Case Study
HBR CASE STUDY ON
“THE BEST OF INTENTIONS”
- John Humphreys
Submitted To Prof. Neeta Jain FORE School of Management
Analysis Submitted By –
Aayushi Singh (221002) Anjali Gera (221001) Ankit Arora (221022) Deeptiman Dasgupta (221039) Gaurav Maheshwari (221049) Gagandeep Chawla (221046)
Analysis 1 – Issues in the case
The major issues in the case are: i. Discrimination between employees – a) On grounds of gender : Some territories of business at AgFunds were conservative and the customers were not comfortable in doing business with women. Cynthia Mitchell even though was more capable than Bill Hawkins was not selected for a coveted position in Northern Indiana because of the same. b) On grounds of race : Racial prejudice existed in some other districts where customers were unwilling to work with people from the black race. They did not trust them and led them to their failure as a person and the organization as a whole. Steve Ripley, the year’s top trainee, who was a black, was thought of not being assigned a role in the Arkansas district citing the same reason.
ii.
Customer’s supposed prejudices dictating the hiring policy –
The customer’s supposed irrational outlook is deciding the resource deployment policy of the organization which is also affecting resource utilization. In the bargain, meritocracy is forced to take a back seat in cases where discrimination is in play.
Analysis 2 – Should Cynthia hire Steve?
Arkansas biggest customers would be unwilling to work with a black professional. Learning from past experiences of going against the likes of customers Cynthia should not hire Steve. Reasons being – i. The stakes of Steve’s career being jeopardized are high. It will set him up for failure and affect his future promotions. The customers won’t trust and buy from Steve thus affecting profits, the shareholder’s and the organization as a whole. Steve would be a more valuable asset in a more hospitable location.
ii.
Analysis
“THE BEST OF INTENTIONS”
- John Humphreys
Submitted To Prof. Neeta Jain FORE School of Management
Analysis Submitted By –
Aayushi Singh (221002) Anjali Gera (221001) Ankit Arora (221022) Deeptiman Dasgupta (221039) Gaurav Maheshwari (221049) Gagandeep Chawla (221046)
Analysis 1 – Issues in the case
The major issues in the case are: i. Discrimination between employees – a) On grounds of gender : Some territories of business at AgFunds were conservative and the customers were not comfortable in doing business with women. Cynthia Mitchell even though was more capable than Bill Hawkins was not selected for a coveted position in Northern Indiana because of the same. b) On grounds of race : Racial prejudice existed in some other districts where customers were unwilling to work with people from the black race. They did not trust them and led them to their failure as a person and the organization as a whole. Steve Ripley, the year’s top trainee, who was a black, was thought of not being assigned a role in the Arkansas district citing the same reason.
ii.
Customer’s supposed prejudices dictating the hiring policy –
The customer’s supposed irrational outlook is deciding the resource deployment policy of the organization which is also affecting resource utilization. In the bargain, meritocracy is forced to take a back seat in cases where discrimination is in play.
Analysis 2 – Should Cynthia hire Steve?
Arkansas biggest customers would be unwilling to work with a black professional. Learning from past experiences of going against the likes of customers Cynthia should not hire Steve. Reasons being – i. The stakes of Steve’s career being jeopardized are high. It will set him up for failure and affect his future promotions. The customers won’t trust and buy from Steve thus affecting profits, the shareholder’s and the organization as a whole. Steve would be a more valuable asset in a more hospitable location.
ii.
Analysis