D-Bart Company Case Study

Critical Factors
Here is yet another case that proves to have many critical factors. We are dealing with a company that is downsizing, which may cause employee concerns. They are facing the need to make a decision on how to make the appropriate selection of employees to layoff, without facing Title VII discrimination violations, and they obviously have an issue that needs to be addressed with how the company is currently handling employee evaluations and appraisals.
The most critical issue here is how to determine the appropriate way to select who will be laid off. The Division Manager Karen Howell had initially identified a way to select the employees based on past performance scores, but after learning the inconsistent nature they have been followed and the lack of the managers following the policies and procedures, Karen realized this would not be an acceptable way to make these decisions. If D-Bart did use the performance appraisal scores to determine layoffs, this could subject D-Bart to violating some Title VII discrimination rules. If there is not a consistent no bias process put into place employees could look to raise lawsuits against the company claiming unfair practices and age discrimination. Although the burden of proof is the responsibility of the plaintiff, when there are inconsistent practices, the
As mentioned in the listed option, this would probably allow the company to take volunteers and avoid any potential lawsuit implications. This solution is not necessarily as cost effective as the performance appraisal process, as there will probably be the need to offer severance packages and potentially the need to offer an extension on benefits to make the opportunity appealing to the 20%. These costs may not have been necessary if the performance evaluation process had been consistent and followed by all