Women, Work, & Identity: Harmonizing the Workplace
Hostile Environment? It’s All Gray
Sprewell: Violence in the Workplace?
Corrections or additions?
Survival Guide
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Women, Work, & Identity: Harmonizing the Workplace
These articles by Peter J. Mladineo and Barbara Fox were published
in U.S. 1 Newspaper on February 4, 1998. All rights reserved.
<B>Lisa Forrester has one of those success stories
that you like to hear, and she will tell it in the keynote speech
for the Princeton YWCA’s "Women, Work, and Identity"
conference
on Saturday, February 7, at 9 a.m. at the Nassau Club. Call
609-497-2100
for $30 registration.
As CEO of Harmony Schools, Forrester has 187 employees, and 182 of
them are women. Indeed, the success of her business is based on her
success in hiring and keeping women workers in a tight job market.
She is adept at understanding what goes on in women’s lives: "You
have to have a level of sensitivity but not at the expense of our
service to our customers," says Forrester. In other words, she
runs a family friendly firm.
She ignores the neat geometry of the organization charts so beloved
by the male half of the corporate world. "My bankers like to see
the organization chart, so I do it, but I don’t think you can run
a business in the ’90s with people boxed into positions."
Another strategy that will interest women in the job market is her
take on what her workers really want and need. "What I — and
people far more learned than I — have found, is that people don’t
work for money. A certain percentage of our people are transient,
but we have people who have been with us for 13 and 16 years, in an
industry where that is very uncommon."
Childcare wages are notoriously low, and Harmony pay scales range
from minimum wage to $30,000. But for women who divide their devotion
between work and family, flexibility counts a lot. If a worker is
stuck at home with a sick child, she doesn’t have to pretend she’s
going to her grandmother’s funeral. "We don’t force them to have
to lie. We try to be flexible but assign a level of
responsibility,"
says Forrester.
For instance, if a worker has to leave early because her child is
ill, she is encouraged to make her own arrangements with a co-worker
to cover her slot.
Harmony’s plurality (she has centers in Forrestal Village, Foxmoor,
Trenton, and Chambersburg) also helps in such staffing emergencies.
If one of the five centers is suddenly shorthanded "we call in
the sister centers," says Forrester, acknowledging that, yes,
it’s another gender-based image. "My five sites are in a 25-mile
range and we are sort of like a family."
Forrester also depends on all her staffers to be willing to step in
anywhere. If a center is overstaffed on a particular day, "we
will use that person do all kinds of things we never get done, such
as logging in art supplies or extra heavy duty cleaning."
That’s also part of the family work ethic, that no one is "too
good" to do anything. "I don’t necessarily know that’s a
gender
thing," says Forrester, "but to a reasonable degree I can
presume it is, or that it is typical of someone working in a human
resources field."
"Everybody who comes to Harmony knows we don’t ask why, we ask
where," says Forrester. "Even for clerical staff, when we
interview them, we tell them the god’s honest truth, that they may
end up changing diapers."
About those workers who refuse to help with the less glamorous tasks:
"We can’t afford to get rid of the dead wood now but that is our
goal," says Forrester. "When I tell someone we need her to
clean up a mess on the floor, and I have a baby on each arm and am
rocking one with my foot, and she refuses — it would be different
if I were sitting up at my desk eating chocolates and staring out
the window. Our game plan is to get those people out of our
organization
as fast as we possibly can. We are in a continuous mode of
interviewing."
Part of being a family friendly company is old-fashioned courtesy.
"My fifth center just became accredited, and I’m handwriting a
note to everyone on that staff to let them know that I know they were
there for us," says Forrester.
Another key factor in Forrester’s success is, you guessed it,
dependable
child care for her own babies, now 15, 13, and 10. "I didn’t have
to worry about how to find it or how good it was. That was terribly
significant," says Forrester. It also helped other parents to
trust the quality she provided.
Lisa Tomasulo Forrester grew up in Hamilton where her mother was a
secretary and her dad sold cars (he’s at Lawrence Lincoln Mercury).
