PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
LEWIS WEBSTER JONES
RUDOLPH A . PETERSON
Près'lient
Bank of America
"Standards caiuiot and
should not be lowered."
JOHN A. GRONOUSKI
U.S. P'ii<lnii.i'¡hr Cfinrnl
"If a Negro à qualified,
olhvr employees i/i'iierally
do not object to being
supervised by hhn."
R. M, MAHONEY
Manager, Industrial
Relations Dcvclopin,eni
Union Carbide Corporation
"I do not agree that 'very
few' minority group
vieinhers have the educutton
needed by successful
managers. "
President
National Confeietice of
Christians and Jews
"There are Jew more crucial
issues in our societl/
than . . . who gets
promoted and why."
What Helps
or Harms
Promotability?
Who is the "Promotable Executive"?
What kind of people really move ahead in
the management ranks? Is management
opportunity "restricted" for minority
group memhers? After extensive
study, HBR reports what businessmen think
are the personal and background qualities
which help and hinder mariagement
integration, including an appraisal of
the effects of Negroes as managers,
and the role of business and businessmen
in achieving equality of management
opportunity. The author is Dr. Garda W.
Bowman, Director of the Merit
Promotion Project, National Conference of
Christians and Jews.
• T H E EDITORS
 • Is there a prevailing image of a
promotable executive in the minds of
management today?
• If so, how does the prevailing im-
age differ from management's ideal
image of a business leader?
• Why do certain criteria which
most managers ideally consider irrele-
vant to promotion continue to affect
choices for advancement?
• How has this conflict between
ideal values and actual practice been
treated and with what results? What
more might be done to narrow the
gap between policy and practice in
merit promotion?
• What do executives think about
discrimination in management ranks?
Does it exist? If so, what, if any-
thing, can or should be done about it?
These are some of the questions
which executives are asking — of
others and, more importantly, of
themselves — as they face a new
immediacy to the age-old problem
of selecting the best qualified per-
sons for advancement. Executives
are keenly aware that the business
leaders of tomorrow are among
those who are being advanced
within their companies today. In
making the executive promotions
which will shape the corporate
future, today's managers seek to
avoid two kinds of errors : ( i ) ad-
vancing unqualified persons to po-
sitions of authority, and (2) pass-
ing over qualified persons. Ad-
vances in techniques of manage-
ment selection and evaluation have
been of increasing help in this
critical area, but there are still
many things to learn about the per-
sonal and professional qualities of
the promotable executive.
Complicating normal competi-
tion among those vying for pro-
motion are the powerful underly-
ing economic and social changes
which are taking place in our so-
ciety.
The new industrial revolution
places a premium on skills and
reduces the number of available
jobs at a time when unskilled and
disadvantaged work groups are de-
manding correction of inequality
in advancement opportunities. The
ever-increasing complexity of the
business structure, with its con-
comitant changes in job needs,
creates new demands on the labor
market, which in itself is un-
dergoing rapid and fundamental
changes in composition and mo-
bility. In this complex of conflicts,
mangement is attempting to cope
with the pressures of the present
under the shadows of the past,
with all its built-in attitudes and
patterns of behavior.
One of the complicating factors
in this already overcomplex situa-
tion is the fact that through the
years a sort of "unwritten law" —
or set of assumptions — has de-
veloped about the essential quali-
fications for each step in the hier-
archy leading to the ultimate man-
agement power and responsibility.
These conscious or unconscious re-
quirements add up to the image
of a promotahle executive — an
image which tends not only to re-
flect actual practice but also to
perpetuate this very practice.
As one junior executive puts it:
"I would like to recommend people
for promotion on merit alone, but
I am justifiably afraid that my own
Judgment will be called into ques-
tion if I recommend anyone who
deviates too markedly from the
kind of person I see getting ahead
in my company." This comment,
significant in itself, gains added
meaning from the fact that his
company is noted for its fine and
fair policy of promotion on merit
alone. The executive is reacting
to an "unwritten law" as he per-
ceives it. And his perception of
this subtle but coercive mandate
serves to reinforce the rigid image
of a promotable person in the
minds of his subordinates who will
someday be recommending others
for promotion. So the vicious cir-
cle operates, in the absence of un-
derstanding. This study is based
on the assumption that understand-
ing may lead to reorientation, and
that understanding is sought by
those on whom the heavy burden
of ultimate decisions rests.
Today, many large companies
are going through a process of
deep self-searching to discover how
closely the criteria which are the
real determinants of promotions
resemble the criteria set forth in
their policy statements and direc-
tives. They are asking whether
these real criteria are relevant to
job performance and whether they
are justly and equally applied to
all candidates. Many employers
are going out of their way to dis-
cover, develop, and promote quali-
fied people of all backgrounds, par-
ticularly Negroes, who have come
to stand for equality of opportunity
because of their newly discovered
articulateness and force of protest.
Many of these employers express
frustration because the supply of
trained and experienced Negroes
in a given area is too often inade-
quate to fill the new positions that
are opening up to them. Business-
men are finding that the effects of
a hundred years of economic in-
equality cannot be eradicated in a
day or a month or a year.
For both advantaged and dis-
AUTHOE'S NOTE: I wish to express my
gratitude to Stephen A. Greyser for his
contribution to the development of this
article.
HBR JAN.-FEB. 1964 7
 ahead (i.e., the "ideal image that honest, self-seeking, or authoritarian
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW works"). He is able to communicate, tendencies.
to make sound decisions, and to get c The greatest difference between
advantaged groups, promotion is things done with and through people. ideal and actual promotion practice
a slow and often involved process He is ambitious, well educated, self- is in the area of equality of oppor-
which includes reeruitment, devel- confident, of good appearance, dili- tunity on individual merit. "Race :
opment, and motivation, as well as gent, and responsible. Negro" is the one characteristic of a
advancement. Eaeh phase of this « There is also an image of an candidate for promotion where prin-
proeess is affeeted not only hy the "unpromotabie person." Factors of ciple most frequently differs from
race, sex, and national origin appear practice.
estahlished procedures but also hy
the attitudes of those who carry to be more important deterrents to m Reactions to the effects on eco-
promotion than the candidate's dis- nomic development resulting from
out these procedures.
To find some answers as to how EXHIBIT I. PROFILE OF THE EXECUTIVES RESPONDING
businessmen view this process, its
merits and its defects, HBR sur- Management position
veyed a cross section of its readers, Top management = chairman of the board; board member; owner; part-
plus other executives in husiness ner; president; division or executive vice president; vice
and industry (drawn from Poor's president; treasurer; secretary-treasurer; controller; sec-
retary (to the eorporation); general manager; general
Register). Responding to a com- superintendent ; editor ; administrative director ; dean
plex, eight-page questionnaire, al- and assistants thereto. 48%
most 2,000 businessmen — from Upper middle
all levels of management, types of management functional department head (e.g., advertising, sales,
promotion, production, purchasing, personnel, engineer-
industry, and areas of the country ing, public relations, brand manager, and the like). 16
— gave their views on the promot- Lower middle
able executive, both as an image management assistant to functional department head; district man-
and as a day-to-day reality. For a ager; branch manager; section manager; and the like. 19
profile of the respondents, see EX- Nonmanagement
HIBIT I. This profile itself is re- personnel all others employed in business. n
vealing as to some of the demo- Professional doctor; practicing lawyer; practicing CPA; professor;
consultant; military officer; government ofiiciai; union
graphic characteristics of exeeu- official; clergyman; and the like. 6
tives who are not only promotable,
but promoted. Formal education Age
High school Under 30 vears
In addition, we conducted a tele- Some college 3P-34 13
Bachelor's degree 35-39 17
phone follow-up study of nonre- Graduate school 17
spondents. This foUow-up yielded T6
12
no substantial background differ- Religion 9
ences between respondents and Protestant 6
nonrespondents. However, non- Catholic
respondents were far more vigor- Jewish
Other by number
ous adherents of strong steps to- No answer
ward achieving equality of oppor-
tunity in management for minority
groups. Although much of their Mille
vigor may be an artifact of a per- Femalp
1,000-4 ,q»)0
sonal telephone call versus an 5,000- n-i)t)9
anonymous questionnaire, it does 10,000-20,000
seem to indicate that those who Manufacturing
responded to the questionnaire did eoiisuínér goods
Manufacturing'
not do so because they have par- industrial New England
ticularly strong feelings on the Advertising, media, Middle Atlantic
publishing South Atlantic
subject; hence, they need not be re- Banking, investment, East North Central
garded as being unrepresentative insurance West North Centrai
of businessmen generally on this Construction, South Central
mining, oil Mountain
score. Defense or space Pacifie
industry
The more than one-in-five re- Education, social Functional area
sponse rate, with 90% adding their services Accounting I 6%
Government Engineering, R fc D II
handwritten comments to the ques- Personal consumer Finance S 7
tionnaire, attests to the interest services General management 43
and importance of this topic to Retail or wholesale Marketing 16
trade Personnel or
businessmen. Here are the high- Transportation, labor relations 7
lights of the study results: public utilities Production 4
Other Other 6
c There appears to be a clear image
of the man who should and does get NOTE: Of the 2,006 returns, 1,897 were received in time for maehine tabulation.

