Erasing a Culture of Discrimination

Currently I am employed with a firm that supplies relief for difficult situations through various techniques. We have a high success rate with our clients and boast a 98% approval rating during the 14 years of the company. The strategies we implement have been researched and clinically proven efficacious in increasing among other things positive communication, morale, productivity, and the retention rate; while decreasing office absences, incidents between staff and management, incidents amongst staff, written and verbal reprimands, and level of frustration experienced by the entire system. As an industrial/organizational psychologist, I am committed and ethically bound to rectifying “messy” situations within organizations. In this essay, I will describe strategies to decrease racial discrimination and prejudice at a restaurant which services predominantly Caucasian clientele and employees mostly Caucasian employees. Recently, there have been multiple complaints from ex-staff members, patrons, and neighboring businesses regarding there staff’s attitude toward minorities.

The reason I have chosen this subject is that racial discrimination is implicit, in that it is covert and difficult to prove (Bartlett, 2009). In the United States especially, there are many cultures which have contributed to the success that we all enjoy. Multiculturalism should be celebrated and we should be intelligent enough to comprehend the good and bad in all human beings regardless of race, culture, or nationality. Discrimination takes on a life of its own and engulfs people psychologically. It also has residual effects on the victim as they are re-victimized frequently through traumatization; engaging in negative coping mechanisms (i.e., alcohol, drugs, etc.) in their attempt to maintain dignity and sanity (Yen, et al., 1999). Much of the discrimination may be unconscious motivated by ignorance that resides subconsciously. Exposure is the best anecdote in which to discredit many of the beliefs that are associated with the prejudices that maintain discrimination. Not only is it morally wrong and fascist to assume that one’s culture is superior, but it is unethical to discriminate against others based on their race. However, discrimination occurs in all corners of our society and will continue to be an aspect of humanity through the end of our existence.

The restaurant will remain nameless due to confidentiality, however it should be noted that it is located in the downtown area and has an expensive menu. It is generally high end location and typically hosts the most affluent and pretentious individuals. Many of the employees use racial slurs, though usually not in the presence of those they are referring too, and jokingly stereotype and even place wagers on how much African Americans and other minorities will tip. By the end of my tenure working with this company, management will have the tools to implement in order to decrease and alleviate the issues and concerns toward the current employees. There will be a reduction of complaints regarding the staff’s behavior both internally and externally, more awareness regarding sensitivities in other cultures, better communication with patrons of minority races, more positive feedback on social media which is popular amongst many of the restaurant’s guest, a significant reduction in the complaints received by neighboring restaurants which inevitably affects their small business' profit, and overall increased professionalism.

Initially it is essential to evaluate the employee’s level of concern toward the issue, commitment to change, and their employment with the restaurant, which must be established in order to determine if they will be a good fit. It is very important to do this for multiple reasons. If an individual embodies innate prejudices toward people, it is subconscious and uncontrollable; thus it will inevitably surface during interactions. This negatively impacts the entire company which decreases productivity. Think about it; someone provides you with poor service when at a restaurant. Do you say, The waiter service I received in that restaurant the other night was horrible! or I can’t believe how horrible my experience at that restaurant was the other night!” Most people are more likely to state the latter, associating their entire experience to the one waiter. Therefore it is integral to cut those who will perpetuate negative interactions and reviews. Some people will be asked to resign due to their attitudes, beliefs, and disposition, which will take much more than the training our company provides in order to change. Working with these individuals would be professionally counterproductive as the company would lose valuable resources during this time. The restaurant business is based on customer service, so an individual in this field should be very aware of their customer relations. This technique involves basic assessment which is a part of multiple theories and techniques.

This next technique is a cognitive behavioral technique, as we are altering the individual’s cognitions, attitudes, and presentation toward minorities through positive reinforcement. The following technique which should be implemented immediately is cultural and sensitivity training, which will be held weekly. This mandatory training will have strict consequences if missed, and will involve the sharing of cultural values form various members of the staff and community. Punishment and reward are excellent catalyst of change. Employees will receive bonuses upon successful completion as a reward. Having multiple negative reviews has influenced the community’s perspective of the company, and many of them have dissociated themselves from the establishment.

Cultural and sensitivity training will allow individuals the opportunity to evaluate and appreciate the value in acquiring knowledge of others cultures. This will be followed by weekly meetings in which all employees not scheduled to work will join in order to discuss any issues or concerns related to cultural sensitivity, and reflect on their progress. The meetings will be held every Friday at 10a.m., and employees will have a bi-weekly alternating schedule in order to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be present at least once every two weeks. Clients will be excused at the manager’s discretion when he feels that they are culturally competent and racially/socially aware

Customer feedback and neighboring restaurant responses will be the most obvious manner in which to evaluate the progress of the employees through our program. In order to assess the employee’s progress we will engage in multiple research based techniques which will objectively interpret and measure the data we collect. Our company will have signs at the entrance, exits, and bathrooms encouraging individuals to engage in social media to evaluate the new improvements in staff. Social media is a powerful tool which can drastically increase the success of the restaurant. This will also give the patrons and the staff with knowledge of the change process, thus holding the employees more accountable.

I will have the restaurant place a rating scale online based on the Likert scale (1-10), as well as have feedback evaluation sat each table throughout the restaurant. This will also increase staff’s accountability and be a visual reminder that they are working for the customer. Thinking critically is essential in being productive in a multi-systemic workplace (Myers, 2010). Therefore, any staff receiving multiple negative feedback forms will engage in critical thinking with the shift supervisor at the end of each shift. The managers at the restaurant will also provide us with follow-up reports and provide an evaluation of the employee’s improvement. It is important for our company to provide optimal services to our staff. Therefore, our company operates by the highest standards and also asks that the company provide evaluation for our quality assurance. These evaluation techniques are a part of many techniques but is would also be behavioral as we are engaging in operant conditioning to evoke a desired response.

References

Bartlett, K. (2009). Making good on good intentions: The critical role of motivation in reducing implicit workplace discrimination. Virginia Law Review. 95(8).

Myers, D. (2009). Psychology In Modules: Edition 9. Worth Publishers: U.S.A.

Yen, I.; Ragland, D., Greiner, B., Fisher, J. (1999). Workplace discrimination and alcohol consumption: findings from the San Francisco Muni Health and Safety Study. Ethnicity & Disease, 9(1), 70-80.