She went to what is now College of New Jersey, Class of 1974, and
taught music in Hamilton schools for seven years. With the dream of
opening her own school, she attended "a million things,
bootstrapping,
listening to what worked and what didn’t."
"I had not one iota of business background," says Forrester.
With their attorney and accountant, both sole practitioners, she and
her husband did a rudimentary business plan and a demographic study
that consisted of a map with push pins. They taught themselves how
to do payroll and accounts payable and worked 12 to 16 hour days.
"At 28 I didn’t know enough to be as scared as I should have
been,"
says Forrester, who was simultaneously earning her master’s degree
in child care administration from Nova University in Florida, where
her class was one of the first distance learning groups to communicate
by computer.
She chose the degree rather than the one-day $99 "blitzkrieg"
sessions in subjects like budgets or employee manuals because she
needed to force herself to work through the material, not merely have
a book on the shelf. The degree work paid off. "We have the best
employee manual going," says Forrester, and now she requires all
workers to review the manual and take a pop quiz every year "to
be sure they are paying attention, to know why you have to wash hands
every single time you wipe a little kid’s nose, to know what is a
reasonable bereavement absence. That way it’s fair."
Her husband, Lee (Villanova, Class of 1972), was a public defender
in Mercer County’s juvenile courts, and he kept his day job while
helping at night with Harmony and co-parenting responsibilities.
"I
don’t know we would have gotten the Small Business Association loan
without Lee’s job," says Forrester. The banking climate was not
as friendly to women-owned businesses as it is today.
When Lee became presiding judge of Mercer County Superior Court in
the family division, he rescinded any interest in the business. "I
thought, wow, you are on your own, sister," says Forrester.
The world of women business owners has changed, even in the last 10
years. In 1987 when Forrester was 35, she had two toddlers, was 7
1/2 months pregnant, and was in the process of opening her second
child care center in Princeton. She went before a government committee
to compete for the contract for a third center in Trenton and had
to contend with questions about whether she, as a mother of three,
was going to be able to manage the additional work. Says Forrester:
"I asked them if they would ask a man that question and they
admitted
they would not." Everybody (well, almost everyone) knows better
than to ask that question today.
— Barbara Fox
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Women & Work:
Mindset of Success
Women do need a way to get together and learn how to
be in the workplace — to address some of the emotional issues
as well as the skills needed. So says Robin Fein, a therapist
who is one of the co-organizers of the Psychology of Women and Money
workshop sponsored by the Princeton YWCA on Saturday, February 4,
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Nassau Club, 6 Mercer Street. For $30
reservations
call 609-497-2100.
Lisa T. Forrester, president and CEO of the Harmony Schools,
will give the keynote address at the workshop entitled "Women,
Work, and Identity" (see story above). Participants will be able
to choose two workshops from five: Psychotherapist Fein leads
"When
Being at Home is Work: Making Family Life Better." Joanne Gere Rein of
U.S. 1 Newspaper and Donna Wilson of Thomas Edison
State College will present "Marketing Yourself: Taking Advantage
of Strong Economic Times." Ozana Castellano, a business professor
and professional resume writer, will cover "Getting Started:
Effective
Career Building Strategies." "Financing Your Future: Making
the Most of Your Money" is the topic for Judy Camisa and Marianna
Goldenberg, financial consultants at Merrill Lynch. Mindi Turin,
psychologist,
discusses "Creating the Work You Love: a Self Discovery
Approach."
"Most women are dealing with questions on how to manage the
demands
of work and family. Even though things have changed quite a bit women
still tend to take more responsibility," says Fein. Time spent
at work is immediately rewarding, and you know what you have to do.
Time spent at home? Well, anything could be happening when you walk
in the door. It may not be immediately rewarding and there will
certainly
be no blueprint for what to do.
In her workshop she will help women identify concerns and get ideas
on how to deal with situations. "In the little community we will
have for the moment a lot can happen."
Fein majored in education at Hofstra, Class of 1977, and earned her
LCSW from Hunter before doing postgraduate study in psychoanalysis.
She has been practicing in Princeton for eight years and is active
in community and educational organizations such as the YWCA leading
discussions of women’s issues, addiction, and psychology of money.
