Lysol Disputes Claims of Cure

During his press conference, President Trump questioned whether disinfectants could be used internally to fight the new coronavirus:

“I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”

The president later said, “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.” But Lysol executives are concerned that people may take the idea seriously and try to treat themselves. Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Lysol products, issued a statement, “Improper Use of Disinfectants.”

Lysol image source.

Discussion:

• Watch the president’s comment during the press conference. What’s your view of his speculation?

• Analyze the Lysol maker’s response. What works well, and what could be improved? What is appropriate or inappropriate for a brand’s parent to dispute the president’s claim in this way?

CDC Guidelines to Airlines About COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control issued recommendations to airlines and their crews to try to address COVID-19. The web page begins with the purpose:

“This document provides interim recommendations for the commercial airline industry about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)  first identified in Wuhan, China. CDC reminds air carriers of the requirement under Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 71.21 to report to CDC ill travelers  who have certain signs and symptoms during flight, and all deaths onboard,  before arrival in the United States. This document also contains recommendations for managing ill travelers onboard if COVID-19 infection is suspected.”

Next is a “Situation summary,” followed by guidelines for handling ill passengers aboard a flight and for cleaning a plane after a flight.

Other sections on the CDC website address “Reporting Death or Illness” and “Managing Ill Passengers/Crew.”

Discussion:

• Who are the primary and secondary audiences for CDC’s website? What are the organization’s communication objectives during the COVID-19 outbreak?

• Review the CDC website from the home page. How easy is it to find information? How clear is the information you do find? In summary, how well does the organization meet its communication objectives? What could be improved?

Disney Names New CEO

After 14 years as CEO, Bob Iger will be replaced by Bob Chapek, who has led the company’s parks and resorts division. The Wall Street Journal reports that insiders didn’t see the change coming.

A press release states that Iger will stay on as executive chairman through 2021. The release includes the typical quotes from the exiting and incoming leaders, and both men are complimentary toward each other and the company. But this release also includes a rather lengthy quote from Susan Arnold, the lead director of the Disney Board. She begins by describing the board’s process:

“The Board has been actively engaged in succession planning for the past several years, and after consideration of internal and external candidates, we unanimously elected Bob Chapek as the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze the press release: audiences, communication objectives, organization, content, and writing style.

• What are the main points you take away from reading the release?

• Assess the quotes, particularly the ones from Arnold. Why do you think the company is emphasizing certain points?

Dupont Announces New Leadership

Dupont has a new CEO, and he looks a lot like a former CEO. Ed Breen was previously appointed CEO in 2015 and was replaced about a year ago. He has been serving as chief executive and will now serve in both roles.

Breen describes the company’s position:

“While we made some progress in 2019, we did not meet our own expectations and we now need to move aggressively to secure our foundation for growth. We have solid businesses, but, as we discussed on our recent earnings call, we need to accelerate operational improvement and make sure we are taking appropriate action to deliver on our commitments for the year.”

In a press release, the company also names a new CFO, Lori Koch, who was previously the head of investor relations.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze the press release: audiences, organization, content, and so on. What business communication principles are followed, and how could the statement be improved?

• Compare this release to other leadership change announcements. How does it differ? Consider the tone and quotations.

Starbucks' Sustainability Commitment

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson published a statement of the company’s commitment to sustainability, outlining several new initiatives. Johnson explains the rationale for the commitment, what the company has already done, and what plans are in place for the future.

The message lists three “preliminary targets” for 2030:

1. A 50% reduction in carbon emissions in our direct operations and supply chain.

2. 50% of our water withdrawal for direct operations and coffee production will be conserved or replenished with a focus on communities and basins with high water risk. 

3. A 50% reduction in waste sent to landfill from stores and manufacturing, driven by a broader shift toward a circular economy. To underscore this commitment, we are pleased to join Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, setting ambitious circular targets for our packaging.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze the statement: the audience, communication objectives, organization, writing style, etc. What works well, and what could be improved? Why is “preliminary targets” italicized?

• How well does the company meet its communication objectives with this message?

