JWB Thoughts for MGMT 548

Week 2: Experience with Discrimination

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by

Jodi Wilson Bean
in

The hypothetical situation: I saw a news article reporting that my favorite company was faced with a public lawsuit in which they were accused of widespread discrimination against individuals from an ethnicity, culture, or belief system you associate with.

Would the outstanding claims of discrimination change the way you felt about the company? Would it influence your decisions to support that company? Would it change whether or not you applied to work for that company in the future? Why or why not?

JWB Thoughts: The outstanding claims of discrimination would change how I felt about that company because it would create feelings of concern which is not how I usually feel about my favorite things. I would like feel concern, disappointment, and also a need for more information. It would also depend on how in-depth the article was because news can vary from truly insightful to inflammatory. However, if the claims appeared well founded which a public lawsuit suggests, it would influence my decision of how much, if at all, to continue to support the company.

For example, if the root of the discrimination stemmed from one or two bad managers or senior leaders, then I may not stop supporting the company because a rotten apple doesn’t represent the whole bunch. Yet, if the discrimination practices were widespread and the information demonstrates that it is a corporate-wide issue, it would be a culture of discrimination and I cannot support that because diversity is a powerful strength that I believe in embracing.

It would change whether or not I applied to work for that company because I want to work for organizations with strong values and these outstanding claims of discrimination would give me pause. I would feel it necessary to follow the lawsuit and the outcome to help me decide about further considerations of job opportunities in the future. To me, it’s not a simple answer because of the different factors that are part of discrimination, corporate management, and public lawsuits. A lawsuit is a strong enough message of potential validity of the claims that I wouldn’t want to apply to work there until the lawsuit was resolved.

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Comments

3 responses to “Week 2: Experience with Discrimination”

  1. Tim Edwards Avatar
    Tim Edwards

    Jodi,
    I appreciate that you ended your analysis by stating that the outcome of the lawsuit is important in your decision for support of the company or desire to work for that company. In today’s age of frivolous lawsuits, it is important to examine what the ruling was and what was found to be true from both sides of the argument. Many soundbites made for media do not provide enough information to make a decision for yourself. Further research is warranted to decide an issue.

    Nice analysis!

    Reply
  2. Evan Padia Avatar
    Evan Padia

    I agree regarding the importance of accurate information, considering if it’s from news articles or legal cases. These forms can greatly influence decision-making because the source of the information is criticle. It’s also critical to emphasize strong values and the necessity of monitoring lawsuit outcomes before committing to future employment decisions. Great callout! Additionally, determining whether the issue at hand is an isolated incident or a recurring problem. In my experience, I’ve observed that there can be “bad seeds” in business, and it’s not always possible to prevent every instance of misconduct. However, how a company responds to such incidents speaks volumes about its values and commitment to ethical practices. If a company takes swift and decisive action, such as termination or public statements of the discriminatio. This to me would demonstrate a commitment to upholding ethical standards and maybe let me more acceptable. The severity of the issue are all important factors in determining one’s stance and actions regarding discrimination claims within an organization. Good post!

    Reply
  3. Tiana Enos-Dano Avatar
    Tiana Enos-Dano

    Great post! I agree with determining the root cause of the issue. There are many companies out there that have 1 or 2 rotten eggs but it does not mean that the entire carton is spoiled. I also firmly believe that how a company will react to these eggs will affect my perspective. I appreciate the perspective that you shared of becoming a potential employee and ensuring that you are closely following the case. This can lead to many different outcomes and if it is a company that you truly would like to work for, it would be beneficial to see how the lawsuit unfurls. It again goes back to the connection of 1 rotten egg. Overall, this scenario allows us to give a lot of thought into what is our line in the sand. It is easy to have an upfront decision if it were one person or one item but there is a lot on the line when thinking about an entire company.

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