Her practice involves helping individuals and couples with anxiety,
depression, separation, divorce, and trauma issues. She is married
to Ashley Paul Wright, clinical director at Association for
the Advancement of Mental Health.
Wilson, corporate services representative, is an alumna of the College
of New Jersey and has an MBA from Atlanta University. She will discuss
not only how to "reinvent" yourself and grow a long-term
career
by being willing to take on new responsibilities, but also how Thomas
Edison State College can give credit for life experience. The college
also has a new MBA program. Gere Rein went to Bard College and the
School of Visual Arts in New York. She will help workshop participants
learn to use networking skills to jump-start their careers.
In today’s market, says Gere Rein, "people who want to make job
changes or re-enter the workforce are more valuable than ever."
Studies show that people who are in place now and are happy where
they are less likely to move because they have lived through the
recession.
"Positions that used to attract 200 applicants are now getting
50 applicants."
Standards have not been substantially lowered, but it takes longer
to hire and new hires are being paid more. Also entry level
opportunities
are expanding at companies where a "good hard worker" can
stand out and move up the ladder.
"The Princeton marketplace is especially tight because of the
high tech skills needed here," she says. "Do go looking
now,"
she advises. "And upgrade whatever technology you have because
at whatever level you are working at — that skill will be
needed."
Use the right words and the right image to put your best foot forward,
urges Ozana Castellano, a professional writer and job coach.
"Give yourself the edge and differentiate yourself," says
Castellano. "You are the product. You have the edge your
competitor
may not have. Put all the pieces together — your stationery, your
words, your clothes, your handshake, even the pen you bring to the
interview. They create one big significant image, and your image
follows
you through."
Born in Yugoslavia, Castellano immigrated when she was 11 years old.
She went to Hofstra (Class of 1977), and has an MBA from St. John’s.
She now teaches business communications at Mercer County Community
College and has a resume writing and job coaching service. "I
am not a career counselor, but I give concrete tips for what I know
will work," she says.
Many of her tips will be familiar to veterans of the jobhunt circuit,
but her suggestions of what props to bring to the interview, and how
to use them, are intriguing. Bring a smart looking leather folder
with copies of your resume, documents supporting your resume, a pad
— and an executive style pen.
Near the beginning of the interview, open your folder to offer the
interviewer another copy of your resume and leave it open to a copy
for yourself. "It’s reassuring to know it’s there."
The pad is for you to jot down information as you feel comfortable.
"Many interviewers find it impressive if you consider information
vital." And you’re using that executive style pen, just one more
bright light in the overall image.
"Sit up straight. Use lots of eye contact," she advises.
"And
know your resume cold. It’s fair game to ask you about anything on
your resume, so be sure you can explain any points easily and be able
to bring up accomplishments. Leave the interviewer with the impression
you are exuding self confidence."
Most important, says Castellano, always send a thank you letter. For
her more than 1,000 clients she provides a ready-made guaranteed to
impress thank you letter, which they can tailor to their own style.
"It shows follow through and professionalism to point out
something
you have spoken about during the interview. Mail it out no later than
the day of the interview," she insists. And use fabulous
stationery.
One of her clients, on her second visit, was greeted by an interviewer
who had posted the letter on his bulletin board. "Erica,"
he said, "I’ve never had such a nice thank you letter. You got
the job."
In addition to speaking at the February 7 workshop, Castellano will
teach a Princeton YWCA workshop in resume writing and job hunting
techniques on Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m.
Judy Camisa
and Marianna Goldenberg will tell all you
ever needed to know about the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 — but
didn’t have time to ask. They are financial consultants with Merrill
Lynch on Franklin Corner Road, and the event is co-sponsored by
Merrill
Lynch.
"For women, their money has to last them longer through retirement
so they have to do a better job with saving," says Camisa, noting
other financial challenges that women uniquely must face. "Women
take time off from work to have children and to care for elderly
parents,"
she says. "When they’re not working they’re not contributing to
their retirement plans at work, and they’re not contributing to social
security."
She and Goldenberg will discuss the tax law changes that can help
you put money into a tax-deferred plan, help get your children
educated,
and build your wealth. They will explain why you might choose the
new Roth IRA and the $500 education IRA over the more familiar plans.
