Ramsey Williams Case 17 Analyzing Promotion Data: Applying the 80% Rule 2/9/05 Human Resource Management Shawn

Keough

Case 17 Analyzing Promotion Data: Applying the 80% Rule

The Human Resource Director for Food Chan Supermarkets receives a complaint and a resignation regarding black employees being passed over for promotions in his company. He proceeds to investigate these claims by looking at promotion rates and four specific cases of black employees in the company. The reports yields some startling results and is left wondering how to make changes in his company in order to prevent future situations like this from happening. Looking at the raw numbers from the promotion data one might think that the rates for promotion between black employees and white employees isnt that disparaging. The numbers from the past two years seem to show that while a black employee is less likely to be promoted in a store than in the warehouse, where in 1997 the number of blacks promoted exceeded white promotions. The data dose show company wide white employees are more likely to be promoted than blacks, but this is hardy proof of discrimination and any number of factors could have contributed to the numbers. The real evidence is in the details of the four employees profiled in the report, all of them have been passed over for promotions and those positions were filled by less qualified white employees, and in some cases these employees were performing the job of fill-in supervisor at the time they were passed over. All of these employees based on the report were more qualified then the white employees that were promoted instead.

One probable cause for this situation is Food Chains word of mouth promotion policy, open position are not posted, employees are not allowed to formerly apply for positions and promotion decision are largely left to the discretion of mostly white area managers. With no open and transparent system in place for promotion its impossibly to assume that all the managers are aware of all opening or even considering there personnel for positions, if these jobs were posted in an open way the burden to seek promotions would fall to the employee and a manager who may or may not like a particular employee. With the current system you have a good ol boy network that only those that the managers specifically like receive promotions. The Human Resources Director should now prepare a memo to his superiors informing them of what he has found and that he is going to restructure the way promotions are handled company wide, creating an open transparent process, which takes into account experience and qualifications as well as manager recommendations. He should also take a close look at the managers of the employees that have been passed over and perform whatever disciplinary action is necessary and review other black employees files and try and see that they are considered for future promotions within the company. All of the managers need to receive training on promotion practices and discrimination.