Question

Consider the following situation as if you were Ian.

Ian was a senior analyst at a major hotel company. Although Ian worked mostly in corporate headquarters, he would occasionally travel to the field where he met with front-line employees and learned what was on their minds.

On a trip to Portland, Ian had the chance to speak with two people working at the front desk about what it was like to work at the hotel. Daniel, the younger of the two had joined the staff recently; Ellen, the other employee (and Daniel’s supervisor), had been with the company for almost 15 years. Both employees seemed particularly interested in talking with Ian because they rarely got a chance to talk directly to anyone from headquarters.

As the three discussed changes in the hospitality industry, Ellen and Daniel complained about their company’s aggressive cost control initiatives, spearheaded by the charismatic but frugal CEO, whose policies were occasionally unpopular. After a few more minutes of conversation, Ellen casually said, “The CEO is so tight with a buck, I wonder if he is Jewish.”

As a Jewish person, Ian did not know how to react. He had never actually experienced anything like this before, especially in a professional setting. Ian’s instinct was not to be combative or hostile, but he felt a bit like a deer caught in the headlights. Daniel looked a little surprised at his supervisor’s remark, but, laughing, he quickly changed the subject. Smiling, Ian made an excuse to end or discussion and walk away.

The next day Ian woke up still bothered by Ellen’s remark. While checking out, he saw Daniel at the front desk. Ian mentioned to him that he may want to tell his supervisor to watch her remarks about other peoples’ ethnicity, to which Daniel replied, “I know what you mean because I am Puerto Rican, but I think that she meant it as a joke.” Ian could see that Daniel just wanted to smooth the issue over.

On the ride to the airport, Ian kept thinking about what he might do. Should he report Ellen to Human Resources? The company had a process in place for such matters, but he was worried. Ian did not know who he was dealing with; maybe Ellen would retaliate if he said something, especially since she would know who filed the complaint. Plus, Ian was not sure what the consequences would be – he didn’t want to get her fired. Ian only wanted Ellen to know how offensive the comments were.

As a team, consider what steps Ian should take.

What are the concerns facing Ian?

Answer 1

1) Steps Lan should take or expected to take as a senior analyst are as follows

• There are times when you don’t accept or feel offended by the comments passed by the employees working in the organisation, which is very normal to feel as a human being. But it’s not right to act back to it immediately. He should pause, control his emotions and think what is irritating him, the person or the comments.
• He could have asked the employee what she meant by the statement or what she wants to convey so that there is a clear communication and things can be sought then and there.
• Talk to that employee and convey your thoughts that the comment passed by them was disturbing you and the reason to it.
• Lan can also report it to the authority if the employee continues to pass such comments in future.
• Or Lan can just avoid that comment passes by the employee.

2) The concerns Lan was facing in the case was that he wanted to correct the employee for the statement she framed, as it was pointing finger on the ethnicity of other people. He also wanted to report it to the higher authority but at the same time he was afraid about the procedures the authority will follow to correct her.