Reference no: EM133166184

You are the newly hired member of a start-up consulting firm.  In addition to the duties tied to your specialization, you have also been brought on to help with recruiting.  After a month of being on the job, you are invited to join as a member of the hiring panel for a new staff.

The day of the interviews is electric.  You feel that the morning candidates are all quite strong.  You are also enjoying the time you spent with the interviewing panel and the hiring manager.  You feel a strong team bond forming and feel the group dynamics are complimentary-you love your new job.

At lunch, however, the team breaks up to eat.  You realize you've forgotten your wallet in your office, so you head back before going out to get something to eat.  When you get to the office you see the hiring manager's partner has come by so they could have lunch together.  As you are gathering your things, you are shocked to overhear some of their private conversation: the hiring manager mentions that one of the candidates from the morning was black and makes some comments that are white supremacist in nature, for example, stating that the candidates "dreadlocks were unprofessional, which is typical of coloured candidates."  You know this is not in alignment with the company's policies on inclusivity.  For example, the company consistently includes statements encouraging equity and diversity in job postings.  Through conversations, you have noted these policies are important to colleagues in the office who are people of colour.

You return in the afternoon, less enthusiastic than in the morning.  The afternoon interviews drag on and the candidates appear to be much less qualified that the morning candidates. At the end of the day, the interview panel, including yourself, provides their initial assessments.  Once all the opinions are shared, it sounds like the black candidate from the morning and another white candidate are tied. However, the hiring manager notes that between the two, he is much more confident in the candidate who is not black (of course, without mentioning race or colour).  The hiring manger has the final decision.  Though you agree both candidates are comparably competitive, you are very concerned with the implications of what you have heard in the office and unsure how to proceed when the interview panel reconvenes tomorrow.

Can you please help me to

• Describe the key factual elements of the situation - how did the situation come about? 
• Who are the key individuals/groups affected by the situation, the stakeholders?
• Who must decide?
• Identify the main problems (or issues) facing the organisation and describe the context of the problem. This includes all of the significant issues at stake as presented in the case and any other basic issues that you feel should be examined as well.