Abercrombie Organizational Behavior

1. IMPROVING DIVERSITY President: Emily Noselotl, Vice President: Eun Young Kim, Secretary: Stevie Musil, Marketing Manager: Carmen Li, H/R: Min Seok Park
2. AGENDA I. Introductions I. Introduce Team II. Company History II. What is Stereotyping I. Text Concepts III. Scenario IV. Company Controversies I. Consumer Controversies II. Employee Controversies V. Articles I. Dress Code II. Discrimination III. Economic Facts of Diversity VI. Management Solutions VII. Conclusion I. Call to Action
3. Abercrombie & Fitch, also known as A&F, is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for young consumers. The company operates three offshoot brands ; Abercrombie kids, Hollister Co, and Gilly Hicks.
4. WHAT IS STEREOTYPING Stereotyping is attributing a specific trait to a person based on the characteristics of the group to which a person belongs.
5. • Teamwork Skills • You can accomplish more if you take advantage of the unique skills and abilities of others • All people are unique and perceive the world differently. TEXT CONCEPTS
6. SCENARIO • In the past year Abercrombie & Fitch has suffered a drop in sales and popularity due to the many controversies regarding discrimination and lack of diversity surrounding the company.
7. COMPANY CONTROVERSIES
8. CONSUMER CONTROVERSIES • Targeting exclusively to the “cool kids” • CEO Michael Jeffries states in an interview he only wants “good looking” and thin people wearing A&F • Doesn’t offer clothing above a large and size 10 in bottoms
9. EMPLOYEE CONTROVERSIES • Hiring employees based on their appearance • Allegedly placing less attractive employees in the back/stock room • Sued for forcing an employee with a prosthetic arm to only work in the stock room. • Refers to their sales associates as “models”
10. ARTICLES
11. Abercrombie’s Dress Code has caused problems with their employees ARTICLE 1
12. ARTICLE 2
13. ARTICLE 3 Research shows that diversity in a company leads to greater economic strength and a more successful
14. SOLUTIONS
15. SOLUTIONS: PRESIDENT • Diversify board members • Of the 16 board members only five are women • All members are over the age of 54 to 77 • Create Quarterly Report
16. SOLUTION: VICE PRESIDENT ❖ Provide diversity training in the workplace ❖ Make the recruiting process more transparent. ❖ Offer benefits for diversity hiring and PR it!
17. 12 Ethical Questions Companies Should Ask When Making Decisions 1. Is it Legal? 2. How do I feel about this? Am I feeling unusually anxious? Am I fearful? 3. Will any rules, policies, or regulations be violated? 4. Is the proposed action consistent with past practice? 5. Does my conscience bother me? 6. How would I feel if the details of this situation appeared on the front page of the local news? 7. Does this situation require that I lie about the process or the results? 8. Do I consider this to be an extraordinary situation that demands an unusual response? 9. Am I acting fairly? Would I want to be treated this way> 10. Would I be able to discuss the proposed situation or action with my immediate supervisor? My family? My company’s clients? The president of the company? 11. If a close friend of mine took this action, how would I feel? 12. Will I have to hide or keep my actions secret? Has someone warned me to to disclose my actions to anyone? SOLUTION: SECRETARY
18. SOLUTION : HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER • “Diversity and inclusion are key to our organization’s success. We are determined to have a diverse culture, throughout our organization, that benefits from the perspective of each individual”. (Mike Jeffries, Chairman & CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch. • Definition of Diversity and Inclusion According to Abercrombie & Fitch: • Diversity: “Is about who you are as an individual – what’s seen and unseen. It also includes the rich differences between individuals such as race, gender, family, sexual orientation, work experience, physical ability, and religion. • Inclusion: “Is about embracing those differences, and thoughtfully and enthusiastically enabling those differences to equally contribute” • Diversity Education Program
19. CONCLUSION
20. CALL TO ACTION • Provide perspective on how to attract a more diverse customer, associate and shareholder. • Making A&F an inclusive environment that values the differences of its associates and customers. • Diversity and Inclusion yield creativity and innovation. • Embracing diverse people, ideas, and experience.
21. CITATIONS • “Diversity & Inclusion.” Abercrombie & Fitch Careers. Web. 21 May 2014 • Lutz, Ashley. "13 Reasons Why People Hate Abercrombie & Fitch." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 22 Aug. 2013. Web. • Kerby, Sophia, and Crosby Burns. "The Top 10 Economic Facts of Diversity in the Workplace." American Progress. Center for American Progress, 12 July 2012. Web. • Bhasin, Kim. "Abercrombie Dress Code Enables Discrimination, Insiders Say." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. • Vandeveer, Rodney C., Meneffe, Michael L. Human Behavior in Organizations, 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Notes de l'éditeur