• How, if at all, does this message change your perception of Starbucks?

Letter from WeWork Employees

As WeWork plans layoffs, employees are asking for input into what happens to them and their peers. Referring to themselves as WeWorkers Coalition, the employees wrote a letter to the management team.

To the We Company Management Team:

WeWork’s company values encourage us to be “entrepreneurial, inspired, authentic, tenacious, grateful and together.” Today, we are embracing these qualities wholeheartedly as we band together to ensure the well-being of our peers.

We come from many departments across the company: building maintenance, cleaning, community, design, product, engineering and more. We believe that in the upcoming weeks we have the unique opportunity to demonstrate our true values to the world. This is a company that has inspired many of us, challenged us, and has been a formative personal and professional experience for those of us who began our careers here. WeWork has been not just a workplace, but a source of friendships and inspiration along the way.

We also believe our product can have a lasting positive impact on the world. We want to improve workplace happiness for millions of office workers and support small and medium sized businesses in their entrepreneurial efforts. We have been proud to support these goals and dedicate our time and talent to achieve them. This has been our story so far.

Recently, however, we have watched as layers are peeled back one-by-one to reveal a different story. This story is one of deception, exclusion and selfishness playing out at the company’s highest levels. This is a story that reads as a negation of all our core values. But this story is not over.

Thousands of us will be laid off in the upcoming weeks. But we want our time here to have meant something. We don’t want to be defined by the scandals, the corruption, and the greed exhibited by the company’s leadership. We want to leave behind a legacy that represents the true character and intentions of WeWork employees.

In the immediate term, we want those being laid off to be provided fair and reasonable separation terms commensurate with their contributions, including severance pay, continuation of company-paid health insurance and compensation for lost equity. We are not the Adam Neumanns of this world — we are a diverse work force with rents to pay, households to support and children to raise. Neumann departed with a $1.7 billion severance package including a yearly $46 million “consulting fee” (higher than the total compensation of all but nine public C.E.O.s in the United States in 2018). We are not asking for this level of graft. We are asking to be treated with humanity and dignity so we can continue living life while searching to make a living elsewhere. In consideration of recent news, we will also need clarity around the contracts our cleaning staff will be required to sign in order to keep their jobs, which are being outsourced to a third party. Those of us who have visas through WeWork need assistance and adequate time to find a new employer to sponsor our respective visas.

In the medium term, employees need a seat at the table so the company can address a broader range of issues. We’ve seen what can happen when leadership makes decisions while employees have no voice. We will need to see more transparency and more accountability.

We also need the thousands who maintain our buildings and directly service members to receive full benefits and fair pay, rather than earning just above minimum wage.

We need allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment to be taken seriously, acted on immediately and resolved with transparency.

We need diversity and inclusion efforts to materialize into real actions, not just talking points at company meetings.

We need salary transparency so we can surface and address systemic inequalities.

We need an end to forced arbitration contracts, which strip employees of their right to pursue fair legal action against the company.

We need all of this, and more.

In the long term, we want the employees who remain at WeWork, and those who join in the future, to inherit something positive we left behind. We want them to never find themselves in this position again, and for that to happen, they need a voice.

With this letter we are introducing ourselves, the WeWorkers Coalition. We are taking full advantage of our legal right to establish this coalition, and in doing so, we hope to give the future employees of WeWork the voice we never had.

We want to work with you. Please join us in writing a better ending to this chapter of the WeWork story.

By this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. EST, we would like to receive confirmation of your receipt of this letter and an indication of your willingness to meet us.

The WeWorkers Coalition

@weworkersco • info@weworkersco.org • #weworkers-coalition

Image source.

Discussion:

• What principles of business writing do the employees follow?

• What persuasive strategies do they use in the letter? Find examples of logical argument, emotional appeal, and credibility.

• What do you consider the strongest and weakest arguments?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated in this situation?

Business Leaders Sign Letter to Top Officials

Fifty CEOs and business school leaders signed a letter to President Trump and other top-ranking politicians urging action to allow for more international applications. The letter comes after a report by the Graduate Management Admissions Council showing declining applications.

