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- All Subjects: Business
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
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Description
This thesis analyzes the relationship between diversity within U. S. boards of directors and overall firm performance. In the summer of 2020, various political and social movements erupted, fighting against police brutality and racial violence. These events were followed by an influx of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) frameworks across corporate America. It was becoming increasingly clear that diversity within company leadership was lacking. A company’s board of directors, who is responsible for creating value for shareholders, was not an accurate representation of the people it served. First, I will begin by discussing the current state of diversity in corporate boards by discussing reasons firms diversify, benefits and risks of a diverse board, and major barriers to diversification efforts. A main goal of directors is to maximize shareholder return, which prompts the question: is there a financial benefit to having directors of different backgrounds, skills, and perspectives? In the second part of my thesis, I explore the correlation of board compositions and the company’s financial performance through a study of 45 Fortune 500 companies. Previous studies have mixed results; some studies concluded that there is a positive correlation, some found a negative correlation, and others were inconclusive. While the results of my study did not demonstrate that a relationship between firm performance and diversity exists, I want to emphasize that it does not mean that diverse boards do not contribute at all to the success of the board. There are various factors that contributed to my results, but regardless of my findings, I believe that further research of this topic is necessary and will be beneficial for those in corporate governance.
ContributorsVitale, Anna (Author) / Licon, Wendell (Thesis director) / Samuelson, Melissa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
I'm a business major. As a matter of fact, I don't have a lot of opportunities to participate in projects where I can design and build things as my engineering friends do. In fact, I'm not good at building things. And perhaps that's why I soon figured out that Engineering school isn't for me. But business alone seems to be not enough; I crave for something new and exciting and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a design on paper becoming a tangible product in hands. For that reason, I decided to join InnovationSpace after learning about the program from my professor and my friends who were in the program. My goal through the program is to deliver a product that people find useful, and hopefully, has an impact on their lives.
“InnovationSpace is an entrepreneurial joint venture among the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, W.P. Carey School of Business and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. The goal […] is to develop products that create market value while serving real societal needs and minimizing impacts on the environment. Put simply, we seek to create products that are progressive, possible and profitable. At the same time, they must have a meaningful impact on the daily lives of ordinary people. InnovationSpace utilizes two fundamental strategies for creating sustainable innovation: a model of new product development known as Integrated Innovation and the emerging field of biomimicry.” — InnovationSpace program syllabus
The focus of the project outlined by Cisco is “to understand the needs of people who face physical, cognitive or sensory disabilities, and develop new products and services for them utilizing the potential of the new technologies called the Internet of Things.” In other words, I am challenged to leverage the Internet of Things technologies to develop a device that benefits individuals with disabilities.
The final product is an automated airport cart — Chariot. Based on stakeholders’ needs interviews, we find that visually impaired people experience difficulties navigating the airport when they need to travel. Many airports attempt to solve this problem by offering wheelchair. However, visually impaired people feel that they are treated unfairly and become dependent on the wheelchairs. Chariot strives to solve this problem by applying the same concept in autonomous vehicle to guide the users through the airport. The users receive their itinerary email that will link to the Chariot app on their phones. When they arrive at the airport, the users simply connect their phones with Chariot and information such as gate number and departure time will be updated in the cart so that Chariot can guide the users to the desired destination. Ultimately, Chariot aims to give visually impaired people more control over their lives.
“InnovationSpace is an entrepreneurial joint venture among the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, W.P. Carey School of Business and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. The goal […] is to develop products that create market value while serving real societal needs and minimizing impacts on the environment. Put simply, we seek to create products that are progressive, possible and profitable. At the same time, they must have a meaningful impact on the daily lives of ordinary people. InnovationSpace utilizes two fundamental strategies for creating sustainable innovation: a model of new product development known as Integrated Innovation and the emerging field of biomimicry.” — InnovationSpace program syllabus
The focus of the project outlined by Cisco is “to understand the needs of people who face physical, cognitive or sensory disabilities, and develop new products and services for them utilizing the potential of the new technologies called the Internet of Things.” In other words, I am challenged to leverage the Internet of Things technologies to develop a device that benefits individuals with disabilities.
