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Description
Expat assignments can be incredibly useful, if done correctly. However, 10-20 percent of expat assignments fail due to various difficulties \u2014 adjustment, preparedness, family issues, etc. There are many ways to mitigate this failure rate, include training and development, proper preparation, support throughout the assignment \u2014 the one this thesis evaluates is proper selection measures for choosing an expat going abroad. Selecting the right candidate is the first step in the battle and if this is done correctly, it increases the likelihood that the expat assignment will be successful. Here we evaluate three selection measures: job performance, resiliency, and employee readiness. Included are interview questions with raters, as well as comments from current/past expats and managers of expats. If the three characteristics are well assessed for, a better selection for an expat can be made, thus increasing the probability of a successful assignment.
ContributorsHarrington, Jessarra Morgan (Author) / Baer, Michael (Thesis director) / Macafee, Lisa (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Many companies recognize the need of soft skill improvement and utilize leadership development programs. As the program states, the company uses the curriculum to focus on developing and cultivating leadership skills for their employees. While perfecting the aptitudes, it is vital that these curriculums focus primarily on developing soft skills rather than hard skills. Not stating that hard skills are not significant; just that leaders require to apply soft skills abundantly in their day to day duties. Within this thesis, the discussion is on the gap of soft skills and why the need to improve and narrow the breach is imperative in today's workforce. About 67% of HR managers will hire a candidate with strong soft skills, even if their hard skills are lacking; since HR managers value and recognize the proficiency gap of soft skills in the workforce today. Because of the necessity for soft skills, it is vital for employers to identify how to assess for soft skills. In order to do so, the companies should focus on the competencies that are required for the needed position. For the competencies that are utilized in leadership positions, soft skills are emphasized and assesses for more. Salt River Project is utilized, in the thesis, as a company example on assessing competencies that are desired when hiring for leadership positions, varying from a supervisor level position to a director level position. Due to the findings stated in the thesis, soft skills are weighed heavily and are recognized as required skills for most leadership positions. Therefore, soft skills are paramount in leadership development programs.
ContributorsRodriquez, Alisa (Author) / Macafee, Lisa (Thesis director) / Knott, Eric (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In my creative project, I decided to shadow a naturopathic doctor to experience what the process of naturopathic treatment entails. I conducted interviews with patients and Dr. Raisanen to explore their backgrounds and motivations, and read studies he recommended that explained some of the science behind his methods of treatment, such as fasting, dietary adjustment (a plant based diet), sodium and saturated/trans fats reduction, caffeine reduction, exercise, stress modulation, supplements, and sleep adjustments. I wrote small expositional summaries on these studies. I also took measurements recorded by Dr. Raisanen through the course of treatments with different patients to produce visuals of changes in body composition. I finally produced a small handout with Dr. Raisanen's help that summarized on a page the basics of lifestyle changes that a naturopathic doctor would want a patient to undertake.
ContributorsSkoog, David Alexander (Author) / Alexon, Christy (Thesis director) / Raisanen, Peter (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Student Organizations at Arizona State University experience a high volume of employee turnover throughout the school year. Change in organizations is inevitable; however, this element of change directly affects the prosperity of the organization. The intent of this project was to research and identify the motives behind the departing student workers and offer a solution for retention. The Programming and Activities Board \u2014 the second largest student organization on campus, known for its event planning expertise, was used as a means of testing the idea of the impact of training development on student workers. This study involved research in human resource management and industrial organizational psychology. As a result, job analysis was performed, organizational restructuring occurred as well as the creation of a one stop platform for learning and development that contains online interactive trainings, platform for management to engage the workers, pre-test and post-tests as well as additional organizational information. Student Organizations provide undergraduates and graduates with the opportunities to grow and develop skills for the real world. By restructuring the way of management within the organization will provide an opportunity to create stronger student organizations in the future. This study found that with a solid training and development plan, students could understand the purpose they were working towards and understand their current roles and responsibilities in the organization. The Programming and Activities Board had previously experienced a 40.9% turnover rate but after the implementation of the program turnover is now at 11.9%. The transition from traditional to e-learning training is beginning to embed itself into the organizational culture due to the creation of a sustainable solution plan.
ContributorsReade, Kelsey Nicole (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Davis, Ben (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The world has been greatly impacted by the global pandemic. One of the most substantial shifts was within the workplace and the emergence of a virtual working environment. It has been proven that Generation Z is leaning towards a hybrid working environment for their future careers. According to a recent AT&T survey of employees and business leaders at large U.S. companies, about 86% of employees would prefer hybrid work (Kelly, 2022). Companies have not yet considered successful hybrid working set-ups that could benefit their organization. Research is proving that 72% of businesses reported having no hybrid strategy or basic model that is being implemented into the organization. Both companies and individuals agree that a hybrid working model will help court more young talent. This research study explores the new option of creating a basic hybrid working model that can be adopted by any organization for its remote eligible workers. The model brings together the preferences of Generation Z with research on important hybrid working features specified by additional outside research. A survey conducted on people between the ages of 18 to 25 with one hundred seventeen responses found that 70.9% answered that they would prefer a hybrid working environment. The process for this hybrid work format is compared to that of a hybrid car engine (Appendix A). In order to have a successful output, there need to be specific inputs to ensure the model’s functionality. By following and adding to the model, an organization can increase the success of its hybrid working environment for the new generation of workers coming in after experiencing the pandemic. The overall study aims to voice insights on Gen Z’s working preferences and provide a future solution for creating successful hybrid working conditions for organizations with the potential for further research.