Report conclusions follow:

[A]llowing top talent to study and work in the country of their choice helps create jobs, not take them. It offers insight into changing trends for historically talent-attracting and talent-supplying countries. Business school applications are a powerful metric—and forecast—of the success of individual economies in prioritizing talent and therefore leading innovation and growth. A survey of these latest metrics shows change in our midst—and for certain economies, warning signs for the future.

In their letter, the business leaders write that the U.S. is “needlessly capping our growth and can do better.” They urge U.S. politicians to allow more movement by taking the following action:

• Removing “per-country” visa caps, modernizing our visa processing system, and reforming the H-1B visa program to make it possible for the most talented people to have a reasonable chance of gaining entry to the United States.

• Creating a “heartland” visa that encourages immigration to the regions of the United States that could most use the vitality of these talented individuals.

Discussion:

• Analyze the letter. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the communication objectives? How do you assess the organization and writing style?

• What persuasive communication strategies do the writers use? Which are most and least effective?

• Analyze the report using the same questions.

• How well does the infographic summarize the report conclusions? What could be improved?

Third CEO Announcement This Week: Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo announced a new CEO: former BNY Mellon, Visa CEO Charlie Scharf. According to a Bloomberg report, Scharf is “quiet-ish” and known for being “direct and willing to clean house”

Scharf joins Wells Fargo as the company battles scandals beginning in 2016, when about 2 million fake accounts were discovered. Since then, the company has faced additional ethical questions and hasn’t fully recovered its image.

In its news statement, Scharf expressed his enthusiasm for the new job:

“I am honored and energized by the opportunity to assume leadership of this great institution, which is important to our financial system and in the midst of fundamental change. I have deep respect for all the work that has taken place to transform Wells Fargo, and I look forward to working closely with the board, members of the management team, and team members. I am committed to fully engaging with all of our stakeholders including regulators, customers, elected officials, investors, and communities.”

Scharf replaces General Counsel C. Allen Parker, who was appointed interim CEO, after Tim Sloan left in 2019.

Wells Fargo image source.

Scharf mage source.

Discussion:

• How well did the Wells Fargo news statement meet its communication objectives?

• The news statement doesn’t mention Wells Fargo’s troubled history. Should it? Why or why not?

• Industry insiders expect Scharf to make significant changes in the organization. If you were considering a position at Wells Fargo, how would this news affect your decision?

British Airways Labor Dispute Arguments

On Thursday, British Airways pilots went on strike for the second time this week, grounding about 1,700 flights. Wanting a greater share of profits, pilots have turned down the company’s offer of 11.9% in pay increases over the next three years.

Typical in these situations, the union and company blamed each other. The union, the British Airlines Pilots Association (Balpa), claims that company management chose to cancel flights instead of negotiating with them in good faith:

“Balpa set a gap between the first and second periods of strike action to give BA time to work with us to settle this dispute with their pilots. We had today been exchanging new ideas to do that via [the arbitration service] Acas and so it irresponsible and inconsiderate to its customers that BA has pulled out and decided to start cancelling flights now, just to save money on compensation. BA did not respond to our latest proposals before cancelling these flights.

“Passengers who will be affected by these cancellations should know that we have given BA multiple opportunities to work with us so we could call off this action.”

The company blames pilots for walking out:

“It is now a month since we shook hands on a pay deal. We urge [Balpa] to call off their strike and return to negotiations.

“To give our customers as much certainty as possible, we are now contacting all those affected to offer them a full refund or a rebook on an alternative date, destination or airline. We are very sorry that Balpa’s actions will affect thousands more travel plans.”

Discussion:

• How effectively does each side express its perspective in the above quotes?

• Research both sides of this debate. What are Balpa’s strongest and weakest arguments? What are BA’s?

• What persuasive strategies does each side use in its arguments: logic, emotional appeal, and credibility?

The Purpose of the Corporation

The Business Roundtable published a statement, The Purpose of the Corporation, signed by 181 of its 193 members. The Roundtable, a corporate lobbying group, includes CEOs of the largest U.S. companies.