"We will have a lot of Q&A," says Camisa. "People are
very confused about such laws as the new allowances on capital gains
on the primary residence." Those who will benefit most from the
new tax law, she agrees, "are the accountants."
Mindi Turin likes to quote Helen Keller, who said that life
is "a bold adventure or nothing." "Finding the work of
your heart is the most important thing," says psychologist Turin.
"If you are truly doing what is in your own deep best interest,
not just what feels good, you are also acting in the best interest
of the people important to you — as well as in the interest of
humanity and the planet."
In her workshop for the Princeton YWCA’s "Women, Work, and
Identity"
conference, Turin will try to start each participant on an inner
journey
to find her "work of the heart."
Turin studied education at Temple, Class of ’67, raised a family,
and then earned her master’s degree in psycho-educational processes
from Temple. She did group work and trained in family therapy,
finishing
her PhD at Temple in 1992, and she is now licensed in New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. In her practice she does a lot of work with grief and
loss and general problems of life’s transitions and life’s challenges.
She is married and has children ages 26 and 28.
Employers should care that their workers are slotted appropriately,
says Turin. "We know that when people are functioning better they
are healthier and they miss less work." But high-earning workers
also need to be sure they are in the right job. "Immediate
gratification
is not always what’s best," says Turin. "Sometimes it feels
good to eat chocolate, but it would be better to take walk around
the block. It may be in your own best interest to leave your job
rather
than stay at work that is diminishing to you but provides a large
income."
Turin espouses the work of Rick Jarow, a student of East Indian
philosophy,
religion, and language who wrote "Creating the Work You Love."
She tries to help people align their energies in three areas: dealing
with abundance versus scarcity, passion versus numbness, and power
and focus versus confusion. Operating under a "scarcity"
mentality,
we might tell ourselves we "can’t afford" to do what we should
be doing.
To be passionate about your work, not succumbing to numbness, says
Turin, involves working out family dynamics, historical experiences,
and emotional conflicts.
Finding power and focus involves setting goals and trajectories,
determining
and making commitments. Says Turin: "When people really make
commitments,
providence moves. Things open up to you."
Find out your unique gift, Turin urges. "At no time in history
or in the future will anyone exactly like you be here again. We need
to find the gift, identify it, and express it through the work that
we do. That brings joy to ourselves and makes a contribution to the
planet humanity."
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Depressed Women
One out of every six people is depressed, but if you’re a woman, your
chances just went up, says Carolyn Armenia, a psychologist
practicing
in East Brunswick. "Women are more likely to be depressed than
men two to one," she says.
Armenia and Alison Petraske, an obstetrician and gynecologist,
discuss women and depression at the Princeton and Hightstown/East
Windsor Business and Professional Women on Friday, February 9, at
7:30 p.m. at the West Windsor Library. Call 908-359-2034. Armenia
lists three different types of depression:
"comes on you like a ton of bricks," Armenia says. "You
end up with the symptoms of depression without a cause you can put
a finger on." This tends to get passed down from generation to
generation. Persons who suffer from this usually need medication and
counseling.
depression"
causes low self-esteem and negativity. This can be treated by
psychotherapy
alone and sometimes, medications as well.
with major depression. Armenia warns that persons afflicted with this
infirmity are at higher risk of suicide.
situational factors like a relationship breakup or a divorce, says
Armenia. "It’s specific; you know what triggered it. You can
pinpoint
it, which you can’t do with major depression."
"In the work environment there are some causes of depression that
people don’t look at — reengineering, downsizing, and
outsourcing,"
says Armenia. "That’s one of the major reasons people see me.
Some people are out of work for a long time. It decreases your
self-esteem
the longer you are out. It’s not easy to get fired."
Armenia reports that women are especially prone to have their
depression
misdiagnosed. "It’s a difficult diagnosis to separate out because
depression has an anxiety component and women need to be careful of
how they present their symptoms to their doctors," she says.
"There’s
the cultural view that women are always anxious and should be calmed
down."
