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Case Study Hy Diaries Inc.

Nilisha Nyachhyon

Presidential Business School

Westcliff University

BUS 540 Organizational Behaviors

Professor: Harim Sharma

May 17th,2021
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Case Study 3.1 Hy Diaries, Inc.

McShane and Von Glinow (2017) presented a case study of Hy Diaries Inc that demonstrates

a common issue in the business. Over the last two years, Hy Diaries gourmet ice-cream line

has seen a substantial rise in sales volume and market share. The assistant brand manager,

Rochelle Beauport, was responsible for the rise. She’s been with the company for two years

and is one of the company’s few women of color. Rochelle was anticipating a promotion as a

result of her efforts, and CEO Syd Gilman was also pleased with company’s performance. He

wanted to help Rochelle advance in the business, so he hired her as market research

coordinator instead. He offered this position because he saw it as a set-up opportunity and an

opening for potential positions, based on his personal experience. Rochelle, on the other

hand, saw this as being toast on the side because she was a woman of the purpose. She had no

desire to work in research and assumed this was a reaction to Gilman’s perceived threat.

Rochelle didn’t speak up even though the attitude was sexism and possibly racist, and she

was faced with the choice of remaining the unhappy situation or leaving the business.

This case study exemplifies some of the challenges that companies face when they fail to

understand their worker’s social groups. In addition, there is lack of structure in HR careers

policy and poor management communication. The case also raises concerns about

stereotyping. While this case demonstrates management’s bad faith or racism.

Review and Analysis of the case

One of the most difficult challenges an organization faces is retaining talent and

acknowledging success. To foster ethical organizational conduct, management should always

be mindful of each employee’s particular circumstances. External variable and social

construction play a significant role in this evaluation.

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Case Study 3.1 Hy Diaries, Inc.

Problem Identification

1. We can see that Syd Gilman and Rochelle Beauport have a significant communication

gap because Gilman did not explain why Rochelle was assigned to the market

research supervisor role and she was also unable to her true feelings about the

transfer.

2. We can also see personality as a factor in the dispute, as Rochelle has an extrovert

personality who enjoys marketing, communicating and connecting with people,

dislikes working in the back office.

3. There is a disparity of perspective between Gilman and Rochelle, as Gilman believes

that the position of market research supervisor will help Rochelle in her career while

see views the position as demotion.

4. The racial dimension and gender stereotyping can also see, as Rochelle has stated that

women are discriminated against based on their skin color and are considered to be

incapable of managing difficult responsibilities, as was the case in her former

workplace.

5. We can see human resource management’s weakness is not being able to adequately

communicate with workers and their concerns.

6. We can also see how a dysfunctional corporate culture contributes to conflict.

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Case Study 3.1 Hy Diaries, Inc.

Cause and Effect

Miscommunication, interpretation, attitude, organizational culture, employee diversity and

stereotyping are some of the factors that causes conflict between Gilman and Rochelle

resulting in misunderstanding. Due to this tension created the organization could lose a

talented and skillful employee like Rochelle who have brought rise in sales volume last year

which can demotivate her and put impact in company’s branding resulting in company’s

revenue and profit.

Stereotyping and Social Identity Theory at Hy Diaries, Inc

The social identity theory explains that how social identity affects intergroup activity and

how it affects processes linked with social identity. According to (Turner et al,1987),

intergroup relation is the study of how people see themselves as members of one group in

contrast to another group. Social categorization, social identity, and social contrast are three

components of this theory. One of the implications of this principle is that in group favoritism

may have negative and discriminatory effects. People also make decisions based on the group

rather than in considering individual characteristics. In the Hy diaries situation, this issue can

be seen when Gilman offers Rochelle the job without considering her point of view or

aspirations, also there is lack of understanding of how to work with people from different

backgrounds. Typically, the social identity theory’s subgroups are based on race, color, and

social status. This discrimination creates an inequitable atmosphere because leaders can make

assumptions about success or career goals based on group’s race.

For certain groups of people, companies create discrimination by offering significantly

different wages, benefits, and degrees of independency and autonomy inside employment.

