Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment

Case Introduction

The diversity of the domestic and global workforce is increasing due to the growing number of immigrants and the expansion of global operations. The management of religious differences and the interface of varying religious beliefs and management practices are profound concerns for many organizations and human resource professionals. Religious communities may be quite different in beliefs and practices, and this can influence employee interaction with formal and informal work practices and social norms. Additionally, response to religious differences can sometimes be intertwined with racial biases and attitude predispositions. This case will depict a particular organizational situation involving an employee’s religious beliefs and the resulting allegations of racial harassment and religious discrimination. (Note: The people and facts in this case are fictitious and do not represent any known party, organization, religion or situation.)

Organizational Profile Treton Communications, Inc. is a public giant in the telecommunications industry. Headquartered in Eastern Michigan, Treton offers a range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumers, businesses and government users. In addition to its headquarters campus, Treton has call centers and regional operations throughout the United States. The company’s gross revenue was $20 billion in 2007, with 30,000 employees worldwide. Two years ago, Treton expanded its operations with the opening of its Midwest facility and plans to add two more facilities in Southern and Northwestern locations in the United States. These new facilities offer many Treton employees exciting opportunities for advancement.

The Midwest facility is located in Chenworth, Kansas. It currently employs 360 workers, with plans to reach a full workforce complement of 800 employees within three years. Chenworth’s demographics indicate a population that is predominantly white, with 7 percent racial/ethnic minorities. The demographics of the 360 employees of the Midwest facility similarly reflect a 5 percent racial/ethnic minority representation.

Employee Relations Treton takes pride in its non-union status and strives to develop policy and implement programs that demonstrate its strong company culture of employee development and empowerment, procedural and operational integrity, and ethical decision-making. To sustain its culture and values, Treton has policies, procedures and guidelines that articulate its expectations of employee and employer behaviors. Promoting and facilitating workforce diversity is a guiding principle for Treton. The organization has written policies and directives regarding workforce diversity, equal employment opportunity/nondiscrimination and workplace harassment.

2 © 2009 Society for Human Resource Management. Gwendolyn M. Combs, Ph.D.

Principal Individuals

The Situation MarShawn DeMur has worked for Treton for six years. He started as a management intern working summers while attending college. After graduation, he was hired as a customer service supervisor overseeing three technicians in one of the large customer service centers in Detroit, Michigan.

DeMur was encouraged by a manager at the Michigan center to apply for a promotion and transfer to the newly opened Midwest facility. DeMur, who is African American, had questions about the demographics of the location and the facility but decided to apply for an operations manager position at the Kansas facility. The operations manager position reported to the facility director, Clive Jenkins. DeMur was selected for an interview with Jenkins. During the interview, Jenkins discussed company philosophy and his vision that the facility would operate as “one big happy family.” Employees would be evaluated on their strengths and productivity, and the benefits of diversity in all areas would be maximized. Jenkins assured DeMur that if hired, the management team would help him with his transition.

The day after the interview, Jenkins invited DeMur to attend his church to meet new people and get acquainted with others in the city. He was told that several facility employees were church members. Jenkins invited DeMur to his home for a casual dinner after church services. Most of the dinner guests were church members, with a few other community people in the mix. It was a pleasant affair where DeMur exchanged contact information with several people and received pledges from others to look out for him if he relocated. DeMur thought the new job would be a good career change, especially with such a supportive group of people. He was offered the position, accepted the job and moved to Kansas.

DeMur started his new position with enthusiasm. He interacted well with co- workers and subordinates and demonstrated high technical competence in his work. Jenkins often complimented Demur on his ideas and work ethic. His first annual performance appraisal was superior in all areas. DeMur liked his job and saw great potential for advancement in the company.

Before he had accepted his new job and moved to Kansas, DeMur decided to become a member of the Church of International Spirituality. The existence of a small African-American congregation of Internationalists in Chenworth, Kansas, influenced DeMur’s decision to take the promotion and relocate. Although the Internationalist congregation in Chenworth was comprised of only 80 people,

MarShawn DeMur (a.k.a. Maalick)