The evidence supported that these codes were ignored, even at the senior management level. In addition, the acrimonious relationship between primarily white managers and primarily black workers should have been an indication that there were issues of discrimination.
Aside from taking recognizing troubles and reacting early, there are systemic ways that Coca-Cola could have addressed the situation. During the trial, a number of statistics were introduced in support of the claimants. These included numbers on blacks being dismissed vs. whites being dismissed and figures concerning promotions. Coca-Cola could have recognized the situation in advance by setting up utilizing these types of metrics to understand the impact of its human resources policies.
In addition, Coca-Cola could have avoided the issue by enforcing its existing codes. Senior management did not appear to take the issue seriously, however, until the courts compelled them to financially. The memo from Kevin Johnson that was roundly ignored was not likely the first instance of somebody within the company attempting to address the issue with senior management. Commitment from senior management to improving diversity and ending discrimination is the cornerstone of any policy, and at Coca-Cola it was lacking.
Tied to the senior management problems was the lack of diversity among senior management. This led the other managers to ignore Mr. Johnson, whose views did not fit with their culture. However, increasing diversity in the senior ranks must go beyond hiring policies. A mentorship program could have helped Coca-Cola to identify potential candidates and bring them along until they were ready to enter senior management. This would have given Coca-Cola a more diverse senior management team, one less likely to dismiss discrimination complaints.
Lastly, Coca-Cola could have avoided the problem by leaving less to chance in its promotion policies. The discrimination issues arose in the first place because Coca-Cola left promotion and dismissal to the subjective judgment of low-level managers. A recommended approach would have been to set guidelines more in line with performance measures than subjective measures. This would also have given the company some evidence to support a contention that they have not been engaging in discrimination.
Crisis of Leadership
The discrimination lawsuit faced by Coca-Cola was a crisis of leadership. While the core problems cited in the lawsuit pertained mainly to low-level employees and their low-level managers, these problems were a manifestation of broader issues that went right to the top of the company. The corporate culture at Coca-Cola supported discrimination. The low-level managers were never sanctioned or even investigated for their behaviors, and senior management ignored opportunities to address the issue even after they were made aware of it. At no level of management did Coca-Cola take the issues of discrimination and workplace diversity seriously. The result was a costly lawsuit and a shift in the way management approached the issue.
The managers act in the best interests of the shareholders. To their credit, managers at Coca-Cola understood that the problem was not simply a few bad-apple low-level managers, but that the problem was endemic and systemic. They tackled the problem using a wide range of strategies. They addressed some of the systemic issues, which had resulted from outmoded human resources policies. They also addressed the issue of culture. Senior management was the first group to embrace the power of workforce diversity. Once that group supported the diversity initiatives, the attitude began to diffuse throughout the organization. Coca-Cola recognized correctly that change on the scale that was needed at their company needed to come from the top.
As a result, senior management at Coca-Cola today takes a progressive view of diversity in the workforce. The company is committed to not only providing opportunities for minorities but is also active in building the skills of minorities so that they can become viable candidates in the future. This policy has helped Coca-Cola to increase its managerial diversity, which should contribute to making diversity a key part of the company's culture going...
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