RECOGNIZING DISCRIMINATION AT WORK Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 256 RECOGNIZING DISCRIMINATION AT WORK Lucretia Coleman, Georgia College ABSTRACT Recognizing discrimination is a first step in eliminating it from the workplace. The exercise and accompanying teaching notes are designed to help students understand the nature of the problem and to help them recognize that it can occur unintentionally. INTRODUCTION Teaching students that discrimination can occur at any point in the employment relationship is challenging. Quite often discrimination is viewed as no real problem by students. This activity allows students to make a decision and then compare the decision with others. The exercise points out that people often don’t intend to discriminate but that factors such as age often enter their decisions. COURSE DESIGN AND OBJECTIVE Objective To identify age biases that influence employment decisions. Placement in Course This exercise is best used at either one of two points in the human resource management class: -As an introduction to the topic of discrimination, this exercise leads the way for a discussion of the occurrence of discrimination throughout the employment process. -This exercise can be used as a part of the discussion of training. Discussion here would reinforce other discussions on both age discrimination and the occurrence of discrimination at various points in the employment process. Prior to the exercise, do not explain the purpose related to discrimination. Group Size Best suited for larger groups preferably 20 or more. Divide students into smaller discussion groups of 3 - 5 members. Advance Preparation Prepare enough sets of the two scenarios for the entire class. (If you have 20 students and you use groups of 5 you would need 10 copies of each scenario.) It is helpful to divide the copies into the numbers desired in each group before going to class. If there are students absent from class that day, remove the unneeded copies but do not try to alter the stacks since that might call attention to the difference in facts or a single group might inadvertently have copies of both scenarios. At the time that materials are being distributed, make no mention of first name or age. By referring to the character as Brown, you do not alert students to the differences in information. PROCESSING Instructions Students should read the scenario, decide individually (about 5 minutes) and then reach consensus within the small groups (10-15 minutes). Because students will be working with materials that appear on the surface to be the same, it is important to reduce the opportunities for them to share information across groups. All members of a group should have the same scenario. Ideally there should be several small groups with each of the scenarios. Discussion Ask students to indicate answers to the following questions by a show of hands. Q--How many decided to grant Mr. Brown’s request for training? Q--How many decided to deny Mr. Brown’s request for training? Outcome: Generally many more of the students that had information on Charles the 62 year old will deny him the training opportunity than those dealing with 26 year old Calvin. Q--(To those who voted to grant request for training) Why did you chose to allow Mr. Brown to attend the training program? List reasons on board, overhead or flip chart--Do not be judgmental at this point. Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 257 Q-- (To those who voted to deny request for training) Why did you chose to deny Mr. Brown’s request to attend the training program? Again list reasons without judgment. Outcome: Most students seem reluctant to say that age was a factor. Those that deny the request often make statements like “He probably will not work much longer.” “That is too much money to spend on someone who is about to retire.” Students that would approve the request often point to the opportunity to improve performance. After the rationale for the decisions has been discussed, ask students to review the facts of the case. It should quickly be determined that the groups were working with different individuals (age and first name are the only differences), ask them to explain the different results. Q--Was age a factor? Outcome: Most students will not readily admit that they were biased by age. Key Points •Discrimination can occur at any point in the employment process. (This is not just a phenomena associated with hiring.) •Discriminatory actions are not always intentional. •Some biases are so deeply embedded that it is difficult to accept that the factor (i.e. age) influenced the decision. Awareness of biases is a first step in eliminating them. Other Applications This exercise can be adapted for gender, ethnicity, disability, etc. as well as age. EXERCISE NARRATIVE Scenario 1 Charles Brown, 62 years old. Member of sales staff of Coleco Windows for 2 years. (Company builds and installs insulated windows in new construction and as replacements in existing structures.) Previous experience includes five years with company as a service technician/installer. Performance in technician/installer position was above average. Company has strong commitment to promotion from within. Brown was selected for current position through the internal selection procedure. He received an initial two-day training course for the sales position. Other work experiences were in construction prior to joining Coleco. He has a high school diploma and he has completed one year of college by attending part-time in the evenings. His construction skills were learned as an apprentice. His supervisor has rated his performance as marginally acceptable in his current position. Brown has requested time away from work and funding to cover expenses to attend a one-week sales training program at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The brochure that Brown attached to his request was very brief. It said that the program would focus on the “newest sales techniques.” The registration for the weeklong program is $2,500. He estimates lodging, food and travel cost to be an additional $1,600. His total request is for $4,100. In the last 1 2 months, two people have attended this training program from your company. One was