Managing Diversity - Broward Taxi Company - Essay Example

Because the statistics that have been presented focused almost exclusively on how rich and poor live their lives around the world, which has helped me to realize that it is incumbent upon me as a citizen of a fairly “wealthy” nation to seek to minimize my environmental footprint by generating less trash, burning less oil, and wisely utilizing the resources, including the Earth’s water supply, that I have at my disposal.

D. Surf the Internet or other sources and answer the following:
a) List in order the top five (5) most populous nations of the world and each nation’s population.
China = 1.34 billion
India = 1.21 billion
United States = 315 million
Indonesia = 237 million
Brazil = 193 million
b) What is the total population of the world today?
6.97 billion
c) What percentage of the world population do the top five counties have? (Add the five above found above and divide by the total world population)
47%

Section 2:
A. Many students feel that submitting an assignment late is not a major problem and that if submitted late they should at least receive partial credit for their work. After reading this article, do you feel that since the "other" companies were able to submit their bids timely that an exception should be made for Broward Taxi Company?

Explain.
In a word – no. Deadlines themselves are put in place as a means to ensure that the process is both fair and equitable to all parties involved. As was the case with Broward Taxi Company, the firm was able to submit its documentation for a very long period; however, it procrastinated on this until the last possible moment and ultimately had to face the consequences of failing to meet such a deadline. Though the extenuating circumstances of the monopolistic competition that exists within the Ft. Lauderdale taxi industry are disheartening, the fact remains that the deadline was missed and according to procedure, the firm is no longer able to compete within the market for the following calendar year.

B. If B&L Service accepted the late bid how might the other companies who met the deadline react?
A sense of inequality would likely exist between the shareholders that followed procedure because they did all that was necessary but the latecomer was able to submit after the deadline without any penalty whatsoever; thereby making the deadline itself all but superfluous.

C. Explain how this article relates to Managing Diversity. For example, do different cultures have different views on timeliness?
As one might assume, different cultures throughout the world place a different emphasis on the importance of being timely and meeting deadlines. Although there is always room for a degree of acceptance and cultural accommodation, the fact of the matter is that when it comes to deadlines the rules cannot be bent for mere cultural reasons because this would represent an inequality and unfair practice across the board to all shareholders involved.

D. If a process is clearly stated and you disagree with it does this mean the process isn't fair? Explain.
No, simple disagreement with a process in and of itself does not mean that it is somehow unfair. Moreover, a process does not have to necessarily be unfair if it does not meet the needs of the individual or group in question. Fairness is not a determinant of convenience; rather, it is a measurement of equality among all individuals or groups taking part in a given process.

F. What could have the Broward Taxi Company done to help avoid putting itself in this position?
The paperwork could have been submitted and filed weeks or even months prior to the deadline so this before has been an issue.
G. The role of a good manager is to be fair, firm, and consistent. Assuming again that by stating all that was needed to successfully submit a bid was given to all promptly and that this constitutes being fair, what did B&L do regarding being firm and consistent?
By refusing to alter the requirements, B&L represented a fair decision, even though the moral aspects of the management and ultimate goals which would drive such a decision bear the mark of possible unethical behavior.

H. Do you see the need for instructors to be fair, firm, and consistent in the way they
manage their classes? Should they accept late work? If so, is this good preparation for
the "real" world? Please explain in detail all your responses.
Professors and instructors as a rule should not accept late work. This is due to the fact that the university because of preparation for the real world. As has been noted in the case that was illustrated, the real world oftentimes has very real and absolute repercussions for missing deadlines. Read More