63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
traditional institution” and as such can “produce dysfunctional blind spots” as well as
provide “a stimulus for wonderful selfless action.” It is these blind spots that may
have a causal role in the problems illustrated in the case. Interestingly enough, Carl
• Professional ethos exists through codes of conduct that establish a
professional identity.
Of the possible “feminisms” presented in Ziegler and Gunderson’s research, it seems
An examination of the Academy’s culture using Hofstede’s dimensions of national
culture would indicate the following results:
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
• An environment of high power distances where it is generally accepted
2. List the personal and organizational forces that contribute to resistance to
change at the Air Force Academy.
Personal resistance factors might include:
a. failure to recognize the need for change
b. a misunderstanding of the purpose, process, and outcomes of change
3. Are the three major problems in this case – the 1993 sexual assaults, the 2003
sexual assaults, and the 2005 religious intolerance – related in any way? If so,
how?
Clearly, due to the overwhelming similarity of events the first two problems are
necessarily related. Both of these involved the abuse of power by upperclassmen and
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
VIII – 43
distance in the organizational culture. The “abusers,” i.e., agents, were individuals
4. Evaluate the changes that the Academy made after the 1993 sexual assault
scandal. Explain the reasons for your evaluation.
The changes put in place after the 1993 sexual assault scandals lacked effectiveness.
The mere fact that there were almost identical allegations in 2003 is a clear signal
5. Evaluate the changes that the Academy made after the 2003 sexual assault
scandal. Explain the reasons for your evaluation.
The new changes include:
Instituting new sexual assault reporting procedures where victims are given full
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of the changes made after the 2005 religious
intolerance complaints. Explain the reasons for your evaluation.
A review of the Academy’s proposed “Recommendations” detailed in the case allows
for an up-close view of these changes. The first proposals are to develop a policy
regarding religious expression that contains specific guidelines for those who
of religious accommodation when planning and executing Air Force operations. On
the policy level, this is a good beginning. However, it lacks specifics implementation
guidelines for individual or group actions from the strategic level to the operational
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
question of whether these are the same internal controls that were in place (seemingly
ineffectively) during the three problems of 1993, 2003, and 2005. Assuming that
these are different, what has changed from the earlier controls or procedures?
7. Given the unique military culture of this organization, what recommendations
would you suggest at this point in time?
Note: Encourage students to link the personal and organizational factors that the class
listed as contributing to resistance to change in answering question #2 to this answer.
Possible recommendations could include
• The Academy leadership should make sure that everyone at the institution fully
opportunity for unfiltered feedback from both majority and minority members of
the organization. If they are from the outside, their roles are more facilitation
than implementation. These external change agents also represent the
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
expectations of external constituencies – an important input to the change process
and goals.
• Regular cultural assessments should be conducted to gauge the status of norms,
beliefs, and values and their ongoing impact on Academy life. These may take
the form of anonymous surveys given regularly and/or focus groups conducted
by someone outside the chain of command and, if possible, completely external
where military personnel may be stationed.
• Explaining terms like “ethnocentrism” and “groupthink” should become part of
the standard terminology at the Academy when stressing acceptance and the
pluralism of ideas and beliefs.
Postscript
In October of 2005, Brigadier General Susan Y. Desjardins was appointed Commandant
of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Writing Assignment
Assume that you are a diversity consultant hired by the Air Force to make
recommendations for preventing future sexual harassment and religious intolerance
problems. Keeping in mind the military culture, what recommendations would you
suggest at this time? Provide a justification for your suggestions.
63. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Culture & Diversity Issues – Instructor ‘s Notes
Diversity on the Web
64. Briarwood Industries – Case Text
BRIARWOOD INDUSTRIES
Carol P. Harvey
Assumption College
Kendra Williamson sat at her desk at Briarwood Industries aimlessly staring out of her
office window. Today was to be her big day; she expected to be promoted to vice
president of marketing. Instead, she just wrote her letter of resignation. Impeccably
dressed in her best navy blue suit, Kendra looked successful but felt like a total failure.