Mistaking depression for anxiety can be disastrous because drugs used
to treat anxiety are akin to downers, while anti-depressants are akin
to uppers, Armenia adds.
Armenia names a few symptoms of depression: "Persistent sad or
empty mood; anxious mood; panic attacks; restlessness; irritability;
excessive crying; guilt; helplessness; hopelessness; pessimism;
sleeping too much or too little; difficulty getting to sleep or
staying
asleep; appetite or weight changes; thoughts of death or suicide;
difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions; headaches;
digestive disorders; chronic pain; diarrhea; backaches; nausea."
Now that just about all of us are ready to start popping Prozacs,
Armenia adds more cautions: before giving yourself a self-diagnosis,
seek professional help. And, if it does turn out that you’re
depressed,
don’t assume that popping pills will cure you. "Medication alone
might help, but it doesn’t do the trick," says Armenia. "It
may make you feel better but you don’t learn better coping
skills."
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Twin Forms Due
The deadline for nominating outstanding women for the
1998 TWIN Award Program is Thursday, February 5.
Honorees will be announced on Thursday, March 5, and applauded on
Thursday, May 14, at the awards ceremony at the Hyatt. To obtain the
nomination criteria, contact Frances Ianacone at
609-936-0011.
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Networking, Yes
For those inexperienced in the art, "networking"
can be a dirty word. Suffer agonies in a room of strangers? Never
know what to say when you have to introduce yourself? Find out how
to help yourself at the Mercer chapter meeting of the New Jersey
Association
of Women Business Owners on Thursday, February 12, at 6 p.m. at the
Palmer Inn.
Founded two years ago, the Mercer chapter has grown to approximately
50 members, one of 15 chapters in the state. It aims to encourage
ownership of business by women, provide a voice for businesswomen
in local, state, and federal legislative bodies, provide training
and assistance, and increase the visibility of women business owners
through participation in the business community. NJAWBO is the only
statewide organization of its kind, says the chapter’s publicist,
Marcia Guberman of Maid Daily Services Inc.,
Katherine Kish, president of Market Entry and a renowned
networker
herself, will tell about the benefits of relationship building.
Arlene
Schragger, president of ADS Public Relations and Marketing, will
give specific tips. Freda Howard, president of Howard Lane Gift
Baskets, will share her experiences of her transition from the
corporate
world to the small business world — by using networking, of
course.
With experience, says Guberman, "networking is not the `dirty’
word that inexperienced networkers think it is. It can truly become
an event to look forward to." For $29 reservations call
609-924-7975.
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Contracts in Trenton
<B>Gwendolyn I. Long, chief of staff for the City
of Trenton, will discuss "The Nuts & Bolts of Doing Business with
the City" on Tuesday, February 10, at 11:30 a.m. at Maxine’s
Restaurant,
120 South Warren Street, Trenton. For $20 reservations call the
Metropolitan
Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce at 609-393-3229 and send
checks to MTAACC, 1300 Hamilton Avenue, Second Floor, Trenton 08629.
The chamber aims to provide these services to members’ companies:
research and analyze the companies, create new business opportunities,
help problem solve, provide specialized training, and conduct market
and capital flow research.
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Hostile Environment? It’s All Gray
The sex scandal overshadowing the Clinton administration
is bearing the brunt of thousands of jokes; most of them of prurient
nature. But while it’s okay to crack one on national television,
sending
one to a buddy on the corporate intranet could be cause to give your
supervisor palpitations, or cause to get your company involved in
a legal battle.
That’s because the legal jurisdiction has been complicated by the
expansion of sexual harassment from the standard quid pro quo
domain (sexual favors in exchange for career advancement) to the
"hostile
environment" scenario, where a dirty picture on the wall or an
overheard dirty joke could lead to an expensive settlement.
And some lawyers are worried that the new attitudes du jour
impinge on the First Amendment. "The problem is balancing the
person’s right of free speech and opinion with what other people in
the workplace might take as creating a hostile environment for
them,"
says Marilyn Sneirson, a partner at Reed Smith Shaw & McClay’s
Newark office. "We have reverted to a very sterile and cautious
workplace because juries are awarding a lot of money for sexual
harassment
and hostile work environments. Can you talk about the latest movie
or the jokes you heard Howard Stern say on your way to work, or do
you have to refrain from discussion like that because the next day
your company can be sued for sexual harassment?"