The final product is an automated airport cart — Chariot. Based on stakeholders’ needs interviews, we find that visually impaired people experience difficulties navigating the airport when they need to travel. Many airports attempt to solve this problem by offering wheelchair. However, visually impaired people feel that they are treated unfairly and become dependent on the wheelchairs. Chariot strives to solve this problem by applying the same concept in autonomous vehicle to guide the users through the airport. The users receive their itinerary email that will link to the Chariot app on their phones. When they arrive at the airport, the users simply connect their phones with Chariot and information such as gate number and departure time will be updated in the cart so that Chariot can guide the users to the desired destination. Ultimately, Chariot aims to give visually impaired people more control over their lives.
ContributorsNguyen, Khanh Hoang Tuan (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Hedges, Craig (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In this paper, I have designed a business model for a new type of fashion retail
store. This store will perfect the personal styling experience by utilizing customer and
apparel data to make individualized apparel recommendations. The format of this store
will heavily reduce the amount of search time for customers by only showing clothing
pieces that each person is likely to purchase, based on predictive analytics. In order to
plan this business model and determine whether a company of this style could be
successful, this paper includes research on the current environment of the fashion
industry, the company’s potential target market segmentation, and tactics for developing
the best customer offering.
store. This store will perfect the personal styling experience by utilizing customer and
apparel data to make individualized apparel recommendations. The format of this store
will heavily reduce the amount of search time for customers by only showing clothing
pieces that each person is likely to purchase, based on predictive analytics. In order to
plan this business model and determine whether a company of this style could be
successful, this paper includes research on the current environment of the fashion
industry, the company’s potential target market segmentation, and tactics for developing
the best customer offering.
ContributorsTrevino, Alexandra (Author) / Riker, Elise (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Film Industry is one of most exciting and informative businesses in the world, a business where the revenue of a single feature film can approach or exceed $1 billion. Current trends show a significant increase in independent production and a demand for major studio facilities outside of California. Many states are meeting the demand by building state-of-the-art sound stages and production facilities. To further attract productions into their state, tax incentives and rebates are offered, resulting in a long-term influx of movie production that generates hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for their communities, contributing an estimated $200,000 a day into the coffers of the localities where they film. In addition to the revenue it generates, the motion picture and television industries employ over 1.3 million Americans. Despite numerous benefits to states that cater to the movie industry, Arizona continues to flounder. With all the resources and advantages offered to Arizona including good weather and proximity to Hollywood, the state has the potential to become a key player within the film industry. The purpose of this study is to conduct interviews from industry professionals, both in and out of state, to get an idea of where Arizona stands in the movie making industry and if the state should take the steps necessary to build a more dominant presence. Using states like New Mexico as a model, comparisons will be made between different programs offered and implemented in both Arizona and other states. Data will be collected through induction of personal interviews and the responses gathered will be used to formulate a more formidable opinion on what Arizona is capable of doing within the movie making industry.
ContributorsLantz, Zachary Matthew (Co-author) / Lantz, Zachary (Co-author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
As technology increasingly connects people and economies around the world, learning an additional language is more useful than ever. Acquiring business proficiency in a foreign language makes one more competitive in the workforce and a valuable asset to an organization or company. This thesis is a creative project in the form of a course syllabus with the intention to expand the knowledge of and encourage critical thinking about Italy’s role in the European and global economy in addition to provide the language skills necessary to compete in the Italian economy. Upon completion of the course, students will become capable and more confident to communicate and work in an Italian work setting.