In essence, the CEOs write that they have responsibilities beyond shareholders—to customers, employees, suppliers, and communities (including the environment). The statement is a step to improving the perception of businesses as solely driven by creating shareholder value through short-term profits.

Skeptics abound. A writer for the Washington Post called the statement a “truism”:

“What’s significant about the statement is what it does not say. The corporate signatories do not suggest in any way weakening the fiduciary duties of the boards and managers of ordinary for-profit shareholder corporations to manage such companies’ affairs for shareholders’ benefit.”

The CEO of Allstate and head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times encouraging businesses to pay people more if they’re serious about serving more stakeholders.

A writer for Forbes argued that these companies are multinationals and have global responsibilities as well. He also accused the executives of being self-serving, warding off criticism about executive compensation.

Others noted company CEOs who didn’t sign, for example, Alcoa, Blackstone, GE, NextEra, Parker Hannifin, and Wells Fargo (whose representative said the CEO is interim and wasn’t asked to sign). Some companies, for example, Kaiser and State Farm, say they didn’t sign because they don’t have shareholders.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the statement: significant, placating, diverting, or something else?

• Assess the statement itself. Consider the audience, purpose, writing style, organization, and so on. What works well, and what could be improved? What’s extraneous and what’s missing?

Avis Announces New CEO

Avis is looking for a new CEO while trying to navigate the changing rental car business. Larry De Shon was appointed to the position in 2016 after ten years with the company. I’m curious why he’s leaving.

News reports, such as a Wall Street Journal article, don’t provide an explanation. The stock has done well, and Avis has made strategic moves, including servicing Waymo’s self-driving cars. As part of its repositioning, Avis now considers itself a “provider of mobility solutions” instead of a car-rental company.

Avis’s news release presents De Shon positively, including his glowing quotes about the company and the board chair’s quote about his success:

“On behalf of the Board and the entire team, I’d like to thank Larry for the many contributions he has made to Avis Budget Group since he joined the Company in 2006, and for his exceptional leadership as CEO for the last four years. Larry has played an instrumental role in positioning Avis Budget for the future of mobility, while navigating through unprecedented industry challenges. Together with our outstanding management team, Larry has built a strong foundation for growth and continued success. We are pleased that we will continue to have access to Larry’s insights.”

Avis is also planning to keep De Shon on until the end of the year for a transition period, which is another sign that he isn’t being forced out.

Car rental image source.

Waymo image source.

Discussion:

• What do you think is the reason for De Shon’s departure?

• Should Avis or De Shon say more? Or should I mind my own business?

OpenTable Announces Privacy Changes

An email from OpenTable summarizes changes to the privacy policy and directs readers to the entire policy on the website. The company is using a lighthearted approach to convey what information is shared and how users will have better control over what they are willing to share.

We can view this as a positive message, although it uses some persuasive strategies. Overall, the company is trying to simplify a complex issue—and the email simplifies the far more complex policy.

Discussion:

• Analyze the message. Who is the primary audience, and what are the communication objectives? How would you describe the tone and writing style? What organizational strategies are used?

• What persuasive strategies does the message use?

• Overall, how effective is the message in meeting its communication objectives? What, if anything, could OpenTable do differently?

United Changes Rewards Program

United Airlines promises more flexibility and better options for reward travel. In an email to loyalty members, the company summarizes changes.

I’m not sure why they focus on the “award chart,” but that probably means more to a frequent traveler who manages points more closely than I do.

Discussion:

• How clearly and concisely does United communicate the news?

• What else, if anything, should the company include in the message?

FreshDirect Message to Customers

FreshDirect sent an email to customers in Westchester County, NY, describing new products and services. This is an example of a positive message—and is a good break from the mistakes, apologies, and tragedies over the past couple of weeks.

Dear Laura,

Everything we do at FreshDirect is driven by our mission of making the best-tasting, freshest food easy to get for you, our valued customers. We know that you care deeply about feeding your family the very best food and to make that easier than ever before we're announcing a series of new service enhancements that will provide you with an even better shopping experience.