When Kendra came to Briarwood in 1998 as an experienced furniture sales rep, the
company was already one of the largest manufacturers of upholstered living room
furniture in the United States. However, the furniture industry was stagnant and sales in
general were in decline. Assigned to the west coast region, Kendra soon became one of
the top sales reps in the country. She recognized the potential of warehouse
merchandising and capitalized on having one of the major chain’s national headquarters
in her territory by securing a multi-million dollar contract to supply them with sofas and
chairs.
In recognition, Kendra was promoted to sales manager of the Seattle office in 2004 and to
manager of new product and market development at corporate headquarters in North
Carolina in 2006. Most recently, she moved the company into international markets by
licensing Briarwood’s designs to foreign manufacturers.
Kendra was hoping that she would be promoted to a newly-created vice-presidential
position, but this job went to Larry Jaccobi, a 12-year veteran of the company, who had
the reputation of being efficient but not very creative in his management style. Larry was
best known for implementing the company’s order-entry system, which equipped the
sales reps with technology that sent order data directly back to the plant. Having orders so
rapidly enabled Briarwood to implement a just–in-time inventory system that was
projected to save the company millions of dollars over the next 5 years. Kendra felt that
Larry, although excellent at implementing other’s ideas, lacked broad-based experience,
and the vision to be a vice president.
Kendra was startled by a knock at her office door. Sandy McBride, the advertising
manager and Kendra’s closest confidant at the company, heard through the office
grapevine that Kendra did not get the vice president’s job. “What’s plan B?” McBride
asked. Welcoming the opportunity to talk, Kendra expressed her shock and hurt at not
getting the promotion. “I just don’t understand how this could have happened,” She
lamented. “I came up through the sales ranks. I was the one who had the vision to
diversify into office furniture, our most profitable product line. I wrote the marketing
plan for our expansion into Asian and European markets. What else could I have done?”
64. Briarwood Industries – Case Text
“Well, Kendra, it was well known around here that Larry really wanted to be a vice
president. He felt that he had paid his dues and that it was the next logical step. He never
missed an opportunity to make his ambition very clear, or his work visible to the top
brass. Remember that presentation he gave at the national sales meeting? Then there was
the time that he volunteered to represent the company at the labor negotiations with the
truck drivers union. News of these achievements went right to the top. I know that you
and Larry never really got along ”
Kendra abruptly cut Sandy off. “I don’t work like that,” Kendra said. “I wouldn’t want to
take all the glory for something that was the product of a team effort. Larry looks out for
Larry. My style is to do the best job that I can for the company. Good work gets noticed
and rewarded. Look at the profit margins for the furniture division. Everyone knows that
I am the brains behind that plan.
“And what about the 6 months that I spent in charge of production at the Atlanta plant. I
filled in when the company was short-handed. I am not interested in running a
manufacturing facility, but when the manager had a heart attack, I did it. I never
complained about the assignment or about living away from my family for a year. I have
always been there for Briarwood. Fine thanks I get.”
“Well, it is too late now. I am resigning. It’s Briarwood’s loss. I will hand deliver the
letter this morning.”
An hour later, Kendra sat in Gary Logan’s office. As the vice president of marketing and
her current boss read the letter, he expressed his surprise at Kendra’s action. “I think that
you might want to reconsider your resignation. Although you have done a fine job here,
quite frankly, your name was not even among the three top contenders for this job.
“We see you as a hard-working, loyal employee but not as corporate-level material. You
seem to lack the competitiveness, independence, self-confidence, and level of comfort
with risk that this job requires. In fact, this is the first time that you have even expressed
an interest in being promoted to this job”.
Kendra felt her anger building, and said, “You can’t be serious? Why wouldn’t you
realize that I considered myself a viable candidate to move into this position? I hinted at
it during my last review. I clearly remember saying that I have done everything that this
company has asked of me, and you agreed with me.
