Reference no: EM133038819

INNOVATIVE OFFICE FURNITURE 

Case Assignment 

Ken Miller read the latest sales figures with a great deal of satisfaction. The Vice-President of Marketing at Innovative Office Furniture., a large Canadian office furniture manufacturer and distributor, was pleased to see that the marketing campaign to improve sales of the company's products was working.  Sales volume and market share of the product had increased significantly over the past two quarters compared to the previous year. 

The improved sales of the office furniture could be credited to Richelle Theron, who was assigned responsibility for the products last year.  Theron had joined Innovative Office Furniture less than two years ago as an assistant brand manager after leaving a similar job with another office furniture supplier.  She was one of the few non-white women in marketing management at Innovative Office Furniture and had a promising career with the company.  Ken Miller was pleased with Richelle's work and planned to let her know this in the annual performance review. He now had an excellent opportunity to reward her by offering her the recently vacated position of marketing research coordinator.  Although technically only a lateral transfer with a modest salary increase, the marketing research coordinator job would give Theron broader experience in some high-profile work, which would enhance her career in the company.  Few people were aware that Ken Miller's career had been boosted by working as a marketing research coordinator at Innovative Office Furniture several years earlier.

Richelle Theron had also seen the latest sales figures and was expecting Miller's call to set up a meeting that morning.  Miller began the conversation by briefly mentioning the favorable sales figures, and then explained that he wanted Richelle to take the marketing research coordinator job. Richelle was shocked by the news. She enjoyed brand management and particularly the challenge involved with controlling a product that directly affected the company's profitability.  The marketing research coordinator was a technical support position-a "backroom" job-far removed from the company's bottom-line activities. Marketing research was not the route to top management in most organizations, though Theron.  She had been sidelined. 

After a long silence, Richelle managed a weak, "Thank you, Mr. Miller."  She was too bewildered to protest.  She wanted to collect her thoughts and reflect on what she had done wrong.  Also, she did not know her boss well enough to be openly critical. 

Miller recognized Theron's surprise, which he naturally assumed was her positive response to hearing of this wonderful career opportunity.  He, too, had been delighted several years earlier about his temporary transfer to marketing research to round out his marketing experience.  "This move will be good for both you and Innovative Office Furniture, "said Miller, as he escorted Theron from his office.

Richelle was preoccupied with several tasks that afternoon but was able to consider the day's events that evening.  She was one of the top women and minorities in brand management at Innovative Office Furniture and feared that she was being sidelined because the company didn't want women or non-white people in top management.  Her previous employer had made it quite clear that women "couldn't take the heat" in marketing management and tended to place them in technical support positions after a brief term in lower brand management jobs. Ken Miller and Innovative Office Furniture were following the same game plan.  Miller's comments that the coordinator job would be good for her was just a nice way of saying that Richelle couldn't go any further in brand management at Innovative Office Furniture.

Richelle Theron now faced a difficult decision of whether to confront Miller and try to change the company's sexist and even racist practices or leave the company. 

Review the case discussion and then discuss the following:

• What symptoms exist in this situation to suggest that something has gone wrong? In thinking about that consider the following:  Going into the meeting, what is Ken Miller thinking?  Coming out of the meeting, what is he thinking?  Going into the meeting, what is Richelle thinking?  What is she thinking coming out of the meeting?
• What are the root causes that have led to this condition?  What perceptual errors have occurred and who caused them?  Among other possible perceptual errors, did any stereotyping occur?
• Has there been discrimination against Richelle?  Explain. 
• What will likely happen now?  Why?
• What should happen now?  Explain. Who needs to take the first step in hopefully resolving the problem(s)?  Why? What should they do?  How likely is it that things will get fixed? Explain.