Research Report: Greyston Bakery and Poverty Alleviation Strategies

This individual research report examines Greyston Bakery Inc., a B Corporation, and its alignment with the sustainable development goal of 'No Poverty.' The report begins by outlining the challenges faced in poverty alleviation, including regional disparities, income inequality, and corruption. It then focuses on Greyston Bakery's mission, which centers on open hiring practices, providing employment opportunities to individuals with challenging backgrounds. The bakery's activities are compared with those of its competitor, DouxMatok, highlighting Greyston's social mission versus DouxMatok's profit-driven approach. The report concludes with recommendations for government authorities to implement effective poverty alleviation strategies, including improved data monitoring, increased employment opportunities, and investments in education. The report emphasizes the importance of Greyston Bakery's commitment to social responsibility and its impact on poverty reduction through its business model.

INDIVIDUAL
RESEARCH REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................2
SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................3
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
This report will lay focus on B corporations and their sustainable development goals they
are following. Here the B corporations chosen as Greyston Bakery Inc. This is a social
incorporation in which brownies and cookies are baked by hiring men and women through open
hiring policy. They hire their workers who have past records of homelessness, domestic violence,
illiteracy, welfare dependence, incarceration, etc. Also, No poverty is will be chosen as the
sustainable development goals (Sustainable development goals, 2019). The B corporation
Greyston Bakery is chosen because they hire men and women who are incapable to survive and
providing them opportunities for employment bring forward their motive of no poverty.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In according to the view point of Mecagni, Marchettini & Maino, (2015) the first and
foremost challenge during declining the rates of poverty is that poverty remains very high in
some areas. The Sub Saharan Africa is facing high poverty as there are 900 million poor people
in the year 2012. Although, it has decreases up to 700 million people till the year 2015. Also,
three major regions which includes East Asia and pacific, Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia is
facing high global poverty over past decades. In addition to this Frese, Gielnik & Mensmann,
(2016) shared their views on poverty that the policy must discourse which focuses on the poorest
among the poor mainly in Sub Saharan Africa which there is high rate of poverty. By a recent
research, the data depicts that people who are living in Sub Saharan Africa that mostly people are
living under $1.90 per day. This is a major challenge of poverty to alleviate these regions which
are highly. Saner, Yiu & Filadoro, (2019) argued that the goals of sustainable development are
commitments which are rigid as well as bold. Also, on targeting on global poverty regions the
alleviators must target the situations of their vulnerable living and to access them basic resources
to safeguard their living. In order to support them, they must provide employment opportunities
for them to survive and to support them in conflict and other climatic disasters.
In the views of Cobbinah, Erdiaw – Kwasie & Amoateng, (2015) shared the second
challenge generally face during poverty alleviation that an unevenness of stark in shared
prosperity. For boosting the shared prosperity it is important to promote growth of income of
people who are below 40% (B40) in income distribution. According to poverty analysis of some
country B40 is extremely poor whereas in some other richer countries B40 is moderately poor.
The major challenge face in alleviation of poverty is that it is measured in absolute terms and the
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B40 measurement does not focus a particularly same class of people in every country. It is
difficult for periodical availability of survey data. In addition to the above view point Suich,
Howe & Mace, (2015) shared third major challenge which is creating a disparity in dimensions
of non income group. The dimensions raise between non poor and poor and among whole
population and B40. The poverty and inequality among group of poor and B40 faces across
many generations and the pace of shared prosperity. The challenge of poverty alleviation is
overcoming by increase in literacy rate. This has improved a lot from past two decades that
through primary school education. The Ilie, and Rose, 2016 articulated that these challenges are
not individual although they are interrelated with each other and need to be tackled collectively
for maximise their efforts. It is a holistic development approach in which the greater focus is
required to remain in depth of poverty and unevenness of shared prosperity.
According to Frese, Gielnik & Mensmann, (2016) certain challenges face in alleviation of
poverty for improvising standard of living is growing level of corporation and corruption. The
government authorities did not able to attain their duties due to corruption which directly impacts
on poor which becomes poorer by there inefficiency. Also, there is a lack of technical knowledge
and training among ad ministries. Along with it there is no activity of proper diagnosis and
auditing executed in public rural projects. In addition to this statement Buckley, Kallergis &
Wainer, (2016) supported that the economic and socio political atmosphere supports a fast
improvement of quality of individuals life. Also, there is lack of objective criteria for poverty
alleviation is observed by the lack of ethical behaviour among different administration
department.
DISCUSSION
The B corporation Greyston Bakery Inc. is a bakery which was founded in New york.
The company is a primary supplier of brownies for Ben & Jerry (Greyston bakery : combatting
poverty by making a profit, 2018). The bakery has their own baked goods line through which
they sell it online and co brand with other products lines with whole foods market. The mission
statement of Greyston Bakery is that they don't hire people for baking brownies instead of this
they bake brownies to hire people (Mission statement of Greystone Bakery, 2019). This mission
states that the corporation is hiring individual for combating poverty.
