The current issue with Nike stems from its corrupt corporate culture, which puts women in a position of weakness. It allows powerful men in charge of the company to abuse and suppresses them, preventing them from reaching the positions they deserve without being harassed or denigrated. There are four potential ways of dealing with a problem: absolving, solving, resolving, and dissolving (Ackoff, 2019). Given the scope and the long-term aims for Nike and society in general, the only acceptable solution would be to dissolve it. The process of dissolution revolves around removing the underlying causes for the problem to exist in the first place. Absolving means ignoring the problem, solving – giving the women that were harmed some sort of compensation without making changes, and resolving – giving them the means to fight back without actively trying to change the toxic culture towards something better (Singh, 2018). Just allowing women to fight back is not enough – Nike should make it so that they do not have to.
From an organizational framework perspective, the transformation of Nike’s culture should be done on all levels, from top to bottom. If harassment, cronyism, and corruption are acceptable at the top, there is nothing to stop them from occurring at the bottom levels (Singh, 2018). Therefore, Parker and the rest of Nike’s leadership must implement policies and solutions on all levels. This involves disincentivizing such behavior and ensuring that any potential sources of it are extinguished before they could take root again.
The proposed plan of action, thus, is to conduct a massive revision of every individual employee and manager to determine their complicity in the acts that have been perpetrated in Nike for ages. All individuals found complicit should be removed from the company. That includes Mr. Parker and the rest of the board themselves, as they have been benefitting from the system while closing their eyes on it. The new leadership would be the one to implement and install a new culture based on equality, capability, and diversity.
References
Ackoff, R. (2019). No problem stays solved in a dynamic environment. Web.
Singh, B. D. (2018). Managing conflict and negotiation (2nd ed.). Excel Books India.