Discussion Forum!

High End Department Stores There is a wide range of stores within the broad category of department stores. The most exclusive high end department stores are considered as offering superior employment situations in terms of environment, compensation and benefits. The attached study seeks to determine how people of color fare in these stores. Two key questions surround these stores. 1. Do high end department stores focus so much on locations in affluent neighborhoods that they limit access that nonwhite workers might have to employment there? 2. Regardless of accessibility to diverse work forces, do high end department stores maintain a diverse work force? Read the attached report: HIGH END DEPARTMENT STORES, THEIR ACCESS TO AND USE OF DIVERSE LABOR MARKETS The purpose of this research is to determine if high end department stores vary from that of other department stores with respect to their ability to access and utilize diverse labor pools. Two research hypotheses flow from this question, Hypothesis 1: Access to nonwhite workers will vary by type of department store. Hypothesis 2: Employment of nonwhite sales workers will vary by type of department store. Department stores in the ten largest metropolitan areas were examined: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami, Washington, Houston, Detroit and Boston. Questions:  What did the research conclude?  In your opinion what might explain these findings?