8 HBR JAN.-FEr.. I964


PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
the integration of Negroes or other
minority group members in manage-
ment are dramatic —
• About four out of every five
respondents see no effect on profits.
• The effects on the pubhc im-
age of the firm and, to an extent,
the consumer markets are seen as
positive.
• Only in the area of employee
morale is there a substantial num-
ber (31%) who believe there are
adverse effects.
c Despite this generally positive
view of the results of management's
integration, implementation of equal-
employment policies is slow. Execu-
tives see the reasons for this as being
both situational and psychological.
Bearing on the latter category is the
fact that individual executives can
generally interpret equal-opportunity
policies to suit their own beliefs. This
ohservation is accepted by four out
of five respondents, thus identifying
the attitude of individual managers
as a critical factor in the implemen-
tation of policy.
c It is agreed that the best ap-
proach is to establish a clear policy
of merit promotion, without any spe-
cial Negro management recruitment
or training. However, more than one-
third of the responding executives ad-
vocate some special efforts to dis-
cover, develop, and utilize potential
Negro management. Virtually no one
favors lowering standards, even tem-
porarily.
C The response is overwhelmingly
positive to the fact that management
can take the lead in influencing com-
munity thinking and behavior to-
ward Negroes. However, only a bare
majority believe that management's
responsibility extends into crusading
for human rights, and a strong mi-
nority {42% ) declare that this is not
management's joh.
« The respondents are concerned
not only with management's role in
the abstract alone but also, and more
importantly, with their own roles as
businessmen and citizens in day-to-
day reality. A large proportion (62% )
of the responding executives spell out
their conception of their own re-
sponsihility in concrete terms.
c Fear has been replaced hy pur-
pose as the dominant note in execu-
tives' views with respect to manage-
ment integration.
PREVAILING IMAGE
Is there a prevailing image of
success in the minds of executives?
Should there be? Businessmen
10 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
say: no — ideally, that is. They 2. For their views about business
believe that instead of one image in general.
there should be thousands — or 3. For their ideal views on pro-
perhaps as many as there are posi- motability.
tions to be filled. However, in (This "rating grid" had heen
actual faet, there does appear to used in an intensive pilot study of
be a rather distinct picture of the the opinions of executives in metro-
kind of person who will "fit in," politan New York and had yielded
and, less verbalized but even more amazingly clear images of "How to
compelling, a picture of the kind succeed in business," with or with-
of person who will not be con- out really trying. Similarly clear-
sidered — the unpromotable execu- cut patterns emerged in the HBR
tive. study. )
To explore tbe opinions and atti- In addition to the ratings, re-
tudes of businessmen on this sub- spondents were asked to give their
ject, HBR used an approach de- general opinions on what they con-
veloped in extensive field inter- sider the most important qualities
views. Reactions were sought botb for promotion at each of three
to a list of leadership qualities and major levels — first-line super-
to how these qualities might oper- vision, middle management, and
ate in specific instances — "situa- top management. Let us turn to
tional leadership," if you will.
a summary of their reactions to
In the field interviews, execu- this question before we examine
tives identified some positive at- their detailed images based on the
tributes which they believed gen- attribute ratings.
erally led to promotion, and some
negative qualities that they saw ESSENTIAL QUALITIES
as blocking promotion. They also Despite some variations in re-
identified certain factors which sponse, a distinct pattern emerges
they believed had no direct bearing as to the factors which our re-
on promotahility but were often spondents see as keys to success
part of "the mix." Consequently, at each management level. The
a "rating grid" was developed, util- prime essentials for promotion as
izing the many factors mentioned first-line supervisors are seen to he
by businessmen themselves as af- the ability to handle subordinates,
fecting promotion or nonpromo- job knowledge, reliability, and dili-
tion. Respondents were asked to gence. For middle management,
rate each of these suggested cri- promotion hinges primarily on the
teria as either helpful, harmful, or liaison function, that is, the ahility
irrelevant to promotion in tbe man- to interpret policy and to organize
agement ranks. and delegate the work so as to
achieve maximum implementation.
Many people are sensitive ahout
their attitudes on certain allied as- At the top level, an almost super-
pects of this topic, particularly human combination of qualities is
those relating to equal opportunity. considered essential to success.
In view of this, the questionnaire Those who set policy and make the
was deliberately designed to tap ultimate decisions are expected to
respondents' general attitudes on absorb and analyze masses of in-
the characteristics of promotahility formation and then to set long-
hy means of the grid before nar- range plans which will be both
rowing down to more specific prob- profitable to the company and
lem areas. responsive to the needs of soci-
Field work also revealed that ex- ety.
ecutives often have different views The top men must he dynamic,
as to what affects promotion in hoth in terms of being "self-
principle and in practice, so re- starters" and being able to motivate
spondents were asked to make others. The vision and integrity
these ratings on the grid three frequently mentioned as the sine
times ; qua non of top management are
summarized thus by a department
1. For their views on criteria for manager of a large Maryland de-
promotion in their own or-
ganization. fense firm:
 Brass Tacks for Management PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
"Top management is responsible
for the establishment and enforce-
Long-Range Planning ment of the corporate tone; a policy
of truth and fairness to all; rejection
for Management of any dishonest, marginal, or mis-
leading practices; and solicitude for
REVISED EDITION the social, political, and economic
Edited by DAVID W. EWING, Associate Editor. Harvard Business consequences of corporation action."
Review. This completely reorganized and expanded edition of the
pioneer book in its field incorporates the experiences of the more The assistant to the manager of
than 700 long-range planning departments established since the international marketing for one of
original edition. Providing concrete examples of planning principles, the largest New York manufactur-
it places emphasis on the strategy of planning and on how long-range ers of consumer goods summed
planning really works. Representing a wide variety of industries and up the "specs" at each level:
educational institutions, the contributors include: Pefer Drucker,
Charles Percy, Bruee Payne, and many others. $9.75 "First-line supervision — diligence,
comprehension of what he is doing
and why, ability to see the complete
picture (company, finished product)
and to be a good 'informal leader.'
"Middle management — the same
The Disenchanted Unionist qualities as above plus broader edu-
By PAUL SULTAN. This study of protest ofTers an inside view of cation, especially in understanding
disaffection within organized labor today. A skilled labor economist people. Ability to sense expressions
analyzes the views of selected union dissenters on such vital issues of 'latent' ability in others, to see
what others don't.
as work rules, right-to-work laws, union democracy, and the mechan-
ics of decision-making in their locals. Developed under the auspices "Top management — ability and
knowledge should be extensive rather
of the Fund for the Republic, this study also appraises unionism as a than intensive. Preferably should
social movement and considers why it may be losing the vitality and have come up the hard way (toiled
basic concern for the individual that characterized its dynamic early at lower levels ). All the qualities
growth. $5.95 listed above for first-line and middle
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ternational affairs, the latest findings
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The Corporation Take-Over Further üght on how these posi-
Edited by ANDREW HACKER. In this study of corporate power, tive leadership qualities are seen
both internal and external, ten authorities examine the dominance by executives is shed hy a look at
our large corporations are coming to have over employment, educa- responses to several hypothetical
tion, and the life of local communities. Discussing their virtues and promotion "cases" to which re-
failures and projecting what developments might arise if this power spondents were asked to react.
goes unchecked, the authors ask what rights corporations have to One-half of the respondents were
political power and how they can be made institutionally responsible asked to select the candidate (A
to the public. With Scott Buchanan, Gardiner Means, A. A. Berle, or B) that they themselves would
and others. $6 00
choose in the situation. The other
half were asked to select the can-
didate they believed the average
executive would choose. The aim
of this approach was to see whether
Managerial Freedom respondents' projections of what
and Job Security really is done ("average execu-
tive") differ markedly from their
By MORRIS STONE. The Vice President of the American Arbitra- own perhaps more ideal reactions
tion Association reports on labor-management relations in an area ("you" — the respondent). The
that is now highlighted by the issues of automation. The book dis- situations and results appear in EX-
cusses hundreds of grievance cases decided since 1959, giving the HIBIT ii. The replies indicate that:
latest interpretations, of employer-employee conflicts. "A thorough
and scholarly job." — FRANCIS A. O'CONNELL, Olin Mathieson
Chemical Corporation. "A very real contribution to an informed c Executives generally believe that
understanding of some basic problems." — BEN FISCHER, United they themselves are more concerned
Steelworkers of America. $5.50 with "human considerations" than
are their colleagues. In Cases i, 3,
and 4, there is a consistent tendency
for businessmen to see themselves as
more sympathetic than their asso-
ciates to the candidate who is family-
At your bookstore or from Dept. 32
E. 33rd St., New York, N. Y. 10016

