1.1.2 Worked Examples

Example 1.1. A Problem at Gamma Technologies

Consider the memo below, from the CEO of Gamma Technologies, a firm that makes electronic sensors and filters for medical imaging equipment. The company is fairly large, has been around for many years, and has a varied and diverse workforce.

Excerpts from the responses of three managers, X, Y, and Z, are given below. These excerpts are followed by critiques in which some of these managers’ unsubstantiated beliefs and assumptions are pointed out.

How Manager X Responded (an excerpt): ”...Age discrimination is clearly a problem in today’s workforce and it will become even more so in the immediate future as baby-boomers begin retiring later in life than previous generations of workers, either by choice or because of the increasing difficulty of accumulating a sufficient nest egg. Attitudes toward and perceptions of aging workers must be addressed head on. I recommend that a required-attendance series of sensitivity training classes be inaugurated immediately...”

How Manager Y Responded (an excerpt): ”...Underrepresentation, whether regards to gender, race, or age, is a serious matter and puts Gamma at risk of a major class-action discrimination law suit. I recommend that management immediately establish 1) a secure hotline to handle complaints and 2) a review board that will investigate such complaints and 3) a set of procedures that establish clearly what actions will be taken upon the review board’s conclusions...”

How Manager Z Responded (an excerpt): ”..It is difficult to say with certainty how much of the underrepresentation of older workers is due to an unfriendly environment and how much to other factors, such as wanting a career change or having accumulated sufficient financial resources for early retirement..”

Example 1.2. Critique of the Beliefs and Assumptions of the Managers

• Manager X
  1. Belief: Age discrimination is clearly a problem in today’s workforce. Critique: While this may be true, X has not presented any evidence (data) to support this belief.
  2. Assumption: Younger workers at Gamma have an attitude problem (unfriendliness) toward older workers. Critique: How do we know this is true? X does not present any evidence (data) to support this assumption.
  3. Assumption: Gamma’s unfriendliness to older workers is due to age discrimination. Critique: If there is unfriendliness to older workers (which has yet to be established), there is no evidence (data) that this unfriendliness is due to the age of the worker and not to some other characteristic. Moreover, if there is indeed an unfriendly environment at Gamma, perhaps it is due to the unfriendly attitude of older workers to younger workers, not the other way around.
  4. Belief: Sensitivity training effectively curbs discrimination. Critique: There is no evidence presented that such is the case. Even if X had presented data supporting the effectiveness of sensitivity training based on studies conducted at other companies, X would have to demonstrate that Gamma fits the profiles of these other companies.
• Manager Y:
  1. Assumption: There is an under representation of older workers at Gamma. Critique: There is no evidence (data) as to what the representation of older workers actually is at Gamma or how it compares to that of similar companies.
  2. Assumption: Gamma is at imminent risk of a class-action law suit. Critique: If there is under representation of older workers at Gamma, how do we know it is of sufficient proportion to precipitate a class-action law suit?
• Manager Z:
  1. Assumption: The under representation of older workers at Gamma may be attributed to reasons other than just an unfriendly environment. Critique: While not providing any supporting evidence that Gamma’s older workers are indeed underrepresented, Z does properly question whether any such under representation can be attributed to age alone. This demonstrates a degree of analytic sophistication not found in the other manager’ responses.

Example 1.3. The Common Assumption: There is a problem at Gamma.
Critique: All of the managers took as a given that what the CEO says is a problem is indeed a problem. A good manager or consultant understands that there is a perceived problem (what the boss or employee or customer or client perceives to be the problem) but also understands that the person being consulted should not propose solutions to bogus problems. The client’s view of the problem will almost certainly be stated in terms of one or more assumptions and beliefs. This is to be expected, since if the client/customer knew what the situation really was, he or she would not need a consultant. It is the consultant’s job to use the client’s perceptions as a first approximation, a way of framing the problem, but to not buy into these perceptions unless analysis of the data supports them.

A Serious Misstep: Managers X and Y are recommending solutions to a perceived problem. That is, they are proposing solutions before knowing what the problem is and without gathering data to understand its dimensions.

While it is true that the manager/consultant is not paid for his or her unsubstantiated beliefs about what might or might not be a good solution (even to a genuine problem), one’s beliefs or intuitions can be useful tools for figuring out what data should be gathered. It may turn out that some of the assumptions managers X, Y, and Z made are, in fact, true and can be supported by the gathering and analysis of appropriate data.