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Minimum Wages and Employment: Effects of Rising Minimum Wages on Employment of Young Workers in Washington State
Full text link13 pagesThis paper studies the effects of minimum wage on employment using data from two neighboring US states, Washington, which has increased its minimum wage over time, and Idaho, which has kept it constant. This study attempts to use conventional regressions with recent CPS data over a longer time period to provide additional insights into the effects of minimum wage on young worker employment, looking specifically at workers between the ages of 14 to 30. Using the data from Washington and Idaho, this study finds that recent minimum wage increases in Washington have produced a statistically significant negative effect on employment
Book Review: Level Five Coaching System: How Sales Leaders Are Developing Preeminent Sales Teams
Full text link6 pagesThis book review assesses John Hoskins' Level Five Coaching System: How Sales Leaders Are Developing Preeminent Sales Teams. Targeting sales leaders, the book provides a concise yet comprehensive framework for developing successful sales teams, emphasizing consultative selling. Hoskins guides readers through five progressive levels of selling, emphasizing the mindset's pivotal role in sales success. The book stands out for its unique framework, offering a clear and consistent approach to implementing and measuring sales coaching. While not introductory, the book benefits new sales leaders, addressing a literature gap in sales coaching processes. Despite being released pre-pandemic, the book's content remains relevant, aligning with the urgency of developing seller capabilities in an evolving buyer landscape. It advocates for upskilling, resonating with McKinsey's research on salesforce development. Beyond professional applications, the Level Five Coaching System is also useful in higher education, offering practical application, real-world relevance, skill development, adaptability, and improved learning outcomes. Its versatility makes it a valuable resource for both practical and academic contexts
Developing Tomorrow’s Introverted Leader: Exploring Discrimination, Leadership Aptitude, and Strategic Development
Full text link17 pagesWhen it comes to leadership opportunities, introverts are commonly dismissed due to qualities that seem ill-fitting when compared to extroverted candidates. In truth, introverts possess many leadership-suited traits, but these are often unnoticed in the workplace because many organizational practices, standards, and selection measures are designed with extroverts in mind. By shaping development, success, and advancement around extroversion, introverted employees – including those from cultures that value introverted traits – are systemically disserviced, creating disparate impact. To further understand these issues, an extensive literature review was conducted to explore the relationship between leadership and introversion from multiple cultural and industry perspectives. The takeaways from this research affirmed that introverted leaders can be powerful but that employers tend not to see this potential. More interestingly, the study revealed the serious issue of discrimination that introverts face, as well as the roots of such treatment. This revelation, in turn, confirmed that organizational practices have created unfair leadership roadblocks for introverts. On the bright side, the literature review confirmed that successful leadership development methods for introverts exist but have generally been unutilized because they have not been strategically wielded together. To begin rectifying this oversight, those development methods were summarized into a basic developmental framework of best practices for effectively identifying and developing introverted leaders
State of Iowa vs. Sam Craft, Brief for the Appellant
No full textLegal Brief. 38 pages2023 Supreme Court Competition Problem:
Sam Craft lives in a small home on Birch Street in Eldora, Iowa. Craft owns the home and is its sole occupant. The back yard is surrounded by a fence. The front yard is unfenced. There are four other houses on Birch Street, which is a short dead-end side street. Birch Street connects onto Main Street, between a grocery store and a small church.
In early 2020, DCI Special Agent Trails suspected that there was some activity related to fentanyl trafficking at Craft’s residence. She obtained permission from the city to install a small digital video camera on a telephone pole just across the street from Craft’s residence.
Throughout 2021, the camera was active and pointed at the front of Craft’s house. Agent Trails monitored the feed. She could also review footage, after the fact. She was able to zoom in to get enough detail to see license plate numbers or facial expressions. But most of the time, the camera was zoomed out to capture a wider shot of the exterior of Craft’s home. No part of the interior of Craft’s home is visible in any of the footage that Agent Trails used.