12 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964


PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
oriented, subordinate oriented, and a • Seeing work as part of firm's basic
company veteran,
€ Subordination of home and com- • Idea man, innovator.
munity interests is seen as more im-
portant to the executive who is striv-
ing for advancement than to those might be characterized as being
who have achieved successive man-
agement levels. However, at all levels,
when viewed through the eyes of
"the average executive," company
identification is seen as Important.
e Lower level managers are gen-
erally seen as being more promotable
when they are accomplishment-orient-
ed (Case 3 ) and power-directed (Case
2), Finding and developing skills in
subordinates grows more important,
our respondents believe, in the mid-
dle and upper management ranks.
e Developing future managers ap-
pears to be more important than
utilizing to the full those with long
experience.
T H E POSITIVE IMAGE
Let us now consider our respond-
ing businessmen's detailed ratings
of the attributes w^hich they see as
qualifications for advancement up
the executive ladder.
We find that 9 of the 60 sug-
gested criteria are chosen by over
90% of the respondents as plus
(i.e., helpful) factors on both ideal
and actual sets of ratings. These
9 qualities, listed in EXHIBIT HI,
spell out the prevailing image of
the man who should and, does get
ahead. It might be called "the
ideal image that works,"
As a preview of the conflict be-
tween principle and practice which
will be discussed more fully in the
next section, the following widely
accepted criteria for promotion (ar-
ranged in descending order based
on the ideal ratings) are con-
sidered "plus" factors by more
than 90% in the ideal view but
not for actual business practice:
• Maturity, mental and emotional.
• Ability to make suggestions to su-
periors.
• Potential for growth.
• Ability to take suggestions from
subordinates,
• Developing best in others.
• Flexibility, resilience.
• Willingness to accept criticism, ad-
mit mistakes.
• Strong sense of integrity, high
moral values.
14 HBR JAN.-FEE. I964
• Understanding own strengths and
weaknesses,
objectives.
The unfulfilled image of success
EXHIBIT HI. T H E POSITIVE
IMAGE o r SUCCESS
Per cent ratitiE
"helpful"
Qualifies * Actually t
Ahility to communi-
cate 94,7%
Ambition, drive 93.5
College education 93.4
Making sound
decisions 93-1
Self-confidence 92.3
Good appearance 92,3
Getting things done
with and through
people 91-5
Capacity for hard
work 91,2
Responsibility, con-
scientiousness 91.2
* Qualities regarded as plus factors
in promotion by more than 90% of
respondents.
Î In business generally.
related more to human develop-
ment than to economic devel-
opment, since the 11 characteris-
tics that are almost unanimously
viewed as positive on the ideal
scale but which receive a relatively
lower score on the actual business
scale (a composite score of 77.7% )
seem to express respect for a well-
rounded, creative, and highly mo-
tivated person who has a "demo-
cratic" approach to management.
T H E NEGATIVE IMAGE
Let us turn now to those charac-
teristics which businessmen see as
causes for a candidate to be passed
over for promotion. Only four
items received at least a 75% con-
sensus from our respondents as
minus factors in promotion on
either their ideal or actual business
ratings. The conflict between prin-
ciple and practice in American
business is spotlighted when one
examines the four items most
highly rated as negative in the
ratings for ideal and the four
items most highly rated as nega-
tive for actual; see EXHIBIT IV. If
we take these ratings to indicate
the businessman's verdict as to
what should and what does count
in promotion, it would seem that
being a Negro is the most fre-
quently observed deterrent to pro-
motion in actual practice.
Dr, Lewis Webster Jones, Presi-
dent of the National Conference
of Christians and Jews, weaves
this and other items whieh rank
high among negative factors in
promotion into a humorous picture
of the promotable executive, whom
he describes as being:
Ideally
"A white male, born in continental
98,7% U.S.A., who belongs to a Christian
97.4 church and country club, who catches
94-4 the 5:15 every afternoon to exurbia,
has two cars, two bathrooms, two
98-4 children, and two martinis every
96,8 night before dinner — very dry. He
92,1 has only one wife (at a time) and
only one funeral, but for both of
these the aspect of display is all-
97-9
important."
97-3
Continuing in a more serious
98,0
vein, Dr, Jones comments:
"Surely there are few more crucial
issues in our society than the ques-
tion of who gets promoted and why.
Promotion on merit alone has a
powerful appeal, both for efficiency
and social justice. It is obviously a
good idea for any nation to make the
best possible use of its reservoir of
brain power, talent, and drive. This
is the argument for economic and
social efficiency. There is also the
argument for justice: a free society
should surely offer every person an
opportunity for growth. However,
we have a long way to go in provid-
ing the educational and job oppor-
tunities to make this democratic
ideal a reality."
EXHIBIT IV. T H E NEGATIVE
IMAGE OF SUCCESS
Per cent rating
Qualities * "harmful"
A. "ACTUALLY"t
Race: Negro 86.6%
Sex; Female 77-i
National origin: Puerto Rico 76.7
Race : Oriental 75.1
B. "IDEALLY"
Sacrificing everything and
everybody to own success 89.1
Narrow interpretation of
the rules 88.0
Adroitness at preempting
credit and shifting hlame 86.8
Super-aggressiveness 75.3
* Qualities regarded as minus factors
in promotion by more than 75% of
respondents.
Î In husiness generally.
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW ExHiEiT V. COMPARISON OF TOP RANKING PLUS AND
MINUS FACTORS IN H B R AND PILOT STUDIES
One final observation: EXHIBIT Per cent rating in
V shows the striking similarities
between the opinions of the busi- HBR study Pilot study
nessmen polled by HBR and those
of respondents in the pilot study. A. "HELPFUL"
Ideally:
ACTUAL VERSUS IDEAL Ability to communicate 98.7% 99.0%
The next object of exploration Actually in own organization:
Self-confidence 91 6 92.4
was how far businessmen believe Actually in business generally:
we, as a nation, have come in Ability to communicate 94 7 —
realizing our democratic ideals in Good appearance — 956
regard to promotion. The first step
in the analysis was to establish a B. "HARMFUL"
consensus rating for each of the Ideally:
60 suggested criteria in the rating Sacrificing everything and everybody
grid. This consensus rating — to own success 89.1 86.3
Narrow interpretation of rules 86.3
either plus, minus, or zero (help- Actually in own organization:
ful, harmful, or irrelevant) — has Sacrificing everything and everybody
been based on the majority view of to own success 70.6 69.2
each item on the ideal scale. Thus Actually in business generally:
Race: Negro 86.6 76.5
the only subjective value judgment
involved is that of the respondents
themselves. This consensus rating
for ideal values was then com-
pared with the respondents' con- EXHIBIT VI. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE
sensus rating for actual business Per cent giving
behavior. consensus rating
The extent of this conflict is re- Consensus
Qualities rating * Ideally Actually t Differentiul
vealed in EXHIBIT VI. This exhibit,
arranged by the size of differen- Race: Negro 61.7% 9.4% 52.3%
Race: Oriental 67. 3 20.8 46.5
tials between ideal and actual Religion: Jewish 83- 0 391 43-9
business ratings, reveals the strik- National origin: Puerto Rico 62. I 18.5 436
ing contrasts between principle Physical handicap 73- 3 43-6
and practice in promotion. An Member prominent social 29.7
analysis of the exhibit shows : groups 63- 4 40.9
Pull, internal and external 53- 2 22.5 39-6
Race : white 53- 0 r3.6 37-6
• Businessmen's beliefs indicate
that the greatest gap to be bridged Recent success or failure 62. 4 15-4 37-3
in achieving their own ideals is the National origin: foreign 251
undue weight given to factors which, country 76. 7 40.2 36.5
by themselves, have no hearing on Unquestioning acceptance of
job performance according to ma- authority 64. 8 28.3 36.5
"Buttering up the boss" 63- 9 27.6 363
jority opinion — i.e., factors with a 35-6
consensus (ideal) rating of zero. Sensitivity to feelings of others 88. 9 53-3
Sacrificing all to ozvn success 89. I 57-2 31-9
• It appears that candidates for Adroitness at preempting
promotion often must have certain credit 86. 8 31-6
"requirements" in terms of race, re- Narrow interpretation of rules 88, , 0 573 30.7
ligion, nationality, and social stand- Courage in risk taking 89. 6 60.5 29.2
ing. Only when these "requirements" Graduate, Ivy League college 80.9 52.0 28.9
have been met do the other factors Strong sense of integrity 94 .1 65.6 28.6
which most executives rate as rele- Super-aggressiveness 75 •3 47-9 27-4
vant come into play in making a pro- Understanding own strengths
motion decision. & weaknesses 9 4 .0 66.7 27-3
Religion: Protestant 85 9 599 26.0
• A look behind the ratings for Good blufEer 74 .8 49-6 25.2
the items "Negro" and "White" re-
veals 8% of the respondents whose National origin: U. S. A.
ideal rating for the former is zero (mainland) 54 . 2 80.2 26.0 I
(irrelevant), but whose ideal rating Sex: male 65 . 1 86.8 21.7 Î
for the latter is plus (helpful). This * Rating given by largest number under "Ideally": + = "helpful," o - "irrele-
interesting contradiction illustrates
why the research instrument had to vant," — = "harmful."
be designed so that those who might t In business generally. , „ ,. , i
be inclined to give the "proper" an- X Unlike the differentials above, these differentials show "Actually higher than
swer on critical questions, conscious- "Ideally," but still represent practice falling short of principle since here the rating
for "Ideally" is low.

16 HBH JAN.-FEB. I964

 PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
ly or unconsciously, would nonethe-
The Logical less reveal their true feelings.
NATURE OF THE CONFLICT
Turning from a quantitative an-
Place to alysis of the major discrepancies
between ideal values and observed
behavior, let us now consider the
Serve the nature of this conflict as viewed
by businessmen. Qualitatively, the
60 suggested criteria fall into three
WEST natural groupings which we term
"value clusters." By grouping to-
gether all these attributes which
the majority believe should not
count either for or against a candi-
date, we have a cluster of items re-
lating to Equality of Opportunity
on individual merit alone. These
items and the per cent of consen-
sus ratings given to each of them,
both on the ideal and the actual
business scales, are listed in EX-
HIBIT VII. The composite scores
represent how many businessmen
see factors of race, religion, na-
tionality, sex, age, and social status
as being irrelevant to promotion
in the ideal situation, within their
own organizations, and for husi-
ness in general.
The grouping of items in the
other two value clusters does not
follow as clear-cut a mandate
for majority opinion. However,
through factor analysis of the
same items in the pilot study, a
natural grouping was discovered.
The pattern of response suggests
that certain items are directly re-
lated to Economic Development

EXHIBIT VII. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY VALUE CLUSTER

PER CENT WHO CAVE CONSENSUS RATINO

ACTUALLY ACTUALLY
ITEMS CONSENSUS
IDEALLY INCWH IN BUSINESS
RATING" ORGANIZATION GENERALLY

The
Profitable R E U G I O N : CATHOLIC 0 91.5% 1 74.2%
place from which
to serve the
i-ich and thrfvlno RELIGION; PROTESTANT 0 if, <i 1 ¡9.2 59.9
West*

STATURE: SHORTNESS 0 B3.4 I'i.'i 83.6

RELIGION:JEWISH 0 83.0 1 65.5 39.)

0 80.9 78.2 52.0

Get this factual Metropolitan GRADUATE, IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE
Oakland Area brochure on 76.7 63.6 40.2
0
Western population growth, NATIONAL O R I G I N : FOREIGN COUNTRY

buying power and transporta- 0 75.3 1 Î5.9 ; 55.0

STATURE:TALLNESS
tion. This brochure will show
you why MOA, Alameda PHYSICAL HANDICAP 0 73.3 1 63.2 1 29.
County, is the profitable point
from which to serve the great RACE-- ORIENTAL 0 67.3 1 49.2 20.8

and growing Western market.

REGULAR ATTENDANCE AT HOUSE OF WORSHIP 0 65.2 ^ IB.« 74.4
No need to write a letter; just G3.4 58.9
MEMBER, PROMINENT SOCIAL GROUPS 0
have your secretary clip this
advertisement to your letter-
RECENT SUCCESS OR FAILURE
head, add name of the person {RATHER THAN WHOLE PAST PERFORMANCE) 0 62.4 37.5 25.1
to be addressed and your copy
will be sent free. No obliga-
tion, of course, and all IN- NATIONAL ORIGIN: PUERTO RICO 0 82.1 13.8 1 ^^^
'
QUIRIES STRICTLY
CONFIDENTIAL.
RACE:NEGRO 0 61.7 36.4
1 ^-^
SENIORITY ALONE
0 57.9 50.7 1 33.4
(REGARDLESS OF OTHER QUALIFICATIONS)

PULL, INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL

0 53.2 35.3
1 ^^^
'
ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
RACE: WHITE 0 53.0 32.6
1^
'^
'
Suite 888,132D Webster St., Oakland 12, Calif. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY CLUSTER SCOREÎ 70.4ÍÍ 59.9ÍÍ 38.0^1 '

AUMEDA AL8ANY BERKELEY EMERYVILLE

FREMONT HAYWARD LIVERMORE NEWARK * Rating given by largest number of respondents under "Ideally": + - "belpful/
OAKUND PI EDMONT PLEASANTON o = "irrelevant," - = "harmful."
SAN LEANDRO UNION CITY
RURAL ALAMEDA COUNTY