We work around YOUR schedule

• Starting March 25, we will offer SAME DAY DELIVERY which enables you to place an order up to 10am, for delivery starting at 5pm the same day. Same day deliveries are also included for free in your DeliveryPass.

• We are extending the cut-off time in your area to 9pm, allowing you to edit and place your order further into the evening, for deliveries starting 7am or later the next day.

• We have added significantly more availability to delivery time slots. In fact, if there is a specific delivery time slot that you want that is full, simply call 1 (866) 283-7374 or visit FreshDirect.com to chat with a customer service agent, and we will open one up for you – either in that specific window, or the window immediately before or after.

When we say we'll be there on time, we'll be there on time

• We have significantly expanded both our delivery fleet and team, so you can count on us to ALWAYS deliver your food on time.

• We are so confident in our delivery team that if you ever need to contact us about a late delivery, we will credit the delivery fee for that order AND your next order. For DeliveryPass customers we'll extend your DeliveryPass for TWO weeks.

We have a growing selection of the very best food

• We have added over 400 new items to our offering over the last 2 months.

• We are adding hundreds of high-quality, specially-sourced new items every month during the spring and summer. In the next month alone, we will be adding your most requested brands like Spindrift, Caulipower and Pampers Pure.

• Our team of chefs has been busy creating exciting meal solutions including ready-to-heat entrees, meal kits, salads & grain bowls, fresh bakery goods and more, with 5-10 new items available every month. As always, we're committed to sourcing the cleanest possible ingredients for you and your family.

We guarantee our freshness

• Our new state-of-the-art home enables us to consistently offer and deliver the highest quality food. We believe so strongly in the quality of our food that we're offering a 100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE – if you receive anything from us that doesn't live up to your expectations, we will refund you or redeliver the same day, no questions asked.

We make it right for you

• Mistakes happen, and when they do, we want the opportunity to go above and beyond in showing you how much we value you. If an item is missing or damaged, or you are unhappy with the quality of something, we will of course provide a refund, but what we really strive to do instead is get a perfect replacement product back to you that same day. Just call 1 (866) 283-7374 or visit FreshDirect.com to chat with our customer service team and they'll take care of it.

• We empower our customer service team to go above and beyond to fix any issues you may face, but there are rare occasions when customer service may not be able to resolve things to your total satisfaction. I still want the opportunity to make that right. Please reach out to me at david@freshdirect.com and we'll swarm the issue to quickly find a way to make you happy.

Finally, we want to invite you to a behind-the-scenes tour of our new headquarters, which may be the most amazing food hive in the world. On the tour you'll get to meet our team of food experts, see how your orders come together, and sample some of the best food and drink we have to offer. You'll be hearing more from me about this opportunity to visit us and how to sign up in the coming weeks, but to whet your appetite, here is a short video of a similar event that we recently hosted.

We hope you found this information valuable and we look forward to providing the very best food to you and your family for years to come.

Sincerely,

David McInerney
CEO & Co-Founder of FreshDirect

Discussion:

• Analyze the message. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the communication objectives? How is the email organized? What is the writing style? How would you describe the tone?

• What business writing principles are followed?

• What works best about the message, and what would you suggest that the CEO change?

• In what ways does this message illustrate integrity?

Instacart Tries to Make Things Right

Criticized for underpaying shoppers, personal grocery delivery company Instacart is changing its compensation model. Personal shoppers were always paid a minimum for orders, but the company had started including tips in that minimum amount. The company admitted to paying only 80 cents in some cases for someone to pick and deliver a batch of groceries. In a petition, personal shoppers claimed that “customers' tips are essentially being paid to Instacart rather than to the workers ourselves.”

In a blog post, Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta admits “clearly we haven’t always gotten it right.” He announced policy changes to ensure the following:

• Tips should always be separate from Instacart’s contribution to shopper compensation

• All batches will have a higher guaranteed compensation floor for shoppers, paid for by Instacart

• Instacart will retroactively compensate shoppers when tips were included in minimums

Shopper image source.

