Agfunds Case Study

Best of Intentions
Final Case Analysis

Group 5:

Chris Griffin

Juan Miralles Portal

Larissa Shorter

Zach Smith

Shelby Westbrook

MIE 435, Spring 2010

North Carolina State University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Case Overview 1
Critical Issues 2
The Hiring Decision 3
Survey to Identify Internal and External Employee Discrimination 4
Dinner Event to Promote Client/Employee Awareness 5
Cost 7
Conclusion 9
Works Cited 10
Appendix A 11

CASE OVERVIEW
This case study discusses a situation occurring at AgFunds, an accounting firm who like any firm, strives to be the best in their market. AgFunds handles a number of financial services, including accounting and investments for farmers across the country. This particular
After doing so, it is our opinion that Cynthia should hire Steve. From a legal standpoint, she has almost no choice but to do so. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically prohibits the use of race as a basis for making a hiring decision (Steingold, 2009). If Steve were not hired at this point, AgFunds would almost certainly have a legal case on their hands since Steve has already been made aware of the present situation. Cynthia went to Steve with the information she gathered from her boss, Peter Jones, and explained to Steve that his race was actually coming into play when contemplating whether or not to hire him. This significantly increased the risk of having legal problems if Steve were not to be hired. If AgFunds were called upon to appear in court, they would be at risk of losing a significant amount of money through costly legal fees, but this would not be the only cost to AgFunds. A company’s reputation can be significantly harmed from having to deal with such discrimination cases (Hansen, 2003). When an organization faces issues of discrimination, it is often covered through news outlets. When this happens, customers and business partners become aware of the situation and many will be weary of doing business with the organization in the future. This can also damage the reputation of the employees involved. For instance, if an
Discrimination has become a voiced concern to management officials within Agfunds and should be address promptly to reduce the company’s vulnerability to possible litigation. To identify the source of discrimination that is currently seen in the Agfunds organization, a survey should be developed to identify the source of the discrimination, which will properly diagnose the root cause and allow for appropriate actions to be taken. Surveys of discriminatory events create a record for administrative purposes and can contribute to understanding the extent of racial discrimination (Blank & Dababy, 2004). In order to gain the information and data needed to take immediate and appropriate action, all employees at the various branch locations will be asked to complete the survey honestly on an anonymous basis. The survey consist of general background information and approximately 9 questions that will help identify if the discrimination is within the organization between employees and their superiors or coworkers, or the external environment which the employees work, consisting of interactions with customers and clients. (Survey can be viewed in Appendix