EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Group ParticipationNames Student numbers Level of contribution

Yukl (2010) presents a case study on Gender diversity and cross-cultural leadership. The

case describes the work environment at Madison, Jones and Conklin, an accounting and

consulting firm, where Laura Kravitz, a female manager experienced gender discrimination

during her employment at the firm.

The group assignment required the identification and analysis of discriminatory practices

within the case. The following were identified:

Failure to promote Laura – concept of “glass ceiling”

Biased distribution of high profile tasks

Poor career planning and support – no mentorship

Undermining Laura’s credibility

Excluding Laura from networking opportunities

While Laura could have mitigated some of the areas identified above by taking pro-active

action to manage her career and development, such as securing a mentor and creating

her own networking opportunities, it is quite possible that it may not have improved her

situation.

The company President, however, had the full authority to expose discriminatory practices

and create a healthy work environment where all employees are treated equally and with

respect. Instead he failed to take any action, and somewhat disappoints as a leader in his

capacity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

1. Introduction 1

2. Describe the forms of discrimination experienced by Laura 1

2.1 Sex based Discrimination 1

2.2 Glass Ceiling 2

2.3 Application to the case 2

3. Laura’s interventions to overcome obstacles 3

3.1 Formal discussion with Line Manager 4

3.2 Find a mentor and formalise relationship 4

3.3 Create opportunity for networking 5

3.4 Initiate a grievance process 6

3.5 Take legal action 6

4. Creating equal opportunity in the company 7

4.1 Ensure effective standards and policies 7

4.2 Developing leaders to understand and value diversity 8

4.3 Managing Diversity 8

4.4 Investigate the complaint and provide feedback 9

4.5 Take swift corrective action if required 10

5. Conclusion 10

5.1 Reflection within a South African Context 11

6. Reference List 12

1) INTRODUCTION:

Multiculturalism can be defined as the acceptance and promotion of people of different

racial and ethnic backgrounds by embracing differences in culture with respect and dignity

and creating an equal opportunity environment (Ogunjimi, 2010). Diversity extends this

definition to include gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, physical impairment as well

as alternative thinking. Within a multicultural society, McMillan and Chavis (1986)

identified four elements needed to create a sense of community and belonging; these

were: membership, influence, integration & fulfilment of needs and shared emotional

connection.

Cascio (2010) defines discrimination as allowing unfair advantage to members of a

particular group in comparison to others. Within an organisational context, this includes

denial and restriction of employment opportunities or in-equality in benefits of employment.

Human resource policies, protocols and practices are useful to companies in deterring

discrimination and managing diversity to allow fair practices to all.

This assignment required the analysis of gender based discriminatory practices imposed

on a female manager, Laura Kravitz, at Madison, Jones and Conklin (Yukl, Chapter 15)

within the context of a multicultural society.

2) DESCRIBE THE FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION EXPERIENCED BY LAURA:

2.1 Sex-Based Discrimination:Sex based discrimination involves discrimination on the basis of gender. Old beliefs

associate effective leadership with masculine oriented attributes like competition,

objectivity, task-oriented, decisiveness and assertiveness. This accounts for the low

number of woman occupying high level leadership positions (Yukl, 2010).

While women can possess such attributes, it was assumed that they were unable or

unwilling to display such masculine behaviour in the past. Their tendency is to a more

modern descriptive leadership style, such as strong interpersonal skills, trusting

relationships, and empowerment (Yukl, 2010). In a conservative, male dominated

environment however, these feminine qualities may not be fully accepted.

2.2 The Glass Ceiling:The “Glass ceiling” is defined as “a set of invisible barriers which block or restrict the entry

of members of non-majority groups into senior management positions” (Cox and

Smalinski, 1994:17). According to Yukl (2010), it can manifest itself as the:

The lack of opportunity to gain experience and visibility in positions that would facilitate

advancement,

Exclusion of women from informal networks that contributes to exposure and

advancement,

Lack of mentorship systems,

Lack of strong action from top management to ensure equal opportunities, and

Intentional efforts by some men to retain control of the most powerful positions for

themselves.

2.3 Application to the Case:The theories on Sex-Based Discrimination and Glass Ceilings are an appropriate

introduction to understanding the circumstances surrounding Laura Kravitz’s work

experience at Madison, Jones and Conklin. At best, the environment can be described as

an “old boys club”, i.e. a male dominated environment where Laura found herself as the

only woman manager in the group, struggling to fit in and find acceptance by her

conservative male senior colleagues and management.

