You’re a middle-manager with a $250M manufacturing company. Most of the employees are
based in the United States. You aspire to reach the C-Suite (senior leadership level) and have
been actively pursuing special assignments to provide you with visibility to senior leaders at
your company.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) asks you to meet with him to discuss a key initiative he will
pursue shortly. When you arrive, he discusses how he wants to creative a more inclusive
environment and will execute a formal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative toward
that end. He knows that many organizations are pursuing DEI initiatives and that those
initiatives often include bias training, targeted hiring, examination of promotional systems, and
other strategic actions, but admits he is not an expert on the subject.
Importantly, he tells you that he believes that the company will be a better one through best
harnessing its diversity. He and the leadership team are finalizing the company’s 2026 strategic
plan and DEI will be a major prong of it. This initiative is core to his vision for the future of the
company and he wants you to lead the initiative. Successful execution of this initiative could be
the linchpin to your ascension!
You know little about DEI, but you’re ready to investigate. You cobble together some resources
(the pre-work) to strengthen your understanding of what DEI entails and how your organization
might change to better through leveraging diversity. One thing you know for sure is that this
initiative will involve organizational change and that 2/3rds of change initiatives fail. You tell the
CEO this, to which he responds that wants a report from you by Sunday night at 11:59pm
(chuckle) with the following:
1. What types of initiatives seem to work in DEI?
2. How should your company build a business case for it at your company? (Remember
that a business case is needed to build a “Sense of Urgency.”)
3. Is a business case even needed?
4. What are the driving forces for DEI initiatives now? What are the barriers to it? (Do a
Forcefield Analysis.)
5. What role does accountability seem to play with DEI success?
6. What would Kotter’s change model suggest are some things to consider in making
lasting change? (Use at least three stages to make recommendations.)
He says that he’ll take a video presentation or written report from you. A video presentation
would be 10 minutes while the report could be 3-5 pages.
Your aim is to leverage all of the resources you’ve gathered (the pre-work!) in an integrative
way to answer his questions. A strong presentation/report from you will take insights from each
document or podcast to address the company’s needs. Remember to think critically. You may
not have all of the answers fully addressed based on the reading and podcast, so take a
perspective. Your CEO needs people who can think around him and are willing to make
assertions. If you have unanswered questions, you can pose them in your report to him as food
for thought before the company moves forward.
He’s counting on you to explore this prospective initiative well. And. . . your career depends
upon it! Fortunately, you had a course in college on how to lead change that can guide your
thinking.
The following are all the materials that will be needed for this assignment to be completed. THey will all be attached.
1. Video presentation with Dawn
2. Read the following:
a. Why Diversity Programs Fail (Canvas)
b. Bias Training That Works (Canvas)
c. Do we still need a business case for diversity?
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/11/17/do-we-still-need-a-business-case-
for-diversity/?sh=71c9221b4262)
d. DEI Initiatives are Futile Without Accountability (Canvas)
e. How Diversity Turned Tyrannical(https://www.wsj.com/articles/diversity-tyrannical-equity-inclusion-college-marginalized-race-
11634739677 )
3. Listen to “How to Bust Bias at Work.” (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-bust-bias-at-
work/id1346314086?i=1000522109799)
4. Optionally. Skim the “Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan: Securities and Exchange
Commission” for ideas around what organizations are doing in relation to DEI.
