Matching Items (35)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Sustainability
- Creators: Department of Marketing
- Resource Type: Text
- Status: Published
Description
Sustainability has been a growing topic since the 1970’s, but is truly taking shape today as society is beginning to understand the necessity of protecting our environment. Business organizations are following this ‘megatrend’ and are beginning to incorporate sustainable initiatives in their organizations from the inside out. The sports industry is no exception as they are extremely influential over the millions of fans that follow them, whom have a strong affiliation with their favorite team. The Arizona Diamondbacks understand this responsibility and seek to be a leader in their community by creating many sustainable initiatives within their organization and community. The current problem the organization faces, is that much of the community are not aware of their environmental commitment. This is in part due to a lack of marketing within the organization and to the Arizona valley. This project analyzes the sports industry’s commitment to sustainability and how the Arizona Diamondbacks compare to industry leaders. Included is a detailed marketing plan for the organization comprised of current initiatives and of new initiatives that the Diamondbacks could potentially carry out. The implementation of this proposal could deem extremely beneficial as it would strengthen their identity, unify their employees and engage fans, which will make them feel a deeper affiliation with the organization. The Diamondbacks have made a commitment to the environment, but it is time to deepen that commitment, set an example for people in the Valley and in turn, spark social change.
ContributorsBauman, Jillian (Co-author) / Hopson, Emma (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Kutz, Elana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary research includes a discussion on the history of sustainability as a discipline, the university as a social system, the role of university administration, the roles of professors and students, benchmarking and process improvement for curriculum development, and methods to bridge epistemologies in SOS. The paper presents findings from a study of the SOS undergraduate student experience that used focus groups to gather qualitative data and statistical analysis to analyze that data quantitatively. Study findings indicate that that measuring student perception of SOS's academic services, and understanding the social system of the university, helps administration, faculty, and students collaborate more effectively to enhance learning experiences.
ContributorsTom, Sharyn Paige (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In 2016, in the United States alone, the cosmetics industry made an estimated 62.46 billion dollars in revenue (Revenue of the Cosmetic Industry in the U.S. 2002-2016 | Forecast). With a consistent increase in sales in the last several years, the industry has reached continued success even during times of hardship, such as the Great Recession of 2008. The use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), external campaigns, and thoughtful packaging and ingredients resonates with targeted consumers. This has served as an effective strategy to maintain growth in the industry. Cosmetic companies promote their brand image using these sustainability tactics, but there seems to be a lack of transparency in this unregulated industry. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if the cosmetics industry is a good steward of the sustainability movement. Important terms and concepts relating to the industry will be discussed, then an analysis of sustainability focused cosmetic brands will be provided, which highlights the extent to which these brands engage in activities that promote sustainability. This is followed by an application of findings to a company that could benefit from using such practices. Overall, the analysis of the different brands proved to be shocking and disappointing. This is due to the sheer amount that scored very poorly based on the sustainability criteria developed. The cosmetics industry is too inconsistent and too unregulated to truly act as a good steward for sustainability. Though some companies in the industry succeed, these accomplishments are not consistent across all cosmetic companies. Hence, the cosmetics industry as a good steward for sustainability can only be as strong as its weakest link.
ContributorsMamus, Sydney Wasescha (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Kristofferson, Kirk (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Although the Leadership Scholarship Program has seen successful recruiting processes throughout changes in leadership of the program; the organization expressed a need for major overhaul to reevaluate the decisions of the process and to establish backing for those decisions. By asking current and alumni members of the program about what they would like to see in a future member of the program as well as which parts of the process they found most important, the qualities of a future member of the program could be established and weighted. The goals of the reevaluation were to help eliminate bias, discrepancies between applications with extremely different uncontrollable factors, define points of discrepancies, and establish organizational sustainability while achieving a 100% acceptance rate from offered students. Each of these goals was achieved through methods outlined in the LSP Selection Process Manual that was written as a result of this reevaluation. The manual also outlines ways to improve the process going forward.
ContributorsCassidy, Delilah R. (Author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Klinkner, Lara (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Sport is a widespread phenomenon across human cultures and history. Unfortunately, positive emotions in sport have been long vaguely characterized as happy or pleasant, or ignored altogether. Recent emotion research has taken a differentiated approach, however, suggesting there are distinct positive emotions with diverse implications for behavior. The present study applied this evolutionarily informed approach in the context of sport to examine which positive emotions are associated with play. It was hypothesized that pride, amusement, and enthusiasm, but not contentment or awe, would increase in Ultimate Frisbee players during a practice scrimmage. Further, it was hypothesized that increases in pride and amusement during practice would be differentially associated with sport outcomes, including performance (scores, assists, and defenses), subjective social connectedness, attributions of success, and attitudes toward the importance of practice. It was found that all positive emotions decreased during practice. It was also found that increases in pride were associated with more scores and greater social connectedness, whereas increases in amusement were associated with more assists. The present study was one of the first to examine change in positive emotions during play and to relate them to specific performance outcomes. Future studies should expand to determine which came first: emotion or performance.
