Road to Hell

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Likewise, the company needs to look at long term solutions to avoid more occurrences of this. Diversity training within the company needs to be implemented immediately. The training should be very specific and tailored to match the character of the company. This organization appears to have Europeans and Barracanians working together – and one would wonder how much do they really know about the other? Before moving forward with diversity training, they need to ensure that the committee is diverse and representative of the company. According to Scott Ngyuen’s research on implementing diversity training, the following are the most important steps:

Step 2 - needs assessment: One of the biggest errors in diversity training is failing to conduct a needs assessment. A needs assessment that comprehensively assesses the employees, the jobs and the organization "ensures that diversity issues related to diversity are framed accurately and that the right interventions are identified" (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004, p. 416).

Step 3 - link diversity strategy to business results: The foundation of a strong and successful diversity initiative includes tying the diversity initiatives to business results in a realistic and practical way. HR professionals must state how diversity efforts contribute to and meet specific business objectives (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004).

Step 5 - metrics and evaluation: This is perhaps the most valuable component of all, the pièce de résistance of diversity training. Without a meaningful way to measure the diversity training or larger diversity initiatives, an organization will not know whether some or all of its efforts work or not. Because there is a lack of research about the efficacy of one diversity effort over another, "establishing metrics and evaluating the effectiveness of diversity initiatives will allow organizations to make data-driven decisions about how to leverage resources most effectively" (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004, p. 420).

Another effective long term solution that could be implemented is cultural awareness activities. The company should create opportunities for a diverse group of employees to meet and collaborate together on special projects. Also, a company intranet would be a great way to engage employees as well. It would serve to share important company news but also dive into more individual employee information. The intranet could share wedding and baby announcements as well as featured employee biographies.

Fallout

This company may have legal and political implications, and also public backlash could occur. Matt could decide to pursue legal representation based on his experience. Furthermore, there are potential political implications of this conflict. Besides his father’s prominent political position, the company had overcome challenges and developed a good relationship with the local government, that could be damaged by this situation. Also, the company had instructed John to groom Matt, but was anyone else considered and even prepared for the chief engineering position? This impending lack of adequate staff is yet another fallout. Lastly, but most importantly, the public perception of the company is crucial. Public perception can cause irreparable damage to this company if the public had any inclination of discrimination, it would be the start of a downward spiral that could have financial consequences.

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Works Cited

1. Dansky, Kathryn H (07/01/2003). "Organizational strategy and diversity management: Diversity- sensitive orientation as a moderating influence". Health Care Management Review , 28 (3), p. 243.

2. Devine, F. (2007). Managing cultural diversity. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(2), 120-132

3. Edewor, P. (2010). Diversity management, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Diversity, 6(6), 89-195

4. www.forbes.com/.../diversity-management-is-the-key-to-growth-make-it-authenti..

5. www.huffingtonpost.com/.../workplace-stereotyping-a_b_56423...The Huffington Post

6. Nguyen, S. (2014). The critical role of research in diversity training: How research contributes to an evidence-based approach to diversity training. Development and Learning in Organizations, 28(4), 15. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.bellevue.edu:80/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.bellevue.edu/docview/1658529737?accountid=28125