an experienced sales person with 7 years with the company and the other was an employee with 1 8 months with the company. Both employees had favorable reactions to the program. The performance of neither employee has been evaluated since the completion of training. You are to assume the role of Brown’s supervisor. Do you support his request for training? Be prepared to explain your decision. Scenario 2 Scenario 2 is exactly like the first scenario except the name is Calvin Brown, and the age is 26 years. Table of Contents Volume 22, 1995 Simulation Performance, Learning and Struggle Are Good Simulation Performers Consistently Good? Cognitive and Behavioral Consistency in a Computer-Based Marketing-Simulation-Game Environment: An Empirical Investigation of the Decision-Making Process Chalk & Cheese: Executive Short-Course vs. Academic Simulations Revisiting Personality Bias in Total Enterprise Simulations Are Good Strategies Consistently Good? Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model The Problem of determining an Individualized Simulation's Validity as an Assessment Tool A Simulation Based Analysis of the Value of Information in the Hrebiniak Joyce Typology of Adaptation Relative to Porter's Generic Strategies The Impact of Sales and Income Growth on Profitability and Market Measures in Actual and Simulated Industries A Comparison of a Stand Alone Version of a Simulation with the Traditional Competitive Version Computer-Assisted Gaming of International Business Analyzing Simulations with Computer-Based Programs and Applying the Experience to a Real-World Business A Preliminary Investigation of the Use of a Bankruptcy Indicator in a Simulation Environment Graduates' Views on the Use of Computer Simulation Games Versus Cases as Pedagogical Tools An Analytical Advertising Model Approach to the Determination of Market Demand Dealing with the Complexity Paradox in Business Simulation Games A Prototyping Approach for Incorporating Large Data Bases into Media Planning Simulations: An Example Using Magazine Media Through the Looking Glass, Inc: Superior-Subordinate Personality Type and the Leniency effect Evaluating the Effectiveness of Role Playing Simulation and Other Methods in Teaching Managerial Skills Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Management Simulation Course Performance Evaluation: The Effect on the Propensity to Create Budgetary Slack Management Team Formation for Large Scale Simulations Comparative Static Analysis with the Complete PPA Package: A Strategic Market Planning Tool Consistency in Intent: Learning Objectives at the 1994 Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition A New Twist on an Old Game: The Business Strategy Game: A Global Industry Simulation 3ed Evaluation of Performance in Management Simulation: A Management Coefficients Model Building SimuWorlds: Strategic Management Games of the Future Bulls and Bears: A Stock Market Simulation A Systems Thinking Paradigm and Think Computer Simulation Model of Broadcast and Cable Television Industry Competition Jacket Factory The Sales Management Simulation The Marketing Management Simulation A Demonstration of Promodel Demonstrating A New, Cross-Functional Business Simulation: Vision+ A Cost Chain For The Business Strategy Game Simulation Special Session On Experiential Teaching Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making Organizational Storytelling: Telling Tales In The Business Classroom Evaluating Experiential Training: Case Study And Recommendations The Internship Portfolio: An Innovative Tool For Experiential Learning, Critical Thinking, And Communication An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Pedagogical Impact Of Cooperative Communicating Consumer Behavior: A Long-Term Integrated Exercise Using Personal Consumption Journals And Consumer Analysis Papers An Experiential Paradigm For Teaching Business Problem Solving Developing Leadership Skills The Spss® Student Assistant: The Integration of A Statistical Analysis Program Into A Marketing Research Textbook Negotiating With Your Students Using TQM Principles To Transform Accounting Systems Into An Experiential Exercise Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Outdoor-Based Experiential Training Using Virtual Reality Concepts Case Writing In A Developing Country: An Indonesian Example Experiential Learning Using Focus Groups How Real Should Experiential Pedagogy Be? A Viewpoint From Our Students Reengineering The Internship: A New Approach To Experiential Learning Utilizing The Cosmopolitan/Local And Marginal Man Constructs To Measure Students' Propensity For Creativity Developing Experiential Processes For Teaching Quantitative Techniques For Business Team Learning Roles: A Cooperative Learning Technique Creating the Ultimate Small Business Student Experience: Melding Score/Ace with SBI The Development of Trust in Work Teams: The Impact of Touch Some Outcomes of Experiential Learning: How the Cultural Dynamics of Different Countries are reflected in Workplace Norms & Values Incorporation of Job Analysis Results in Various Forms of Selection Interviews Chudesno, Inc.: An Evaluation of an Experiential Training and Development Simulation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Dynamics Partnership: A Radical Approach to Experiential Learning Partnership: A Nice Idea, But How Do I Get Started? Recognizing Discrimination at Work Using Critical Incident Skills Questions to Help Students Become More Successful at Job Interviewing The Video Project Introduction to Psychological Type Theory Come On Down Understanding Facilitation for Development and Continuous Learning: A Micro-Workshop Leadership and Empowerment: An Experiential Exercise in Decision Making Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Selecting a Manager for Maquiladora, Inc. Experiential Training In Multi-Cultural Corporate Settings The Role of Facilitation as an Aid to Complete Learning An Experiential Exercise to Illustrate Difference in Information Processing Behaviors and Styles How to Deliver Accessible Survey Results Age Diversity in the Workplace- Family Feud Style Nafta Standoff: A Cross-Cultural negotiating Role-Play Three Strikes and You're Out!: A Downsizing Experiential Exercise