Clearly the most obvious form of discrimination observed was the failure to promote Laura

in line with her colleagues, some who joined the company about the same time as her.

Laura attributed this partly to not gaining enough high profile projects. Project allocation

was the responsibility of her line manager. Laura’s line manager openly displayed bias in

his allocation of projects by assigning the high profile projects to Laura’s male peers. This

imposed a second form of discrimination. Without an equal opportunity for exposure and a

chance to prove herself, Laura’s development was stifled and she was not able to fully

show off her skills and demonstrate her potential, thereby keeping her under the radar.

To make matters worse, the organisation’s more influential client base had a preference

for working with men, and this supported male bias. While the customer is a crucial

stakeholder to keep content, line management should have taken a firm position and

supported Laura in favour of handling some of these projects. It would have demonstrated

trust in her abilities, provided the exposure she needed as well as encouraged and

stimulated her. Besides, Laura’s track record had been very positive and she had good

feedback from previous clients. It is very likely that she would have won these clients over

as well.

Within the organisation, Laura’s support structure was clearly weak. It is perceived that

she did not have a confidant whom she could confide in with regards to her emotional

state. She was also not allocated a mentor to facilitate her development and market her

skills. There did not appear to be any form of career planning or clear career path for her.

Laura’s abilities and contributions were also undermined. Management showed little

respect for her suggestions by ignoring her ideas in meetings and later giving credit to

others for the same ideas. Such action can be quite de-motivating and may lead to the

erosion of one’s self esteem and self confidence.

Lastly, male management in Madison, Jones and Conklin had an advantage to social

networking opportunities with clients and senior management through golf, a sport which

Laura did not prefer participating in and hence was not a member of the club. She was

excluded from most social meetings. While this is not direct discrimination, there could

have been a concerted effort to involve/include Laura in group social networking.

3) LAURA’S INTERVENTIONS TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES:

The situation proposed in the case could not have been a simple one to manage. Being

par of a minority group, in Laura’s case, the only female manager surrounded by

conservative males; Laura would have needed the strong ability to sells one value

proposition, along with self confidence, perseverance and internal strength.

Laura appeared very capable in her work role. In addition to graduating from a very

prestigious business school, she had a clear vision of her career within the organisation

– she aspired toward a partnership position. She worked hard toward this vision by

demonstrating her potential via successful tasks/assignments execution. This is

indicative by her promotion to team leader motivated by her success in a string of

assignments. Laura’s clients were satisfied with her performance. She had earned the

respect of her peers. It is clear from the case that Laura was a confident individual and

her capabilities were recognised by stakeholders that were exposed to her, i.e.

employees, peers and some customers. Laura therefore needed to expand her level of

influence, typically to other senior management so that they too could develop an

appreciation for her worth.

In a typical corporate environment, one can market their talents and gain positive

publicity fairly successfully by effective execution of tasks, in particular high profile

tasks, i.e. the more challenging/complex the task, the higher the recognition for a

successful outcome. Competition for such tasks, however, is stiff with usually the most

competent or most favoured individual claiming the opportunity. Competition in a

corporate environment is generally healthy if the environment supports individuals

without bias and the individuals maintain integrity and stick to competing in a

constructive manner. The work environment at Madison, Jones and Conklin has

already been described as showing bias toward male employees (encouraged further by

client preference). This automatically placed Laura at a disadvantage and required a

deliberate action on her part to effectively compete. Some interventions are proposed

below:

3.1 Formal Discussion with Line Manager:As line is generally responsible for work allocation, there is little that Laura could do

other than having a crucial conversation with her line manager. Patterson, Grenny,

McMillan & Switzler (2002) define crucial conversations as those that “occur when there

is a lot at stake, when emotions are strong, and when opinions differ”. The authors

suggest the importance of having a clear sense of desired outcomes in such situations,

as well as a clear sense of the desired relationships when the crucial conversations are

concluded.

Laura’s discussion should have covered her need for exposure and opportunity. Laura

was clearly feeling stifled due to limited opportunity for growth, her line manager needed

to be aware of her frustration. While it was Laura’s responsibility to ensure a personal

development plan linked to a career path, it was expected that the line manager

supported this plan with opportunities for exposure, training or rotation.

