Problem

The company Johnson Chemical International has a difficulty with handling diversity in its workplace,
which has caused discrimination and a company-wide email containing racist and other inflammatory
remarks to be sent out. hat should be done!
Causes/ Issues
The issues that may have caused the problem that Johnson Chemical is having can be rooted
from the lack of knowledge and e"perience in handling diversity issues. #ot having a proper
environment in where differences can be acknowledged and understood by other groups. $inally, the
company appears to not accurately follow the policy of %ffirmative %ction by having the company
represent the demographics with the &'( rule.
Criteria
%cceptance of %ffected Parties
Time
)oney
%lternatives
$ollow the rules of %ffirmative %ction by fully analy*ing the local workforce demographics and the
demographics within the company and to make employment ad+ustments as needed.
Create an environment where those of differing groups, i.e. race and se", can be more comfortable
with each other.
,aving the leaders and managers of the company to take special classes that will help them
understand and instruct those below and around them in proper methods in dealing with diversity
and diversity issues that may arise.
%nalysis
The first alternative solution is to make sure the company is following the %ffirmative %ction
-%%. plan of &'( of the local demographics or to /attaining a workforce that 0looks like %merica01
-2eldon, 3445, p. 677.. There isn0t any definite information that the company is not following %% but
there are some identifiers that show that there is an issue, such as in e"hibit 7.74, the %frican-
%merican employees is stayed at 5 percent and the women and %sian population, respectively, are 7(
and 74 percent. These figures and that fact that there is a large turnover rate for women and %frican-
%merican, shows that the company may not be following %%. Though this company has made attempts
to follow %%, /These gaps are real and disturbing, and they must not be neglected1 -2eldon, 3445, p.
678..
The Pros for this solution is that it will cost little resources of time and money to implement this
strategy by getting an annual report from the local government on what the average demographics in
the local area is and have the company reflect the same proportions with a &'( discrepancy. The Cons
for this solution is that the members of the company will ad+ust on their own as with the local
population, with little intervention to help the cause discrimination and not recogni*ing the needs of the
affected parties
The second option, to create a more comfortable environment for different groups to feel more
comfortable with each other. This option would include having company sponsored events where the
employees may get together and to sociali*e and to break down barriers. ,aving more team-building
e"ercises, where different groups would diversified and to have them rely on each other to get to know
each other better because /it0s not about re9uiring people to 0fit in,0 but rather, truly appreciating
differences1 -,effes, 3446, p. (:..
The Pros of this option will have help the acceptance of affected parties through having
environments where people can be energi*ed to engage with other diverse groups without having to
feel unnatural about it and to encourage individuals to look more at the skills and personality than to
have a set discrimination standard. The Cons are that this will cost time and money to organi*ed, set up,
purchase material and supplies, and to have the events well advertised to encourage all employees to
attend. If these events were mandatory, it could make the events less en+oyable and it puts a damper on
any social activities that may take place.
The third option is to have the leaders and management to step up and take the lead in learning
and understanding diversity and discrimination issues. This will include having seminars, learning
workshops, and regular interactions with employees to mentor them away from discrimination and the
harms that come with that mentality.
The Pros are that this method will have a longer lasting effect with changing the attitudes of
employees and to help the affected parties from acts of discrimination. This will also have the
administration of the company well informed in correct methods in dealing with day-to-day situations.
The Cons for this method is like the previous method, in that it will have a large money and time cost,
but this cost will decrease after the initial implementation of this plan. This plan also doesn0t have a
definite solution but re9uires the abilities of the management to be more on-the-ball.
2elect ' Implement
The third option to organi*e a curriculum to educate and prepare the leaders of the company to
understand and develop diversity would be the best choice because it will have lasting effect and will
propagate into future events and to allow the company to evolve around the principle of diversity.
To successfully implement this strategy, the company will follow the lead of what was
discussed at the omen0s $inancial ;eadership conference in 2eptember 3446 by /hav<ing= a diversity
curriculum that includes a basic >diversity and inclusion course> ... /which is focused on e"ploring the
impact of working across cultures1 -,effes, 3446, p. (&..
?eferences
2elden, 2. -3445.. % 2olution in 2earch of a Problem! @iscrimination, %ffirmative %ction, and the #ew
Public 2ervice. Public Administration Review, 66-5., 677-63:. doiA74.7777'+.7(&4-
5374.3445.445(6.".
,effes, B. -3446.. @iversity C Inclusion. Financial Executive, 25-7., (3-((. ?etrieved from Dusiness
2ource Premier database.