18 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964

PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
while others are more related to
Human Development. EXHIBITS
VIII and IX present these two value
clusters scored in the same manner
as the "equality" cluster.
Undoubtedly each reader will
disagree with the categorizing of
EXHIBIT VIII. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VALUE CLUSTER
ITEMS
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE
MAKING SOUND DECISIONS
RESPONSIBILITY, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
GETTING THINGS DONE WITH
AND THROUGH PEOPLE
AMBITION, DRIVE
CAÇACITY FOR HARD WORK
MATURITY, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL
POTENTIAL EOR GROWTH
SELE-CONEIDENCE
FLEXIBILITY, RESILIENCE
COLLEGE EDUCATION
GOOD APPEARANCE
SEEING WORK AS PART OF FIRM'S OBJECTIVES
IDEA MAN, INNOVATOR
COURAGE IN RISK-TAKING
TECHNICAL SKILLS BASED ON EXPERINCE
GRADUATE WORK IN
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
SUPER-AGGRESSIVENESS
GOOD BLUFFER
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER SCORES
* Rating given by largest number of respondents under "Ideally": + = "helpful,"
o = "irrelevant," - = "barmful."
some items. Indeed, there is some
overlapping between the Economic
Development and Human Develop-
ment clusters; five attributes are
listed in both — abihty to com-
municate, responsibility, maturity,
growth potential, and flexibility.
20 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
Despite possible disagreement on area of concern. These discrep-
the clustering of specific items, it ancies amount to:
is hoped that readers may find in Equality of Opportunity 32.4%
this breakdown a handle for com- Human Development 21.9
paring the gaps to be bridged in Economic Development 9.9
these three value areas of deep As can be seen, conflict between
concern to executives. principle and practice is least in
In EXHIBIT X (p. 24) the com- the area of Economic Development.
posite scores for the three clusters A greater gap exists with regard
to the Human Development fac-
tors, and the greatest difference
between ideal and observed busi-
PER CENT WHO GAVE CONSENSUS RATING
ness practice exists in the Equality
CONSENSUS
.ÂCTLÂILY 1 ACTUALLY
of Opportunity area.
RATING* IDEALLY
0^
:H -.mu
.-.MZi-ICN 1
IN BUSINESS
GENFRALLÏ EXHIBIT X also depicts the be-
+ 98.7H 91.4S ^ ^ ^ B
liefs of businessmen that, by and
large, their own companies are
+ 98.4 90.9 ^ ^ ^ H more enlightened than is business
on the whole in matters concern-
-i- 98.0 9t.9 ^ ^ ^ H ing attributes of promotability, ex-
cept those which relate directly to
+ 97.9 87.9 ^ ^ ^ H Economic Development.
Rudolph A. Peterson, the newly
+ 97.4 91.0 ^ ^ ^ H elected President of the Bank of
America, makes some cogent ob-
+ 97.3 90.0 ^ ^ ^ H servations about the priority which
he believes should be given to clos-
-1- 97.3 89.9 ^ ^ ^ H ing the gap between ideal and ac-
96.9 88.0 ^ ^ ^ H tuality with regard to Equality of
Opportunity :
+ 36.8
"There are a number of sound
business reasons for businessmen to
96.0 take a more active role in achieving
equality of opportunity. But, both as
+ 94.4 a businessman and as a citizen, I
believe there is a better reason. Pre-
92.1 83.4 ^ ^ ^ H judice, in all its forms, is a moral
evil, and as citizens of a great country
+ 92.2 8= >' ^ ^ ^ Hwe should eliminate it. We should
create equal opportunity simply be-
•1- 90.2 7?; ^ ^ ^ H cause it is the right thing to do. In
doing this, however, we must demand
that minority groups help themselves.
+ 89.6 63.B ^ ^ ^ H We must have the courage to point
+ 88.9 34.6 ^ ^ ^ H out that responsibility is the other
side of the coin of opportunity. For
if we fail to demand that responsi-
+ 80.0 I bility walk hand in hand with op-
portunity, all our efforts and all the
- 75.3 61.4 ^ ^ ^ B efforts of minority groups will be
nothing but futile gestures."
- 74.8 Several attributes on our rating
grid do not fall into any of the
Í2.2% 1 «1.07. 1 82.3Ä three major categories as defined
above. These fall into two addi-
tional groups: (a) background or
physical characteristics which, un-
like other similar factors in the
are presented graphically to facili- Equality of Opportunity cluster,
täte comparison. are not rated "irrelevant" by the
The value conflicts regarding majority; and (b) factors on which
promotion are represented by the there is no majority opinion at all.
discrepancy, shown by the bars in These attributes are listed in EX-
the exhibit, between the ratings for HIBIT XI (p. 24). (Note that a
ideal and actual practice in each number of the items on this list
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW We have already seen that being and achieved for her a high pro-
a male is regarded as a most posi- fessional reputation in the manage-
are seen as more helpful to pro- tive element in the image of a ment control field. The men whom
she trained in this system rose
motion in business actually than promotable executive. Do our rapidly through the middle manage-
ideally. ) executives think there is a role for ment ranks of the company, and
Several specific matters in the the potential female executive? No, they freely attributed much of their
Equality of Opportunity cluster say most of our respondents, who of rise to her training in the application
her system. However, the woman
originating the system remained only
a sub-department head within the
EXHIBIT IX. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT VALUE CLUSTER control staff.

CONSENSUS
PER CENT WHO GAUE COfJSENSUS RATING
With this caselet as a spring-
ITEMS RATING* IDEALLY
ACTUALLY ACTUALLY
board, executives strongly agree
INOWN m BUSINESS
ORGAN [ZSTION GENtFtAlLY
C8o% ) that this kind of inequity
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE %.!% 31.4% 94.7^» should not exist, but also strongly
agree (78%) that only in highly
RESPONSIBILITY, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS + 98.0 31.S 91.2
unusual situations can a woman
MATURITY, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL 4- 97.3 89.9 89.5 hope to achieve executive rank,
regardless of how talented she may
ABILITY TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERIORS + 96.9 86.2 85.0
be. Part of the reason, they say,
POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH •+ 96.9 38.0 87.7 rests in our culture, because it
would be uncomfortable for male
ABILITY TO TAKE SUGGESTIONS
FROM SUBORDINATES + subordinates to take orders from
96.5 76.5 73.6
a woman. But they also say that
DEVELOPING BEST IN OTHERS 4 96.3 ; /5.8 76.0 another part of the reason rests in
women themselves.
FLEXIBILITY, RESILIENCE + 96.0 85.4 83.1
This quote from the president of
WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT CRITICISM + 94.4 80.3 75.8 a small retailing establishment is
typical: "Women of talent make
STRONG SENSE OF INTEGRITY + 94.2 79.7 65.6
excellent management candidates,
UNDERSTANDING OWN STRENGTHS providing their emotional lives are
AND WEAKNESSES + 94.0 71.6 66.7 under control."
The executive vice president of
SACRIFICING EVERYTHING AND a large Minnesota manufacturing
EVERYBODY TO OWN SUCCESS 89.1 7Ö.6 57.2 company observes : "Women would
be a great potential if lue were
SENSITIVITY TO FEELINGS OF OTHERS + 88.9 63.7 53.3 smart enough to use it."
NARROW INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES 88.0 ;: 67.8 57.3 John A. Gronouski, recently ap-
pointed Postmaster General of the
ADROITNESS AT PREEMPTING CREDIT United States, is a particularly
AND SHIFTING BLAME

INDEPENDENT STUDY
COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL INTERESTS
SACRIFICING EVERYTHING AND
EVERYBODY TD ORGANIZATION'S SUCCESS
UNQUESTIONING ACCEPTANCE OF AUTHORITY
"BUTTERING UP THE BOSS"
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER SCORES
* Rating given by largest number of respondents under "Ideally": + = "helpful,
o = "irrelevant," - = "harmful."
were probed further, using actual
cases discovered in the course of
the preliminary field work for the
study. These cases dealt with
practical matters of sex, religion,
and race as aspects of the promot-
ahle executive.
+
mm 66.9 55.2 appropriate commentator on the
subject of women executives;
Kid 6!.8 6Q.5
"It is clear that women can and
+ 71.4 50.6 64.0
do achieve executive rank in the
management of the Post Office De-
partment. It can be accurately
- 66.8 i; 45.) 32.0 stated that the Post Office Depart-
ment has the largest number of
- 64.6 [' 4fl.î 26.3 "branch managers" on the distaff
side of any organization in the world.
- 63.9 F *2.1 27.6 In fact I have heard it said that the
Post Office Department may be a
Í6.\% 71.3ÎÎ I 6S.2% mail system but there are plenty of
females involved in its operation.
"Specifically, of the 35,000 post-
masters in the U.S. today, roughly
40% are women. These women post-
masters are the managers of their
read and reacted to the following respective offices; administratively
actual case : and operationally they are in com-
plete charge of their postal facilities.
Situation. A female research an- While most of these may be small
offices, some female postmasters are
alyst in a large manufacturing com-
pany devised a new cost control sys- managers of large offices with many
tem which resulted in substantial an- employees — for example, Pasadena,
nual cost savings for the company. and Burbank, California, with 703

22 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964


PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
and 282 employees, respectively, and
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with 138
employees. In addition, our head-
quarters staff in Washington includes
a numher of women executives.
EXHIBIT X. VALUE CONFLICTS
CONCERNING PROMOTION
100%
ACTUALLY
IN BUGiNFS3 GENERALLY
"These women — the 14,000 post-
masters and those in executive posi-
tions in Washington — are generally
successful as managers. Most are ex-
tremely conscientious in their work
and enjoy a congenial relationship
with both superiors and subordinates.
Patron complaints involving female
postmasters are negligible. In fact,
we have received numerous citations
from patrons concerning the courtesy
24 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
and cooperation of our female post- in our study concerns the Negro,
masters." and it is to this area we now turn.
In the area of religion, we pre-
NEGROES AS MANAGERS
sented respondents with an actual
case involving a Jewish executive : While 62% of our respondents
helieve that being Negro should
Situation. A young Jewish man- not be relevant for promotion, only
ager in a large financial institution 9% think it actually does not affect
had hidden his religion from every-
one in the firm in the belief that he promotion. The Negro's high visi-
would have a better chance for ad- bility (and recent distinct audihil-
vancement. While he knew the com- ity) makes further analysis of
pany had no Jewish top executives, executive heliefs in this problem
he was very happy in his work. How- area all the more important. We
ever, distressed by hearing occasional
anti-Semitic comments from his col- shall first examine the effects of
leagues, he wondered whether he the treatment employed thus far,
should reveal his religion. then look more deeply at the "why"
Opinion is not so clear-cut in of the conflict, and finally explore
response to this situation as it is various further actions that might
he undertaken.^
to that involving the female execu-
tive. The majority (70%) helieve Having pointed to the chasm he-
that it is not right to hide one's tween principle and practice in
religion, whether or not there may management opportunity for Ne-
he business reasons for doing so. groes, let us now add two notes of
EXHIBIT XI. QUALITIES NOT INCLUDED IN VALUE CLUSTERS
Per cent giving consensus ruling
Actually
Consensus In own In business
Qualities rating '^' Ideally organization generally
Age: between 30 and 45 + 69.5% 68.8% 75-5%
Sex: male + 65.1 78.5 86.8
National origin:
U.S.A. (mainland) + 54-2 63-7 80.2
Sex: female 0 49-9 30.7 16.8
Conformity to organization's
norms + 48.7 68.2 84.8
Age: over 45 0 48.6 41 9 24-5
Age: under 30 0 47-2 42.4 329
Subordination of home and
community interests to
the job — 39-5 ao.o 13-9
Being "the boss" + 39-3 42.2 49-2
ts under "Ideally": + = "helpful.
Q = "irrelevant," - = "harmful."
In fact, responding executives gen- caution that it may not be so great
erally think that advancing in the as it appears:
company as a Jew would encour-
(1) The rating grid offers respond-
age other Jewish potential execu- ents no chance to express subtle vari-
tives to enter the firm. Almost two ations and shadings of reaction. As
out of three respondents agree a marketing expert in a very large
that injustice hreeds this kind of defense firm put it: "If everything
compensatory reaction, a finding in this world were either black or
white (no pun intended), your rat-
not incongruent with our grid rat- ing grid would be easy to answer."
ings, where about the same pro- (2) Moreover, we know that there
portion of respondents observe that is a natural human tendency to pro-
being Jewish is detrimental to ad- ject one's own real attitudes and be-
vancement in the management havior on "that other person out
ranks. (Note that some 7% of ^ This approach follows the Conflict
our sample is Jewish.) Episode Analysis design created hy H.
The most striking — and most Harry Giles, Professor of Education,
New York University, and chairman of
ohvious — gap between principle the sponsoring committee for the pilot
and practice in promotion shown study.
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
there" — namely, the average execu-
tive. This is particularly true in ques-
tions involving ethical matters.2
Turning to the responses to case
problems, opinion scales, and open-
spondents believe that a Negro
would have to prove himself by
overcoming difficult challenges.
Today's executives do not think
that the promotion of a Negro to a
position of authority would lead
to a flood of Negro applicants for
react more favorably toward Ne-
groes in each of the situations in
EXHIBIT XII than do their col-
leagues without such experience.
What about the present OT po-
tential effects of management in-
tegration on broader aspects of