Discussion:

• Read Mehta’s entire blog post. What principles of business communication does he follow? What, if anything, can be improved?

• In what ways does Mehta demonstrate strong leadership character?

• How could Instacart have avoided this situation, including the negative effects on personal shoppers and the negative publicity?

Starbucks CEO Draws His Own Path

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is identifying his own vision for the company—apart from Howard Schultz’s plan. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said that the previous plan to open about 1,000 Reserve cafes will be piloted with just a few stores. Reserve stores deliver a higher-end experience, selling artisanal products and cocktails.

The change is one example of how Johnson is distinguishing himself from Schultz, who was the company CEO for about 30 years. According to the article, Johnson often started meetings with, “I’m not Howard. I’m Kevin.” A couple of weeks after Schultz left, Johnson said about the business strategy, “Certainly, I tend to bring a much more disciplined approach to picking the priorities.”

Starbucks Reserve image source.
Kevin Johnson image source.

Discussion:

• Is it important for Johnson to distinguish himself from Schultz? Why or why not?

• Read more about Johnson as the new CEO. How well is he handling the transition? What, if anything, should he do differently? He’s in a tough spot, wanting to create his own path but needing to be respectful to the previous leadership.

Google and Facebook Drop Forced Arbitration

Following Google employee walkouts and demands, both Google and Facebook have eliminated the requirement for employees to settle sexual harassment complaints internally. Tech companies Uber, Lyft, and Microsoft made the same change in the past couple of years.

Previously, all of these companies had clauses in their policies, which employees agree to when hired, that forced employees to give up their right to sue the company for sexual harassment.

Critics of forced arbitration say the policy puts victims at a disadvantage. Businesses are more likely to win cases in arbitration than in front of a judge. The internal practice also protects the company from public scrutiny and allows perpetrators to more easily get jobs in other companies, continuing the cycle of harassment.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Google’s decision and other policy changes in an email to employees, which was posted on the company’s blog:

Hi everyone,

At Google we try hard to build a workplace that supports our employees and empowers them to do their best work. As CEO, I take this responsibility very seriously and I’m committed to making the changes we need to improve. Over the past few weeks Google’s leaders and I have heard your feedback and have been moved by the stories you’ve shared.

We recognize that we have not always gotten everything right in the past and we are sincerely sorry for that. It’s clear we need to make some changes.

Going forward, we will provide more transparency on how we handle concerns. We’ll give better support and care to the people who raise them. And we will double down on our commitment to be a representative, equitable, and respectful workplace.

Today, we’re announcing a comprehensive action plan to make progress. It’s detailed here and I encourage everyone to read it. Here are some of the key changes:

• We will make arbitration optional for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. Google has never required confidentiality in the arbitration process and arbitration still may be the best path for a number of reasons (e.g., personal privacy) but, we recognize that choice should be up to you. 
  

• We will provide more granularity around sexual harassment investigations and outcomes at the company as part of our Investigations Report.
  

• We’re revamping the way we handle and look into your concerns in three ways: We’re overhauling our reporting channels by bringing them together on one dedicated site and including live support. We will enhance the processes we use to handle concerns—including the ability for Googlers to be accompanied by a support person. And we will offer extra care and resources for Googlers during and after the process. This includes extended counseling and career support,
  

• We will update and expand our mandatory sexual harassment training. From now on if you don’t complete your training, you’ll receive a one-rating dock in Perf (editor's note: Perf is our performance review system). 
  

• We will recommit to our company-wide OKR around diversity, equity and inclusion again in 2019, focused on improving representation—through hiring, progression and retention—and creating a more inclusive culture for everyone. Our Chief Diversity Officer will continue to provide monthly progress updates to me and my leadership team. 

I hope you’ll take the time to read the full range of actions we’re announcing today.

Thank you all for the feedback you’ve shared with us. This is an area where we need to continually make progress and are committed to doing so. We often hear from Googlers that the best part of working here is other Googlers. Even in difficult times, we are encouraged by the commitment of our colleagues to create a better workplace. That’s come through very strongly over the past few weeks.