ContributorsBurr, Rosalia (Author) / West, Mindy (Thesis director) / Meier (Hahn), Lisa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Multiple sclerosis is currently deemed the most common autoimmune disease. By definition, multiple sclerosis, known more commonly as MS, involves an immune-mediated process in which an abnormal response of the body’s immune system is directed against the central nervous system (“Definition of MS,” n.d.). Common treatment protocols call for daily, monthly, or yearly disease-modifying medications. These drugs are taken indefinitely to stop the spread and appearance of new lesions, improve symptoms, and offer relief to the afflicted individuals. The necessity for patients to take these basic medical treatments is paramount, however, it should not be overlooked to make lifestyle changes as well. The purpose of this paper is to give a detailed understanding of multiple sclerosis, its etiology evolution, and medical advancements, while emphasizing the necessary transitions which must be made from a nutritional and lifestyle management standpoint. A brief focus will be placed on sleep, exercise, and stress management, with an emphasis on nutrition.
ContributorsDeets, Breanna L (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Grant, Shauna (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Leadership, as a field of study, has suffered under the dialectic between an ephemerality which keeps the true nature of leadership difficult to quantify and an ardent desire to have leadership fully understood so that societal institutions may improve. It is the primary focus of this research to view leadership as the collection of skills that an individual develops over time which allows them to demonstrate leadership ability regardless of their actual position within an organization. Through a review of the leadership skills literature, a potentially unifying framework for understanding and measuring leadership skills was extrapolated: Mumford, Campion, and Morgeson’s Leadership Skills STRATAPLEX (2007). In order to determine the ability of the framework to serve as a unified model between the divergent characteristics of the public and private sectors, a limited replication study was performed on a targeted sample of Human Resources (HR) leaders in the public and private sectors. The study consisted of a twenty-three-question survey which captured the HR leaders’ years of experience, sector type (sector of employment), and their self-rated measurement of the twenty-one leadership skills needed to perform in their position. Through the limited replication study, it was found that there existed no statistically significant difference between the sector type and any of the twenty-one leadership skills within this replication study. Although it should be noted that some of the leadership skills did approach statistical significance, a more robust replication of the STRATAPLEX for the explicit purpose of determining a relationship between sector type and the twenty-one leadership skills would prove useful in determining the veracity of these results. The results of this study serve to doubly inform leadership researchers of the possibility of creating a unified leadership skills framework as well as demonstrating to organizational leaders the value in producing leadership training which models this framework as its foundation for all leadership positions.
ContributorsAppelhans, Noah Michael (Author) / Knott, Eric (Thesis director) / Macafee, Lisa (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is defined as a cyclical eating pattern where an individual will fast for a specific increment of time, followed by caloric intake periods. Fasting is a crucial part of our ancestors’ adaptation to the stresses of famine in order to maintain mental acuity and physical abilities during food deprivation. IF influences physiological changes such as: triggers protective metabolic pathways, increases metabolic flexibility and resilience, promotes DNA repair and autophagy, increases microbiome diversity and restores the natural cyclical fluctuations of the gut, increases BDNF expression in mood regulating neuronal circuits, and enhances synaptic plasticity of the brain. Research on the underlying causes of mood disorders has linked impairments in neuroplasticity and cellular resilience to this pathophysiology, which fasting could mitigate. Depression and anxiety are reported as the top impediments to academic performance. Thus, an easily implemented treatment such as intermittent fasting may be an option for combating impaired mental health in college students. This research study tested time restricted feeding (TRF) and its impact on mood states. It was hypothesized that: if college students follow a time restricted feeding pattern, then they will be less moody due to TRF’s effects on the metabolism, brain, and gut. The study consisted of 11 college students: 5 following a four-week adherence to TRF (8am-4pm eating window) and 6 in the control group. The POMS questionnaire was used to measure mood states. The participants height, weight, BMI, body fat %, and POMS scores were tested at the beginning and end of the 4 week intervention. The results were as follows: weight p=0.112 (statistical trend), BMI p=0.058 (nearly significant), body fat % p=0.114 (statistical trend), POMS p=0.014 (statistically significant). The data suggests that following a TRF eating pattern can decrease moodiness and improve mood states.
ContributorsFoley, Sadie Jean (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Shepard, Christina (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This paper outlines cumulative research on food deserts in relation to college students; namely, that there are communities classified as food deserts because significant numbers of the population lack access to grocery stores selling fresh produce or other goods normally called “healthy.” These areas are often also food swamps, or areas with intense access to sugar-dense, high-fat foods. Research as a whole suggests that three considerations primarily drive food insecurity for individuals caught in these food deserts: lack of access to a personal vehicle, low income or prohibitively expensive healthy foods, and personal education or culture (Wright et al., 2016). College students both fit into the geographical food deserts and are individuals who tend to have a worrying level of food insecurity (Kim, 2018). It is costly to make adjustments to entire environments to rid communities of food desert characteristics, and it is not always potent enough to end food insecurity or malnutrition; instead, it can be much more effective to focus on individuals within communities and help push cultures into a better direction. This project demonstrates that ASU students are experiencing food dissatisfaction and are in a food desert worthy of attention and action, and that students are motivated to see a solution. The solution that the paper focuses on is a food delivery system of fresh produce and foods for students, which addresses the three drivers of individual food deserts discussed by Wright et al. (2016).
ContributorsReyes, Marina (Author) / Gailey, Timothy (Co-author) / Hailey, Lauren (Co-author) / Raghuraman, Vidya (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Satpathy, Asish (Committee member) / Balven, Rachel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / The Sidney Poitier New American Film School (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor)
Created2022-05