3.2 Find a Mentor and Formalise Relationship:Kram (1985) suggests that mentoring influences career progression as well as

enhances a protégé’s sense of professional identity and self confidence. Furthermore,

Ash and Dreher (1990) concluded through empirical research that individuals

experiencing extensive mentoring relationships reported more promotions, higher

incomes, and were more satisfied with their pay and benefits than individuals

experiencing less extensive mentoring relationships. Most large organisations have

recognised the importance of mentoring programs. The mentor-protégé relationship

can be formal/structured or informal. While mentoring is generally enforced at entry

level positions formally, it is seldom enforced at more senior levels.

Laura did not have a career mentor at her work environment. Given her circumstance

however, it would have been in her favour to have pursued a mentor in a formal

capacity. The mentor should be someone fairly senior, with enough knowledge of the

environmental challenges and a strong level of influence. Successful mentoring

relationships are based on a mutual understanding, trust and a commitment to making

the relationship work. The following potential benefit can be realised via the mentoring

relationship (Pawson, 2004):

Opportunity to develop a support network with experienced senior management.

Advice in relation to the challenges within the work environment – a “sounding

board”

Development of interpersonal and communication skills

Encouragement to stay motivated and focused on goals

3.3 Create Opportunity for Networking:Networking in the work environment can be roughly classified into two categories, i.e.

knowledge and support (social) (Ehrich, 1994). Knowledge networking entails the

sharing of technical knowhow among colleagues where individuals are recognised for

their expertise and utilised as resources as and when required. A knowledge database

can be used to facilitate this process. Support networking, on the other hand, is an

informal process where individuals engage in activities for purposes of relationship

building i.e. getting to know each other better. Support networking has traditionally

been male dominated practices (Ehrich, 1994).

Linehan (2001) asserts that female managers who are not part of an organisational

support network experience career disadvantages. While the number of women

pursuing managerial careers has been steadily increasing over the last few years, their

advancement to senior management positions has been very slow, despite legislative

changes. Linehan (2001) attributes this observation in part to poor support networking

within the organisation.

The case study describes a few existing networking opportunities that Laura missed. It

is difficult to determine whether her exclusion is due to gender discrimination or that she

was just not well known. There may have even been the perception that she was

unwilling to engage with the team socially as she did not play golf. Such

misconceptions could have been eradicated by Laura initiating new activities and events

that would have provided the environment for networking with peers, senior

management and clients – activities that she would be comfortable with where she

could show off her interests and strengths.

If the environment did not allow for this, then in the interest of her career, Laura should

have made use of any available opportunity for networking, even learning how to play

golf. Even though, the activity may not have been enjoyable to her, it would have sent

the message that she was “a member of the team”.

3.4 Initiate a Grievance Process:If Laura was unhappy with conditions surrounding her work environment, she should

have ideally requested an intervention from her line manager via open, frank

communication. Should this not have been fruitful, then Laura could have considered

initiating a formal grievance process to address the issues of discrimination as she

experienced. The complaint would comprise primarily of her getting passed over for

promotions in comparison to her peers and Laura receiving unfair treatment in task

allocation and career planning. Laura’s feeling of disempowerment in meetings caused

by senior management behaviour was also grounds for grievance. It would have been

important that Laura provided examples to substantiate her claims.

3.5 Taking Legal Action:In most countries, legislation prohibits discrimination in any form. Gender discrimination

is no exception. While female workers have in the past been subjected to non-equality

practices in the workplace, they are now adequately protected by various equal

opportunity acts (Employment Equity, Affirmative Action etc.).

Laura had the option to take legal action against the company given her experience if

she could prove gender discrimination with sufficient evidence. It would have helped

Laura’s case if she had gained support from others who have been witnesses to her

discrimination. Certainly, other women in the workplace who have had similar incidents

would have built a stronger case. The legal route is normally a difficult route to follow

with no guarantee of a successful outcome.

4) CREATING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN THE COMPANY:

The case briefly describes the discussion held between Laura and the president. As

overall leader of the organisation, the president had the necessary authority to

investigate the complaint and make changes needed to demonstrate his commitment to

equality. More than just authority, he should have shown compassion for Laura and

demonstrated his ability to influence and make a difference with actions of integrity.

This would have demonstrated authentic leadership. While the president offered a

sympathetic ear and comforting advice, little action was taken to address any concerns

made by Laura. He could have alternatively handled the situation in one or more of the

following ways:

4.1 Ensure Effective Standards and Policies:Legislation nowadays is very clear with regards to employment equity, discriminatory

practices and the consequences of transgressions. In a South African context, the

employment equity act 55 of 1998 exists to protect individuals against unfair

discrimination as a result of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, conscience,

belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth (Grogan, 2008).

