Hopwood Manufacturing Seeking to Hire the Best and the Brightest or Not A Case Solution

1. How would you evaluate Harvey’s decision to bring Hopwood Manufacturing to the university? Did he make any mistakes? Should he have done anything differently? Were there warning signs that he should have recognized, and, if so, how should he have responded to those signals?

Lambert University was recently striving through diversity issues, and the issue was so wide spread that the anonymous hate e-mail was sent to the minority students. The topics were repeatedly under discussion on campus meetings and at various instances. The issue became so severe that the organization had to hire a consultant for the campus diversity audit. Lambert could have been a suitable case for Diversity recruitment, the reason being that the organizations have started to plan the recruitment activities/strategies keeping diversity in mind. The companies prefer to recruit a diverse group of employees so that the workforce has different ethnic, geographic and cultural orientation, which makes the workplace an intellectual experience for the employees (Dewey & Keally, 2008).

However, this was not the case for Lambert University, rather is was the other way round. Primarily, the problem lies in Harvey's decision of bringing Hopwood Manufacturing on board, without prior information regarding the company, and he believed what Maggert had said about the company. There were many instances where there were hints for Harvey, but he failed to recognize. He could have inquired that why Maggert left the job at an auto manufacturing company and joined Hopwood manufacturing, although he was not an employee but an independent consultant for Hopwood. The fact that he was not a Hopwood employee was hidden from Harvey since Maggert was one of his trusted colleagues, he did not bother to inquire a lot. 

Harvey was unaware about the discriminatory behavior of the recruitment team. The people of Hopwood had an unprofessional appearance and body language, which was evident on the day of the presentation. Also, Blair and Maggert had some issues among themselves, which they were trying to resolve on the day of the presentation. But Harvey had ignored all of these hints and was so excited about the opportunity for the organization and the students. He even ignored the fact that the ninty-five percent population is white, so he should be carefully reviewing the HR policies before introducing the recruitment drive on campus.

2. How did the characteristics of the organization and the events that transpired in the previous academic year affect Harvey’s situation? Would the problem have been different if the anonymous e-mail hate message had not been sent?

The recruitment team from Hopwood Manufacturing had made racist statements for the University students who were interviewed. They had problems with the geographical and ethnic orientation of the students; they valued the students' cultural background more than that of their credentials and academic awards. Since the diversity issue was already prevalent on campus, and the anonymous hate e-mail further magnified the issue. The issue was already being highlighted at various instances, and diversity became a repetitive topic on campus. The majority of the students came from rural northern Iowa, and ninety-five percent of the population was white. 

Harvey’s position would have been not so bad if the anonymous hate e-mail was not sent. Primarily, the hate e-mail is the reason the diversity issue was highlighted in the organization, and the comments made by the recruitment team created a disastrous impact. But the fact remains that discrimination is discrimination, no matter the email was sent or not. However, once the email was sent, the organization should have been more concerned about the recruitment process and have ensured that the opportunities offered to the students are non-discriminatory. 

Also, the fact that the organization’s mission was “the infinite worth of every person” further added to the situation. The Lambert University’s mission was violated by the recruitment team because they underestimated the potential of the students, and made judgements about the ability of the individuals. They criticized the students with sound academic background by their geographical orientation. The behavior was unacceptable for the Organization, and unethical as well.

3. Who are the stakeholders that Harvey must consider as he anticipates his next steps? What are the interests of each stakeholder group?

The stakeholders of the organization are students, faculty, administration and Hopwood. The interest of the administration is particularly equal opportunities to its students, and the fact which is the organization’s goal is “the infinite worth of a person”. The organization is concerned with fulfilling the company mission and goal. Lambert was not discriminatory about the age, race, gender or the ethnicity of the students, and has always promoted minority.