As trite as it seems, something as innocuous as a Presidential sex
joke could be blown into a sexual harassment investigation, which
could be long, complicated, and expensive. Sneirson and fellow Reed
Smith labor attorneys Don Innamorato,
Lynn Su, and
Stephanie
Wilson will discuss this issue on Tuesday, February 10, at 8:30
a.m. at the Hilton Gateway in Newark. Call 973-621-3180.
Reed Smith defends management in employment law matters, but, as
Sneirson
explains, sexual harassment cases are beginning to dominate the firm’s
attentions. Sneirson, a former art teacher who joined the firm last
August, is making a name for herself as an expert on the subject,
appearing frequently on Court TV. "My area of discrimination on
behalf of management has sharply changed in focus," she says.
"Where years ago it was race discrimination or age discrimination,
the majority of cases now are sexual harassment cases."
But the territory surrounding what constitutes the "hostile work
environment" is almost all gray. Late last year a surprising
decision
was rendered by a Colorado court. In MacKenzie vs. Miller Brewing,
an executive who had been fired for repeating a sexually suggestive
line from a "Seinfeld" episode, successfully sued his employer
and the woman who got him fired for wrongful termination. He was
awarded
millions. "Where the line in the sand is we don’t really know
until the next decision comes down," says Sneirson.
Free speech is not the only thing to be eroded by the sexual
harassment
canon. "The other issues that we’ll deal with are the
investigations
themselves," says Don Innamorato. "What are your obligations,
how to perform the investigations, and more importantly, what becomes
discoverable to a plaintiff in a sexual harassment lawsuit? What
attorneys
are finding now is that there is no longer attorney-client privilege.
Courts are now opening those files."
This can have a "chilling" effect on an investigation,
Innamorato
reports. "When everything can be placed under a microscope at
some point people are less likely to be candid," he says.
But underneath the issue of sexual harassment is a growing frustration
that politically correct attitudes have been pushed too far.
"Who’s
the one who’s going to be charged with making certain that the
workplace
is free of innuendo and hostility and how much is it going to cost
in dollars?" says Sneirson. "Who is the arbiter of political
correctness?"
Top Of Page
Sprewell: Violence in the Workplace?
The Latrell Sprewell saga really brings home the
fact that the sports world is really Never Never Land in disguise.
In what other sphere would there be any questions of how to treat
an employee who assaulted and threatened to kill his boss? The drama
began when Sprewell, a rookie superstar playing on a $7.7
million-a-year
contract for the Golden State Warriors, assaulted coach P.J.
Carlesimo
during practice, then returned from the locker room 20 minutes later
and assaulted him again, this time threatening to kill him.
Immediately following the incident, the Warriors suspended Sprewell
for 10 games. Then after further examination, the team terminated
his four-year contract, and within a week, the National Basketball
Association banished him from the league for the rest of the season.
The NBA Player’s Association came to Sprewell’s rescue — it has
been arguing that Sprewell’s punishment was too harsh, and was "a
rush to judgment." Their case is being argued now in a courtroom
in Portland, Oregon, presided over by John Feerick, the
respected
former president of Fordham University Law School. Sprewell has
retained
Johnny Cochran.
Stark & Stark is having a seminar relating the Sprewell case to a
violence in the workplace scenario on Wednesday, February 11, at 7
p.m. at Rider University. Call 609-896-7307. The panelists are Tom
Lewis, employment law litigator with Stark & Stark; Beth
Baldinger,
a victims’ rights attorney; Ian Eagle, a sports broadcaster
for WFAN radio; Keith Glass, sports agent and attorney; and
Dave Cohen, attorney and broadcaster.
"In this case P.J. Carlesimo is really management and Sprewell
is the employee," Lewis says. "If Latrell Sprewell worked
in a corporation, could management terminate him if he grabbed the
boss around the neck and threatened to kill him? And my answer is
yes. I don’t think the employee has a right to threaten to kill his
supervisor."