EXHIBIT xn. REACTIONS TO SITUATIONS INVOLVING NEGROES AS MANAGERS

PER CENT OF RESPONDENTS W H O -

STATEMENT GENERALtY PARTIALLY CAN'T PARTIALLY GENERALLY
AGREE AGREE SAY DISAGREE DISAGREE
"Predominantly white subordinates would not take orders
from a Negro supervisor, no matter how highly competent
he might be."
n 27% ^ ^ ^ H
"A Negro would not be tolerated in a position of authority
by clients." 11 30 ^ ^ ^ 1
"A Negro, once promoted, could not be demoted, even if
inadequate in his new role, without undeserved charges ^KÊÊÊM 3g
7 12 ^ ^ ^ 1
of discrimination."
"Negroes, when qualified, would make excellent super-
visors because they have come up the hard way." 27 19 ^ ^ ^ 1
"A Negro would be accepted by white subordinates only
after he had been given the most difficult challenges in 11
order to prove himself."
"If even one Negro were promoted to a position of author-
ity in a company, the firm would be inundated by a fiood n 21 18
of Negro applicants at all levels of employment."

ended questions, we find fewer
"black and white" answers, less un-
conscious resorting to expected
and acceptable responses. Execu-
tives were asked their reactions to
a number of actual and antici-
pated situations involving Negroes
as managers. Their responses, de-
tailed in EXHIBIT XII, reveal a
tendency to accept Negro man-
agers as effective in normal work-
ing situations — e.g., working
with white subordinates and deal-
ing with clients. However, our re-
EXHIBIT XIU. PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT
PER CENT WHO SEE EFFECTS A S -
AREA
A. EMPLOYEE MORALE
B, CONSUMER MARKET
C. PUBLIC IMAGE OF FIRM
a company. (This fear of the early
1960's may have faded in view of
the paucity of Negro applicants in
many industries and kinds of
work.) However, the fear persists
that demoting a once-promoted
Negro manager who proved in-
adequate would lead to undeserved
charges of discrimination.
A look behind these general
reactions shows that the 28% of
our sample with actual personal or
company experience with Negro
managers or supervisors tend to
INTEGRATION
000 NONE BAD
2\% 419S 2Î%
21 62 9 or will have, no effect on profits.
45 33 9 continued. on page 184
business? Respondents were asked
for their views of the effects of
having Negro managers in respect
to four areas of management con-
cern — employee morale, the con-
sumer market, the public image of
the firm, and profits. EXHIBIT XIII
summarizes their replies.
As is clear from the exhibit,
only in the area of employee
morale is there any substantial
number of businessmen who be-
lieve that the consequences are ad-
verse, and these are balanced by
a group which sees positive effects.
In regard to the consumer market,
some positive effects are seen, with
the bulk of opinion being "no
effects." In terms of the public
image of the company, the effects
are definitely seen as positive.
Most important, about four out
of every five respondents believe
that management integration has,
This finding gains added signifi-

D. PROFITS 9 79 S - See, for example, Raymond C. Baum-

hart, S.J., "How Ethical Are Business-
men?" (Problems in Review), HBR
NOTE: Votes do not total 100%; remainder represents "no answer." July-August 1961, p. 6.

26 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964

 D. Domar's criticism of J. W. Ken- Statement. The promotion of Ne-
FROM THE THOUGHT- groes to supervisory or management
driek's basic surveys on produc-
FUL BUSINESSMAN tivity as not taking adequate ac- positions would have a detrimental
effeet on profits, the world being what
count of quality change — a criti- it is today.
and technical change cumulating cism, as I understand it, which
throughout the ages — including amounts to an attack on any use Agree — 10% Disagree — 75%
even fire and the wheel. Conceiv- of GNP or national income data Can't say — 15%
ably, current R & D could cease as indices of economic activity or The high degree of disagreement
entirely without causing a decline of comparative wealth. He de- with the negative form of the
in the present absolute level of mands a system of national ac- statement and the moderate dis-
productivity. counts and, hence, a ratio of out- agreement with the positive form
Sometimes Wilson's point seems put per unit of labor input, i.e., of the statement constitute further
to be that the laek of any evident an index of productivity, that evidence of a general opinion on
positive correlation between the would include not only the real the part of executives that man-
annual rate of investment in R & value of marketable products per agement integration has no ad-
D and the annual rate of growth unit of labor input, but also verse effect on profits.
docs not necessarily prove that evidently the explosive force of
there exists no causal relationship bombs, the lifting power and con- Again the opinions of Postmas-
between R & D and economic trol-precision of space vehicles, the ter General Gronouski are particu-
growth. Of course not. In my arti- "pure" knowledge of science, as larly pertinent, in view of the fact
cle I insisted that this observed outputs per unit of labor input. that the Post Office Department is
lack of statistical correlation does the nation's largest employer of
All this is very ambitious; but Negroes:
not prove that no causal relation- I, surely, am not a worthy tar-
ship exists between national ex- get for these Jovian thunderbolts. "I have found virtually no detri-
penditures on R & D and the rate If Wilson wants to pursue such mental effects, in terms of morale
of growth; but suggests simply matters further, let him lift his or efficiency, from having Negroes
that such a relationship should not lance against other dragons than in supervisory or managerial posi-
be taken as axiomatic. tions. One out of every 14 of our
this one. 90,000 Negro employees is in such
Wilson objects to my dividing a post. As is the case with our
R & D into that which is oriented women executives, Negro managers
toward achieving economic growth can be found in our Washington and
regional offices as well as in the
in civilian industry and that which field; for example, the Los Angeles
is oriented toward the objective of post offiee, with over 10,500 em-
military power, space achievement, ployees, has a Negro postmaster.
and health; and says that by my PROBLEMS IN REVIEW Both in my experience as Wiscon-
"definitions" space and weaponry sin Tax Commissioner and here in
continued from, page 26 the Post Office Department, I have
oriented R & D cannot contribute found that if a Negro is qualified,
to growth. canee from the fact that in the other employees generally do not ob-
I suspect he has wholly missed field interviews fear of detri- ject to being supervised by or taking
the rationale and purpose of my mental effects on profits appeared orders from him."
central argument. The article was to constitute a major block to man- WHY THE CONFLICT?
titled "Gearing Military R & D agement integration. From a look
to Economic Growth." Its main at the views of those respondents We have seen that executives
concern was with the phenomenon who have had personal or com- believe in the principle of merit
of "spinoff" or "spillover," i.e., the pany experience with Negroes as promotion but perceive a gap be-
transference of the corollary bene- managers, again we learn that this tween principle and practice —
fits of space and military R & D experienced group sees even fewer particularly in the case of the
into higher productivity in civilian adverse results of management in- Negro in management. We have
industry. My "definitions" are a tegration than do those without also seen that businessmen, by
part of an explanation as to how such experience. and large, do not anticipate that
such a contribution to economic For a final check on respondents' management integration will have
growth does or might take place. views in the all-important area markedly adverse economic conse-
quences; in fact, some believe that
Wilson attacks the statistics on of the efFect of Negro managers such a move may have some posi-
research and development as these on company profits, we gave a tive effects. Why, then, the delay
are reported by the National Sci- statement in positive and negative in the implementation of widely
ence Foundation as being "con- form to split halves of our sample : accepted policies of merit promo-
ceptually weak and empirically tion?
Statement. The promotion of Ne-
spotty." He argues, along with groes to supervisory and management
Yale Brozen, that Vannevar Bush's positions would have a beneficial In hundreds of field interviews,
early data on R & D have to be effect on profits, the world being what many in depth, businessmen came
adjusted to make them compatible it is today. up with some of the answers. The
with later surveys (my data were Agree — 15% Disagree — 48% blocks are seen as both situational
so adjusted). He forwards Evsey Can't say — 37% and psychological. In the former

184 HBR .TA^f.-FEB. I964

PROBLEMS IN REVIEW members of management — which 2. Executives see the "industry
tends to set a ceiling on the advance- stereotype" operating — more than
ment of Negroes. two out of three agree that minority
category are such factors as the group members avoid certain indus-
following : • Traditional stereotypes about in- tries.
dividual companies and whole in-
• Inadequate supply of Negroes dustries, whieh impede job applica- 3. Survey respondents agree that
with required education and experi- tions by Negroes. minority group members, by and
ence for the managerial or super- large, are impeded by lack of the
• Executive fears of the effects of education necessary for successful
visory opportunities that have re- promoting Negroes.
cently opened up for them. managers. Significantly, however,
• Lack of Negro "success models" businessmen generally do not think
• No natural flow of Negro appli- in management, which reduces the that candidates from minority groups
cants for certain kinds of work. motivation of the average Negro to are lacking in the personal charac-
teristics managers need.
• Covimunity prejudice, which is try to develop the needed skills.
carried over into the work situation. 4. Executives realistically confirm
• Projection of blame — the be- the difficulties involved in reaching
• Rigid labor seniority rules, which lief that "they" (other levels of man- the top through the normal processes
prevent Negroes from getting into agement, labor, clients, the govern- of in-eompany growth.
the stream of promotion. ment, and so forth), not "I" really
block progress. 5. Businessmen generally agree
• Promotion from within, whieh that organized labor plays a role in
means that the last man in is the eonvinee • Rationalizing hy managers who preventing minority group members
last man up — an entering Negro is poliey doesthemselves that eompany
not apply in specific in-
from moving into the management
likely to be that last man. stream.
stances that fall under their jurisdic- 6. Respondents seem to see a
• Fewer available job openings at tion. barrier to tbe advancement of min-
higher levels of management, par- ority groups above the junior execu-
ticularly in smaller firms, which af- Our survey respondents react- tive level.
feet all candidates but especially ed to several agree-disagree state-
those who differ from the accepted ments about the elements involved But the results of the survey also
norm.
in the slow implementation of indicate many favorable attitudes
• Lack of decent housing avail- equal-opportunity policies, not just on the part of executives toward
able to Negroes within reasonable for Negroes, but for all minority expanding the practice of equal
commuting distance of plants in
outlying areas. groups. EXHIBIT XIV shows that opportunities in management. (See
many of the factors cited above the later section on "Management
• Lack of coverage by antibias are seen by executives as impor- and Society.") It is interesting that
laws in some areas or frequent in-
effective administration of sueh laws tant delaying elements. Thus; executives tend not to see a major
where they do exist. role for laws in this area. Re-
1. Businessmen strongly helieve sponding to a question on whether
The major psychological factors that individual executives ean gen- widespread merit promotion awaits
mentioned include: erally interpret equal-employment op- stricter enforcement of antibias
portunity polieies to suit their own laws and government regulations,
• Narrow and restricted image of beliefs. This points strongly to indi-
promotability — deeply held hy some vidual responsibility by businessmen. executives, by a three-to-one vote.

