oting only white men to the ranks of management (Mickens, 1994, p. 265). He has said that women are not suited to the role of long-term strategic planning, although that remark was made privately and not to the staff as a whole. Another reason that John wants to maintain the status quo is that he hopes eventually to take the company public, and the fewer people who own stock, the more valuable his own shares will be at that time.
The accounting supervisor, Shelly (John's sister) is another powerful root guard in part because she also oversees the company's personnel issues (there is no formal human resource person in the organization) (Voves, 1996, p. 40). The company's insurance and benefits program is overseen by one of Ken's brothers, and Shelly serves as the liaison between staff members who have questions about their benefits.
While AEI Systems has functioned well without a formal diversity plan, the problems and li
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