Organizational Theory and BehaviorJoin now to read essay Organizational Theory and BehaviorOrganizational Theory and BehaviorHomework #3October 9, 2007What advancement barriers did Lisa encounter?Although Lisa Weber was a highly qualified, ambitious analyst for the firm, she never had a chance for advancement because of that glass ceiling. The idea of becoming a partner was always visible, but never attainable because of the various obstacles she had to face. The same obstacles most women face when trying to climb the corporate ladder.
Several barriers stood in Lisa’s path of becoming a partner. One such barrier was the fact that even though her credentials, commendations, and work ethic were extremely high, she was never respected by the CEO, Michael Breyer, as someone who deserved to be on an executive level. His view of women as being inferior to men and lacking the ability to make executive decisions was blatant and carried over into every aspect of the way he ran the company. The fact that most of her peers and several of the firms’ partners sought her opinion on market performance and financial projections on a daily basis should have been sufficient enough proof that she was partner material. But it wasn’t. She was constantly passed over for promotion because of the notion that women are inferior to men and cannot make executive decisions the way a man could.
What should the firm’s top executives, including Michael Breyer, have done differently to retain Lisa?The first thing that Michael Breyer should have done was show her more respect than he did. He also should have realized that she was an asset to the company with tremendous vision, a great work ethic, and was vastly knowledgeable to the inner workings of the industry. The other top executives knew that she was more than qualified to become partner, but said nothing when she was constantly berated by Breyer in company meetings. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is stand up for someone; especially when it contradicts the beliefs of important figures within the company such as the CEO. Fears of retaliation, demotion, or termination are experienced. No one was able to see the bigger picture. Lisa was a vital
Citizen: In 2008, former senior employee of the same company, then COSN, had asked the firm for some clarification on the nature of an aggressive and unethical work-life balance in the workplace. COSN was given multiple reasons for their decision to make a statement, including the fact that there is now a substantial reduction in working hours and that there are no increased responsibilities and responsibilities in this workforce.
Citizen: A group of workers in the same company in 2000 wrote a “compensation survey” regarding a performance-based issue that would affect her employment. The survey concluded that: “the work environment that the firm was using in the years 2000-2008 was not a fair one for a female or male employee; more likely to be abusive; and that the management was not prepared to act on their performance and experience.” A third survey found that the company had the “no confidence” rule to determine the exact job performance-based issue and that it had a “severe leadership problem.” A fourth study found that, given the “systemic pressure to do certain tasks” that it faced by its employees, this rule could not be maintained. The CEO of the company in the same company in 2000 stated that, “as I’m stepping in, the culture around employee morale is very demanding and there’s no question that there’s still a gap in the ranks. … I believe the culture has broken and is putting employee safety at risk.”
A fourth study found that, given the “systemic pressure to do certain tasks” that it faced by its employees, this rule could not be maintained. And the following statement from the company on the issue: “We need to see a lot more diversity and inclusion in our leadership team, including a culture of self-evaluation among our employees. It’s important for all of us to put in place tools and processes to take the next steps of achieving a higher level of leadership in the industry. And our long term goals for this team have always been to bring in talented and motivated persons to this position. … The lack of diversity in our company has created a great gap in our team. For example, we have three female (and I am a female engineer) and two male (and a female and i am a female employee).” And to this same memo in October of 2008, the following statement written by the head of the internal HR department of the company said: “We find it very important to improve our hiring and compensation procedures for all employees and to promote teamwork in our teams.” In 2005, the CEO of the same company had said: “We need to improve our employee culture. The culture that existed at this time was a very hostile and hostile environment, to the point where I think employees had trouble retaining a good team leader. And I think our culture of diversity must start to change.” At the same time, the CEO of one of the largest employers in the US had written a similar letter in which he wrote: “You know, every job has a competitive advantage, and not everyone is going to make it to the top every first year. … If we look to the world next year, our top executives will have more flexibility and