Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Shades Of Beige: Tarte Cosmetics And Racial Inclusivity, Dominika J. Jedinak

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The release of Shape Tape foundation, a facial cosmetics line by Tarte Cosmetics, sparked disappointment and outrage in consumers for the lack of racial inclusivity in the range of shades offered. This came as a surprise to Tarte who, from their beginning has been a very socially aware and ecologically thoughtful company. Was this outrage justified? Did Tarte owe their customers an apology? And, if so, how should they go about making amends?

When Tarte released an apology, they further angered consumers who took to social media to express their dissatisfaction. The Shape Tape foundation release sparked a debate on …

Social Class And Perceptions Of Unethical Behavior In An Organizational Setting, Jake Grawe

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore whether social class of third-party adjudicators or perpetrators affected punitive decision-making in unethical workplace scenarios. It was hypothesized that third-party adjudicators would grant leniency towards lower-class perpetrators as well as towards perpetrators who shared their own social class. Results showed that there was no significant difference in the perception and assignment of punishment for different social class perpetrators, nor did the results show that leniency was granted to perpetrators who shared adjudicators’ social class. Although the study did not confirm the initial hypotheses, unexpected trends did arise within the study and are …

Beyond The Buzzword, Ryal Wun

Asian Management Insights

According to Jen Boynton, vice president of member engagement at 3BL Media, “Corporate responsibility is simply a way for companies to take responsibility for the social and environmental impacts of their business operations.”1Looked at this way, corporate social responsibility (CSR) can, in effect, include a whole gamut of business practices and policies that make a business socially accountable—to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. These activities can range from philanthropy and environmental consciousness to ethical labour practices.

Consumers’ Reactions To Multiple Instances Of Negative Publicity: The Role Of Publicity Domain Similarity, Berna Basar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although it is very typical for consumers to be exposed to multiple instances of negative publicity about a brand, existing research has focused on consumers’ reactions to one-time negative publicity instances. Given the important role of self-brand connection in consumers’ reactions to negative brand-related information, the current study investigates how consumers with different self-brand connection levels react to multiple instances of negative publicity in a single domain versus across different domains. Specifically, I suggest that consumers with high self-brand connection might be defense motivated, which in return, might result in justification of one-time instances unless consistency in behavior is signaled. …

Benchmarking Oecd Countries’ Sustainable Development Performance: A Goal-Specific Pca Approach, Shyam Lamichhane

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the current status of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ sustainable development performance towards reaching the recently announced 2030 Agenda (17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)) was investigated. Over 90 social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators were considered for the performance assessment of OECD countries towards reaching the targeted SDGs. The current weighted averaging approach used in the recent SDG Index and Dashboards Report was used as the benchmark and its limitations were discussed. To overcome the limitations, a novel Goal Specific Principal Component Analysis (GS-PCA) approach was proposed to create composite sustainability index …

Evaluating The Impact Of Training Employees To Identify Victims Of Human Trafficking, Emily Roman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a global epidemic that steals the freedoms away from those who have been oppressed by it. Providing victims with resources begins with identifying them. Unfortunately, identifying victims is not an easy task. Trafficked victims are controlled and protected by their traffickers, and recipients may not even realize that they are victims of human trafficking. Also, the vague nature of trafficking makes it difficult for service providers, such as those in law enforcement, healthcare, and social services, to identify victims readily. Furthermore, research efforts imply a general lack of training provided for employees to know how to identify …

Retention, Matthew Molinaro

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Employee retention in the 21th century reflects how companies keep their employees motivated and well prepared for the challenges in the workplace. In this paper, I apply the concepts of motivation and how employers keep their employees. I also emphasize the costly effects of a employee leaving the organization, both as a dollar and emotional standpoint.

Loyalty Loses Ground To Market Freedom In The U.S. Supreme Court, Daniel Harris

William & Mary Business Law Review

In the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a much less moralistic and much more market-oriented approach to questions of fiduciary loyalty. In cases involving fiduciaries with conflicts of interest, the Court has shifted the burden of proof to the party claiming unfair treatment, thereby protecting deals and making loyalty harder to enforce. The Court has also struck down or narrowly construed laws designed to prevent disloyalty by fiduciaries on the theory that broad prohibitions on business conduct encroach on constitutionally protected freedoms.

This Article discusses how the Supreme Court’s new approach represents a departure from the Court’s …

Criminal Trade Secret Theft Cases Against Judgment Proof Defendants In Texas And California, Michelle Evans, Kurt M. Saunders

William & Mary Business Law Review

Trade secret theft is a costly and ongoing risk to many businesses. As the two most populous states, California and Texas are home to numerous businesses that own trade secrets. Although civil remedies afford one source of relief when a trade secret has been stolen or disclosed, collecting on a judgment may be impossible due to the Homestead laws in both states, which effectively render the defendants judgment proof. In such cases, another alternative is to consider a criminal prosecution under the Federal Economic Espionage Act or state law. The same misconduct that results in civil liability can also violate …

Government Ownership Of Banks: A Curse Or A Blessing For The United States?, Yueh-Ping (Alex) Yang

William & Mary Business Law Review

During the Financial Crisis of 2007–2008, the Treasury injected an enormous amount of capital and held equity in 707 financial institutions to stabilize the U.S. financial system. The government’s large-scale ownership of banks alarmed the U.S. banking sector. The mainstream opinion in the United States strongly opposed this practice, mostly due to the distrust of the government and the fear that government intervention would jeopardize private shareholders’ interests. Later developments, including the Treasury’s quick exit from its holdings and the Dodd-Frank Act’s declaration of the end of bailouts, suggest that the U.S. government eventually succumbed to the mainstream opinion.