“What about the fact that I know that I am making $8,000 to $10,000 a year less than the
other managers at my level of experience? I never complained about the salary
differences. In fact, I never even brought it up. I thought being a team player counted for
something here. I just might call my lawyer.” With that statement, Kendra left Gary’s
office but left her letter on his desk.
64. Briarwood Industries – Case Text
He left her letter on his desk, unsure how to handle the situation. Gary was glad that he
had a lunch appointment with a good friend, Terry Wesley, the vice president of finance
at Briarwood. Terry had a lot of female employees. Maybe Terry could help Gary
understand Kendra’s behavior.
Discussion Questions
Note: You may be given special directions by your instructor for the discussion of this
case.
1. Is Kendra’s reaction to Larry’s promotion justified? Why or why not?
2. Does Kendra have legal grounds to sue the company?
3. Who is mainly at fault in this situation? Why?
4. If Kendra leaves Briarwood, what does she stand to lose? What will the company
lose?
5. If you were Kendra’s best friend, Sandy, what advice would you give her about this
situation?
6. If you were Gary Logan’s best friend, Terry, what advice would you give Gary about
this situation?
7. What can Kendra learn from this experience?
8. What can Gary learn from this experience?
9. What are the lessons from this case for men and women working together in
organizations?
Diversity on the Web
Go to Sodexho.com, select your country, and search for mentoring. This will bring
up descriptions of the three mentoring programs at Sodexho: IMPACT, Peer to
Peer and Bridge as well as the “Spirit of Mentoring” video. Read about these
programs and watch the video. Select one of these programs and explain how it
could have benefited Kendra in the Briarwood case. What would have been the
benefits for Gary to have mentored Kendra? For Briarwood?
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
VIII – 51
BRIARWOOD INDUSTRIES
Carol P. Harvey
Assumption College
Goals
• To illustrate that different styles of management and communication may not be
equally valued in the organization’s culture
• To stress the importance of honest performance feedback in mentoring and
employee development
• To demonstrate how poor communication can result in organizational problems
• To illustrate the influence of politics and networking within corporate culture
• To demonstrate that employees need to take a proactive role in their own career
development
Case Synopsis
This case depicts an incident in the life of Kendra Williamson, a hard working loyal
manager, who has just learned that she did not receive an expected promotion to vice-
president at Briarwood Industries. Her reaction to this situation is to submit her
resignation to her boss, Gary Logan. While she considered herself as a viable contender
for the position, Gary tells her that her name was not even among the top three candidates
considered for the position. As the case begins, Kendra is angry about the situation and
frustrated about the promotion decision. Her boss appears a bit confused because she has
never expressed an interest in moving up to senior levels of the organization. Both turn to
trusted coworkers for advice about how to handle this situation.
Discussion Guidelines
This case can be used to illustrate that individuals often see the same situation from very
different perspectives and to discuss the influence of gender in communication. Although
quite short, the case focuses on issues of career development, coaching, networking, and
communication and provides a rich source of discussion. Often, female students come
into class prepared to defend Kendra as a victim of the “glass ceiling” who has an
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
insensitive male boss. In contrast, male students often view Kendra as lacking in the
assertiveness necessary to function at the corporate level and in failing to accept
responsibility for planning her career. These reactions mirror those of the characters in
this case.
The discussion may be conducted in two different ways. In the first, you can use a
traditional approach. Asking the class as a group, traditional case discussion questions.
What are the main issues here? What has gone wrong? Why? What needs to be done to
remedy this situation? However, this often causes students to dig their heels in to justify
their own preconceived notions about the characters in the case, often related to their own
gender biases rather than to examine fresh perspectives. I recommend a second approach
that encourages students to analyze the case from the perspective of the opposite gender.
1. Before beginning the case discussion, ask the male students to sit on one side of
the room (or table) and female students to sit on the other. Be sure that the
groups face each other. This approach works even when the class is composed of
more males than females and vice-versa.
2. To visually reinforce the role reversal, distribute one sheet of pink paper to each
male student and one sheet of blue to each female student. Ask each student to
fold the paper into thirds to make a name tent and to write their first name on the
paper. The colored name tent serves as an important visual reminder that the
males are going to have to discuss this case from Kendra’s perspective and the
females from Gary’s perspective. I encourage you not to omit the colored name
tents.