In March 2022, Special Agent Trails applied for a warrant to search Craft’s home. In her search warrant application, she relied on that video footage to establish a pattern of what looked like mid-level drug distribution activity: regular visits by known users and low-level dealers, and bi-weekly visits from a subject with no other known connection to Eldora, who drove a different rental vehicle on each visit to Craft’s residence.
A magistrate found probable cause to issue the search warrant. Agents found a large quantity of fentanyl in his home, and evidence that would help prove an ongoing intent to distribute it (including drug ledgers, scales, and packaging supplies). Craft was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver.
Craft moved to suppress all the evidence discovered during the search of his home. He argued that the search warrant was issued based on evidence that was obtained through a warrantless search that violated Craft’s rights under the Fourth Amendment.
The State argued that warrantless visual surveillance of the area surrounding a home does not constitute a search. The State argued that any subjective expectation of privacy in activities that occur in public view—just outside of Craft’s residence—would never be objectively reasonable. And if there’s no expectation of privacy, the State is free to view and record that activity.
The District Court granted Craft’s Motion to Suppress. It acknowledged that the unfenced front yard of Craft’s home was open to public view. But it held that surreptitious, continuous surveillance of the front of a private home for an entire year is unreasonably invasive and violates a reasonable expectation of privacy—even if widespread availability of new technology makes it easy to do. So it ruled that using the pole camera was a search that violated the Fourth Amendment, and it suppressed all of the evidence found through the search warrant.
The State appealed, and the Iowa Supreme Court retained the appeal. The State must convince the Justices that the district court was incorrect, and using this pole camera was not a search. Craft must convince the Justices that the district court got it right, and that this as a search. This is a novel, complex, and difficult issue—but our intrepid finalists are up to the task
Weathering the Storm: Evaluating Captive Insurance for Iowa Cooperatives in Crisis
Full text link4 pagesIowa agricultural cooperatives are facing a crisis in obtaining affordable and comprehensive property and casualty insurance due to the withdrawal of major carriers and significant increases in premiums and deductibles. The regulatory requirements for property and casualty insurance and its importance for securing commercial loans make this crisis particularly concerning. This paper examines captive insurance as an alternative for Iowa cooperatives, outlining the benefits and challenges of a self-insurance model. While captive insurance offers customization, potential cost savings, tax incentives, and risk management benefits, cooperatives must consider high start-up costs, limited risk pooling, and selective admission. The paper also discusses strategies for overcoming these challenges, such as purchasing reinsurance and diversifying captive membership. The issue will be further explored at an upcoming cooperative CFO conference in June 2023
How the Internet of Things (IoT) is Adding Proactivity to Insurance
Full text link20 pagesIn recent years, the insurance industry has seen a major shift in how data is used, specifically in the realm of risk prevention. Advancements in technology within the Internet of Things (IoT) have enabled more comprehensive data analysis, changing the way the industry views risk. This has led to an increased emphasis on solutions that are proactive, preventing risk as opposed to merely mitigating losses. Despite the industry being historically slow-moving and focused on response to risk, new offerings are now promoting prediction and prevention of risk. This report will explore the implementation of the Internet of Things into the insurance industry. First, the concepts of IoT and proactivity will be described. The state of the insurance industry will then be examined, followed by the culture of innovation within insurance companies and how it holds a significant role in driving the industry forward. A select overview of insurtech solutions that contribute to the theme of proactivity within IoT will be detailed. To follow, looming adoption issues will be addressed. Finally, the report will outline up-and-coming strategies in the industry, including the rising trends of integration and gamification
Career Opportunities in the Iowa Insurance Industry
Full text link5 pagesThe Iowa insurance industry is an economic powerhouse, creating an $8.9 billion impact in the Des Moines – West Des Moines MSA alone. The industry’s scale has spawned two start-up accelerators focused on insurtech, each with a global reach. The Iowa workforce has experienced twenty-five percent growth since 2000. Insurance carriers are attractive employers exhibited through a high level of compensation, wage growth at a rate above the national average, and a suite of employee benefits that are generous, flexible, and well-aligned with the desires of generation Z. Over the next decade, nearly twenty percent of the workforce will reach retirement age. This retirement wave will create rapid advancement opportunities for younger employees, especially those with skills in technology, data analytics, distribution, and product development.
