Organizational behavior at PepsiCo

THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR MOST MINORITIES IN CORPORATE America is not getting hired, it's retention and advancement--particularly for minorities who are middle managers looking to move into senior level positions.
Ron Parker, PepsiCo's senior vice president for human resources, believes that a major disconnect between company management and minority is culture--both associated with race and a company's environment. Managing the corporate culture forces employees to understand the performance mandates of their position in the context of the company's political structure. With issues of race, cultural differences can discourage open communications between associates, which is crucial for company growth. For example, some minorities may not ask necessary performance questions, because they don't want to be perceived as inadequate. Conversely, some managers are reluctant to offer feedback to minority employees for fear of being seen as racist.
"Sometimes, information is not being withheld deliberately but culturally." Offers Maurice Cox, Vice President for diversity and development. As a result, PepsiCo has included training in organizational behavior to its repertoire of diversity workshops.
Sample workshops include topics such as how to give and receive feedback, how to develop and leverage your internal relationships with mentors and other associates, and how to manage your personal profile within the company.
What sets this initiative apart is PepsiCo's requirement that individual managers are reviewed based on goals they set before going through diversity training. Before the workshops, the company runs a manager quality index survey to take the pulse of how managers are faring in effectively communicating with their employees.
"In the survey we ask how does a manager constructively address performance issues; how effective is he with working with people different from himself; does a manager support diversity? "says Parker.
Parker explains that these questions are designed to help managers set personal goals for how best to manage a diverse workforce. The responses are incorporated into each manager's performance review.