3. Students will be stunned by this instruction and it requires some discussion rules.
• This is a serious discussion: the point is to see an issue from
another person’s perspective.
• Speak in your normal voice, i.e., no high pitched male voices.
No silly body language.
• If a student gets out of his/her reversed role, the students on
the opposite side of the room should silently point to the colored
name tent on their desks.
• At all times, males are to discuss this situation from Kendra’s
perspective and females from Gary’s perspective.
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
Teaching Tips
In the beginning you may have to remind the class that they are responsible for
controlling the role reversal as in point #3 above, but they quickly catch on and get into
their roles. It is important for the class to take ownership of the mechanics of the
discussion.
1. One of the key questions here is, “Does gender play any role in Kendra’s current
situation?” This will raise discussion points around style, perception and
communication differences, particularly if they have read the Colavecchio and
Harvey article on communication in the text. What usually happens during the
case discussion is quite interesting. Often, a class will mirror the findings of the
American Association of University Women’s study of male and female classroom
behaviors. For example, the (real) women will become more assertive in the class
discussion (i.e., model traditional male classroom behavior). Often, they interrupt,
argue, and in general become more assertive in arguing for Gary’s position. The
real learning here is that this format allows both male and female students to
analyze style tendencies rather to become defensive.
2. Males will often cite Gary’s “failure” to develop Kendra and to give her accurate
performance feedback. Sometimes, they say that Gary should have been looking
out for her welfare, etc. This gives you the opportunity to ask if they would say
that if Kendra were a man. In contrast, female students insist that Kendra was not
confident in negotiating for herself and did not take responsibility for her career
progression. Instead, she expected that her good work would be “noticed”, etc.
3. After the case situation has been discussed, the real learning takes place in the
discussion of the role reversal. Much of the processing of this case needs to
include a discussion that both characters here fell into somewhat stereotypical
behaviors and thinking. This case allows the male students to associate more
value with attempting to empathize with a good employee that the organization is
in a position to lose. Female students become more aware of the need to negotiate
for themselves. Ask students:
• What were the learning points when you had to see this situation
from another’s perspective?
• What did you learn about the opposite gender and communication
styles by being forced into that role?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• How can you apply what you have learned here to your personal
life and to organizational life?
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
VIII – 54
This case is based upon a real situation in a different industry. The real “Kendra” missed
the promotion. Later, she didn’t see a merger coming. Lacking organizational political
skills, she was downsized and failed to negotiate as hefty a severance package for herself
as she could have expected. Although she held an MBA from a prestigious university, she
was never able to obtain a comparable level position. Eventually, she left corporate life,
went back to school and became a nurse.
Discussion Questions and Answers
1. Is Kendra’s reaction to Larry’s promotion justified? Why or why not?
2. Does Kendra have legal grounds to sue the company?
3. Who is mainly at fault for this situation? Why?
4. If Kendra leaves Briarwood, what does she stand to lose? What will the
company lose?
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
VIII – 55
Note: the next two questions involve Kendra’s friend Sandy and Gary’s lunch date
5. If you were Kendra’s best friend, Sandy, what advice would you give her about
this situation?
6. If you were Gary Logan’s best friend Terry, what advice would you give him
about this situation?
7. What can Kendra learn from this experience?
An interesting framework to use here is the Johari window. (See J. Luft, “The Johari
window,” Human Relations and Training News, January 1961, 6-7.) Draw the 2×2
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
Blindspot What others may know about her, but she either refuses to
see or they won’t reveal to her (not seen as assertive enough,
does not have a take-charge attitude, etc.)
Unknown What neither others nor Kendra see in her
Johari Window
Known to Self
Not Known to Self
Known to others
Arena
Blindspot
Not known to others
Façade
Unknown
When a person’s arena is small, communication is not as open as it needs to be.
