Discrimination in the Circuit City Management

The Washington Lawyers' Committee for genteel Rights and Urban Affairs filed suit on behalf of 11 workers in October 1995; other lawsuits were filed individually. Of the 11 original plaintiffs, the jury eventually remark in favor of two, while run acrossing for Circuit metropolis in the case of a third. The lawsuit alleged that the partnership had discriminatory practices and procedures, and the jury agreed. A Circuit metropolis precaution recruiter was awarded $225,000 in punitive damages and a former collections translator received $47,000 in punitive damages; both withal received additional compensation with the total award stretch nearly $300,000 (Owens, 1996, p. 55).

In mid-1996, while the lawsuits were in progress, the NAACP called for a "selective buying campaign" against Circuit City; the organization refrained from utilize the word "boycott" for legal reasons. In calling for consumer exercise against the company, the NAACP noted that approximately 800 of Circuit City's 3500 employees are black, exactly that totally 11 hold what the NAACP considers the company's top 362 positions ("NAACP Va. Branch," 1996, p. 14). Since the lawsuits were decided in later(a) 1996 (Circuit City has announced plans to appeal), a federal judge has legitimate the company to promote at least one African American employee and ordered a diversity plan be implemented at the company. The diversity weapons platformme will be developed by an outside director i

NAACP Va. branch. (1996, June 17). Television Digest, p. 14.

According to analysts, 47.5 pct of the work military will be women by the year 2000, and 29 percent of the net additions to the work force will be non-whites (Flynn, 1995, p. 72). This way of life that managers and executives will be under increasing pressure to pee-pee diversity programs which recognize that the American work force is no longer a homogeneous group of white males, but rather a versatile combination of gender and ethnicities. Employees who find companies which foster diversity are more believably to reside in those organizations than in companies which do not recognize the immenseness that diversity plays in the work place.

Similarly, as word spreads that a particular organization has a strong diversity program, it is likely to find it easier to attract and retain high quality workers with diverse backgrounds. In other words, diversity programs can give companies a competitive edge in the marketplace (Rynes & Rosen, 1994, p. 68).

There are other costs to the organization as well, and these may be found in the long-term performance of the company. Investors and consumers who hear of the lawsuits may decide against patronizing Circuit City despite the judgments. This may pose particular problems for the company from an investment standpoint as stockholder portfolios such as retirement funds major power consider shifting their funds away from the company; this is especially likely if the funds include minority pensioners. At the identical time, consumers in heavily metropolitan areas, who have many disparate retailers to choose from, may continue their consumer action against Circuit City as a form of protest against the company's perceived policies (Owens, 1996, p. 55).

It is of the essence(predicate) to note that the problems at Circuit City did not bone up because the company did not have an affirmative action program in place; indeed, the company cited its affirmative action program as part of its defense d
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