Managing Diversity

Part 1: Diversity Questions

Question a: Could Denny’s have managed its diversity issues better? Why or why not?

For several reasons, Danny’s could have managed its issues of diversity better. They should have made diversity a major short-term goal. This could be achieved through training, professional development, hiring diverse staff, and creating awareness. They could also have managed their issues if there was a collaboration among organizational members. This can be achieved through effective communication, discussions, and sharing knowledge and insights between the management and employees (Das, 2019). Establishing a workplace climate of satisfaction could also have been effective. A satisfactory workplace climate could be achieved through rewards and incentives, making the staff culturally aware of the residents’ culture, offering development opportunities, increasing the number of staff, and lowering working hours. Lastly, Denny’s could have eliminated the diversity issues through effective strategies and goals.

Question b: Why do you think Denny’s is facing continuing discrimination lawsuits?

There are many explanations as to why Danny’s is still facing continuous lawsuits due to discrimination. Discrimination lawsuits giants Denny’s have focused national attention on the indignities that customers from specific racial backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, and ethnicity have suffered for a long time. Not only do those lawsuits point out the common forms of discrimination faced by customers but also serve as cautionary tales for organizations that seek to eradicate discrimination and foster diversity. For instance, in 1994, Denny’s faced a lawsuit for discriminating against African American diners (Mor Barak, 2017). The restaurants during that time settled approximately 54 million suits. The African American customers stated that they had been singled out and asked to prepay for their meals. Also, a group of African Americans stated that they waited for more than one hour to be served as other White customers. Ten years late, the restaurant chain also faced another discrimination lawsuit for their delay to wait on African American customers, racially segregating them in different sections and following them around. Discrimination is a never-ending issue at Danny’s. Even though the leaders have made significant steps in trying to eliminate the problem, the change seems to be little.

Question c: Do the lawsuits indicate that Denny’s policies and practices are not working? Are there other explanations?

I do not think that the lawsuits show that the Denny’s practices and policies are ineffective. The policies and practices are highly effective. I think that Denny’s fail to inform the public concerning the improvements they have made in terms of diversity. People still associate Denny’s image with the many lawsuits against them in the 1990s. During that time, they have accused of civil rights violations especially discrimination against Black customers (Mor, Barak, 2017). Nonetheless, the restaurant chain is still connected to discrimination since it has no minority suppliers and has only one franchise of African American ethnicity. The public needs to be informed about the increased number of minority employees at Danny’s including its increased purchase from nonwhite suppliers.

Question d: If you were a consultant, what would you advise the company to do at this point?

Considering the position of Denny’s I would recommend them to consider several options. Diversity in the workplace means that employees and customers and not discriminated against on grounds such as diversity, gender, ethnicity, and disability awareness. The first option I would give them is to hire a new diverse workforce and ensure the management is also diverse. Some of the best recruitment tools that can be used include skills and diversity-based hiring (Dahanayake, 2018). Employers need to make sure the employee team is balanced. Unconscious bias is hard to spot and so ensuring diversity of hiring teams will manifest in fairer hiring. They also need to take stick action against any employee that is found guilty of practicing any form of discrimination or bias at work.

Question e: Jim Adamson stated he would fire anyone who discriminated against or challenged his new policies. What message did this statement send to the employees?

When Jim Anderson specified that he would eradicate all employees who would go against his rules, the message he was sending is that diversity was not only a necessity at Denny’s but also critical. For organizations to thrive, it is essential to maintain diversity. Jim Adamson was setting an example by ensuring that diversity policies are observed and welcoming people from different backgrounds and making them feel included (Mor Barak, 2017). This was critical since it showed how diversity was critical to eradicating the negative reputation that the company had for a long time. By providing the employees with a warning, Adamson showed the employees the importance of diversity and the reasons why Denny’s should follow suit to ensure success. The statement also gives them insights into why it is critical to treat people from different communities equally. Diversity-conscious leaders can appreciate people from different cultures, situations, traditions, and relationships. This is evident through Adamson, who ensured that people of every skin color and gender received all the services they want.

Question f: What impact do you think it had on employee morale and customer relations?

I think that the new discrimination policies had a positive influence on consumers’ relationship and the morale of employees. Employees are more likely to perform better in a work environment where they feel safe and respected (Das, 2019). After the new policies, Denny’s work environment is made up of a diverse workforce. Initially, Danny had predominantly White employees and leaders. However, after After Adamson was hired, Danny’s became more diverse, things changed and the organization achieved more success. Diversity not only enhanced work performance among employees but also increased their morale. Adamson implemented strategies that promoted diversity and inclusion at the workplace that enabled Denny’s to enjoy the benefits of a diverse workforce. The policy statement also improved customer relations in the company. As result, employees learned to serve people from different ethnicities and work together making Denny’s among the most successful corporations in terms of diversity. Thus, they greatly improved their customer relations.

Question g: Was Jim Adamson effective in improving Denny’s diversity and public image? Why or why not?

Jim Adamson was operative in refining the public image and diversity of Denny’s. He ensured that Denny’s made a public apology through television promoting a new pledge against any form of discrimination. As a result of their proactive steps, they received many awards from the Fortune Magazine, NAACP, Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council, Latinos and Latina’s magazines, and others. Nonetheless, Denny’s promised to treat every individual fairly and equally (Mor Barak, 2017).  In a very short time, Denny’s established a positive reputation. Following the infamous discrimination incidents, they made a turnaround and came to be known for their diversity.

Jim Adamson work worked tirelessly to ensure that diversity is achieved at Denny’s. First, he increased the number of minorities in management and franchise ownership. He also made diversity a criterion for performance (Mor Barak, 2017). He ensured that all employees were trained on diversity issues and how to avoid discrimination. The purpose of the training and workshops was to change the perceptions of employees and enable them to understand the importance of diversity. Necessary changes were made to value and honor diversity enabling Denny’s to stand a positive light regarding diversity at work.

Part 2: Discussion Post review

Over the last ten year’s Denny’s underwent significant changes to increase diversity and improve their company reputation that had been damaged due to discrimination lawsuits. Even though significant steps were taken other frameworks of achieving diversity should have been considered. One of them is through leadership. According to Mor Barak (2017) diversity, conscious leaders understand how to operate in multicultural environments. They also know different ways of achieving diversity and inclusion. Through leadership, Denny’s would have ensured they achieve diversity and inclusion as well as eradicated decimation.

To eradicate racial bias and discrimination, I would support, identify and implement effective programs that increase diversity. I would also support projects that promote positive images of all races. Nonetheless, every member in the organization should have undergone training that offers them an understanding of all types of discrimination and how they can be eradicated (Dahanayake, 2018). Training and education can be done online, through diversity workshops and lectures. I would also conduct surveys within the companies to find out the hidden biases, unfairness forms, and effective methods to reduce these forms of discrimination. Also, disciplinary actions would be taken against leaders and employees who practice discrimination at work. Diversity should always start from the top. Leaders must know who their customers, employees, and communities are.

References

Dahanayake, P., Rajendran, D., Selvarajah, C., & Ballantyne, G. (2018). Justice and fairness in the workplace: a trajectory for managing diversity. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal, 37(5), 470-490. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2016-0105

Das, A. (2019). Diversity intelligence for inclusive leadership: a conceptual framework. Global Journal of Management And Business Research, 19(9), 1-7.

Mor Barak, E. M. (2017). Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace (Fourth Edition). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.