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For decades, corporate firms have included corporate responsibility initiatives in their regular business functions in an effort to communicate a priority toward the communities they operate in, rather than just the customers they serve. These actions \u2014 whether implemented through financial or human resources \u2014 have grown to be a

For decades, corporate firms have included corporate responsibility initiatives in their regular business functions in an effort to communicate a priority toward the communities they operate in, rather than just the customers they serve. These actions \u2014 whether implemented through financial or human resources \u2014 have grown to be a common addition to business models across industries. In recent years, however, the simple addition of a community-oriented campaign to a firm's regular business proceedings have become less effective in positioning a firm as a devoted corporate citizen. Today, consumers have access to more information and opportunities for substitutes than ever before, and as they make buying decisions, they are interested in seeing the firms they support orient themselves at the heart of community engagement, rather than interacting with the community through passive support. This study and discussion highlights the trends that several corporate responsibility professionals have seen emerge in recent years regarding their respective employers' corporate responsibility initiatives. Thoughts and reactions from corporate responsibility managers representing financial, education, insurance, and technology companies will be synthesized and analyzed for trends and shared positive and negative experiences related to their common work in initiating corporate responsibility programs at their respective firms. The discussion will also illustrate the specific challenges each of the professionals face daily in implementing successful CR programs within their firms. In aggregate, this discussion will provide a comprehensive look at what exactly firms are doing in today's CR sphere: it will demonstrate what trends are working well, which have yet to be tailored to have the best impact, and what is to come of the corporate firm's relationship with its community.
ContributorsRoberts, Katelyn J. (Author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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With a prison population that has grown to 1.4 million, an imprisonment rate of 419 per 100,000 U.S. residents, and a recidivism rate of 52.2% for males and 36.4% for females, the United States is facing a crisis. Currently, no sufficient measures have been taken by the United States to

With a prison population that has grown to 1.4 million, an imprisonment rate of 419 per 100,000 U.S. residents, and a recidivism rate of 52.2% for males and 36.4% for females, the United States is facing a crisis. Currently, no sufficient measures have been taken by the United States to reduce recidivism. Attempts have been made, but they ultimately failed. Recently, however, there has been an increase in experimentation with the concept of teaching inmates basic computer skills to reduce recidivism. As labor becomes increasingly digitized, it becomes more difficult for inmates who spent a certain period away from technology to adapt and find employment. At the bare minimum, anybody entering the workforce must know how to use a computer and other technological appliances, even in the lowest-paid positions. By incorporating basic computer skills and coding educational programs within prisons, this issue can be addressed, since inmates would be better equipped to take on a more technologically advanced labor market.<br/>Additionally, thoroughly preparing inmates for employment is a necessity because it has been proven to reduce recidivism. Prisons typically have some work programs; however, these programs are typically outdated and prepare inmates for fields that may represent a difficult employment market moving forward. On the other hand, preparing inmates for tech-related fields of work is proving to be successful in the early stages of experimentation. A reason for this success is the growing demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 11 percent between 2019 and 2029. This is noteworthy considering the national average for growth of all other jobs is only 4 percent. It also warrants the exploration of educating coders because software developers, in particular, have an expected growth rate of 22 percent between 2019 and 2029. <br/>Despite the security risks of giving inmates access to computers, the implementation of basic computer skills and coding in prisons should be explored further. Programs that give inmates access to a computing education already exist. The only issue with these programs is their scarcity. However, this is to no fault of their own, considering the complex nature and costs of running such a program. Accordingly, this leaves the opportunity for public universities to get involved. Public universities serve as perfect hosts because they are fully capable of leveraging the resources already available to them. Arizona State University, in particular, is a more than ideal candidate to spearhead such a program and serve as a model for other public universities to follow. Arizona State University (ASU) is already educating inmates in local Arizona prisons on subjects such as math and English through their PEP (Prison Education Programming) program.<br/>This thesis will focus on Arizona specifically and why this would benefit the state. It will also explain why Arizona State University is the perfect candidate to spearhead this kind of program. Additionally, it will also discuss why recidivism is detrimental and the reasons why formerly incarcerated individuals re-offend. Furthermore, it will also explore the current measures being taken in Arizona and their limitations. Finally, it will provide evidence for why programs like these tend to succeed and serve as a proposal to Arizona State University to create its own program using the provided framework in this thesis.