It is always easier to trust and communicate with people most like ourselves, but the
composition of the workplace has changed. Managers need to learn how to establish
open trusting relationships and good communication with employees who may be
unlike themselves.
8. What can Gary learn from this experience?
9. What are the lessons from this case for men and women working together in
organizations?
The real lessons are not learned from Gary and Kendra’s situations but from the
experience of spending an hour or so trying to see a situation from another person’s
64. Briarwood Industries – Instructor’s Notes
perspective, in this case — gender. Ask students to share their “lessons” from this
experience.
65. The Buy Case: The Inclusion of People with Disabilities – Case Text
VIII – 58
THE BEST BUY CASE:
THE INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
David P. Harvey
_____
Best Buy is committed to, “growth through a world of diversity and
inclusion… One employee, customer, and community at a time.”
Best Buy has a long track record of success in the fast-paced retail technology industry.
Best Buy’s focus on constantly changing products amplifies the need for innovation and
responsiveness in the marketplace. Throughout its history, Best Buy has grown by
staying at the forefront of both general management and industry-specific trends. One
area where Best Buy has led the pack is in diversity for people with physical and mental
challenges. Best Buy’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion involves each of its
“Three Pillars,” i.e., employees, customers and the community.
Edgar Schein’s framework for analyzing organizational culture is a valuable tool for
gaining insight into the factors that influence a company’s actions. Applying Schein’s
framework to Best Buy shows that diversity is deeply ingrained into the culture, from
store associates to the executive level. Best Buy’s leadership provides resources to build a
diverse culture from the bottom up and the top down because it believes in the value of
diversity from both the societal and business perspectives. Best Buy’s business decisions
are strongly rooted in the company’s four corporate values: have fun while being the
best, learn from challenge and change, show respect, humility and integrity and unleash
the power of our people. It was from these values that Best Buy developed its corporate
vision, “People. Technology and the pursuit of happiness (Best Buy Corporate Values
and Vision, 2010).”
The Business Case for Diversity – People with Disabilities
According to a report published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008, 16.5% of Americans
between the ages of 21 and 64 had a disability and only 45.6% of this group was
employed. The employment rate was far lower, 30.7%, for people with a severe
disability. By comparison, 75.2% of people with a non-severe disability and 83.5% of
people with no disability were employed. These findings suggest that there are millions
of Americans with disabilities who can and want to participate in the workforce. For
example, 59.1% of people with hearing issues were employed compared to 40.8% of
people with sight issues (Brault, 2008). Finally, disabilities reach across other dimensions
of diversity including: age, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.
While a great deal of literature and press is focused on hiring employees with existing
disabilities, current employees also can incur disabilities. The cost of accommodating an
existing employee is typically far lower than replacing that employee. According to the
65. The Buy Case: The Inclusion of People with Disabilities – Case Text
Job Accommodation Network (JAN), 56% of employers reported that accommodations
cost nothing. Of the accommodations that did incur a cost, the average expenditure was
$600 (Workplace Accommodations, 2010). Similarly, a study of 600 accommodations at
Sears, Roebuck & Co. concluded that 75% of the accommodations cost nothing while
only 2% cost more than $1,000 (Blanck, 1999). In contrast, it is generally accepted that
the cost incurred for a single incidence of employee turnover is one to two times the
employee’s annual salary. So, the cost of accommodation is very likely to be more than
offset by the direct benefits of retaining a qualified employee. A 2007 study conducted by
researchers at DePaul University found that performance ratings of workers with
disabilities were nearly identical to those of workers without disabilities
(Disabilityworks, 2007).
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that individuals with disabilities and their families have
over $1 trillion in annual income and $220 billion in discretionary spending power
(McNeil, 2000). A 2005 survey indicated that 92% of Americans have a more favorable
view of companies that hire people with disabilities than those that do not. Furthermore,
87% of the American public prefers to give their business to companies that hire
individuals with disabilities (Siperstein, 2006).
Businesses that can create an inclusive environment for people with disabilities may have
an advantage in attracting and retaining the most talented employees in the future.
