Fred Larson, a twenty-seven-year-old credit officer, feels that he’s on the fast track. He received a M.B.A from Harvard two years ago and, after only one year in a large bank, was made a mid-manager of commercial loans. He is a confident young man who is used to making quick decisions, and he values his independence. He knows that his boss, Bob Miller, holds him in high regard, but he is increasingly annoyed by Bob’s constant questioning of his decisions. “You don’t tell me enough,” Bob says. “Come to me before you make a major decision. I don’t want you to move so fast on your own.” Fred asks, “Have I made any mistakes so far?” “No,” Bob retorts, “but I feel I just need to be more informed about what you do.” “More informed!” Fred thinks. “Is he kidding? I’m the one who’s kept in the dark. I’m handed all this work, and I do it, but I don’t always know why. For once, I’d like to know what the big picture is around here and what the time frame is for moving ahead.” This week Fred is furious. Last week he did all the slides for a major presentation for visiting Japanese bankers and prepared a terrific report, for which Bob commended him. Nevertheless, he was told bluntly that he could not be part of the meeting. “What a bust,” Fred thinks. “This is going too far. If this is what banking is like and if it’s going to continue this way, I think I should move on. I’ve always been interested in advertising. I’ll stay here until I get something better, but I sure am going to start looking around.”

1. Suggest a title for the workplace scenario. (Remember a title is a promise to the reader!)

2. Suggest a demographic trend that has possibly contributed to the workforce diversity dimension and workforce management challenge illustrated in the scenario.

3. Describe briefly Bob’s management style. Use examples from the scenario to support your response.

4. Describe briefly the type of work environment Fred preferred. Use examples from the scenario to support your response.

5. Give one suggestion of how the organization could have been more effective in managing the workforce diversity illustrated in the workplace scenario. Box 4.4 discusses examples of strategies some organizations have adopted. You can use this discussion to guide you as you think about how the organization in the scenario could have handled the situation.