ContributorsKuna, Jacob Anthony (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Danvers, Alexander (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis provides an analysis of company culture in well-known and relevant businesses to identify a successful company culture and create an outline for businesses to follow when designing or revamping their culture. This included research and analysis of successful and unsuccessful company cultures and the affect they have on customers, employees and employers. This analysis created measurements to use to identify good company culture and bad company culture. These were identified through evaluations of employee reviews, secondary research and business articles. From there, different parts of company culture were identified as key components to building a strong, prideful and successful company culture and alternatively, what deteriorates a company culture. As a result of this thesis I uncovered measurements to use to identify a good company culture and six critical success factors to outline a successful company culture that can be tailored to any business. The measurements were surrounding retention rates, innovation, company development, employee perks, a fun atmosphere and an overall attention to employee needs. The critical success factors of company culture are to set the mission and vision of the company, define the company's core values, set a budget for company culture expenses, add special perks or actions that make your culture unique, hire and train right from the start and most importantly follow through. These factors create an outline for how to structure a great company culture, but do not set boundaries for any company. The best company culture is authentic to a company's mission, goals, customers and employees.
ContributorsHauck, Mariah Shelby (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two positive discrete emotions, awe and nurturant love, on implicit prejudices. After completing an emotion induction task, participants completed Implicit Association Test blocks where they paired photos of Arab and White individuals with "good" and "bad" evaluations. We hypothesized that nurturant love would increase the strength of negative evaluations of Arab individuals and positive evaluations of White individuals, whereas awe would decrease the strength of these negative evaluations when compared to a neutral condition. However, we found that both awe and nurturant love increased negative implicit prejudices toward Arab individuals when compared to the neutral condition.
ContributorsCarrasco, Mia Annette (Author) / Shiota, Michelle (Thesis director) / O'Neil, Makenzie (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis study is to widen the understanding of the effect culture on self-improvement. Past research found that Japanese students, when compared to their North American counterparts, are more likely to strive for self-improvement by persisting when they encounter academic setbacks. In addition to North Americans and Asians, this thesis examines South Asians as well. It is hypothesized that South Asians will have similar levels of self-improvement as East Asians. This thesis also looks at possible explanations for why culture affects self-improvement. Two variables, future self-connectedness and growth mindset, are proposed as these explanations. It is hypothesized that culture affects future self-connectedness and growth mindset, and those two variables in turn influence self-improvement.
For this thesis, 100 undergraduate and recent college graduates completed online self-report measures. Results of independent t-tests showed that there were no significant differences between South and East Asians in self-improvement, which is consistent with what was hypothesized. There were also no differences between South and East Asians in future self-connectedness or growth mindset. The two Asian groups were then combined and compared to North Americans. Further independent t-tests were run, and results found that while the trend was as expected and Asians exhibited higher levels of self-improvement than North Americans, they did not exhibit significantly higher levels. There were also no significant differences between North Americans and Asians in growth mindset, however, North Americans had significantly higher levels of future self-connectedness than Asians, contrary to expectation. Results of mediation regressions found that neither future self-connectedness nor growth mindset significantly explained the effect of culture on self-improvement.
For this thesis, 100 undergraduate and recent college graduates completed online self-report measures. Results of independent t-tests showed that there were no significant differences between South and East Asians in self-improvement, which is consistent with what was hypothesized. There were also no differences between South and East Asians in future self-connectedness or growth mindset. The two Asian groups were then combined and compared to North Americans. Further independent t-tests were run, and results found that while the trend was as expected and Asians exhibited higher levels of self-improvement than North Americans, they did not exhibit significantly higher levels. There were also no significant differences between North Americans and Asians in growth mindset, however, North Americans had significantly higher levels of future self-connectedness than Asians, contrary to expectation. Results of mediation regressions found that neither future self-connectedness nor growth mindset significantly explained the effect of culture on self-improvement.
