A Case Study Individual

Assignment

Course Title: Organizational Behavior

Course Code: MBA 642

Credit hours: 2

Reviewed By: Nathanael Melesse (MBA Weekend Program)

Submitted to: Aschalew Mulugeta (aschalew.mulugeta@ddu.edu.et)

September 25th, 2020.

 Case Study for the course OB (642)

Case Study 1
Syd Gilman read the latest sales figures with a great deal of satisfaction. The vice president of
marketing at Hy Dairies, Inc., a large Midwestern milk products manufacturer, was pleased to see
that the marketing campaign to improve sagging sales of Hy’s gourmet ice-cream brand was
working. Sales volume and market share of the product had increased significantly over the past
two quarters compared with the previous year.

The improved sales of Hy’s gourmet ice cream could be credited to Rochelle Beauport, who was
assigned to the gourmet ice-cream brand last year. Beauport had joined Hy less than two years ago
as an assistant brand manager after leaving a similar job at a food products firm. She was one of
the few women of color in marketing management at Hy Dairies and had a promising career with
the company. Gilman was pleased with Beauport’s work and tried to let her know this in the annual
performance reviews. He now had an excellent opportunity to reward her by offering her the
recently vacated position of market research coordinator. Although technically only a lateral
transfer with a modest salary increase, the marketing research coordinator job would give Beauport
broader experience in some high-profile work, which would enhance her career with Hy Dairies.
Few people were aware that Gilman’s own career had been boosted by working as marketing
research coordinator at Hy several years earlier.

Rochelle Beauport had also seen the latest sales figures on Hy’s gourmet ice cream and was
expecting Gilman’s call to meet with her that morning. Gilman began the conversation by briefly
mentioning the favorable sales figures and then explained that he wanted Beauport to take
the marketing research coordinator job. Beauport was shocked by the news. She enjoyed brand
management and particularly the challenge involved with controlling a product that directly
affected the company’s profitability. Marketing research coordinator was a technical support
position - a “backroom” job - far removed from the company’s bottom-line activities.
Marketing research was not the route to top management in most organizations, Beauport thought.
She had been sidelined.

After a long silence, Beauport managed a weak “Thank you, Mr. Gilman.” She was too bewildered
to protest. She wanted to collect her thoughts and reflect on what she had done wrong. Also, she
did not know her boss well enough to be openly critical. Gilman recognized Beauport’s surprise,
which he naturally assumed was her positive response to hearing of this wonderful career
opportunity. He, too, had been delighted several years earlier about his temporary transfer to
marketing research to round out his marketing experience. “This move will be good for both
you and Hy Dairies,” said Gilman as he escorted Beauport from his office.

Nathanael Melesse, MBA Weekend Program 2

 Case Study for the course OB (642)

Beauport was preoccupied with several tasks that afternoon, but she was able to consider the day’s
events that evening. She was one of the top women and few minorities in brand management at
Hy Dairies and feared that she was being sidelined because the company didn’t want women or
people of color in top management. Her previous employer had made it quite clear that women
“couldn’t take the heat” in marketing management and tended to place women in technical support
positions after a brief term in lower brand management jobs. Obviously Syd Gilman and Hy
Dairies were following the same game plan. Gilman’s comment that the coordinator job would be
good for her was just a nice way of saying that Beauport couldn’t go any further in brand
management at Hy Dairies. Beauport now faced the difficult decision of whether to confront
Gilman and try to change Hy Dairies’ sexist and possibly racist practices or to leave the company.

Nathanael Melesse, MBA Weekend Program 3

 Case Study for the course OB (642)

Discussion Questions
1. APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF STEREOTYPING AND SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY TO

EXPLAIN WHAT WENT WRONG HERE ?

Social Identity theory states that people define themselves by the groups to which they belong or
have an emotional attachment. Rochelle easily identifies herself as a minority in the work place—
a non-white female. In the case study, she says that she is one of the few non-white women in what
is usually a male-dominated field: marketing management. Rochelle’s previous employer had
made it clear that women could not handle the pressure in marketing management and for the most
part place women in technical support positions after a brief term in lower band management.
Because of this experience, Rochelle assumes that Syd Gilman and Hy Dairies are mirroring her
last employer’s opinions and actions when in fact; Mr. Gilman is trying to reward Rochelle’s hard
work. Rochelle is stereotyping because she has organized Hy Dairies into a preconceived category
that has been stored in her memory of her previous employer. This non-conscious, automatic
process of thinking has led her to believe that she is being sidelined by the company.

2. WHAT OTHER PERCEPTUAL ERROR IS APPARENT IN THIS CASE STUDY ?

Perceptual errors are short cuts in making judgements of others. I think the other perceptual error in this
case study is the false-consensus effect or “similar to me effect”. This occurs when people overestimate the
extent to which others have similar beliefs or behaviors to our own. This perceptual error led Syd Gilman
to believe that the recently vacated position of market research coordinator would be the best reward for
Rochelle’s hard work and the company’s improved sales figures. He believed the position would broaden
Rochelle’s experience and enhance her career at Hy Dairies, just as it had done his own several years before.
Gilman assumed that Rochelle’s bewildered reaction was a positive response to his offer of a new
opportunity. When he was offered the same position of market research coordinator, he had been delighted
about his temporary transfer as he knew it would round out his marketing experience. In this case, it was
wrong of Syd Gilman to assume Rochelle would be happy with the same career path as he was encouraged
to follow in previous years.

Nathanael Melesse, MBA Weekend Program 4

 Case Study for the course OB (642)

3. WHAT CAN ORGANIZATIONS DO TO MINIMIZE MISPERCEPTIONS IN THESE TYPES OF

SITUATIONS ?

Perceptual errors can’t be bypassed but they can be minimized. A big step in minimizing perceptual
biases is by being aware that they exist. By becoming more aware of our beliefs, values and
attitudes, we gain a better understanding of biases in our own decisions and behavior. We become
more open-minded and non-judgmental toward others.

One way Hy Dairies can help employees reduce perceptual errors is through increased self-
awareness. This can be done by applying the Johari Window. The Johari Window is a
communication model that helps improve understanding between individuals by dividing
information into four “windows”—open, blind, hidden and unknown. The open area is information
about yourself that you and others already know. The blind area is information known to others
but not to you. The hidden area contains information that is only known to you and the unknown
area is information about your values, beliefs and experiences that neither you nor others are aware
of. By sharing or disclosing more of your hidden area information to others, trust is built among
you and your colleagues. This trust and knowledge can help employees work better as a team.

A more indirect way of increasing self-awareness is through meaningful interaction. Meaningful

interaction between staff and supervisors can break down stereotypes and reduce prejudice because
knowledge is gained about individuals and their situation. It can improve empathy and thereby
increase sensitivity and awareness as to why a person reacts or behaves the way they do. If Gilman
and Beauport had a better, closer relationship and made the effort to get to know each other better,
perhaps he could have better explained to his reasoning behind the offer of market Rochelle, then,
may not have assumed the company was involved in possible sexist and racist behavior. The
organization could offer its employees more opportunities for meaningful reaction. The contact
hypothesis states that the more individuals interact with each other the less chance there is of
stereotyping or other perceptual errors.

Nathanael Melesse, MBA Weekend Program 5