Capstone – Project

Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Focused on Community Engagement

A Collaboration Between

Project Synopsis

True Religion is a powerhouse denim brand from the early 2000s. After losing market share over the past decade, they are now restructuring after emerging from bankruptcy and would like your assistance as they attempt to reinvent themselves from a business and company culture perspective.

True Religion’s performance recently has been picking up steam, and for the first time in years, is able to pay bonuses and is seeing a more positive work culture over time. Accordingly, the Human Resources Team thinks now is a good opportunity to build out the Diversity and Inclusion initiatives to support this positive change in their work culture.

Your challenge? Help inform True Religion’s HR Team on how to prepare the organization for diversity, equality, and inclusion?

As an example of the type of programming they’re looking for, True Religion recently hosted a very successful “Women’s Conference” for the first time,  where women of color were able to meet with Senior Leadership Team members that are women of color and present their ideas and engage in discussion.

Employees are now asking for more… They want to get involved in a Culture Committee, Diversity Council, and other types of initiatives that can serve outside stakeholders.

The focus of your proposed plan should be to leverage employees to better reach and serve underserved communities, most predominantly children.

Please note that diversity to True Religion includes diversity of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability and age.

Project Topics

Growth Strategy

Org Culture, D&I

Company Information

CompanyTrue Religion
HQGardena, California, U.S.
RevenueUnlisted
EmployeesUnlisted
StageMedium Business
Hiring PotentialFollow-on Projects, Formal Internship, Entry Level Full-Time, Upper Level Full-Time
Websitehttps://www.truereligion.com/

Company Overview

Apparel brand specializing in Denim. Our brand is sold around the world. Direct in owned and operated store, owned online and wholesale . The brand has a very loyal fan base spanning the original fans that purchased brands almost 20 years ago, to a new Gen Z & millennial customer.

Experiential Learning Program Details

SchoolMontclair State University
Engagement FormatCapstone - Small Team Consulting Project - Students work in consulting teams of 3-5 directly with faculty and client liaisons on developing real solutions to real-world challenges.
CourseAccelerated MBA Consulting Project (Summer 2021)
Level
  • All Undergraduate
Students Enrolled5
Meeting Day & TimeTBD
Student Time Commitment15-30 Hours Per Week
Company Time Commitment3-5 Hours
Duration9.57 Weeks

Program Timeline

Key Project Milestones

  • June 11, 2021 - Get to Know True Religion with Focus on Diversity & Inclusion

    Get to Know True Religion with Focus on Diversity & Inclusion

    • What is the True Religion brand all about?
    • What has happened to True Religion since it was founded?
    • Why is Diversity and Inclusion so important to the company’s strategy?
    • How does Diversity and Inclusion differ between Retail and Corporate?
    • What current Diversity and Inclusion initiatives that exist at True Religion?

    Suggested Deliverable:

    Get to Know True Religion with Focus on Diversity & Inclusion

  • June 25, 2021 - Diversity & Inclusion Competition Deep & Industry Best Practices

    Diversity & Inclusion Competition Deep & Industry Best Practices

    • How do competitive brands define Diversity and Inclusion?
    • How do they promote D&I internally and externally?
    • How do they engage their employees to be a part of the process?
    • How do they collect feedback from team members on program performance?
    • How do these companies measure how these programs are going and if the programs are working

    Suggested Deliverable:

    Diversity & Inclusion Competition Deep & Industry Best Practices

  • July 23, 2021 - True Religion Diversity & Inclusion Team Survey

    True Religion Diversity & Inclusion Team Survey

    • What does the True Religion team, including corporate and retail, want to see in terms of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives?
    • What populations and impact do they care about?
    • How does this sentiment differ by region, employee rank, department, etc.?

    Produce & Roll-Out Survey. Collect & Analyze Resulting Data.


    Suggested Deliverable:

    Produce & Roll-Out Survey. Collect & Analyze Resulting Data.

  • August 10, 2021 - Produce a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for True Religion

    Produce a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for True Religion

    • How should True Religion define Diversity & Inclusion?
    • What population should True Religion D&I aim to impact and serve?
    • Who’s responsibility should it be to implement D&I Programs?
    • What types of external programs would you suggest to get these D&I initiatives off the ground?
      • What should be the goal of these programs?
      • How does it roll up to the overall D&I goals?
    • What stakeholders are directly relevant to your plan? How do you foster engagement and buy-in?
    • How would you measure success of your D&I Plan?

    Suggested Deliverable:

    Produce a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for True Religion

Academic Mentors

Instructor

 

zhangy@montclair.edu

Instructor

Manveer Mann

mannm@montclair.edu

Instructor

 

frascaj@montclair.edu

Instructor

 

shecaucus@gmail.com

Instructor

Rashmi Jain

jainra@montclair.edu

Instructor

 

malagar@montclair.edu

Instructor

Nicole Koppel 

koppeln@montclair.edu

Instructor

Jonida Dervishi 

dervishij@montclair.edu

Instructor

Geoff Chellis

gchellis@expediaconsulting.com

Assigned Students

There are currently no students assigned.