ContributorsShaikjamaludeen, Shaikhameedha (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Shiota, Michelle (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Scenario planning originally garnered attention within the corporate sector as a tool to manage energy transitions, but it has gained traction within the field of sustainability. It is a process for exploring potential futures and thinking critically about complex decisions that involve high degrees of uncertainty. It is also effective in shifting mental models, engaging diverse stakeholders, and enhancing organizational learning, making it ideal for the complex problems that sustainability seeks to address. The resulting insights from scenario planning are typically used in strategic planning, which further aligns it with sustainability’s commitments to action-oriented solutions.
As a highly participative process, its success hinges on inclusive and just engagement of participants. This dissertation employed a multimethod approach to address the question, “What impacts do social dynamics have on participation in scenario planning for sustainability?” First, I conducted an ethical exploration of participation, looking to the systemic societal factors that might function as barriers to authentic participation. Next, I conducted an ethnographic study of a scenario planning workshop to identify ways in which social influence and authority impact participation in the process. Finally, I piloted a psychology study that explored the impact of explicit acknowledgement of status differential and the use of pre-event brainstorming on participation in a small group task that parallels scenario planning interactions.
In doing so, this dissertation presents a conceptual framework from which to understand the role of participation in scenario planning for sustainability and coins the term “strawman participation,” drawing attention to the role and function of social influence in participatory processes. If “token participation” arises from participants not being granted decision-making power, strawman participation develops from social/structural barriers, then “authentic participation” allows for both decision-making power and social capacity for participation. Though my findings suggest that scenario planning utilizes methods to equalize participation and engage diverse participants, factors such as status differentials and gender dynamics impact authentic participation. Results of the pilot study point to the utility of status concealment and individual-level brainstorming to bolster participation. Ultimately, this work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of participation in service of more robust, pluralistic sustainability decision making.
As a highly participative process, its success hinges on inclusive and just engagement of participants. This dissertation employed a multimethod approach to address the question, “What impacts do social dynamics have on participation in scenario planning for sustainability?” First, I conducted an ethical exploration of participation, looking to the systemic societal factors that might function as barriers to authentic participation. Next, I conducted an ethnographic study of a scenario planning workshop to identify ways in which social influence and authority impact participation in the process. Finally, I piloted a psychology study that explored the impact of explicit acknowledgement of status differential and the use of pre-event brainstorming on participation in a small group task that parallels scenario planning interactions.
In doing so, this dissertation presents a conceptual framework from which to understand the role of participation in scenario planning for sustainability and coins the term “strawman participation,” drawing attention to the role and function of social influence in participatory processes. If “token participation” arises from participants not being granted decision-making power, strawman participation develops from social/structural barriers, then “authentic participation” allows for both decision-making power and social capacity for participation. Though my findings suggest that scenario planning utilizes methods to equalize participation and engage diverse participants, factors such as status differentials and gender dynamics impact authentic participation. Results of the pilot study point to the utility of status concealment and individual-level brainstorming to bolster participation. Ultimately, this work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of participation in service of more robust, pluralistic sustainability decision making.
ContributorsRodegher, Sandra Lina (Author) / Selin, Cynthia L (Thesis advisor) / Shiota, Michelle (Committee member) / McGregor, Joan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
In this paper, I analyze the costs and benefits of waste prevention and zero waste initiatives that are inflicted upon society. The problem lies in the amount of human municipal solid waste (HMSW) resulting from human activities, especially as growing global urban population estimated to be producing three times as much waste as it does today (Goto, 2014). Landfill externalities are addressed to explain the purpose of this research. Additionally, the efficiency of diverting waste from the landfill is assessed; these diversion methods are recycling, composting, and the uses of TerraCycle. It is important to note the difference between waste prevention and zero waste: Waste prevention is simply reducing the amount of waste, whereas zero waste is aiming to divert HMSW for other uses other than going its final destination, the landfill. This research highlights tax policies and incentive-based approaches that cities currently enforce, as well as repercussions of these approaches. Waste prevention is explored from the user perspective and reactions to taxes on waste that were implemented to promote global sustainability, which can be seen from the primary data collected. I analyze the success of zero waste initiatives in the online marketing agency, Vertical Measures, comparing landfill waste diversion with the implementation of zero waste initiatives. This paper highlights the observations and results from this two-month analysis. With both the analyses of city regulations and first-hand application of zero waste and waste prevention methods, the findings suggest that the success of these initiatives depends on various factors including location and participant attitudes. This research and data can help provide insight for other small businesses for a more sustainable environment and workplace.
ContributorsPhong, Kellie Hue (Author) / Williams, Stanley N. (Thesis director) / Abbott, Joshua K. (Committee member) / Slaymaker, Alexandra (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05