Reference no: EM132882305

Case: Diversity Management Meets Training and Performance Management

Janine Gupta, the HR specialist for a restaurant chain with 5 locations, had been given the responsibility to teach a class on diversity. The class was being offered in response to ethnic-based harassment experienced by a number of immigrant workers, who reported being bullied, mocked, and excluded from social events within their restaurants. Janine went to each restaurant and delivered a two hour lecture about diversity and the need to treat all employees equally. The lecture content focused on why it is wrong to be prejudiced and how unfair and hurtful it is to experience discrimination. Discussion was avoided since management was concerned about finger-pointing and blame and they wanted to eliminate potential for confrontations. Immediately afterwards students were given a written test, which they all passed. 3 months after she completed her lecture circuit Janine was dismayed to find that nothing much has changed. Complaints about social exclusion and bullying continue just as before.

Assignment Questions:

a) Why do you think Janine's training did not result in any changes in behaviour?

b) What should Janine have done differently at each stage in the training process to ensure her efforts were more successful? Remember to address all 5 stages and to explain your reasoning (see slide 3 of the training lecture for the stages) The five steps are-1- Need analysis, 2- Instructional Design, 3- Validation, 4- Implementation, 5- Evaluation and follow-up.

c) Moving beyond training, what other things can Janine do to better manage diversity in this organization?

d) Imagine that Janine has decided to start evaluating individual restaurant managers for the degree to which they foster a respectful, harassment-free working environment. How could she go about assessing, measuring, and rewarding this aspect of performance?

e) Should new hires undergoing initial orientation be warned about past problems with harassment within this workplace? Justify your answer.