Human Resource Case Study

Microsoft’s Bias •

•

In January 2001, seven sev en of Microsoft's former and current African-Americans African-Americans employees filed a discrimination suit against the company. One of the largest discrimination suits ever filed in the US, it alleged racism and plantation mentality at their workspace and sought $ 5 billion in damages. Microsoft Microsoft was accused of discriminating against its employees through performance evaluations, pay packages, promotions, wrongful terminations and retaliation. retaliation. This suit consolidated co nsolidated all the discriminatory suits filed separately by the seven employees.

 Thus, all the former and current African-American African-American salaried employees employed by Microsoft (in the US) on or after October 4, 1997 and all the former and present female salaried employees employed by Microsoft Microsoft on or after

•

 The plaintiff claimed that Microsoft's Microsoft's employment policies and practices permit its managers to exercise exercise discretion when deciding on evaluations, pay packages, promotions and job selections, resulting in decisions that reveal a race/gender bias. During the early 1990s, many discrimination related suits had been filed against Microsoft.  The plaintiff also alleged that Microsoft discriminated discriminated against the Black and female work w orkers ers by paying them smaller salaries, bonuses and stock options than it paid white males performing the same work. The suit also alleged that Microsoft had even retaliated against Black and female employees who protested against this discrimination.

•

•

•

Reacting Reacting to increasing media coverage of lawsuits filed against it, Microsoft claimed that the company did not tolerate employee discrimination and was focused on offering unbiased treatment to employees and promoting women and members of minority groups in its organization. However, few people bought their story. Willie Gray, one of  the leading attorneys dealing in discrimination suits, argued that Microsoft showed plantation attitude when it came to dealing with African-American workers. Gray remarked that in 1999, only 2.6% of the Microsoft's Microsoft's employees and only 1.6% of its managers were Black. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Microsoft remained remained in the news for discriminating against women and African-Americans. Many cases of both sexual harassment and discrimination against female employees were w ere reported.  Though the issue of racial discrimination arose in the late 1990s, it was only in 2000 that the employees initiated legal

Hyundai Motor Co •

Hyundai Motor Co., formed in 1967, was a part of the large South Korean Korean Chaebol - the Hyundai Group - until the group split in September 2000. In the last four decades, Hyundai managed to establish itself all over the world as a company producing reliable, reliable, technically sound and stylish automobiles. In the 90s, the company started aggressive overseas expansion programs. programs. By the late 90s, when Southeast Asian crisis struck, the company like all the other chaebols, faced serious financial problems. To survive, it had to cut its labour force. The company offered off ered various retirement retirement schemes, unpaid leave for two years, etc. to workers, and expressed its inability to support its entire workforce in the t he slack period.

Labour Problems in the Late 1990s •

•

 The slump in the South Korean economy in late 1990s was bound to have an effect ef fect on Hyundai also. The automobile segment was among the first to be hit by the downslide in the economy. The domestic automobile sector had negative growth of almost 55% in 1998 compared to the previous year. Hyundai was responsible for almost 50% of total automobile production in South Korea and was therefore badly hit. The domestic sales of the company fell by 55% in the year 1998 and its exports crashed by 74 percent to only 15,056 units . Hyundai recorded a 200 billion won loss in 1998. According According to company officials, Hyundai's six assembly plants with a yearly production capacity of 1.65 million vehicles, were operating at only 40 percent of their capacity. In May, 1998, Hyundai reacted to this grim situation by announcing plans to lay off 27 percent of its

•

Unfortunately for the management of the company, Hyundai had one of the most powerful and militant unions.  The decision of the company c ompany to lay off workers sparked off  agitations not only in Hyundai but in other companies co mpanies too.  The unions were particularly offended at the government's approval of Hyundai's decision. In a demonstration in Ulsan, where Hyundai has its biggest automobile plant, 32,000 employees participated in rallies. All across South Korea almost 1,20,000 employees from about 125 companies participated in demonstrations against Hyundai and the government's decision. The government had to deploy nearly 20,000 riot police to control the demonstrators...