Here's an ugly story with a happy ending I heard from Michele Hunt, who at the time was senior vice-president of quality and people development at the Herman Miller Co. Hunt attributes the successful handling of the situation - and much of the overall success at Herman Miller - to the way management constantly looks for something it calls "learning opportunities." So while the story itself might be a little disturbing to hear, the results are impressive and indicative if the company's success. Here's what she said:

Although Herman Miller's facility in Sacramento is operated by people representing 27 nationalities, it is routinely the company's most productive plant. But even in this seemingly harmonious atmosphere, there are problems. One came to the fore when an employee brought his dog to the plant. When the dog barked menacingly at a group of men standing nearby, the owner used a racial slur to ignorantly try to explain away his dog's dislike for a specific ethnic group.

The incident was reported to management. But despite the vulgarity of the incident, the man was not fired, Hunt says. Instead, he was asked to take a series of awareness classes revolving around workplace diversity and the challenges it represents. He was made aware that while such comments are not acceptable, the company was willing to invest further in him by showing him why those comments have no place in the workplace and how damaging they can be. The man complied with the request, and Hunt says he has since become a leader in the company's diversity training programs.

The knee-jerk reaction by most companies, I think, would have been to fire that man. And you might argue that it's a justifiable action. But Herman Miller's commitment to those learning opportunities not only strengthens its employee base, it underscores one of the basic platforms of total quality management: that driving fear from the workplace can result in more productive employees. Workers who are responsible for their actions but know that errors in judgment - even colossal ones like using racial slurs - won't necessarily mean instant termination, are workers who will learn from those mistakes and continue to take initiatives that may ultimately help their companies.

The American workforce is rich with diversity - if only we can begin to see the diversity as richness instead of decline of the white male population. Likewise, the workplace is rich with opportunities for learning - if only we can begin to look at mistakes as opportunities instead of reasons to bludgeon one another. It may be hard to believe a man using a racial slur one day is raising consciousness the next, but changes in the workforce demand that kind of open-mindedness from everyone.