ContributorsAwawdeh, Bajis Tariq (Author) / Halavais, Alexander (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description
Today’s job market favors the candidate as a result of the low unemployment rate in the United States. This requires companies to look beyond their typical recruiting techniques if they want to ensure they are hiring the best candidates after college in order to build their future leadership in the

Today’s job market favors the candidate as a result of the low unemployment rate in the United States. This requires companies to look beyond their typical recruiting techniques if they want to ensure they are hiring the best candidates after college in order to build their future leadership in the company. Throughout research for this thesis it became apparent that many of the recruiters surveyed during this study were not actively using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their recruiting tactics. In addition, a lot of the career pages of companies that actively recruit at Arizona State University do not even mention the topic. Throughout primary research of students that attend Arizona State University, surveys were able to draw conclusions on the type of students that prioritize Corporate Social Responsibility in their recruiting seasons. From these surveys, it was found that students with higher GPAs who are ethnically diverse, female, with more than one internship experience, or graduating within the next two years on average chose to prioritize Corporate Social Responsibility over other traditional “perks” of jobs. Following the collection of survey data, in order to get a more genuine understanding of what students are looking for, there was a focus group conducted with nine (9) W. P. Carey School of Business students. This allowed for there to be a guided conversation about Corporate Social Responsibility and allow students to share their feelings about the topic and how they prioritize it when looking for jobs. This, in combination with the surveys of recruiters and students, made it very clear about exactly the kind of students that recruiters should be targeting. Therefore, it has become apparent that if recruiters want to hire candidates who are more experienced, diverse, and with higher GPAs then they should be incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility into their recruiting techniques. Whether that is advertising it on their career pages and at career events, asking questions about it in interviews, or starting a conversation with students about it, this will allow recruiters to find those students with a genuine appreciation for the topic.
ContributorsGrosskopf, Madeline Taylor (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
This study aims to evaluate and explore whether a positive correlation exists between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, as well as its subsequent reasoning, while specifically focusing on female leaders within the upper management (i.e. board of directors and CEOs) of S&P 500 firms. Since several studies identify a

This study aims to evaluate and explore whether a positive correlation exists between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, as well as its subsequent reasoning, while specifically focusing on female leaders within the upper management (i.e. board of directors and CEOs) of S&P 500 firms. Since several studies identify a positive relationship between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, our case study of IBM and PepsiCo aims to provide a real-life framework to these theoretical models. Ultimately, our case study does align with the findings of those models, yet also provides a unique perspective as to the reasoning for the difference in CSR outcomes, citing business strategy as opposed to altruism and other-orientation. Due to our limited sample size, our findings do not empirically support this notion, but instead offers a potential area for further research.
ContributorsWestbrooks, Ciara (Co-author) / Mehta, Pashmi (Co-author) / Shropshire, Christine (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
This study aims to evaluate and explore whether a positive correlation exists between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, as well as its subsequent reasoning, while specifically focusing on female leaders within the upper management (i.e. board of directors and CEOs) of S&P 500 firms. Since several studies identify

This study aims to evaluate and explore whether a positive correlation exists between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, as well as its subsequent reasoning, while specifically focusing on female leaders within the upper management (i.e. board of directors and CEOs) of S&P 500 firms. Since several studies identify a positive relationship between female leadership and corporate social responsibility, our case study of IBM and PepsiCo aims to provide a real-life framework to these theoretical models. Ultimately, our case study does align with the findings of those models, yet also provides a unique perspective as to the reasoning for the difference in CSR outcomes, citing business strategy as opposed to altruism and other-orientation. Due to our limited sample size, our findings do not empirically support this notion, but instead offers a potential area for further research.
ContributorsMehta, Pashmi (Co-author) / Westbrook, Ciara (Co-author) / Shropshire, Christine (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05