Such …

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla, John J. Stobbe Jr.

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper examines in depth one of the most innovative companies in recent years: Tesla. Redefining what it means to be an electric car, Tesla has produced impressive cars year after year. However, they’ve run into tremendous production issues and have still yet to make any significant profits. This strategic audit analyzes Tesla’s current place in the market and considers many perspectives to come to a proposed recommendation. This recommendation is to secure its market share and resolve production issues. This could be accomplished through sticking to only a few Tesla car models, then iterating year after year, and then …

Masterpiece Cakeshop: A Case Study Brought To You By The U.S. Supreme Court, Edward J. Schoen

Rohrer College of Business Departmental Research

In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission,[1] the U.S. Supreme Court ruled seven to two that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (“the Commission”) violated the free exercise rights of a baker, who refused to sell a custom-designed wedding cake to a gay couple, by reflecting hostility toward the baker’s religious beliefs during public hearings in the case and treating him differently from three other bakers who objected to creating wedding cakes with messages expressing derogatory views of same-sex marriage.[2] In reaching its decision, the Court sidestepped the chore of reconciling two fundamental principles: (1) whether …

The Velocity Of Risk, Sridhar Ramamoorti, James H. Wanserski, Richard Stover

Accounting Faculty Publications

Only a few decades ago, the onset of problematic risk events often was slow, and organizations handled the corresponding aftermath over a manageable time frame. Organizations armed with extensive public relations resources responded to most postevent crises after planning and analyzing thoughtful responses. Additionally, organizations carefully calculated their transparency with stakeholders regarding the event to manage its impact on the organization. Fast forward to today, and the pace of information is almost instantaneous. For example, when a popular U.S. fast food restaurant chain experienced an outbreak of E. coli-infected lettuce, its stock price decreased 44 percent within 90 days amid …

Clarity For Due Diligence In 401(K) Qualified Retirement Plans, Erin O'Reilly

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My focus for this project is to educate myself and my peers on the process of analyzing a 401(k) plan, specifically the due diligence that should be performed when analyzing a retirement plan. Specific aspects of this project will involve: (1) explaining the different roles needed to administer a 401(k) plan; (2) discussing an advisor's role in a 401(k) plan; (3) analyzing fiduciary duty levels; (4) reviewing the appropriate types of investments to include in a 401(k) plan; (5) providing suggestions for financial wellness programs; and (6) discerning the appropriate level of fees for each service. I seek to provide …

Amarcord Inc: Combating Money Laundering Using Data Analytics, Alyssa Ardai

Honors Program Contracts

This case study of Amarcord Incorporative will be discussing how Amarcord combats money laundering using data analytics. With the addition of new laws from 1970-current, it is harder for money laundering to be committed due to the requirement of reports and bank inspections. Using data analytics techniques such as the time-series analysis, we can analyze data sets to look closer and tell what transactions are money laundering, and what are actual ones.

With Great Power: Assessing The Social And Environmental Responsibilities Of Small And Medium Businesses, Danielle Tetrault

Community Engagement Student Work

The purpose of this study is to assess the potential that small businesses hold to improve the social and environmental conditions of the communities in which they reside. The existing literature focuses on the socially responsible activities of corporations. Large corporations are generally expected to participate in “socially responsible” activities, such as contributing funds, volunteers, and other resources to philanthropic causes. Often, the main motivation behind such activities is to improve the public image of the corporation, which has ultimately been shown to increase sales, thus increasing the economic power of corporations. This study surveyed representatives of smaller businesses in …

Rethinking The Obvious: Time For New Ideas On Medical Malpractice Tort Reform, Jarred Gerlach, Bukola Abodunde, Marc D. Sollosy, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

States have engaged in medical malpractice litigation reforms over the past 30 years to reduce malpractice insurance premiums, increase the supply of physicians, reduce the cost of healthcare, and increase efficiency. These reforms have included caps on non-economic damages and legal procedural changes. Despite these reforms, healthcare costs in the U.S. remain among the highest in the world, provider shortages remain, and defensive medicine practices persist. The purpose of this study was to determine how successful traditional medical malpractice reforms have been at controlling medical costs, decreasing defensive medicine practices, lowering malpractice premiums, and reducing the frequency of medical malpractice …

Testing The Gender Role-Perception Theory: A Proposed Explanation For The Lack Of Maternity Leave Policy In The United States, Erica R. Boucher

Student Publications

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world to not have a federally mandated paid maternity leave. While there is an obvious lack of maternity leave policy in the United States, there is not adequate explanation of this lack. There are some current theories used to explain this problem, such as Hofstede’s theory of individualism, and historical influence, but they are not able to fully explain why there is not maternity policy in the United States. A new proposed theory, the Gender Role-Perception Theory combines gender roles in the United States and attitudes/perceptions towards working mothers to …

The Effect Of Oral Statements On The Making Of The City Of Providence's Municipal Contracts, John J. Chung

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dare To Be Different? Conformity Versus Differentiation In Corporate Social Activities Of Chinese Firms And Market Responses, Yanlong Zhang, Heli Wang, Xiaoyu Zhou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Building on the literature on optimal distinctiveness, this study explores the effects of conformity and differentiation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on the evaluations by security analysts and the responses of the financial market in general. We develop the argument that while conformity in CSR scope enhances analyst coverage, differentiation in CSR emphasis leads to more-favorable analyst recommendations and higher market value. This suggests that firms may be able to simultaneously conform in CSR scope and differentiate in CSR emphasis to achieve optimal distinctiveness. To further enhance our understanding of the variation in the relationship between conformity/differentiation and the …