EXHIBIT XIV. MINORITY GROUPS AND MANAGEMENT

PER CENT OF R E S P O N D E N T S W H O -
STATEMENT GENERALLY PARTIALLY CAN'T PARTIALLY GENERALLY
AGREE AGREE SAY DISAGREE DISAGREE
"Individual executives can generally interpret these equal-
opportunity policies to suit their own beliefs." ^ ^ ^ H 37fo 8%
'Minority group members often avoid certain kinds of
industries."
^ ^ ^ ^ 3t 28 3 ^^^J
'Very few minority group members have the personal
characteristics needed by successful managers." 12 22 ^ ^ ^ 1
'Very few minority group members have the education
needed by successful managers." 8 19 ^ ^ ^ ^ 1
"Normal processes of executive growth and development
within a firm mean that it takes a long time to reach
the top."
^ 1 ^ 36 4 12 ^ ^ ^ H

•
'Organized labor prevents minority group memhers from
getting into the promotion stream from rank and file to ^^^H 30 29 11 ^ ^ ^ 1

n
management."
'Hiring minority group members as junior executives is
one thing; advancing them beyond that point is more 39 18 Î5
difficult."

186 HBH JAN.-FEB. Ï964

PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
say no. This reinforces the opinion,
expressed strongly in replies to the
open-ended question, that this is
a matter for voluntary action by
individual managers, members of
minority groups, and by society as
a whole.
On the subject of education, R.
M. Mahoney, Manager of Indus-
trial Relations Development, Union
Carbide Corporation, cites some
interesting statistics:
"I do not agree that 'very few'
minority group members have the
education needed by successful man-
agers. Consider the major minority
group — Negroes. Relative to whites,
for a variety of reasons, there are
substantially smaller percentages of
college-trained individuals in disci-
plines in the widest demand in the
general labor market. For example,
Union Carbide Corporation is in-
terested in substantial numbers of
engineers and scientists. Negroes,
constituting about 10.5% of the pop-
ulation, make up only about 1.5%
of the current college graduates.
Nonetheless, they number 5,000 to
6,000 per year, and this is increas-
ing. The 1960 census reported
about 350,000 nonwhite college grad-
uates 25 years and older.
"Everything is relative. Although
the percentage of nonwhite college
graduates is about one-half that of
whites, there are significant and en-
larging numbers of nonwhite college
graduates in curricula needed for
achievement in business manage-
ment."
Opinion was fairly evenly split,
with no majority view, on one key
statement; "Management in gen-
eral is merely paying lip service to
the idea of stricter merit promo-
tion." This divided reaction gains
added significance from the fact
that exeeutives in the field inter-
views identified the re affirmation
of written statements of policy as
one of management's principal
methods of treating this problem,
despite the fact that such state-
ments were often regarded as mere
lip service, both within the com-
pany and in the broader commu-
nity. This approach was described
in the interviews as treating the
symptoms rather than the basic
causal factors. Beneath the sur-
face problems of the lack of appli-
cation by and advancement for
minority groups, said the business-
188 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
men interviewed, lie the tradition-
al stereotypes which have, often
unconsciously, permeated the atti-
tudes and behavior of minority and
majority groups alike.
ACCEPTING OR REJECTING
Mr. Mahoney, in some general
comments on attitudes, sets the
stage for the ensuing analysis:
"I hear complimentary and un-
complimentary characteristics attrib-
uted to groups of people such as:
agnostics. Catholics, Jews, and Protes-
tants; or Negro, white, and yellow
races; or Armenians, Englishmen,
Frenchmen, Germans, Indians, Irish-
men, Italians, Mexicans, Swedes,
Poles, Russians, and so on. This
doesn't jibe with my personal ex-
perience that characteristics frequent-
ly attributed exclusively to one of
such groups are often shared by in-
dividuals in all of them."
We selected a few key questions,
the answers to which would reveal
an attitude of acceptance of others
as unique individuals. Approxi-
mately one-fouTth of the respond-
ents answered positively on all the
key questions. We then examined
the demographic data about these
persons to discover the profile of
the "Accepting Individual" — the
kind of person who, like Mr. Ma-
honey, refuses to lump people into
categories. It was discovered that
the accepting individual is more
likely to be found among those who
are in the advertising and publish-
ing fields, in personnel and labor
relations work, in their early 40's,
were born and live in the Middle
Atlantic states, went to graduate
school, and are Jewish. Company
size and management level appear
to have little relation to attitudes
of acceptance.
Looking at the other side of the
coin, we find that about one-sixth
of the responding executives reveal
negative attitudes in response to
key questions. Those who indicate
rejection of others simply on the
basis of the ethnie, religious, or
other groups to which they belong
tend to be found more frequently
in financial institutions or in con-
struction, mining, and oil, in gen-
eral management jobs and in top
management ranks, and are more
likely to be in their 6o's, live in
the South Central states, and be-
long to a Christian church.
By far the highest correlation be-
tween rejecting attitudes and back-
ground factors is in the matter of
geographical location. However, it
is to be noted that some of the most
pungent statements for equality
come from Virginia and Maryland,
while some of the most caustic
comments about Negroes come
from north of the Mason-Dixon
line.
It should be emphasized that the
above analysis does not intend to
portray certain groups as "accept-
ing" or "rejecting" in toto. Rather,
they indicate that a higher propor-
tion of those in certain categories
responded in an "accepting" or "re-
jecting" pattern.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES
We have examined some of the
beliefs of responding executives
about the factors involved in merit
promotion. We have explored how
they view the treatment of the eon-
ñict between principle and prac-
tice in this area and the observable
effects of such treatment to date.
We have also dealt with some of
the basic causal factors for this
conflict. Let us now turn to the
executives' evaluation of ( i ) spe-
cific alternative approaches to ex-
panding management opportuni-
ties for minority groups, ( 2 )
whether management should bend
its efforts toward such expansion,
and (3) if so, how best manage-
ment can go about doing this.
With regard to management op-
portunity for Negroes, respondents
were asked to react to four specific
approaches suggested during the
course of our field interviews. Re-
spondents indicated the approach
they preferred personally as well
as that approach which they saw
as closest to their companies' pres-
ent policies. The results are given
in EXHIBIT XV.
Respondents also reacted to a
very specific case situation (actu-
ally reported in our initial field in-
terviewing) involving the promo-
tion of a Negro manager;
Situation. A large metropolitan
savings bank planned to open a
branch in a neighborhood with a
large Negro population. Bank officials
believed that it would be beneficial
to customer relations to have a Negro
officer in the new branch office. How-
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW undertaken by management. But
virtually none favor special efforts
ever, the bank had a definite policy involving the temporary lowering
of promotion from within, and while of standards, an approach that has
many Negroes were employed by the been advocated by some civil rights
bank, there were no Negroes in hne leaders in order to compensate for
for promotion to the officer level at
the time. What action should bank past inequities.
executives have taken? One of the few respondents who
The courses of action approved goes so far as to advocate lowering
by executives break down as fol- standards, the economic director
lows: of a large Midwest management
consulting firm, expresses this un-
That a Negro he appointed with
the necessary qualifications from
popular point of view:
the outside, even though this would
violate the policy of promotion from "I encourage the filling of positions
within 2.8.5% with unqualified minority group mem-
hers where lack of ability is due to
That a Negro from the organization lack of opportunity to gain experi-
with very high potential he selected ence, but with the understanding
and placed in the position after a that they must acquire the ability
rapid individualized training program, within a reasonable time."
even though other potential white of-
ficers would have to be passed Mr. Peterson, on ^he other hand,
over 23.2% states unequivocably that "stand-
That the new office be operated ards cannot and should not be
with a white executive group until lowered." He adds:
such time as a Negro with the re-
quired qualifications should rise to "It is important to remember that
officer rank through the natural management's first responsibility is
growth process. . . . 42.4% to ensure the proñtahility of its insti-
tution. But within that framework
Other 4.3%
there are opportunities for recruit-
No Answer . . . . 1.6% meni, training, and development of
Negro managers, and the effort is
Thus, by and large, both opinion worth making. In fact, today's world
justifies and demands special effort
and practice are in concurrence along these lines."
that the hest approach is a clear
policy of merit selection and pro- One respondent expands on this
motion without any special Negro view from his personal experience
EXHIBIT XV. REACTIONS TO MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION APPROACHES
Per cent describing as
My
Best in company's
Approach my opinion practice
To let a clear policy of merit selection and promotion
speak for itself, without any special Negro manage-
ment recruitment or training programs. 59% 58%
To recruit able Negroes, and then let the natural
management development process take place within
the company. 24 12
To make special efforts, without lowering standards,
to recruit, train, and develop able Negro managers. II 5 lying common denominator is wheth-
To seek out and develop potential Negro managers,
even if standards may temporarily have to be lowered. I 2
Other I 14
No answer 4 9
management recruitment or train- as a policy maker in a South At-
ing programs. It is interesting and lantic company :
important to note that over one-
third of the responding executives "My experience is that there is no
substitute for rigid requirements for
helieve that some special efforts to promotion on integrity and ability.
discover, develop, and utilize po- I feel very deeply, as one who has had
tential Negro managers should be a lifetime of experience with Negroes,
that the present push for fast de-
segregation of organizations hy po-
litieally inspired public officials or
do-gooders is hurting race relation-
ships all over the country. The fail-
ure is in not telling the Negro that,
if he is to advance, he has to accept
responsibility and be able to do the
job.
"The matter of antiminority preju-
dice is common to most of the coun-
try. It is bard to generalize as to
public reaction to the use of minority
people. In certain areas of the South
it would be suicide to have Negro
supervisory personnel; yet hoys from
this area accept supervision from
Negro personnel in the Army without
question. I deliberately desegregated
an office in a big Southern city, and
had only one complaint."
Other comments briefly but pun-
gently illustrate further aspects of
this problem:
• DIVISION COMPTROLLER, LARGE
NEW JERSEY INDUSTRIAL COMPANY:
"I am active in achieving equality of
opportunity to the point of reverse
discrimination."
• GENERAL MANAGER, CALIFORNIA
MANUFACTURING FIRM: " T h e beSt
people will always in the long term
produce the best results, regardless
of race, color, and so forth. There
is objection to all change. The Negro
will overcome resistance to change
in time, if he as a person (not a
color) is right for the job."
• PARTNER, CALIFORNIA MANAGE-
MENT CONSULTING FIRM: "I feel it
is a human duty to help any individ-
ual who hy his performance merits
respect to overcome any minority
barriers."
• PRESIDENT, LARGE INDIANA RE-
TAIL BUSINESS: "Every opportunity
for education, training, social graces,
and responsibility must he made
available to or forced on the Negro
— so he will make himself of value
to industry, recognize responsibility,
and earn respect of people in general.
(Too few Negroes with the ahove
attributes are availahle now.)"
• VICE PRESIDENT, MICHIGAN FI-
NANCIAL INSTITUTION: "The under-
er a person is good or had — whether
he can help or hurt in a spécifie
situation."
Mr. Mahoney sums up the ma-
jority view that equality does not
include favoritism for the de-
prived :
"In my opinion a good approach
toward expanding management op-
portunities for Negroes which is used
hy Union Carbide Corporation is to
seek out able Negroes in the same
fashion as we seek out able whites