ContributorsAguilera, Cesar Efren (Author) / Dal Martello, Chiara (Thesis director) / Palaich, Sandra (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Innovation Space is Arizona State University’s capstone style project in which upper division students gain real experience in the startup and product development world by solving real-world problems. These problems were presented to my team by sponsor; LG Electronics. Innovation Space uniquely offered an interdisciplinary glance into “real life” in the months before college graduation. Students are placed on teams with designers, engineers, sustainability majors, and business majors to better reflect the real world. As a business student of this program, I was able to gain and share knowledge from my teammates’ distinct backgrounds; as well as gain the interdisciplinary experience that is key to a college education, specifically to a business student. LG Electronics, our sponsor, brought our team the task of expanding their product line in their “wind comfort” business unit. LG Electronics has created a lighter, more efficient motor for a fan; likely as an answer to their dominating fan competitor, Dyson. LG Electronics wanted to see what our team could do to alter the way people cool their homes, and we responded with three original ideas: a modular, non-centralized A/C unit; a hands-free hair dryer; and a portable 360 degree fan. Our team developed the latter product, and named it Torus. The product was developed over the course of August 2018 to May 2019, ending in a working prototype formally presented to the sponsor and industry professionals. On top of this project, I was directed to also analyze the Innovation Space program for its benefits and drawbacks to a business degree from the W.P. Carey School of Business.
ContributorsSkogebo, Hannah Michelle (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Hedges, Craig (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Ninety-five employees across three market leading Mexican-based corporations were interviewed to empirically evaluate the level of leadership and teamwork found within the organizations. Employees interviewed ranged in hierarchal ranking from upper-management, middle to lower management, and bluecollar positions. Based on the interviews, employees were judged on four essential characteristics of leadership and three essential traits of teamwork. Each element was scored out of five (=1 not exhibited, =2 rarely exhibited, =3 somewhat exhibited, =4 often exhibited, =5 always exhibited) and summed to compose an overall score for each of the values. Leadership and teamwork were defined using globalized oriented standards to compare how Mexican companies would be assessed if they were to enter international competition. The paper finds that high levels of productivity exists even with deficits of leadership and teamwork are present. It concludes that the managerial strategy is successful due to the culturally accepted behaviors of the Mexican society. It proposes that as Mexico continues to become a more globalized nation, the cultural mannerism will directly contradict working philosophies common to developed nations. Additionally, it suggests that if certain cultural practices were eliminated, Mexico would experience faster assimilation into the global market sphere.
ContributorsCuellar, Daniela Norma (Author) / Roberts, Nancy (Thesis director) / Darra, Manjira (Committee member) / Choubey, Chandra (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This guide is intended to give the reader a breakdown of the expectations and customs of the professional French environment. Whether one has French suppliers, partners, coworkers, or employees, it is important to understand the culture that guides their expectations and actions. This guide requires no previous knowledge of French language or culture and is meant to be an introduction to the topic.
ContributorsNicholls, Olivia G (Author) / Bahtchevanova, Mariana (Thesis director) / Winter, Marie (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
News headlines are filled with unequal treatment in the workplace. However, there are also inspirational stories that encourage young women to face the challenges they are presented as they become executives in corporate America.
The purpose of this study was to interview women executives within corporate America to identify similar means of navigating women-specific issues they may have been presented with within their industry. More specifically, the questions sought to identify how these women became successful within their industry and how their female identities may have provided benefits to them, professionally. Interviewees were selected on a multitude of factors, title and status in company, industry, including availability, mutual connections, and demographics. Interviews were conducted both in person, over the phone, via web video conference and via email. All interviewees were asked the same questions, and interviews ranged from 25-45 minutes each. Each one was recorded and transcribed in order to facilitate comparison between stories, experiences, and other mentions.
The initial intention of analyzing the interviews and stories of these executives was to identify common factors that unified their stories. There were nine categories that the interviews sought to investigate: work-life balance, starting off strong, daily routines, mentorship/support, leadership, impact and legacy, advice and motivation, pros of being a woman, biggest challenges/cons. However, the interviews revealed that there were a plethora of unique factors that identified the stories these women had to tell. Overall, 5/8 of the executives believed that their female identity provided an advantage to them in the corporate sector, 2/8 women said their identity was a neutral factor, and only one woman stated she felt it placed her at a disadvantage. Further, this study concludes that the stories of impenetrable glass ceilings and roadblocks are balanced to some degree by stories of success within the corporate sector. There were 3 key themes for their narratives for success, having a support system, putting yourself first, and giving back.
