of treatment are specific: for accountants, the authors find that the probability of success decreases with the time spent in unemployment, while for sales assistants the probability of success is smaller with a history of STCs. Originality/value This study compares the effect of different dimensions of career history (part-time versus full-time, permanent versus short-term, unemployment versus employment) for experienced job candidates. It also proposes an alternative way to exploit the design of a correspondence experiment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 468-484
Author(s):  
Gbolahan Gbadamosi ◽  
Carl Evans ◽  
Mark Richardson ◽  
Yos Chanthana

PurposeBuilding on the self-efficacy theory and self-theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate students working part-time whilst pursuing full-time higher education in Cambodia. It explores individuals’ part-time working activities, career aspirations and self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 850 business and social sciences degree students, with 199 (23.4 per cent) usable responses, of which 129 (65.2 per cent of the sample) indicated they currently have a job.FindingsMultiple regression analysis confirmed part-time work as a significant predictor of self-efficacy. There was a positive recognition of the value of part-time work, particularly in informing career aspirations. Female students were significantly more positive about part-time work, demonstrating significantly higher career aspirations than males. Results also suggest that students recognise the value that work experience hold in identifying future career directions and securing the first graduate position.Practical implicationsThere are potential implications for approaches to curriculum design and learning, teaching and assessment for universities. There are also clear opportunities to integrate work-based and work-related learning experience into the curriculum and facilitate greater collaboration between higher education institutions and employers in Cambodia.Social implicationsThere are implications for recruitment practices amongst organisations seeking to maximise the benefits derived from an increasingly highly educated workforce, including skills acquisition and development, and self-efficacy.Originality/valueIt investigates the importance of income derived from part-time working to full-time university students in a developing South-East Asian country (Cambodia), where poverty levels and the need to contribute to family income potentially predominate the decision to work while studying.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 636-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordhan K. Saini ◽  
I.M. Jawahar

Purpose Drawing on the psychological contract theory and signaling theory, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the effect of employer rankings and employment experience on employee recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice and second, to examine whether these effects vary by employee characteristics (i.e. full-time vs part-time, current vs former and newcomers vs established employees). Design/methodology/approach The authors used multilevel logistic regression on a sample of 39,010 Glassdoor employee reviews, drawn from the companies for which three-year employer rankings (from 2015 to 2017) were available, to achieve our research objectives. Findings The results show that employment experience influenced employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice. The average standardized rankings for three years (i.e. 2015–2017) was also associated with employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice. Employee characteristics such as employment type (i.e. full-time vs part-time), employment status (i.e. current vs former) and tenure significantly interacted with employment experience in affecting recommendations of a company as an employer of choice. Originality/value In contrast to the bulk of the research on employer branding that relied on job seekers, the authors studied factors that influence employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice, arguably the most important indicator of employer internal brand strength. The results offer fresh theoretical and practical insights in an area where research lags far behind practice.


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