According to studies, women are disproportionally affected by this issue “discuss the factors
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Case Study 3.1 Hy Diaries, Inc.

that may help women become less vulnerable when faced with negative stereotyping “There

are many ways in which stereotyping may undermine women’s success in leadership, and

factors that may help women become less vulnerable when faced negative stereotyping Baker

(2014).

Perceptions Errors at Hy Diaries, Inc.

Another question raised in the case study in management’s belief that there is only one way

to succeed in the organization. Just because Gilman began his career in the research and

development and rose through the ranks to become a leader does not mean Rochelle has to

follow in his footsteps. To build an inequitable and responsible atmosphere, it is critical to

understand each individual’s strength and weakness.” The individual career path in the cube

is constantly determined by interconnected external contextual variable such as national

culture, labor market conditions, occupational sectors and identity, employer organizations

and gender stereotype “say Bohmer and Schinnenburg (2016) when reviewing global talent

management.

In this case, lack of communication is also a concern. Rochelle did not voice her doubts after

speaking with Gilman, believing that the only choice was to accept what was being offered.

Within the companies, there is a major issue of not creating an open forum where people are

comfortable raising some complaints or disappointment. Women face a greater challenge in

this regard.

Ways Organization can minimize this situation

Implementing an employee career development strategy is one way to mitigate these

circumstances. Business must understand the five Ps: Protean Careers, Psychological

contract, planning, promotion and programs in order to achieve an effective career plan. The
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Case Study 3.1 Hy Diaries, Inc.

most important change pursued with the approach is improve communication. If Hy diaries

had implemented this approach, the problem would have not been risen. According to Baker

(2014) programs like this one even help reduce the stereotyping of women according to

baker. This indicate that initiative aimed at improving both leaderships skills and leader

identity can be effective in assisting women in overcoming negative stereotyping.

Employee’s personality is a significant factor that influences their approach and level if

participation. (Yadav & Katiyar 2017). Personality tests should be encouraged, as they can

assist the company in understanding the personalities of its workers, and job roles should be

assigned based on their personalities resulting in successful performance.

Summary and Conclusion

We may infer from the analysis of this study case and hypotheses that stereotyping and

intergroup interactions can cause a serious problem for an employee’s career growth.

Furthermore, a lack of communication will exacerbate those problems. Since a sexist or racial

climate can permanently damage a company’s reputation, leaders should be aware of the

consequences and how to prevent them. We can see from this paper that the interpretation is

what matters, even if the purpose is not malicious. It is important to understand the social

factors and maintain a open lines of communication with employees at all levels. This way,

once a problem is discovered, management will resolve it. Keeping talent happy is a constant

obstacle for business, it can by overcome by a a strong HR Strategy.

Companies must conduct ongoing interviews of staffs to ensure that they feel secure speaking

up when a serious incident occurs. Furthermore, the company’s success is inextricably linked

to that of its workers. As a result, leader must always ensure that their actions take into

account the views and expectations of their workers.

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References

Baker, C. (2014), “Stereotyping and women’s role in leadership positions”, Industrial and

Commercial Training, 46(6), 332-337.

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ICT-04-2014-0020/full/html

Bohmer, N., & Schonnenbug, H. (2016). How Gender and Career Concepts Impact Global

Talent Management. Employee Relations, 38(1),73-93

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ER-07-2015-0154/full/html

Jan, S., & Peter, B. (2000) Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory, 63(3), 237-244.

John, D., & Earl. (2001) Effective Conflict Management: Use of Behavioral Style Model,

22(6),230.

Schuler, R.S. (1977). Role perceptions, satisfaction and performance moderated by

organizational level and participation in decision making. Academy of Management Journal

(Pre-1986), 20(1), 159. Retrieved from

https://search.proquest.com/docview/229484934?accountid=158986

Yadav, A., & Katiyae, D. (2017). Workforce Diversity and Individual Differences: Implications

for Employee Engagement. Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, 8(3), 7-

25 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.18843/ijcms/v8i3/02