In the face of internal unrest, falling stock prices, and a growing public relations disaster, the men and women at the helm of Activision Blizzard are – the executives and board of directors– should all give up. Instead of this, You published a desperate press release in the middle of the night Announcement of the formation of a “Workplace Responsibility Committee”.
This committee appears to “monitor the company’s progress in successfully implementing its new policies, procedures and commitments to improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination within the company”. Guidelines that allegedly will not apply retrospectively to CEO Bobby Kotick’s conduct.
Activision has named the only two women on its ten-member board to chair that committee, and will add shortly “A new, diverse director for the board” to join them. And how will this committee work? Like this:
The committee will require management to develop performance metrics and / or other means to measure progress and ensure accountability. The Chief Executive Officer, Bobby Kotick, together with the Chief People Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer, will submit regular progress reports to the Committee, which will regularly inform the entire Board of Directors. The Committee is empowered to use outside consultants or advisors, including independent legal advisers, to assist in its work.
The committee, consisting of two board members, will inform the board of directors to which Kotick belongs. And outside advisors can be consulted, but there is no mention of any input from Activision Blizzard’s nearly 10,000 employees. The announcement concludes:
While the company has made important strides in improving workplace culture, with the support of the board of directors, it is clear that the current circumstances call for increased commitment from the board of directors. The formation of the committee and other future changes will help provide additional direct oversight and transparency and ensure that the company’s commitments to Activision Blizzard employees are met with urgency and effect. This has been a challenging time for the entire company, but the board is confident that measures will be taken to position the company for future success.
It was a challenging time as Kotick and other senior executives helped promote and then protect a culture of harassment and misogyny within the company. while the board, consists lots of Kotick’s old palsto continue to give him their full support. They haven’t done anything in the ten years prior to the lawsuit that blew it all up, and when they had the opportunity to make changes in the months since July, installed Blizzard’s first female co-head and then drove her out Feeling “tokenized, marginalized and discriminated”.
Activision Blizzard workers and fans don’t need any additional committees, especially not from the people who led them into this mess. You need everyone who is responsible for it.
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