The Shoe Store Incident

The store incident the Customer wanted a female employee to help her out with shoes if Bob gave into Imelda’s request Imelda said that she would have bought 5 pairs of shoes that day. Bob has two employees Mary and Tom. Mary is working in the back room today and Tom is working the floor. It is the company’s policy that the two employees rotate and that Bob or no one else can implement or change this policy. Should Bob give in to Imelda’s request to have a female sales representative to help her with shoes or should Bob explain to Imelda the company’s policy that he cannot give into her request due to him only having two employees. The Situation

Bob knows it is Mary’s day to work in the stock room. Bob wants to make this sale and it would benefit the company on Imelda’s hefty purchase. Bob asks Mary to respect Mary’s request on helping her find shoes. Bob explains to Mary the store policy about the rotation. Bob explains that he is still going to have Mary work in the back with the inventory after Imelda makes her purchase. If Mary excepts Bob’s request to help on the sales floor she will get the whole commission for the purchase of Imelda’s shoes.

Mary accepts Bob’s offer knowing that Bob is the boss and the request has incentives due to the commission of Imelda’s shoes as well as her following company’s policy by working the back room that day. Bob is a little concerned about Tom not landing the sale if Tom would complain about Mary making the sale however, Bob knows Tom cannot do anything about the customer’s request due to Mary being the only female employee at the store. If the company has to recognize that Bob was looking out for the company’s interest due to making a hefty sale. Bob respects the company policy by rotating both employees and acting upon the customer’s request showing great customer service can help with the stores reputation. Legal Issues

The Legal Issue is that Tom can complain about not making the sale due to sexual discrimination. Bob has The male employee on the sales floor might file a discrimination claim if the female employee is swapped to his place upon the customer’s demand. The male employee can state that the company makes him experience reverse discrimination to attain its profit. Reverse discrimination is a bill or accusation acquired by a plurality member who senses an antagonistic ramification by the application of acquiescent action plan enhancing an outnumbered group of female (Bennett-Alexander and Hartman, 2007, p. 203). In addition, if the female employee is not shifted to the sales room, she may also file a discrimination claim. As postulated by Bennett-Alexander and Hartman (2007), the company would act in breaching of Title VII for gender bias, if the lady worker is permitted to assist the purchaser on the sales floor. Ethical Issues

In accordance to the Dispatches from the Frozen North (2004), an organization is ethically obliged to those personage and assemblage who are accountable for its victory. The male employee will be deceived his money if the female employee is allowed on the sales floor and this is one ethical issue. The next ethical issue is the feeling of the male employee that he is of less priority, if the female employee serves the customer. This may lead to conflicts between employees. As Fassin (2005) states will forever be challenged by hard selections with moral dilemmas. It is the duty of managers to make decisions in accordance with the laws of human resources and that the decision made pertains to the interests of the employees. This will lead to changes in employee behavior and employees will feel motivated. Though the company may remain short in its sales, the employees will remain motivated and will work harder. Personal Recommendation

The choice is to make the female employee serve the customer to both achieve sales as well as to obtain customer satisfaction. But, what matters is the commission obtained. One solution is to offer one of the sales of the female employee to the male employee. However, there are possibilities of the male employee receiving a lesser commission than that of the female employee and vice versa. Hence, there is no easy solution to this circumstance, as the happiness of both the employee as well as the customer is vital for the company. The recommendation is to instruct the employees about the importance of customer satisfaction and that the company does not operate on the basis of gender. Conclusion

Every passing day customers request to be dealt with employees of a particular gender. The company’s motto is to have happy customers and therefore the company strives to meet their requirements, provided they are admissible. Requests of this type can sue the company legally and may also lead to conflicts. Even if the customer leaves unhappy, the relationship between the employees and the management will last long and free from unethical behaviors.

References

Bennett-Alexander, D. D. & Hartman, P. L. (2007).Employment law for business (5th ed.). New York: McGraw–Hill. Retrieved July 4, 2011 from University of Phoenix. Dispatches from the Frozen North. (2004). To whom does an ethical business owe a responsibility? Retrieved July 4, 2011 from http://www.frozennorth.org/C1848698620/E2013508927/index.html Fassin, Y. (2005). The reasons behind non-ethical behaviour in business and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics, 60(3). Retrieved July 4, 2011 from EBSCOHost