Consider this situation. You are the Human Resources Director for a medium-sized business. This morning, you were approached by an employee of yours, named Cathy (female), who wanted to report an incident to you.
Cathy explained to you that she recently showed interest in a promotional opportunity, and was ultimately not selected for the promotion. Cathy further said that the person (Cal – male employee) who was selected for the promotion just happened to be good friends with the supervisor (Sally) who made the selection. Cathy said that she is angry because there is no objective documentation that shows Cal has outperformed her in their current roles, and that this is an obvious case of favoritism. Cathy ended the conversation by asking to see documentation of the selection process for internal promotional opportunities so that she could determine if gender discrimination has occurred.
Immediately after meeting with Cathy, you asked Sally to come to your office for a visit. You told Sally of the talk you had with Cathy and asked her for her thoughts on the situation. Sally said that Cal was selected for the promotion because he is a better fit for the new role, and that “Cathy the Complainer” had such a reputation of complaining, that regardless of how well she has performed in the past, she did not want to deal with her. Sally ended the conversation by saying that there is no internal promotion process to follow anyway.
Given this situation, prepare a SUMMARY PAPER addressing the following:
- Plan a follow-up meeting with Cathy individually. Organize your thoughts as to how you will talk with Cathy, specifically on the topic of gender discrimination. You will need to interpret the meaning of gender discrimination in this context for Cathy and provide consultation as to whether you think gender discrimination has occurred.
- Plan a follow-up meeting with Sally individually. Organize your thoughts as to how you will talk with Sally, specifically on the topic of how she handled this promotional opportunity. You will need to provide advice as to how she should handle promotional opportunities in the future.
Posting Requirements:
- Your paper should be at least 500 words in length.
