Appropriately Assigned or Effectively Hidden: E-Magine Case Study
Background
Headquartered in New York City, the E-Magine Communications Collective (E-MCC) is one of the largest global media outlets in the world. E-MCC broadcasts to all seven continents and 195 countries in the world. The E-MCC is an industry leader and is often compared to other news outlets such as CNN, Telemundo, and BBC to name a few. What makes E-MCC so unique is they have discovered how to overcome obstacles that typically hinder the progress of its competition.
Its clean image and journalistic integrity contribute to its continued success. E-MCC’s “net worth” is $500 billion USD, and it is projected to generate revenue in excess of $700 billion USD by the end of 2021, with $200 billion USD going directly to the bottom line (pure profit). E-MCC is a force to be reckoned with and shows no signs of slowing down.
Forbes magazine has listed E-MCC – and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Bob Reynolds – in the Fortune 500 list of best places and people to work for the last 10 years consecutively. It is every journalist’s dream to be hired as a correspondent with E-MCC; however, hiring is extremely competitive. In fact, historically, only those college graduates in the top 5% of their journalism and mass programs are hired at E-MCC.
Assignments
In 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made it mandatory for all public and private companies to report on its Affirmative Employment Program efforts. In addition, the employment make up would need to be aligned with the Civilian Labor Force (CLF) statistics for like and related organizations. E-MCC’s target goal, per the CLF, was 55% Caucasian, 35% African American, and 10% other minorities.
While preparing the report, the E-MCC uncovered a demographic issue they could not ignore. 90% of all employees assigned to the headquarters element were Caucasian. 5% were Asian, and the remaining 5% were Hispanic/Latino, all assigned and tenured for no more than two years. E-MCC also found that of 500 employees assigned to the company, only 1% of all staff were Black. To add insult to injury, regardless of their collegiate matriculation, all 5 Black employees were assigned to E-MCC’s Antarctica subdivision. These employees have worked for E-MCC for a total of five years, but none have been promoted or rotated to another division, showing no signs of progression or upward mobility.
Damage
Looking for any competitive advantage, CNN leaks this information to the public. This information could not have come out during a worse time, as Mr. Reynolds’ retirement and transition to an emeritus status was effective last week. You have been elected the new CEO by the Executive Board, and you know you have big shoes to fill, as Mr. Reynolds was respected for his forward thinking and charming ability to win over investors and external stakeholders alike.
Develop a plan to address this with the Executive Board, General Counsel and the public at large. Your decision must be well researched – providing short term and long-term goals and quick-wins. Because of the current social environment and E-MCC’s perceived reputation of fairness and equity, there is intense scrutiny on your response. Plus, you have just received word the African American employees have filed a class action lawsuit alleging, disparate treatment, lack of promotional opportunities and discrimination based on race.
One wrong move could put you and E-MCC’s hard earned reputation at stake.
E-magine has several corporate vulnerabilities. I will assess three of them here.
Vulnerability 1
Describe one item, action, or inaction that makes E-magine vulnerable. What is a possible outcome for this risk point? Based on the fact of the case study, why do you think this?
Vulnerability 2
Describe one item, action, or inaction that makes E-magine vulnerable. What is a possible outcome for this risk point? Based on the fact of the case study, why do you think this?
Vulnerability 3
Describe one item, action, or inaction that makes E-magine vulnerable. What is a possible outcome for this risk point? Based on the fact of the case study, why do you think this?
Conclusion
Of the three, I believe [insert the one of the three above] is the greatest vulnerability because [why you think this].
References
Jones, T. (2019). I made this title up. https://imadethissiteup.com