It is ultimately the role of the chief executive officer (CEO) or in this case, the company

President to ensure that the organisation adheres to the requirements of the act by

putting in place standards, policies and procedures aligned to support equal

employment opportunities; this should be more than just a paper exercise. Diversity

awareness training should be implemented to ensure that every employee has a

thorough understanding of the policies and standards.

Furthermore, the terms “equal employment opportunity” and “affirmative action” are

interventions that have been commonly applied over the last few years to correct past

inequalities (gender inequalities included). The “glass ceiling”, defined earlier, can be

eradicated by formalising the above interventions within an organisation’s policies and

standards. Commitment from the president should extend to setting targets which are

measurable and making line management accountable for these targets.

4.2 Developing Leaders to Understand, Appreciate and Value Diversity:To start a diversity management program and further ensure sufficient buy-in for

sustainability, organisation must first develop an appreciation for diversity by

acknowledging the value that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation. Based on

extensive consulting experience, review of the literature and research input from leading

companies on organisational change, Cox and Smolinski (1994) concluded that:

Diversity in workgroups can be leveraged to increase marketing effectiveness,

creativity, innovation, and problem solving.

Organisations which excel at leveraging diversity will experience better financial

performance in the long run than organizations which are not effective in managing

diversity. Such Organisations promote the hiring and advancement of women and non-

white men into senior management jobs, and further provides a climate conducive to

contributions from people of diverse background.

The President should firstly buy into the principle that diversity adds value and thereafter

promote the benefits of diversity to the organisation. He must encourage behaviour

that respects and understands diversity (Yukl, 2010) to his management team who must

in turn support and entrench this behaviour within the cascading workforce. All actions

must be executed via visible leadership, i.e. leading by example.

The president should consider formalising programs for management to encourage

training and competency development on issues of cultural leadership and diversity

management.

4.3 Managing Diversity:Cox and Smolinski (1994) define “managing diversity” as the pro-active attention and

efforts of managers and other employees to respond effectively to the challenges posed by

diversity in workgroups. The goals of managing diversity are (Cox and Smolinski, 1994:

15):

To create a climate in which all members can realise their full potential of

organisational contribution and personal achievement.

To capitalise on the potential benefits of diversity while minimising the potential barriers

to effectiveness posed by diversity.

To create a climate in which people with fundamental differences in culture (values,

preferred work styles, goal priorities and behavioural norms) can work together with

maximum effectiveness.

At Madison, Jones and Conklin, the president should have taken the following steps to

improve diversity management in the organisation (Yukl, 2010):

Setting the example by openly encouraging diversity & equality and by condemning

transgressions harshly.

Formalise equal opportunity and affirmative action with targets accountable as a key

performance area (KPA) in performance contracts.

Encourage values driven behaviour among all employees. In particular, respecting

all views, establishing ground rules for meetings, giving credit when it is due via

recognition & reward programs and encouraging team work by sponsoring regular

team building activities. Such activities should be universal to encourage

participation from all groups rather than be suitable to a limited few.

Ensuring a formal mentoring/coaching program is in place for high potential (if not

all) employees. The president himself can be a mentor. However, he must

encourage his senior managers to willingly participate in mentoring by providing

them with incentives for the additional responsibility.

Ensure a stimulating work environment where all employees have the opportunity to

excel and demonstrate their potential to the organisation.

Ensure standards are in place with sufficient checks and balances to guard against

bias in promotions. There should be equality in the performance management

process for all diversity groups.

4.4 Investigate the Complaint and Provide Feedback:The Grievance procedure is a step by step process an employee must follow to get a

complaint addressed satisfactorily (Swanepoel, Erasmus and Schenk, 2009). Did such

a system exist at Madison, Jones and Conklin and why didn’t Laura used this process?

It is likely that she trusted the president by taking her grievance directly to him. The

accusations put forward to the president were severe enough to warrant a full

investigation even though a formal grievance process may not have been followed. Yet,

it can be assumed from the case that the president took no action after his discussion

with Laura. This is based on a year time span passing by with no feedback to Laura or

any changes observed in her working environment.

