James is director of marketing and sales for a large electrical appliance company. Presently, his team of executives consists entirely of white males. The company says it is committed to diversity and equal opportunity. In a private conversation with Rock, the company CEO, about the makeup of top-level management in the marketing and sales department, James admitted that he tends to promote people who are like him. James stated, “It just seems like when a promotion opportunity exists in our department, the perfect person for the job happens to be a white male. Am I supposed to actively seek women and minorities, even if I don’t feel that they are the best person for the job? Do I recruit older workers for sales? After all, we aren’t violating the law, are we?” Rocky responded, “So far the performance in your department has been good, and as far as I know, we are not violating any discrimination laws. Your management team seems to work well together, and we don’t want to do anything to upset that, especially considering the big marketing plans we have for this coming fiscal year.” The big marketing plans Rocky is referring to have to do with capturing a sizable share of the overseas market. The company thinks that a large niche exists in various countries around the world—and who better to fill that niche than an organization that has proved it can make top- quality toys at a competitive price? Now the marketing and sales team has the task of determining which countries to target, which existing electrical appliance will sell, and which new equipment need to be developed.
1. Describe challengers that managers must face when managing diversity? (30 Marks)