I just saw a LinkedIn post with a picture of the "African Decent Network" group at Medtronic. It made me queasy that Medtronic auppprts this type of racially segregated networking organization. They talk about diversity but appear to ne OK with this. The group is classed by race which I find offensive in a business environment.
diversity in the name of mandates. prepare for unqualified leaders that climb the ladder by just not being white
Ideas so good they must be forced. Diversity, women in leadership roles, do more with less. We’re fucked.
It is spelled descent, and the African Descent Network is outstanding and an industry leader. I am former BSci and could not have been prouder to see their work. More of this is necessary.
Critical to business. Having a default quota of all whites at the top and not necessarily the best people hurts the bottom line. VPs of African descent in all peer device companies have been crushing it with strong performance. They should be supported and not excluded as in a previous generation. We’ve been through this. McKinsey found that corporations with racially equitable executives have 30% higher profit margins. Go to the meetings and support their efforts if your intent is the help he company and not be disruptive.
Employee Resource Groups have been a standard business practice for decades with a strong ROI. 90% of Fortune 500 companies report having them based on best practices. For someone to oppose or feel queasy about an established business practice, are they misaligned with company goals, out of step, or do they have an agenda of their own?
Are you seriously asking this question in 2018 with an industry that has been almost 100% white male for years. How is that ok? Proper respresentation with qualified candidates pushes organizations further in a positive direction. Also you are insinuating that women and having a diverse talent pool in a sales organization will somehow result in the organization going downhill and that being the direct cause. Along with those individuals not being qualified in the first place. The organization (ADN) is not exclusive. If you are supportive of the organizations goals and mission, you too can be a part of the group. These groups have been developed due to lack and history of those individuals being left out of opportunities for many years for various reasons. I can’t help but to think that this type of thinking is a direct result of someone who feels threaten now that the playing field is balancing out. The fact that people still think the way you do absolutely frightens me. However, it’s good to know this thinking still exists inside of Corp America and at MDT because it proves the point as to why certain organizations and initiatives are established and implemented.
The only people threatened by diversity are those that benefit from a lack of diversity. To the person that said programs like Medtronic has will result in “unqualified people (minorities) being promoted to leadership”, I would ask you to muster up the courage to ask a black/brown person in your field what it took to get that role and what it’s like to work for a prodominantly white medical device organization. I have been passed over numerous times because of my skin color when I have routinely outperformed the chosen candidate in almost every area. The “why” could be a number of things besides race but when all the things the hiring manager & winning candidate have in common are race related (same fraternity, upbringing, country club membership, etc) & the reasons given for the choice are lousy, it’s hard to consider it’s anything else.
you can't just make a statement that "those individuals" have been victims of a wholesale pattern designed to cheat them from opportunities at medtronic without providing examples or showing data. assuming racism and employment discrimination based on personal perception rather than actual proof is bullshit. present examples and data, easy as that
omar has a diversity quota and network setup for every culture and creed in the world within Medtronic, but can't explain why we will take market share and drive new revenue at the jp Morgan conf. Then gets taken down by Cramer also. Time to find someone who can focus on business, not just social justice