The president should have initiated a full investigation into the allegations made. This

would have entailed discussing the allegations with Laura’s manager and getting his

perspective, reviewing Laura’s KPA’s and historical merits achieved, comparing her

workload and level of exposure to that of her peers and reviewing promotion guidelines

against recent promotions of Laura’s peers. Most importantly, Laura should have

received feedback of the findings from the investigation. The exercise should have

been undertaken with a sense of urgency and with full transparency should there be a

formal enquiry at a later stage.

4.5 Take Swift Corrective Action if RequiredFollowing on from the previous paragraph, if the investigation uncovered blatant and

deliberate discrimination against Laura, the president should have initiated a disciplinary

process against the transgressors. This action may not have necessarily led to a

dismissal; however it does set the scene for a “zero tolerance” position on

discrimination.

5) CONCLUSION:

Laura’s experience in her work environment is certainly not unique. Sex based

discrimination is very reflective in the limited number of women holding high level

executive positions in the corporate environment (Yukl, 2010). While legislation now

discourages such practices, it will still take a long time for organisations’ demographics

to reflect these changes.

Employment equity and affirmative action practices will expedite the process; however,

these practices need to be embraced by the workforce. This starts with the leader who

openly declares support for diversity and lead by example. In the case of Madison,

Jones and Conklin, this was not the case. The President failed to acknowledge Laura’s

concerns and did not take any action.

Laura had many options that she could have pursued to help her development and

progression within the organisation. As a last resort, she could have taken legal actions

on the basis of discrimination. It is quite possible that, no matter what Laura did to

constructively gain support (mentoring, networking etc), she may have still been passed

over. In that case, Laura’s decision to leave the company and pursue her own interests

is probably the most sensible decision for her as she would have always been a “misfit”

in the organisation and would never have been entirely accepted.

5.1 Reflection within a South African Context:

The corporate environment in South Africa has undergone significant change with

regards to workplace demographics. The Employment Equity act 55 of 1998,

Affirmative action as well as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2004

have been deliberate government interventions in an attempt to correct past

inequalities. In spite of these efforts, however, change has been somewhat slow at

executive and director levels. Meyer and Boninelli (2004) compiled of series of

leaderships articles; of relevance is the one authored by Postma, entitled “Women in

corporate Leadership”. Postma conducted a demographic census of all companies

listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and found that women occupy only

14.7% of executive positions and 7.1% of director positions, yet they make up 52% of

the adult population in South Africa.

The above statistics represents the lowest of the 4 countries compared in the census

(South Africa, US, Canada and Australia). Yet, in parliament and owner managed

businesses in South Africa, they rank among the highest in the world. Postma attributes

this finding partly to the JSE being dominated by “old economic industries” making up

70% of the total marker capitalisation. These industries have been slow to change.

Legislative quotas imposed on these companies to improve women into senior positions

is a good start, however it will not be enough. Companies must accept the value

proposition in having a diverse management team. Thereafter, they will need to drive

this initiative as part of business strategy by incorporating plans for mentoring, coaching

and even shadowing of senior personnel.

6) REFERENCES:

Cascio, W. F. 2010. Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work life, Profits. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill

Cox, T. Smolinski, C. 1994. Managing Diversity and Glass Ceiling Initiatives asNational Economic Imperatives. Federal Publications. Paper 117.

Dreher, G.F. Ash, R.A. 1990. A comparative study of mentoring among men and women in managerial professional, and technical positions. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 75(5): 539-546.

Ehrich, L.C. 1994. “Mentoring and Networking for Women Educators", Women In

Management Review, 9(3): 4-10

Grogan, J, Jordaan, P, Maserumule, P, & Stelzner, S. 2009. Juta’s Annual Labour Law:

Juta.

Kram, K. E. 1985. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview: Scott Foresman.

Linehan, M. 2001. “Networking for female managers’ career development: Empirical evidence”. Journal of Management Development, 20(10): 823 – 829

McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. 1986. Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1): 6-23

Meyer, T.N.A. Boninelli, I. 2004. Conversations in Leadership – South African Perspectives. Randburg: Knowledge Resources (Pty) Ltd

Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzer,. 2002. Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high. New York: McGraw Hill

Pawson, R. 2004. Mentoring relationships: an explanatory review ESRC UK Centre for

Evidence Based Policy and Practice: Working Paper 21.

Swanepoel B.J, Erasmus B.J, & Schenk, H.W., 2009. South African Human Resource Management Theory and Practice. Cape Town: Juta.

Yukl, G. 2010. Leadership in Organizations. 7th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education

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