190 Hsa JAN.-FEB. 1964

 PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
Plant and then allow the natural and
informal management development
Site process, the natural internal competi-
tion, the interests of the individuals,
Report and their relative initiative to adjudi-
cate the attainment levels of each
of the competitors."
Forecast of the '7O's MANAGEMENT & SOCIETY
What can and should manage-
in Industrial Colorado
LABOR ment do concerning problems such
Colorado's Pleasant Living will as these, whieh have a strong so-
dramr 190,000 job seekers by cial nature quite apart from their
1970. Wages to remain lower than
highly industrialized areas. husiness aspects? What of the in-
dividual executive? What part
MARKET
14^ faster growth than nation. should he play, as businessman,
By 1970, 10-state market will as citizen?
have 13,500,000 people spending
$30 billion annually, Concerning what management
can do, we asked respondents for
TRAMSFORTATIOM
Central location is asset. Most their reactions to the statement:
of U. S. within two truck-line
days, 7 airlines with "Management can take the lead in
269 flights daily. 7 Class I influencing thinking and behavior
railroads.
toward Negroes in the surrounding
COMPLETE INFORMATION AVAILABLE community. "
All new 1964 Executive Portfolio.
Special Reports available. Here there is no douht how busi-
Inquiries confidential. Write:
nessmen feel, with 83% agreeing,
COLORADO and only 11% disagreeing (6%
couldn't say).
DIVISION OF COMMERCE
AND DEVELOPMENT Given this strong agreement that
57 State Services BIdg., Denver, Colo. 80203 husiness can he an influential
leader, should it he? Here execu-
tive opinion is more divided. Re-
spondents were given this state-
PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION
ment;
"Management should not be asked
Control, Storage, and to remake society: its responsibility
does not extend into crusading for
Movement of Materials human rights."
• Distribution and By a hare majority (54%), the
transport systems verdict is no — management does
and should have a responsibility.
• Programming But a strong minority (42% ) be-
lieve otherwise.
• Site selection Mr. Peterson views these issues
• Piant and warehouse this way:
requirements and layout
"No one group has total responsi-
bility for social justice, hut I do be-
• Handling lieve that management is a potent
force in our society, and as such has
• Warehousing certain hroad social responsihilities.
Today one of the most compelling
• Inventory management of these responsibilities is actively to
support standards of fairness and
• Production scheduiing equality of employment opportunity."
• Performance standards The president of a small manu-
facturing company in Illinois takes
DRAKE, STARTZMAN, the view that business should not
be concerned in this problem: "I
SHEAHAN AND BARCLAY would be indifferent, even hostile,
Distribution and Materials
Handling Consultants
to pushing any minority group into
41 E. 42nd St., N. Y. 17, N. Y.
an abnormal status."
Oxford 7-0294
192 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
A staff engineer in one of the
largest industrial firms in Ken-
tucky does not see any dichotomy
between an executive's responsi-
bility to husiness and to society:
"I believe an individual cannot
compartmentalize his attitudes as
'business,' 'individual,' or 'Sunday-
church.' Therefore it is necessary for
the forward-looking individual to de-
velop an integrated personal philos-
ophy which is valid in all daily situ-
ations. He must see himself in his
roles at home and work from a well-
balanced base."
Within this context, what is the
role of the individual business-
man? We have already seen that
the large majority of our respond-
ents believe the individual can play
a critical role — 81% say that "in-
dividual executives can generally
interpret equal-opportunity policies
to suit their own beliefs."
INDIVIDUAL ACTION
At the conclusion of the long
and rigorous questionnaire, execu-
tives were asked to react to the
following statement and question:
"Some say that business and busi-
nessmen should take a more active
role in achieving equality of oppor-
tunity in management. How do you
see your own role in this area; (a)
as a practical husinessman, and
(b) as an individual citizen?"
The numerous (90% ) and very
thoughtful replies are convincing
evidence of the strong feeling, pro
and con, among executives on this
issue. Examples of the major
categories of response, listed in
EXHIBIT XVI, follow.
By far the most frequent re-
sponse is that respondents see their
role as businessmen that of pro-
moting on merit not only in theory
but in actual fact. A few varia-
tions on this theme are presented:
• CHIEF ENGINEER, CALIFORNIA DE-
FENSE FIRM: "It is in my role as a
husinessman that I can be most effec-
tive in furthering the principles of
racial justice since I have the op-
portunity to hire and promote fairly.
As a citizen, I have far less oppor-
tunity to affect the condition of other
people."
• D E P U T Y ADMINISTRATOR, V I R G I N -
IA GOVERNMENT AGENCY: "I See my
own role as watching to he sure
equality is a fact in my organization,
instead of a pleasant fiction."

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE
ALEXANDER HAMILTON INSTITUTE 21
Wunderniiiii, Ricotta & Klirif, lut;.
ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT
COMPANY
Beaumont, Heller & Sperling, Inc.
THE AMERICAN APPRAISAL
COMPANY
The Cranier-Krasselt Co.
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATION, INC.
AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND
TELEGRAPH COMPANY
BELL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
N. W. Ayer & Son, Int'oiporuted
THE ANACONDA COMPANY
Kenynn & Eckhardt, Inc.
AUTOMATION
The Griswolcî-Eshleiniin Company
BELL & HOWELL COMPANY
MICRO-DATA DIVISION
Fiiltoii, Moirissey Company
CHARLES RRUNING CO., INC.
Blichen Advertía i nj;, Ine.
BUSINESS WEEK
Donahue & Coc, Ine.
BUSINESS WEEK
Fr;ink Vos & Company. Inc.
CELANESE CORPORATION OF
AMERICA
Ellington & Company, Ine.
CHASE MANHATTAN BANK
Conipton Advertising, Inc.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Foole, Cone & Bcldinj;
WALTER V. CLARKE ASSO-
CIATES, INC.
SpL'nc^r-CI:iire Assoeiates. Ine.
COLORADO DIVISION OF COM-
MERCE AND DEVELOPMENT
WiiULim Kostka & As.sodates, Inc.
CONNECTICUT GENERAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY 3rd cover
Cimninfíliítni & WaSsh, Ine\
CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY
Commonwealth Services, Inc.
DRAKE, START2MAN, SHEAHAN &
BARCLAY, INC.
W. L. Towne Company, Ine.
DURA BUSINESS MACHINES, INC.
Grant Advertising, Ine.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
OF BOSTON
Batten, Barton, Durstine &
Osbom, Inc.
THE GARRETT CORPORATION
J. Walter Thompson Company
GARRISON MACHINE WORKS, INC.
MEMO FLEX DIVISION
Penny and Penny Advertising
GEMAR ASSOCIATES
Allston, Smith & Somple, Inc.
GENERAL TELEPHONE AND
ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Kiidner Agency, Inc.
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Ellington 6i Company, Ine.
GRAPHIC SYSTEMS
Cas we II Advertising Agency
GREATER SAN JOSE CHAM-
BER OF COMMERCE
Long Advertising, Ineorporiited
HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS
Denhard & Stewart, Ineorporated
194 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964
PROBLEMS IN REVIEW
• ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER,
Page Page LARGE ARKANSAS MANUFACTURING
INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE AND COMPANY: "My role is to enforce
TELEGRAPH CORPORATION 155 merit review policies that include
Needham, Louis and Brorhy. Inc. top management review."
187 JAM HANDY ORGANIZATION 4th covet
Ciimphell-Ewald ConipLmy • VICE PREsroENT, ILLINOIS RENT-
KIERNAN & COMPANY INC. 182
AL SERVICE: "I believe businessmen
189 have to begin facing the current facts
LIPPINCOTT AND MARGULIES, INC. 47 of life and help the business and
Bentley Advertising, Inc.
LOUISIANA, STATE OF
general community make opportuni-
31 DEPT. OF COMMERCE & ties for all citizens."
INDUSTRY 173
The Swigart Company, Ine. • PRESIDENT, MARYLAND INTERNA-
48-49 166 TIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION:
CHAS. T. MAIN, INC.
John M. Lord & Co., Inc. "I believe in merit and fairness.
45 McGRAW-HlLL BOOK COMPANY 177 While merit cannot be set aside to
Gene Wolfe & Company, Ine. rectify wrongs, fairness demands that
40-41 METROPOLITAN OAKLAND AREA 18 the wronged be helped to aehieve
Reinhardt Advertising, Inc. promotion on merit. After all, hu-
MUTUAL BENEFIT LIFE INSUR- man dignity and self-respect are
160 ANCE COMPANY 171 more important to the individual
Donahue & Coe, Inc. than success or financial reward."
27 NATIONAL TRUCK LEASING
SYSTEM 178 • MANAGER, LARCE FLORIDA DE-
Stevens-Kirkland-Stahelfeldt, Ine. FENSE FIRM: "There is, in my opin-
2n(l cover
H. K. NEGRAUR & CO., INC. 166 ion, no better way to guarantee
equality of opportunity than through
Regina Ovesey Incorporated
193 THE NEW YORKER 15 management at all levels."
Cliirurg & Cairns, Ine.
• SUPERINTENDENT, LARGE N E W
PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & YORK MANUFACTURING COMPANY: "I
33 GAS COMPANY 46
Williams and London Advertisinj; believe individuals need to develop
181 PURCHASING MAGAZINE 165
a better understanding of what makes
Gray & Rogers business tiek in order to realize that
25 THE PURE OIL COMPANY 159
talent is so badly needed that it can-
Leo Burnett Company, Tne.
READER'S DIGEST ASSO-
179 CIATION 163 ExHiBiT XVI. INDIVIDUAL ACTION
J. Walter Thompson Company TO ACHIEVE EQUALITY OF OP-
REMINGTON RAND OFFICE PORTUNITY IN MANAGEMENT
192 SYSTEMS 191
FOR MINORITY GROUP MEMBERS
Guild, Basconi & Bonfigli. Inc.
JOHN F. RIDER PUBLISHER INC. 38 Per cent of
Gilbert and Felix Inc. respondents iWio
see this as
THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY 174 fíale their own role *
I5G
SCHWERIN RESEARCH CORPO-
To promote on merit alone
RATION 9
Beaumont Bennett Ine. in my day-to-day practice. 35%
192 To be more active in this
STANLY COUNTY INDUSTRIAL area. 15
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 32
Bennett Advertising, Ine. To do nothing. 15 t
23
To consider possible ad-
STRATHMORE PAPER COMPANY 19 verse effects on profits
The Lampert Ageney, Inc. first. 12
11 TENNESSEE DIVISION FOR IN- To go just so far and no
DUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 167 farther, avoiding the
Coggin Advcrtisin;; Agency mistake of bending over
185 TEXAS INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION 171 backwards in favor of
Pitluk Advertising Ageney minorities. 7
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPO- To help provide equal edu-
175 RATED 17 cational and training op-
Don L. Baxter, Ine. portunities for those who
TEXAS POWER & LIGHT COMPANY 182 have been denied such
175 opportunities. 3
Don L. Baxter, Inc.
Other a
J. WALTER THOMPSON COM-
PANY 36-37 No answer 11
1 Total 100%
TURNER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY 50
Donahue & Coe, Int. * Open-ended answers as analyzed by
169
TV GUIDE MAGAZINE 4-5 author.
179 N. W. Ayer & Son, Ineorporated t Of these, 10% believe that the cur-
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD 39 rent pressures for management integra-
Geyer Morey Ballard Inc. tion are dangerous and wrong, 3% state
that they can do nothing in the face of
30 WEST PENN POWER 195
community prejudice, and 2% say that
Fuller & Smith & Ross Inc.
it is not up to businessmen hut to the
12 JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. 170 minority groups themselves.
Needham & Crohmann, Ine.
 .." -•••'^
not be denied opportunity in spite of
prejudice."

