Jeri Caldwell at Moex, INC - Assignment Example

1. What are the problems presented in this case? In the Jeri Caldwell at MOEX Inc’s case the problems were related to accusations of racial and sexual discrimination in promotion, colorblind and exclusion (Wicks, Freeman, Werhane and Martin, 225; Robins, Judge and Vohra, 48, 56). Jeri Caldwell is disappointed and hurt because she has been passed over for promotion consecutively for the third time, irrespective of being highly qualified and delivering high performance at her job. She thinks that she is being discriminated by unequal rewards for her performance just because she is black and female.

Apart from that, others like Jeff Fairbanks, Bonita Harriman and Rafford Marshall feel being subjected to colorblind referring to conforming to the mainstream or dominant group way and feel pressured to give up their unique way of speaking, dressing, religion or relating to one another by the minority group (Robins, Judge and Vohra, 56). The minority group at MOEX is also experiencing exclusion discrimination as they feel they are treated like outsiders in the company. 2. Where do these problems come from?

The problems are coming from the past behavior that is unfair discrimination practices of the company, insufficient affirmative action to correct the past discrimination and ineffective diversity management. Also the conservative culture of MOEX, in comparison with other high-tech firms, low representation of minorities in the workforce due to company’s inability to attract and retain diverse people and its reputation in color communities of being unsupportive and sometimes hostile attitude towards colored people are leading to the problems of discrimination and colorblindness.

Apart from that, the discriminatory behavior of dominant group that is stereotyping the color people, ethnocentrism and non-inclusion of minorities are also contributing to the problem of discrimination.3. What kinds of changes could address problems related to diversity at MOEX?To tackle the problem of unfair discrimination the simplest method is using legislation and affirmative action. However legal approaches are effective only after the event of discrimination as they do not exactly specify how discrimination can be prevented (Crane and Matten, 275).

It is also clear from the case that MOEX has taken steps towards changing its past behavior with respect to discrimination by recruiting diverse employees. However its strategy was not effective and it also failed to retain diverse employees. It is in the hands of the management and its policies can avoid the occurrence of discrimination, colorblind and exclusion. MOEX by implementing the following diversity management strategies can effectively address the discrimination problems. “Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others” (Robbins, Judge, and Vohra, 50).

Management should put more efforts in recruiting, selecting, retaining and developing employees belonging to diverse groups and specially groups that are underrepresented in the organization. In all its human resources (HR) activities management should give more value to fairness and objectivity. Management should foster positive diversity climate, support pro-diversity behavior and discourage discriminatory behavior (Wicks, Freeman, Werhane and Martin, 177; Robbins, Judge, and Vohra, 50). Implementation of effective programs of diversity to encourage diversity results in capitalizing diversity.

This can be done by training managers and leaders regarding equal opportunity legal framework and encouraging fair treatment of all employees without considering their demographic background. Managers must be shown the advantages of using diverse workforce to achieve success and capture markets of diverse nature. Also ensuring that, managers foster employee development practices that improve skills and abilities of all employees and everyone’s performance ((Wicks, Freeman, Werhane and Martin, 298 -303; Robbins, Judge, and Vohra, 52-53).

Apart from that leaders should also periodically review whether the target group is underutilized and underrepresented in the top management and probe the reasons behind it, ascertain the barriers that are hindering advancement and address them appropriately. All its HR policies should be fair, transparent and communicated clearly so that employees understand them (Robbins, Judge, and Vohra, 53). 4. What should Fairbanks do?Even though Fairbanks knows that accusations levied by Caldwell and others are true, he must not take their side just because he knows them personally and belongs to the same minority.

First he must ascertain the facts behind passing over of Caldwell for promotion and what were the reasons, gather evidence, look for consistency and whether there are precedence and other cases and should collect all such information. Then only he must proceed and discuss the issue of Caldwell’s case and diversity before the executive leadership so that his case is strong and he should bring their attention towards this problem so that it can be discontinued. He can suggest the above mentioned changes in the meeting to prevent various form of discrimination prevailing at MOEX.

He should also advice Caldwell to take her issue through proper channels and according to the policies of the company and not just accept it as normal or usual because she has already tolerated it twice and eventually it might impact her performance negatively. Works CitedCrane, A. and Matten, D. Business Ethics. 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press. 2007.Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A. and Vohra, N. Organizational Behavior. 14th Ed. Pearson Education India. 2001.Wicks, A.C. Freeman, R.E. Werhane, P.H.

and Martin, K.E. Business Ethics: A Managerial Approach. Prentice Hall. 2009.