In legal speak, the employer has the right to "take control of
the workplace environment and to abrogate any problems" that could
arise because of an unruly or disgruntled employee’s actions, says
Lewis.
But it’s the NBA’s year-long suspension of Sprewell that creates the
biggest controversy. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the league
did it because it wanted to prevent the sport from getting a
reputation
for allowing "hoop thugs" to take over. Lewis feels that the
NBA’s suspension is a tacit admission that pro basketball teams would
place their own interests above the principle of nonviolence. "I
think a one-year imposition of non-playability in the NBA was done
because there would be a bidding war for Sprewell by the other teams
in the NBA," he says.
For Sprewell, the one-year suspension turns out to be a major setback.
As the Golden State Warriors are one of the NBA’s worst teams,
Sprewell’s
contract termination might have been a blessing in disguise. An
all-star,
he would most likely get snapped up by another team — a better
team — in a snap.
The Players Association is arguing the case by saying that Sprewell
has been denied due process and the attendant opportunity to be heard.
A multi-pronged punishment like that on Sprewell would have trouble
standing in a non-athletic business milieu, Lewis reports. "If
you fired an employee you could not then bar the employee from finding
employment for a one-year length of time."
Sprewell’s supporters could argue that the league’s severity towards
him is an overzealous reaction to criticism it received in recent
years for not punishing violent incidents involving basketball
players,
such as Charles Barkley‘s thrashing of a civilian in a bar some
months ago, or Dennis Rodman‘s kicking of a photographer last
year.
But Sprewell shouldn’t expect too much sympathy from a public that
is both envious of and frightened by players with multimillion-dollar
salaries and correspondingly large egos. "The newspapers seem
to make the issue that Latrell Sprewell is a victim of some sort,"
Lewis says. "But it’s real hard to feel sorry for Latrell. He
was making $7.7 million a year. And he had a propensity for
violence."
You would expect sympathy for Sprewell from Keith Glass, a sports
agent for the last 17 years who represents several players, including
Matt Maloney, a Houston Rocket (and Charles Barkley’s teammate).
But no. Glass, a high school and college basketball coach for 14
years,
thinks that the one-year banishment is "is not long enough. The
guy still has his career," he says.
Glass articulates his reasoning: "I’m riding in the car now with
my assistant. If he tried to choke me, he’s fired. It’s not like I’m
going to let him back in a year. It’s so far out of bounds."
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Norma Rae, Away
To a human resources professional who works in a
non-union
shop, the specter of unions organizing is anathema. "Keeping Norma
Rae at Bay" is the topic for Jonathan A. Segal for the
meeting
of the Human Resource Management Association on Monday, February 9,
at 5:30 p.m. at the Baldassari Regency in Trenton.
Segal is a partner with the Philadelphia law firm of Wolf, Block
Schorr,
and Solis-Cohen. He trains managers and develops and implements
policies
and protocol designed to avoid litigation, unionization, and employee
attrition, and he serves as a consultant to the Federal Judicial
Center
on Gender Bias. For $30 reservations call Bill DelGesso at
215-576-6230
by February 4.
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Telemarketers’ Call
Telemarketing doesn’t have to mean the person you are
calling will hate you," admonishes Paul Calendrillo. Done
properly, it can be valuable not only to the marketer but to the
customer
as well. He will discuss "Effective Telemarketing for Products
and Services" for the Business Marketing Association on Tuesday,
February 10, at 5:30 p.m. at the Newark Airport Marriott. Call
732-417-5601
for $25 reservations.
A graduate of New York University, where he earned a master’s degree,
Calendrillo has had senior training and development positions with
Merrill Lynch, Citicorp, PaineWebber, and NatWest Bank. Telemarketing
results are predictable and measurable, he says, and it is also cost
effective and flexible. To overcome the objections:
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Take a consultative approach.
Define your primary objective carefully.
Define your niche carefully.
Use nonthreatening openers, and always remember to
"close
the sale."
Top Of Page
Business Meetings
For the schedule of business meetings, go to the U.S. 1 Events
calendar.
Corrections or additions?
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