Avon Products (A)

The general manager of Avon Mexico, Fernando Lezama, must decide whether to promote a woman to the position of vice president of sales. If appointed, the candidate would be the first female in all of Latin America to hold an executive position and one of the first women in Mexico to attain this level of responsibility. Lezama's all-male executive team has doubts about the candidate's readiness, but Lezama is also cognizant of Avon's global vision which calls for the advancement of women at all levels of the organization. Earlier in the year, the Avon Mexico organization had completed an exercise called "appreciative inquiry" aimed at enhancing gender relations in the workforce.