Activision Blizzard is trying to smooth things over in the current chaos and is creating a new committee. It remains to be seen whether it will be met with much approval.
We remember: Activision Blizzard is not doing well. You know, California lawsuit, sexual harassment, toxic work environment, distressed Bobby Kotick, pissed off employees, and so on. To smooth things over a little, Activision Blizzard has created a new committee.
The “Workplace Responsibility Committee” is to take care of working conditions in the future and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination. The only two female board members who will soon be reinforced by another person have been appointed for this purpose. The committee should also be empowered to call in external consultants if necessary:
The Committee will require management to develop key performance indicators and/or other means to measure progress and ensure accountability. The Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Kotick, along with the Chief People Officer and Chief Compliance Officer will provide frequent progress reports to the Committee, which will regularly brief the full Board. The Committee is empowered to retain outside consultants or advisers, including independent legal counsel, to assist in its work.
The committee is unlikely to meet with approval from the employees, as their participation in the committee is not mentioned at any point. Those actually affected by the conditions at Activision Blizzard apparently have nothing to report to the committee. In addition, it should be seen as problematic that the committee consists of board members who, despite serious allegations, recently stood behind CEO Bobby Kotick.
The criticism of the company continues. After Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has now also expressed its criticism of the activities at Activision Blizzard. Nintendo President Doug Bowser has apparently expressed in an e-mail to all employees of Nintendo of America that the situation at Activision Blizzard is felt to be “stressful and disturbing”. They are in contact with Activision Blizzard and have “taken measures and would evaluate more”, without, however, specifically expressing what kind of measures are involved.