The purpose of this study was to interview women executives within corporate America to identify similar means of navigating women-specific issues they may have been presented with within their industry. More specifically, the questions sought to identify how these women became successful within their industry and how their female identities may have provided benefits to them, professionally. Interviewees were selected on a multitude of factors, title and status in company, industry, including availability, mutual connections, and demographics. Interviews were conducted both in person, over the phone, via web video conference and via email. All interviewees were asked the same questions, and interviews ranged from 25-45 minutes each. Each one was recorded and transcribed in order to facilitate comparison between stories, experiences, and other mentions.
The initial intention of analyzing the interviews and stories of these executives was to identify common factors that unified their stories. There were nine categories that the interviews sought to investigate: work-life balance, starting off strong, daily routines, mentorship/support, leadership, impact and legacy, advice and motivation, pros of being a woman, biggest challenges/cons. However, the interviews revealed that there were a plethora of unique factors that identified the stories these women had to tell. Overall, 5/8 of the executives believed that their female identity provided an advantage to them in the corporate sector, 2/8 women said their identity was a neutral factor, and only one woman stated she felt it placed her at a disadvantage. Further, this study concludes that the stories of impenetrable glass ceilings and roadblocks are balanced to some degree by stories of success within the corporate sector. There were 3 key themes for their narratives for success, having a support system, putting yourself first, and giving back.
ContributorsCrawford, Claudia Laine (Author) / Dietrich, John (Thesis director) / Sacks, Jana (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
At the outset it may seem as if fields of business and history are two irreconcilable fields. However, careful study of both reveals that the two are far from dissimilar. After all, one cannot expect to conquer the world without impeccable logistics, and no organization succeeds without a competent culture. Two great civilizations rose to prominence because their supply chains and methodologies outstripped their contemporaries. The first is the Romans. Once a small village situated on the Italian Peninsula, Rome’s empire grew to encompass the entirety of the Mediterranean world during the first century CE. The second is the Mongols, nomadic horseman who formed the largest contiguous empire in history roughly twelve hundred years later. At its height, the Mongol civilization spanned from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the forests of Europe in the west.
Both great civilizations achieved their empires due to their innovative supply chains, organizational tactics, and culture. Each, however, presented their own unique solutions to the problem of world conquest by capitalizing on their respective strengths. For the Romans, this meant placing an emphasis on infrastructure, adopting and modifying the technologies of other peoples, and instituting a culture that emphasized achievement and resilience among an aristocratic elite. The Mongol’s, however, focused on their force’s mobility rather than infrastructure, emphasized recruiting of outsiders to supplement their weakness, and developed a meritocratic system largely free of aristocratic structure. Both empires, however, emphasized the importance of each soldier as a self-sufficient unit to ease the strain of the overall supply chain.
These two civilizations therefore provide valuable insight for two diametrically opposed business environments. The first being manufacturing companies, with the need for rigid processes and investments in infrastructure not unlike the Romans. The second being startups with their need for speed and flexibility much like the Mongols. Thus, by examining the past modern companies gain valuable insights in how to structure their organizations for the future.
Both great civilizations achieved their empires due to their innovative supply chains, organizational tactics, and culture. Each, however, presented their own unique solutions to the problem of world conquest by capitalizing on their respective strengths. For the Romans, this meant placing an emphasis on infrastructure, adopting and modifying the technologies of other peoples, and instituting a culture that emphasized achievement and resilience among an aristocratic elite. The Mongol’s, however, focused on their force’s mobility rather than infrastructure, emphasized recruiting of outsiders to supplement their weakness, and developed a meritocratic system largely free of aristocratic structure. Both empires, however, emphasized the importance of each soldier as a self-sufficient unit to ease the strain of the overall supply chain.
These two civilizations therefore provide valuable insight for two diametrically opposed business environments. The first being manufacturing companies, with the need for rigid processes and investments in infrastructure not unlike the Romans. The second being startups with their need for speed and flexibility much like the Mongols. Thus, by examining the past modern companies gain valuable insights in how to structure their organizations for the future.
ContributorsCurtis, Alexander (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Brettle, Adrian (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05