BSBA-HRM 3102 MGT 304 International Business and Trade

Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment:

What Ever Happened to MarShawn DeMur?

Time Context
The problem was observed by MarShawn DeMur a.k.a Maalick, an African
American who worked as an Operation Manager at Treton Communication
Incorporated. MarShawn DeMur has worked for Treton for six years. DeMur started as a
management intern working summers while attending college. DeMur is now an
Operation Manager and a member of an Internationalist religious group. During working
days, DeMur encountered a lot of situations where its religion is always involved, Marta
Ford a Human Resource director helped DeMur regarding its concern. DeMur filed a
formal complaint with Ford, alleging religious discrimination and racial harassment. The
next afternoon, Dixon was at the Chenworth facility meeting with Ford and Jenkins.

View Point
When Maalick experiencing religious discrimination, it was quickly reported to the
Human Resource director, Marta Ford. Ford called a meeting of all department heads
and sent an email to all facility employees for them to remind the Treton’s policies
regarding to discrimination and harassment and the penalties associated with such
actions.

Statement of the Problem

 MarShawn DeMur the one who experiencing discrimination regarding its religion
to the company.
 Many called DeMur voodooists and partakers of witchcraft and sorcery.
 DeMur encountered a strange look, and a messy incident in the office, which was
decorated with doll with pins sticking out of various body part, witch hats and
containers of incense
  Received a series of notes left on his desk and car referencing black cats, black
magic, requests for palm readings, and notices about the disappearance of
MarShawn DeMur.
 Found a several sheets on Maalick’s desk of what appeared to be chants with a
title at the top that read “Prayers for Black Folk” and the next to the pages was
book titled “Mystical Practices from the Negro”
 Maalick’s application for the position of Systems Manager was not accepted and
filled by outside candidate, Charles Barlett which was a member of Jenkin’s
church.

Objectives
 Identify the rationale for and the effect or impact of the situation in the workplace
 Analyze the organizational policy and the management decision-making in the
Human Resource department
 Recognize the tasks and duties of Human Resources (HR) employers in
resolving these problems
 Examine the legal requirements for employers in considering and
accommodating employee’s religious beliefs in the workplace
 
Areas of Consideration
Treton Communication, Inc. is a public giant in the telecommunications industry.
Headquartered in Eastern Michigan, Treton offers a range of wireless and wireline
communications services to consumers, businesses, and government users. Triton
expanded the operation of its Midwest facility and plans to add two more facilities on
Southern and Northwestern locations in the United States. The Midwest facility is
located in Chenworth, Kansas. It currently employs 360 workers, with plans to reach a
full workforce complement of 800 employees within three years. DeMur like its job and
saw great potential for advancement in the company due to good employee relations
and appreciation of its idea and work ethics but after DeMur became a member of
Internationalist, the treatment changed. Treton Communication Inc. employee
description contradicts what Clive Jenkins a Midwest facilities director and MarShawn’s
supervisor has shown during the time where Mr. DeMur requesting 1 week's leave in
which the supervisor has shown impolite attitude by questioning and discriminate the
religion of DeMur. Internationalists are required to change their names after
confirmation to reflect their position based on spiritual doctrine. DeMur was given the
spiritual name Maalick and required to use it all the time. Maalick returned to work and
stopped by first at the Human Resource department to complete the paper to changes
its name. Maalick notices strange looks from his co-workers and founded the office
decorated with dolls with pins sticking out of various parts, witch hats, and containers of
incense. Maalick called immediately Jenkins and tell about the incident but Jenkins
laughed and make fun of it. In the several months, Maalick received several notes left
on its desk and car referring to black cats, black magic, request for palm reading, and
notices about the disappearance of MarShawn DeMur. Maalick ignored the incident for
not causing trouble, but Maalick reported it to Ford. In the said situation, it was visible
that Maalick experiencing discrimination and it is the reason why Maalick filed a
complaint.

Alternative Course of Action

Companies should apply internal policies and procedures;
ACA1. Determined internal policies and procedures will help everyone involved by
providing a structured and transparent process for resolving the concerns in a timely
manner.
ACA2. Resolve or investigate human rights issues in the workplace to fully resolve an
issue.
ACA3. Expert help can be extremely valuable where there are subtle allegations of
discrimination.

Recommendation
The workplace should be a safe and peaceful space for all employees or
workers, and it is the responsibility of the management to maintain a good working
relationship inside the workplace, such as the prevention of harassment and
discrimination that Maalick has encountered in the case. In short, the workplace is not
diverse because they have disrespected the religious beliefs of one of an employee.
They lack diversity and inclusion, and a respectful workplace. So, we would like to
recommend a strong implementation of hiring practices, such as diversity and inclusion
training to help and support the divergence inside the organization to ensure that the
employees are being treated fairly. Also, do a weekly and monthly review of the
company's policy concerning discrimination and harassment issues. As we all know, a
company should have a clear anti-discrimination, diversity, and harassment policy.

Conclusion
Research on workplace inequality, discrimination, and harassment, although
certainly insightful, has developed in a largely fragmented fashion by focusing on a
singular axis of inequality and/ or a specific type of injustice, and with much less
attention to potential variations by class positioning and proximately workplace
relations.

Discrimination, however, takes several other important forms. For example,

unfair labor promotion and demotion practices, firing, harassment- forms that
predominate official discriminates while on the on claims and that happen for the
most part after hiring occurs. Employers must hold employees and themselves to a
high standard. Everyone deserve a workplace free from harmful harassment, and all
employees should be expected to behave like professional adults while on the job.
Not only does workplace harassment lead to an expensive lawsuit, but it also creates
a toxic culture that cripples team cohesion and harms productivity. Effects are not
limited to physical but also mental effects on the employee include depression,
developing anxiety disorders, loss of self-control leading to the employee becoming
hostile, or even attempting suicide. Perceived discrimination has effects on both the
employee and the work environment. Harassment in the workplace has negative
effects on all workers, including decreased performance, low morale, and increased
turnover.
Group Members: Antonio, Jessica

Bayaborda, Jean Karen

Cenizal, Raymund

Cenizal, Ronald

Consigo, Nizelle

Lubrino, Jasmin

Mendoza, Airene

Riñon, Rochelle

Tolentino, Pauline

Villaluna, Abigail