According to J. Howard & Associates- Few Hispanics Think Merit Key To Job Advancement.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

Fewer than one in four Hispanic employees believes merit counts most in order for people to be promoted at their company, according to a national telephone survey by J. Howard & Associates, a multicultural consulting unit of Provant, Inc. Only 22% of Hispanics think merit is key compared with 40% and 41.5% for Whites and Blacks respectively.

In your company, which of the following counts most in order for people to be promoted?

                       White      Black     Hispanic

Merit                  40.0%      41.5%       22.0%
Seniority              29.4%      15.3%       26.6%
Connections            15.0%      24.6%       30.8%
Luck                    5.7%       7.0%        6.7%

Given a choice among merit, seniority, connections and luck as the primary reason for promotions by their employer, 30.8% of Hispanics cited connections and 26.6% seniority. One quarter of Blacks also credit connections compared with just 15% of whites.

"With these findings we're seeing the interplay of two separate things," said J. Howard & Associates President and CEO Mike Hyter. "First, while many Blacks and Whites have come to share a trust in the idea of a merit, a significant minority of Blacks -- one quarter -- mistrust the system and believe personal relationships or connections are what's actually pivotal. Second, even though more Hispanics than Blacks cite personal connections, it probably doesn't indicate mistrust on their part so much as their acceptance that family and friends are more reliable than any abstract system."

Similarly, few Blacks (15.3%) trust in seniority, observed Hyter. "But nearly one-third of Whites thinks seniority is the main thing, and this sentiment is particularly strong among those earning $25-49.9K a year, who are disproportionately industrial or government workers where seniority plays a big career role. Although many Hispanics (26.6%) also cite seniority, this may have less to do with union experience as it does with traditional respect for status or hierarchy in their culture."

It is essential for senior management to understand the differences in beliefs systems and values among employees, said Hyter. "With this research we're not reinforcing stereotypes. Instead, we're going to the core of the matter...how people think they get promoted as well as the reality or unreality of the American corporate meritocracy. To assume every employee shares in the same trust in the system is self-defeating. But to ask probing questions is the first step to creating greater fairness and improving productivity in the workplace."

The Excel National Omnibus Survey of 1,010 adult Americans was conducted for J. Howard & Associates by International Communications Research, Media, PA. Findings are based on the 604 individuals who were employed at the time of the survey.

Established in 1977, J. Howard & Associates is among the country's leading resources on diversity, inclusion and human resource development and serves client organizations in North and South America as well as Europe. The company is a unit of Boston-based Provant, Inc.