Westco Enterprises Personal and Organisational Consequences - Case Study Example

Westco Enterprises Case Assignment Introduction Stereotyping is the grouping of individual according toseveral criteria. Stereotyping assumes that all individuals within a certain group have the same characteristics. Therefore, their behaviour is interpreted and presumed as per the ordinary understanding as per their group. The situation at Westco Enterprises nearly represents a scenario of stereotyping. Although the company is not actively stereotyping its employees, a certain part of the management is clearly showing this trait. John Tucker, a manager at the firm, is making his decisions based not on individual’s characteristics but the known characteristics of a group of people. The following discussion features the approach that Kyle Roberts, vice president of the firm and John’s supervisor should take to address the complaints raised due to John’s behaviour. The discussion also proposes and discusses initiatives that Westco can take to reduce the likelihood of this issue coming up in the company in the future. Discussion Stereotyping involves making decisions or viewing individuals based on assumptions and perspectives related to the characteristics exhibited by people of their group (Kinicki and Fugate 96). In Westco’s case, the two individuals affected, Susan Thompson and Oscar Hernandez, both face discrimination against for factors outside inherent of their being. Susan Thompson, a 48-year-old single mother, is on the receiving end because of her sexuality and age. It is common for women in careers to face absolute barrier to prevent them especially when it involves management positions and programs. Her role as a mother and as such is responsible for her child’s welfare, and this does not create a nurturing environment for social growth at a career level. Secondly, Thompson faces discrimination because of her age. John believes that at her age, investing in her is a waste of resources and time as she will not be able to contribute much to her possible retirement. Oscar Hernandez is of Latin origin but schooled and raised on American soil. His discrimination is due to his racial background as a Latin. The barrier towards his advancement in his career at managerial level crops from characteristics exhibited by the general Latin community. Because of John’s attitude towards the racial group, his talents and unique perspectives do not reflect on the organisation’s workforce. John is just an example as noted of lack of Latin Americans in managerial levels with a few exceptions in certain regions. Westco has a conservative reputation. Conservatism brews resistance to change. With this characteristic, it is hard for the organisation to accept change and a revolution of how to view things. With careful examination, one would notice that there are possibly two women in the middle management under Kyle. Although this is encouraging, the fact that none of them is in charge of other people, demonstrates a lack of women in leadership. The situation presented by this finding is a true indicator of discrimination when it comes to responsibility allocation to women. Another factor contributing to the stereotyping is the lack of Latin Americans in a management position except in two regions only. The accent of Latin is undesirable as per the customers Westco specialises in trading. The factor undermines diversity at the workplace as the accent bars dealing with high-end customers. In this situation, Kyle needs to advise John to avoid assuming that stereotypes related to an individual will adversely affect their output (Kinicki and Fugate 97). By avoiding this, John will view Hernandez as capable as the others and recognise that his accent will not influence customers into adverse customer relations. This recommendation also will give a chance for Hernandez to deal with important customers enabling him to prove his ability and grow career wise. Secondly, Kyle should effectively examine the company’s policy in training personnel in the Management Development Program as pertains age qualification. Age should not bar one from opportunities in the company. Kyle should recommend Susan for the program. By doing this, Kyle clearly acknowledges the importance of equal treatment of personnel without age discrimination as the older members of the firm still contribute towards the company’s success. Furthermore, this action will also demonstrate that women as much as men can perform even with the extra responsibility on their shoulder (Kinicki and Fugate 103). Kyle should also encourage the women and the racially different employees to take up positions of management and promise to deal with everybody fairly as per their qualifications, talents, and abilities (Johns and Alan par. 30). The move will establish an open environment where the minority can excel without any discrimination. This call will enable individuals to maximize their potential and perform to the best of their ability. Initiatives that Westco can take to reduce stereotyping include selecting of a number of members of the minor community and promoting them to higher position in the organisational chart (Johns and Alan par. 32). Such an initiative, however, has to consider due qualification and characteristics essential for the position. By undertaking this, the company models itself around diversity, and this encourages the minor groups of individual to take up opportunities. It also creates a sense of equality and, therefore, effectively reducing the likelihood of stereotyping in the future. Secondly, the organisation can train its employees to be cognizant of stereotypes (Johns and Alan par. 33). Most times, actions based on stereotype are undertaken unknowingly or as a justified thought. Recognition of stereotypes that exist increases the chances of diversity and absorbs the change associated with diversity. The awareness created by this training reduces the chances of these issues occurring in the future at the company. The training aims at reducing the tendency of employees making assumptions based on stereotypes thereby reducing discrimination. The third initiative is building teamwork among the employees (Johns and Alan par. 33). The organisation needs to plan events that bring the majority and minority together to accomplish a certain task. By collectively undertaking a given responsibility, the employees can appreciate each other’s contribution and unique input towards the objective. Thus, instead of seeing someone for their separating characteristics, the employees will value their colleagues as per their contribution and not as per their general characteristics. For example, if in a team exercise, an older member was able to accomplish a task in an appropriate manner or even led to the team’s success, it would create a sense of respect for the employee for his technical experience. Conclusion In respect to the subject matter, stereotyping is an issue with serious personal and organisational consequences. As a remedy, possible initiatives occur that can better the situation. However, these initiatives have inherent limitations associated with them (Kinicki and Fugate 106). They include resistance to change by the employees in order to maintain a status quo. In addition, diversity is not an organisational priority and therefore demands little attention from the top management. Furthermore, at times, diversity can lead to the hiring of incompetent staff just to meet diversification needs (Kinicki and Fugate 106). Lastly, most employees fear reverse discrimination where the one oppressed become the oppressors. Works Cited Johns, Gary, and Alan Saks. "Perception, Attribution, and Judgment of Others." Perception, Attribution, and Judgment of Others. Pearson, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. . Kinicki, Angelo, and Mel Fugate. "Understanding Social Perception and Managing Diversity." Organizational Behavior- Key Concept, Skills & Best Practices. McGraw-Hill Companies, 2012. Print. Read More