Laura Wollen and Arpco, Inc

Memo

To: Laura Wollen

From: Sushi Consulting

Date: September 29, 2017

Subject: United Kingdom Product Manager Recommendation

Introduction, Overview, or Background

ARPCO is looking for candidates for their Cordless Power Tools Product Manager position in their London office. There are two main candidates: Charles Lewis and Frank Billings. Laura Wollen insisted that Lewis will be the better choice for the position while David Abbott preferred Billings. The position would give Lewis the international exposure he would need to progress toward senior management. However, Abbott mentioned that his race could be a factor to consider since the London office has been said to be conservative; Billings is the safer option for the position. Abbott is worried that Lewis will not work well with the employees as other managers like him have been uncomfortable there. Lewis has shown that he can deal with difficult clients and has been able to establish his credibility firmly and quietly. Lewis had told Wollen that he was willing to make the one-and-a-half to two-year commitment but he would need Abbott’s support as he have always counted on his boss’s support. It is up to Laura’s judgement to send Lewis’ recommendation.

Fundamental (or key) management problem

One of the fundamental problems at ARPCO is the subtle discrimination that exists against the minorities. This includes the prejudice against women in the case of Laura Wollen, which has shown in the fact that she was the first woman ever to hold the product manager position at the home workshop department^[1]. This issue also applies to Charles Lewis, who is currently being perceived by the Marketing Director at the United Kingdom branch, David Abbott, as unfit for the product manager position purely due to his identity as a black man. Before knowing of Lewis’ race, Abbott was actually quite impressed with his prior accomplishments^[2]. This clearly exemplifies the unjust discrimination against Lewis as he is being judged on the outer rather than on his actual ability to take on the job. On top of that, the seemingly negative racial atmosphere in the London office consequently hinders the minorities such as Lewis in receiving promotions as well. If Lewis ends up being hired as the product manager in London, he will most likely experience difficulties moving up the corporate ladder. He will also have a hard time adjusting himself to fit in with the rest of the team over there especially since he is not good at socializing in a personal setting^[3], perhaps due to the vast differences in his background with his non-colored colleagues.

Recommended solution

We recommend that the company should host a workshop to promote the diversity within their departments and at the same time raise the awareness on the topic of racism. We also strongly suggest Laura to go ahead with her intuition and submit Lewis as the recommendation. She constantly stated that Lewis was the most capable person for the product manager position, and Lewis’ skills are also explicitly illustrated on his track record as well. Since Laura has a meeting scheduled with her superior, Ralph Jordan, she should use the opportunity to seek advice from him since he was faced with the same situation before when dealing with Laura’s affairs. If Jordan believes that Lewis truly deserves the promotion, then he is going to support Laura’s decision in recommending Lewis regardless of his race or ethnic background, since he had assisted Laura in the same way before, irrespective of her gender. Additionally, Laura should reach out to the other two marketing directors in the United Kingdom branch other than Abbott, and if possible, the country manager himself to talk about the issue concerning Lewis’ recommendation and thus justify his qualifications for the job. She should bring up the following company’s policy as her main arguments during the talk: “promote the most qualified person, regardless of race, gender, or ethnic background” and “capitalize on the considerable investment ARPCO makes in its people by applying their skills in ways that will maximize benefit to the company and the individual.”^[4] Lastly, we suggest that Laura should personally do weekly check ups with Lewis to make sure that he is being treated fairly and not discriminated against at his new workplace. Because of his lack of confidence in this new position, Laura should give him some extra counsel on how to socialize in order to build strong trusting relationships that goes beyond his race with his future colleagues in London.