According to the Department of Education, there are over 2.1 million individuals with
disabilities enrolled in post secondary education . Finally, the tax credits available to
businesses that improve physical access for people with disabilities and hire new
employees who have disabilities can exceed $20,000.
Best Buy: Corporate Profile
Best Buy was founded in 1966 as the Sound of Music store and reached $1 million in
annual revenues by 1970. In 1995 the company entered the Fortune 500 and in 2004 was
named “Company of the Year” by Forbes magazine. Today, Best Buy operates 1,044
retail stores accounting for 75% of its revenue. The remainder of their $45 billion in
annual sales is generated by nine other divisions (Datamonitor, 2010). Best Buy has
155,000 employees at sites in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, and Mexico and
a corporate headquarters in Richfield, Minnesota. Annually, Best Buy donates 1.5% of
pre-tax profits to non-profit organizations. In 2009, this reinvestment in the community
amounted to $33.4 million.
Executive Leadership
Consultant and author Michael W. Wright states: “leaders are like eyes – a window into
the soul of the corporation.” The leaders at Best Buy provide a clear example of this
concept. Best Buy has been led by only two individuals: Founder Richard Schulze, CEO
until 2002 and still serving as Chairman of the Board and current CEO Brian Dunn who
started in 1985 as a sales associate. Dunn takes a “hands on” approach to diversity. In a
recent meeting with the executive sponsors of Best Buy’s ten employee resource groups
65. The Buy Case: The Inclusion of People with Disabilities – Case Text
(ERGs), Dunn inquired about their efforts and reminded them that he would hold them
accountable for the performance of their groups (Best Buy Conference Call, June 8,
2010). Dunn also met directly with the field leaders of these ERG groups that had the
best executed business plans (Best Buy Conference Call, July 13, 2010). Dunn has
publicly stated that, “every one of us has amazing gifts, talents and perspectives to offer.
I’m committed to making sure we have the kind of environment where we respect and
celebrate all individuals and their unique contributions (Diversity at Best Buy, 2010).”
Diversity At Best Buy
Best Buy is committed to, “growth through a world of diversity and inclusion… One
employee, customer, and community at a time” (Best Buy EBN, 2010) and has a variety
of programs focused on harnessing the power of inclusion in each of the “Three Pillars”
of diversity: employees, customers and community. Best Buy currently provides
transformational learning opportunities, employee resource groups, and many types of
online and in-person diversity training. With clear values, consistent executive support
and a wide array of resources available to all Best Buy employees, the company
empowers employees at the local level to make decisions that support the inclusion of
people with disabilities. Best Buy then builds support for existing and future initiatives by
celebrating successes and disseminating diversity best practices throughout the
organization. In addition to supporting new initiatives, the corporate Diversity and
Inclusion Team at Best Buy is very responsive to the needs of the employees in the field.
For example, in addition to being available by appointment, the Corporate D&I team has
“Office Hours” when team members are available by phone and email. The D&I team
also partnered with corporate PR to develop public relations training for EBN participants
(Best Buy Conference Call, Sept. 8, 2010) who often represent Best Buy at community events).
Employee Business Networks (EBNs)
Best Buy has ten employee resource groups (ERGs) which are called Employee Business
Networks (EBNs). Best Buy defines an EBN as, “a group of employees who form a
network based on interest in and support for a common dimension of diversity.” In 2010,
the ten networks, including one for people with disabilities, had a total of 117 chapters
with over 2,000 members. (Best Buy Conference Call, August 10, 2010) The EBN
program was initiated with a loosely defined structure. As the program grew, Best Buy
added more structure, improved communication tools and developed mechanisms for
feedback (EBN Express, 2010).
Each employee business network must submit an annual business case with specific
business outcomes, complete a scorecard which tracks: membership and promotions of
EBN members, and Tag Team service awards received (Best Buy Conference Call, June
8, 2010). Best Buy pays its employees for the time they spend working on EBNs and the
groups are allowed to use of company resources, including meeting space.