The Greyston Bakery is a company which aims at hiring those individuals who find
difficulties in hiring in any other company due to their past records. The company offer “Open
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hiring” program in which any individual can sign in and no questions are asked by Greyston
Bakery on behalf of their past (Buckley, Kallergis & Wainer, (2016). Also, there whole profit is
contributed Greyston Foundation which forwards their money for helping individuals of low
income housing, open day care for the society, medical centre facilities for patients suffering
from AIDS.
Greyston Bakery enables an opportunity of open hiring for creating a team of bakers by
hiring them without any resume, interviews and background check (Mecagni, Marchettini &
Maino, (2015). This incorporation provide employment to those who have any past relating to
incarceration, welfare dependence, domestic violence, homelessness, illiteracy, etc. to alleviate
them and bring them above the poverty line by providing them employment in their company.
The comparison of activities of Greyston Bakery with their competitors in same
industry sector.
The DouxMatok is a competitor company of Greystone Bakery. Both of them are dealing
in food and beverage industry but DouxMatok is a company which is a based on food tech and
target delivery of flavour to many regions. On the other hand Greystone Bakery is not targeting
to any other region (Frese, Gielnik & Mensmann, (2016). Instead of this, they become primary
supplier of company Ben & Jerry.
Also, the company DouxMatok has enables their profile of nutritional profile by
containing the same taste. Thus, they are focusing on profit motive but Greystone is not
concerned about profit. This incorporation bake foods for hiring people and create employment
opportunities for them (Cobbinah, Erdiaw – Kwasie & Amoateng, (2015). The activities of
Greystone Bakery are concerned with poverty alleviation by hiring those people who are not
hired by any other company and provide employment to them.
SUMMARY
This individual research report was highlighted the aim of Greyston Bakery Inc. which is
concerned with no poverty. Greyston Bakery was chosen as a B Corporation for which SDG was
selected as “No poverty” among available 14 other goals (Sustainable development goals, 2019).
The report begun with determining different challenges face by alleviators in poverty. The first
challenge was about poverty rate changes in every region to region but main three poorest
regions was observed were East Asia & pacific, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. Second
challenge was income below 40% (B40) varies in different countries which is also a challenge to
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alleviate poverty (Cobbinah, Erdiaw – Kwasie & Amoateng, (2015). Third challenge was
expressed as different dimensions of non income group along with it corruption was also stated
as one of the major challenge.
Then comes aim of company Greystone Bakery which was aligning with alleviation of
poverty. The company offers open hiring for all individuals despite asking them details about
their background. Also, whole profit is contributed to their foundation which help people of low
income group. Along with it, comparison of social activities with that of their competitor which
is DouxMatok was executed. Under which it was expressed that DouxMatok is profit motive
company whereas Greystone Bakery is socio motive company.
RECOMMENDATIONS
 The government authorities should exercise a proper plan for poverty alleviation. For this
they need to measure and monitor through proper audit of all the data and actions of
authorities (Frese, Gielnik & Mensmann, (2016). This could help the poor individuals in
attaining a well being life style.
 Also, there must be high opportunities of employment rate created which would help the
poor individual in mitigating their day to day needs.
 In addition to this, there should be more investment in high quality child care & also
early education. This will help to increase rate of literacy in society.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Frese, M., Gielnik, M. M., & Mensmann, M. (2016). Psychological training for entrepreneurs to
take action: Contributing to poverty reduction in developing countries. Current Directions
in Psychological Science. 25(3). 196-202.
Saner, R., Yiu, L., & Filadoro, M. (2019). Tourism development in least developed countries:
Challenges and opportunities. In Sustainable Tourism: Breakthroughs in Research and
Practice(pp. 94-120). IGI Global.
Zaefarian, R., Tasavori, M., & Ghauri, P. N. (2015). A corporate social entrepreneurship
approach to market-based poverty reduction. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade. 51(2).
320-334.
Cobbinah, P. B., Erdiaw - Kwasie, M. O., & Amoateng, P. (2015). Rethinking sustainable
development within the framework of poverty and urbanisation in developing
countries. Environmental Development. 13. 18-32.
Suich, H., Howe, C., & Mace, G. (2015). Ecosystem services and poverty alleviation: a review
of the empirical links. Ecosystem Services. 12. 137-147.
Mecagni, M. M., Marchettini, D., & Maino, M. R. (2015). Evolving Banking Trends in Sub-
Saharan Africa: Key Features and Challenges. International Monetary Fund.
Ilie, S. and Rose, P., 2016. Is equal access to higher education in South Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa achievable by 2030?. Higher Education. 72(4). pp.435-455.
Buckley, R. M., Kallergis, A., & Wainer, L. (2016). Addressing the housing challenge: avoiding
the Ozymandias syndrome. Environment and Urbanization. 28(1). 119-138.
Online
Mission statement of Greystone Bakery. 2019. [Online]. Available through :
<https://greyston.org/about/>.
Sustainable development goals. 2019. [Online]. Available through :
<https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html>.
Greyston bakery : combatting poverty by making a profit. 2018. [Online]. Available through :
<https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2019/01/Greyston_121813.pdf>
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