-Sundar

Image source.

Discussion:

• Analyze Pichai’s message: the audience, communication objectives, organization, writing style, etc. What works well, and what could be improved?

• Overall, how well does the message address employees’ concerns?

• Pichai mentions that privacy may be a reason employees choose the arbitration process, but the Times article says arbitration mostly protects the company’s privacy? Should Pichai have omitted this line?

• What, if any, downsides do you see of Google responding to employees’ demands in this way?

Teacher Recommendation Letters Influence Harvard Decision

Details about Harvard’s admissions process are surfacing during the trial about how the university’s “race-conscious” decision policy may adversely affect Asian-Americans. The entire guidebook for admissions decisions in 2014 was entered into evidence.

This week, Harvard revealed that white students typically receive “somewhat stronger” recommendation letters from teachers and guidance counselors than Asian-American students, which affects each group’s “personal rating.” The personal ratings on based on characteristics such as kindness, courage, and leadership. When writing letters, reviewers are asked to assess “consistent testimony of an applicant’s unusual effervescence, charity, maturity, or strength of character.”

Back in 1990, the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights criticized Harvard’s practice of using a personal rating and admissions officers’ stereotypical comments of Asian-American students. The same issue seems to be presented here, with comments from teachers and guidance counselors.

Image source.

Discussion:

• How valuable do you think teacher and guidance counselor letters of recommendation are in the admissions process? How much weight should they carry in the overall decision?

• By definition, the personal rating includes subjective evaluations. Should universities try to avoid subjectivity in the admissions process? Why or why not?

Facebook's Messaging Over Time

The Wall Street Journal reports how Facebook has repositioned itself since its founding in 2004.

In 2005, at Harvard, founder Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook’s purpose is to ”look people up” and for “connecting to people.” In 2008, Facebooke expands and messages focus on helping people “share information. . . and share parts of their identity with each other.” In 2010, Zuckerberg’s vision enlarged: “People can have instantly social and personalized experiences everywhere that they go.” Soon after, Zuckerberg focused on problem solving.

In 2012, Zuckerberg said, “Our mission isn’t to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected.” By 2013, Zuckerberg was seeing Facebook’s role in selecting governments, getting healthcare access—improving people’s lives.

More recently, given concerns about privacy and misinformation, Zuckerberg’s messages focus on responsibility.

Image source.

Discussion:

• The WSJ video has a negative connotation about Facebook’s changing message, particularly in light of today’s news about shareholder proposals to split Zuckerberg’s roles. Do you agree with this assessment?

• How well has Zuckerberg handled messages about the evolution of Facebook in the past 14 years? What, if anything, can he do differently now?

• Do you agree with the proposal to split the CEO and chairman jobs? In other words, does Zuckerberg have too power? Does he need help at this point?

• How is Facebook’s evolving messaging a potential matter of integrity?

Amazon Loses Favor After Announcing $15 Wage

Amazon received good press for announcing employees would earn a minimum of $15/hour. But today’s news tells a different story.

Although the hourly wage will increase, Amazon is cutting bonuses and stock options, and employees fear it will cost them thousands of dollars in total compensation. The stock options, according to employees’ online posts, gave them a sense of company ownership. Some proposed walking out on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Amazon had also granted bonuses for attendance and productivity, called Variable Compensation Plan, or V.C.P.

In response, company leaders said they would look at employees’ total compensation to make sure no one would be worse off after the changes. A spokesperson also released this statement:

"The significant increase in hourly cash wages more than compensates for the phase out of incentive pay and [restrictive stock units]. We can confirm that all hourly Operations and Customer Service employees will see an increase in their total compensation as a result of this announcement. In addition, because it's no longer incentive-based, the compensation will be more immediate and predictable."

Box image source. Cart image source.

Discussion:

• This is quite possibly a miscommunication or, more to the point, poor communication from Amazon officials to employees. How could the company have done a better job?

• How well does the statement address the criticism? What else should the company communicate at this point?

• How is this an issue of integrity for the company?