The demand for actuaries is expected to grow at a rate three times greater than the average occupation while actuarial compensation exceeds the median annual salary of other mathematical science occupations. Actuarial careers are consistently ranked among the best in both business and STEM fields and have above-average upward mobility
Suggestions for Solving Cheating Scandals at Public Accounting Firms
Full text link5 pagesThe purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions that may help to resolve problems that public accounting firms have experienced with employees cheating on the AICPA’s ethics exam and on training exams, including Continuing Professional Education (CPE) exams. To form these suggestions, we analyzed the recent cheating scandal at Ernst & Young (EY) that was widely publicized in June 2022. Our suggestions include: (1) impose more effective penalties and deterrents; (2) redesign the ethics exam; (3) implement mandatory time for CPE and provide confidential outplacement services, and (4) rethink CPE requirements for the profession as a whole
Effective Cybersecurity Training Using Microlearning and the Drip Concept: A Case Study of a Large Regional Hospital
Full text link16 pagesCybersecurity is a critical aspect of any business, with organizations investing in sophisticated software to protect sensitive data from potential hacks or breaches. However, human error remains the leading cause of security breaches. Most employees access the internet and email, exposing businesses to various risks. Businesses and organizations within all industries take action to mitigate this risk by providing cybersecurity training. For most, cybersecurity training takes the form of an annual 60-minute-long video training with a short quiz or acknowledgement for completion. This traditional format has been proven ineffective. In contrast, the drip concept employs a constant steam of information to educate and persuade. The concept comes from the practice of and ‘drip irrigation’ and ‘drip marketing’ whereby small drops of water provide constant nourishment to plants, or automated emails capture viewers attention. We propose that the use of microlearning and the drip concept will allow employees to become better educated on the topic of IT security. The microlearning technique, which involves repeating small bits of information over an extended period, has been proven effective through programs like Duolingo and Fitbit. In our paper, we explore the implementation of cybersecurity microlearning in the healthcare industry. We utilized two group interviews followed by a member check where our findings were confirmed with the informants. We found that microlearning was effective when combined with effective incentives, however several professional groups required specialized training and different engagement methods
Investing in Innovation: An Insurance Carrier’s Guide to Insurtech Engagement
Full text link25 pagesIn a heavily digitized world of speed and convenience - where anyone can purchase groceries, hail a driver, and file their taxes from the comfort of home with just a few clicks or taps - consumers demand ease in everything they do. These expectations do not stop short of the insurance experience, and companies that fail to modernize and accommodate them will surely be left behind. Insurers need not fear, however, as substantial opportunity and assistance exists in the growing landscape of insurance technology (“insurtech”). This report aims to provide a comprehensive guide to properly navigating and taking advantage of insurtech for insurance carriers. Despite its overarching theme, insurtech comes in infinite forms, with a variety of specific objectives, for use by every party in the insurance industry. Therefore, the first section of this report breaks down the complexities of insurtech to define it broadly, explain its origins, and analyze leading technologies in the space. In addition, the first section further explores why insurtech relationships are almost always necessary for survival as a carrier, regardless of the difficulties they present. Broken into the five main stages of insurtech engagement, the second section draws heavily from our interviews with insurance innovation leaders to emphasize the most crucial action points for maximizing success in each step. This includes assessing resources such as budgetary capacity and human capital to determine whether external innovation is optimal, utilizing a variety of sources - most importantly insurtech accelerators - to stay informed of insurtech trends and offerings, and creating a standardized process for testing and evaluating potential solutions. Assuming a desired and compatible insurtech is discovered, we discuss how a carrier’s needs and capabilities dictate its form of engagement (i.e., partnership, acquisition, or other) and provide essential considerations for fostering a fruitful insurtech relationship of any structure. The third and final section of the report summarizes our findings and highlights prominent technologies such as blockchain that are predicted to drive the future of insurtech. Lastly, we encourage carriers of all sizes to prioritize their technological advancement by devoting resources to insurtech learning, testing, and investment