Reflecting Paper of The Case of the Mismanaged Ms - Essay Example

Ed Coulter, the Vice President of marketing admitted that he had fronted Dick to fill the position instead of Ruth since Dick was a man, and since men tend to be in most factory settings, he assumed that Dick could relate better to clients. In as much as both Dick and Ruth had equal qualifications needed for the job, Ed argued that women were not reliable at higher levels since they could get pregnant, or abandon their jobs in order to follow to their husbands based on their husbands’ jobs or career (Seymour, 1987).

From all these, it is evident that Ed was biased against Ruth. It is against the law to deny women opportunities because they are anticipated to get pregnant. From Ruth’s and Barbara’s conversation, it is evident that Triton does not promote affirmative action. The company has failed to respect women and regard them as important people who can add value to the company and society at large. First and foremost, Ruth’s revelation that women in Triton Company form only twenty percent of all the employees is worrying.

Additionally, there are only two women holding mid-level managerial positions, with no woman holding a position at the top executive level (Seymour, 1987). This is a clear demonstration that women are discriminated against and their presence in the company is not considered of value. Secondly, I am extremely shocked to hear Ruth’s complaints regarding the manner in which Ed addresses her. When Ed meets Ruth in the morning and does not greet her, but comments on her blouse, her mode of dressing, as well as her eyes (Seymour, 1987), it serves to be a clear indication of sexual harassment.

Ed does this on purpose with intentions of making Ruth feel bad. This is an unacceptable behavior that should not be tolerated in any working environment. It is also worth noting that there are no clear procedures that are being followed when promoting employees. This is attributed to the fact that information regarding such opportunities are passed by word of mouth. No formal communication is given to existing employees to enable forward their applications to these positions. Instead, the Vice Presidents of various departments (all of them are men) sit down by themselves and choose who to fill the position with.

It worries that in all the cases they have appointed only men, some of whom have not worked for the company compared to women at their level (Seymour, 1987). This brings forward several questions that demand answers. For instance, one may want to know, what role the Human Resource Manager of the company plays if she is not involved in the hiring process. Additionally, one may question why the Vice Presidents consider giving these vacant positions to men who do not deserve them, leaving out hardworking and achieving women.

These acts of discrimination if not well handled can be extremely disastrous to the company. First, the company may face several discrimination lawsuits which may dent its public image. The lawsuits may reveal what is happening in the company and discouraged bright, hardworking and achieving women who had wished to be a part of the Triton workforce. Secondly, the company may lack a diverse executive staff. Failure to incorporate women in its operation may hurt the company since studies have revealed that including women in the executive staff and having diversity is interrelated with better performance.

This is because divergent