Emily: Hello everyone, my name is Emily Noselotl and as President of Abercrombie & Fitch. Thank you all for participating in our meeting on improving diversity here at Abercrombie and Fitch.
Emily: Firstly I would like to introduce the rest of our team, Carmen Li is our Marketing Manager, Stevie Musil is our Secretary, Min Seok Park is our Human Resource Manager and finally Eun Young our Vice President who will begin our presentation.
EUN YOUNG: Before we start the presentation, I’d like to introduce Abecrombie & Fitch company. Abercrombie & Fitch, also known as A&F, is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for young consumers.
The company operates three offshoot brands ; Abercrombie kids, Hollister Co, and Gilly Hicks. They are famous for the marketing skill as topless men standing at the entrance when they open the new store.
Stevie: As stated in Chapter 7 of Human Behavior in Organizations, stereotyping is defined as attributing a specific trait to a person based on the characteristics of the group to which a person belongs.
with explaining that “all people are different and that’s okay. A&F needs to understand diversity is an advantage. Unfortunately, A&F is has become associated with the stereotyping of people and groups they and been known for only hiring people that are in a fraternity or sororities.
Stevie: Chapter 7 also discusses teamwork skills. Some of the key points are listed above. What came to mind while reading this chapter was the saying “ never judge a book by it’s cover.” It’s become very apparent that that is exactly what A&F has been doing in their hiring process. We need to focus on what a good company really has that ours is lacking and perhaps it’s something as simple as Teamwork. By taking advantages of peoples unique skills we can become a better team.
Emily : This past here we have suffered a drop in sales and popularity due to the many controversies regarding discrimination and lack of diversity surrounding our company, among these issues are discrimination due to gender, race, and appearance. As a company we need to reevaluate our selves, and make immediate changes to make Abercrombie all inclusive to everyone and create a welcoming environment to all employees and shoppers.
Carmen : One of the main controversies Abercrombie faces is their lack of diversity in their target market. The CEO Michael Jeffries explicitly states that he only wants “good looking” and thin customers purchasing their products. The company does not offer sizing above large and a size 10 in bottoms, which limits consumers to those that are more on the thinner side and excluding those that fit larger.
Carmen: The other controversy that Abercrombie faces also relates to lack of diversity, but in this case, their employees, or as they call them, “models”. They had a long running issue with hiring employees based on their appearance and allegedly places their less attractive employees to work in the back of the store.
Emily: Although all companies are entitled to a dress code, Abercrombie has crossed a line with causing employee’s to remove elements of their dress such as crosses, hijabs, and Hindu sacred strings. This is unacceptable because it causes a hostile environment and can affect how many sales are made.
Eun young : The article is about Dean, who was born with the lower part of her arm missing, claimed she was forced to work in the London store’s stockroom because she didn't fit the company’s strict “look policy”. She awarded 8,000 euro for unlawful harassment in 2009. It was not the first time lawsuits for these problems to Abercrombie. In 2003, several Hispanics, black and Asian employee and applicants sued the company in the US, saying they had been put into less visible backroom jobs. This is unacceptable and really negatively effects the image of our company.
Emily: A few of the fantastic points brought up in this article are: a diverse workforce can capture a greater share of the consumer market, recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates means a more qualified workforce, diversity in the workplace is necessary to create a competitive economy in a globalized world, diversity in the boardroom is needed to leverage a company’s full potential and diversity fosters a more creative and innovative workforce. All of these qualities are things that Abercrombie desperately needs right now in order to improve our situation.
Emily: One way to ensure that a message of diversity is being achieved in stores, is starting at the source. By creating a board of members that is diverse in gender, ethnicity and age A&F can successfully generate new ideas and promotions to better our public image. Additionally, this diverse background can lead to a more comfortable work environment for employees of all levels which in turn translate to better selling. Additionally, creating a quarterly report on our mentions in the media, new employees and our progress will keep all stores up to date and promote even more improvements
EUN YOUNG : As Vice President, I recommend them to provide diversity training in the workplace. And all employees should understand that hiring decisions are based on finding the best candidate and not by quotas. Making the recruiting process more transparent can help ease the minds of skeptical employees. Also be sure managers fully understand the benefits of a diverse workplace.
Besides it, if they offer benefits such as onsite daycare, childcare subsidies and flexible schedules, new hires would know that they are willing to accommodate cultural and religious holidays and diversity-friendly apparel choices. They can work with the local chamber of commerce to campaign for more diversity and fill those needs for building positive images to publics. It would enhance the employees’ awareness to diversity in their work place.
Stevie: Chapter 22 focuses on Efforts and Ethics. The chapter explains that you should approach your job and tasks at work with good habits. Above are 12 ethical question that Abercrombie and Fitch should read over before making decisions. Perhaps if these were review more closely, we would not have the bad publicity that we are facing right now.
Min Seok Tommy Park: As Human Resource Manager, my priorities are to be firmly committed to increase and utilize the diversity of our associates and management team across the organization. The differences are supported by a culture of inclusion, so that we better understand our customers, capitalize on the talents of our workforce and have an inclusive mindset that values every dimension of diversity. In addition, all workers must have to attend the diversity & inclusion classes. According to A&F, “ the Diversity Education Program focuses on providing continuous learning around diversity and inclusion principles. We place a strong emphasis on behavioral change and understanding what it means to have an inclusive culture.” According to the article, it is true that in order to have a better working environment, you have to build a familiarity, comfort and trust with one another. Personally, as the Human Resource Manager, I think that diversity is a concept that promotes a strong sense of inclusion.
Stevie: Everything has to start and end with the customer. Our customers are increasing in diversity and population. Our goal is to represent as the most rich retail store of culture, people and ideas. Moreover, we want diverse people who bring ideas, experiences and talents that will help us represent our diverse customers. In conclusion, work to ensure that there are no obstacles that limit our employees from attaining their goals and dreams working in the company, than you for taking part in our presentation and hope to see positive change within Abercrombie and Fitch very soon.

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