Consider the following situation as if you wereIan.
Ian was a senior analyst at a major hotel company. Although Ianworked mostly in corporate headquarters, he would occasionallytravel to the field where he met with front-line employees andlearned what was on their minds.
On a trip to Portland, Ian had the chance to speak with twopeople working at the front desk about what it was like to work atthe hotel. Daniel, the younger of the two had joined the staffrecently; Ellen, the other employee (and Daniel’s supervisor), hadbeen with the company for almost 15 years. Both employees seemedparticularly interested in talking with Ian because they rarely gota chance to talk directly to anyone from headquarters.
As the three discussed changes in the hospitality industry,Ellen and Daniel complained about their company’s aggressive costcontrol initiatives, spearheaded by the charismatic but frugal CEO,whose policies were occasionally unpopular. After a few moreminutes of conversation, Ellen casually said, “The CEO is so tightwith a buck, I wonder if he is Jewish.”
As a Jewish person, Ian did not know how to react. He had neveractually experienced anything like this before, especially in aprofessional setting. Ian’s instinct was not to be combative orhostile, but he felt a bit like a deer caught in the headlights.Daniel looked a little surprised at his supervisor’s remark, but,laughing, he quickly changed the subject. Smiling, Ian made anexcuse to end or discussion and walk away.
The next day Ian woke up still bothered by Ellen’s remark. Whilechecking out, he saw Daniel at the front desk. Ian mentioned to himthat he may want to tell his supervisor to watch her remarks aboutother peoples’ ethnicity, to which Daniel replied, “I know what youmean because I am Puerto Rican, but I think that she meant it as ajoke.” Ian could see that Daniel just wanted to smooth the issueover.
On the ride to the airport, Ian kept thinking about what hemight do. Should he report Ellen to Human Resources? The companyhad a process in place for such matters, but he was worried. Iandid not know who he was dealing with; maybe Ellen would retaliateif he said something, especially since she would know who filed thecomplaint. Plus, Ian was not sure what the consequences would be –he didn’t want to get her fired. Ian only wanted Ellen to know howoffensive the comments were.
As a team, consider what steps Ian shouldtake.
What are the concerns facing Ian?