Executives who believe that they

personally have no role to play in
this matter are substantially fewer
in number than those who accept
the idea of individual responsi-
bility. Adherents of the former
view express their reactions this
way:

• SECRETARY-TREASURER, ILLINOIS
RETAIL FIRM: "It seems to me that
the principal minority wants to go
back to slavery. They expect busi-
ness ( controlled by white people )
to take care of them."
• CHAIRMAN, PSYCHOLOGY DIVI-
SION, OHIO DEFENSE PLANT: "In
this region, the plant would go on
strike if management hired Negroes
generally."
• DIRECTOR OF SALES, SMALL N E W
YORK MANUFACTURING COMPANY: "It
Is so difficult to get results from your
own racial group that you are asking
for trouble if you hire a colored man
or a Jew. The management simply
won't stand for it. . . . If I owned
my own business, I believe I would
do so."

Others would simply like to

evade the issue:

• OWNER, LARGE OHIO MANUFAC-

TURING COMPANY: "From a selfish
standpoint, it is easier to leave this
problem to others."
• GENERAL MANAGER, CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRIAL FIRM: "I am sympathetic,
but a long way from the field of
battle. I would be less than honest
if I did not admit that I prefer it
that way."
• PRESIDENT, KENTUCKY MANU-
FACTURING PLANT: "I agree, but for
someone else."
• MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, CON-
NECTICUT: "I am an ostrleh."
In sharp contrast with those who
would evade the issue are a sub-
stantial number of executives who
are doing some deep self-search-
ing, such as:
expertability
(in plant locations)
Selecting your plant location calls for an expert. So much more is
involved than just finding an empty building or some vacant land. To
avoid costly mistakes when relocating or expanding, you need the help
(experience and ability) of a professional. Without obligation, we offer
the services of our trained Plant Location Specialists who are supported
by geologists, foresters, engineers, economists and technical people
in related fields—experts all. Send coupon, wire
or call collect.
WEST PENN POWER
an operating unit of ALLEGHENY POWER SYSTEM
INDUSTRIAL SHELL BUILDINGS available at $2.95 to
$3.25 a sq. ft. completed to your specs in 60-90 days.

• CONTROLLER, MINNESOTA MANU- Area Development Department Phone: 412-TE 7-3000

FACTURING COMPANY: "To those with
WEST PENN POWER —Greensburg. Pa. 15602
prejudice (including myself), ask
the question: 'Why?'" D Have Your Plant Location Specialist Cail

• DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL RELA-

I'd like more information about WESTern PENNsylvania:
TIONS, LARGE ILLINOIS CONSUMER n Industrial Properties Q Pre-production Training
SERVICES COMPANY : "I'm wrestling a Financing Plans • Favorable Tax Climate ADA 4-7H
with my conscience. I'm no crusader
but I believe in fair play." Namfi
Company
• PRESIDENT, MARYLAND TECHNO-
LOGICAL COUNSELING FIRM : "Obvi- Adrirfi<i^
Citv State Phone

HBR JAN.-FEB. I964 195

ously, I am against sin and for munity organizations, particularly er than fear is the dominant note
motherhood and perhaps a bit of a those in the field of Intergroup rela- in the HBR responses.
hypocrite — I'm not sure." tions, give supportive strength to
such efforts. Working with manage- Despite a vigorous minority dis-
• MANAGER, N E W JERSEY FINAN- ment, labor, and the public, the Na- sent among the responding execu-
CIAL INSTITUTION: "I do not agree tional Conference of Christians and tives, and despite the perplexing
with the desirahility of taking a more Jews has (under the leadership of
active role hecause I am a minority Dr. Leonard P. Aries, Vice President, contradictions and blocks within
group member myself. I believe I who directs the Conference's services the situation itself, management
am doing more by being quie^tly to management, labor, and the pub- appears to be entering upon a new
competent." lic) for many years been helping stage. The vicious circle which has
leaders examine their own attitudes been operative for the last century
The effect on profits — pro and and plan together for the achieve- (inequality of opportunity to se-
con — is a recurring theme in ment of their common goals. It is cure the required education and
the freewheeling comments. Many only through acceptance of respon-
make this the final determinant of sibility by all that a climate can be experience, leading to lack of mo-
created in which movement toward tivation for the average Negro to
policy, such as the president of a true merit promotion will be possible."
small Ohio industrial plant who develop himself, and apply himself
says: "If such an active role can Postmaster General Gronouski at the level of his skills, if trained)
be performed with little or no nega- points to a most vital business rea- cannot be reversed easily or quick-
tive effect on profits, then it would son for utilizing all our best talent: ly. But the whole process appears
be recommended. Otherwise not." to be moving in a new direction.
"The management problems of ef- The field interviews showed wide
On the other hand, many respond- ficient operation in a vast organiza-
ents believe strongly that merit tion such as ours are many. Thus agreement that if management has
promotion is good for business. A good management is imperative. I the will to promote on merit, it
management consultant in Cali- do not want to see anyone selected will find the way. The advisory
fornia puts it right on the line : for any job in the postal service. committee to the study (composed
North or South, unless he is the hest of leaders in management, labor,
man for the job, and we have a posi-
"The profit-motivated manager can- tive equal employment opportunity and public interest groups ) ex-
not afford to underutilize any of his program to assure such a selection. panded on this theme, saying that
resources. If some other staff mem- We cannot afford to do anything else,
bers object on the basis of bias, it there is no one way, but that move-
nor should the American taxpayer ex- ment toward an "ideal image that
may be better to dispense with them pect anything else."
than not to make use of the best works" requires at least three
CONCLUSION kinds of discipline :
Finally, there are those who, The pilot study on the promot- • Personal discipline (self-under-
when given free rein to expand on able image was completed in Sep- standing and sincere commitment by
their individual responsibility, ex- tember 1962. The HBR question- managers all the way up and down
naires were filled out just one year the line ).
press in very concrete terms spe-
cific next steps: later. It is interesting to note how • Internal discipline (company pol-
closely businessmen in the two icy and directives).
• MANAGER, LARGE ILLINOIS MANU- studies concur as to : ( i ) what the
• External discipline ( antibias laws
FACTURING COMPANY : "The first promotable executive really looks and government regulations).
qualified Negro I can find will be like in the minds of management,
promoted fast even if I have to create and (2) what the major conflicts
a job for him." The responses to the HBR sur-
are between ideal values and pro- vey indicate that management, by
• PRESIDENT, SMALL OKLAHOMA motion practice. However, one
CONSTRUCTION FIRM: "I suggest that and large, has the will to promote
business sponsor a clinic devoted to striking difference emerges. In the on merit, and that it is experiment-
counseling, testing, and training mi- earlier metropolitan New York ing with many ways of achieving
nority groups, and propagandizing pilot study, the chief deterrent to its goal. A sizable proportion
executives to recognize the potential promotion on merit alone was (28% ) of the respondents report
of this untapped resource." identified as executives' fears re- action, not words, in achieving
garding the effects of management management integration. (In fact,
This last, imaginative suggestion integration on production, prestige,
leads us into Dr. Jones's comments a late 1963 report indicates a sub-
and profits. In HBR's national stantial 16.5% gain in Negro em-
on the "how" of closing the gap study, a year later, these fears ap-
between ideal values and day-to- ployment at managerial levels in
pear to be substantially lessened. 80 top companies.-^ ) Hopefully,
day reality in promotion: Today the phenomenon of Negroes with the cooperation of all inter-
"The problems we face concern- as managers is no longer an ex- ested groups, including the minor-
ing the full and effective utilization treme rarity. Pressures for equal ity groups themselves, the gap be-
of our human resources were not opportunity have been increased tween intent and performance will
caused by any one segment of our both through government action
economy or our society, nor can they be even further lessened in 1964.
be solved by any one segment alone. and through the Negro leadership.
As business and businessmen take Management is taking a hard look ^Garda W. Bowman
an increasingly active role in seek- at its own attitudes and behavior:
ing out qualified managers of all the end result is that purpose rath- " The New York Times, November l a ,
backgrounds, it is essential that com- 1963, p. I.

196 HBR JAN.-FEB. I964

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