Millards’ Training Department AGE Discrimination Welcome Instructions Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself History Please view this in Slide Show mode Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department AGE Discrimination Welcome Instructions Overview Story Ageism A 20-minute lesson to discourage biased behaviors and attitudes towards elderly customers Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Welcome! Overview Story This lesson introduces you to the topic of age discrimination, or ageism. Complaints about the treatment of elderly customers of Millard’s Department stores are increasing. In order to address this problem we are asking all employees to take part in this 20-minute training. Ageism Test Yourself History Facts & Implications You will be asked to share your thoughts and ideas on how to reduce discriminatory behavior towards the elderly. At the end of this lesson we ask you to submit two ideas to improve customer relations with the elderly. All ideas will be judged by a panel of three individuals, with the top three ideas receiving a bonus of $500 each. Summary Your Challenge Sincerely, Burt Millard, President Millard’s Department Stores Slide 3 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Instructions Instructions Overview Using this lesson is easy. Anytime you want to skip around, click the menu items on the side panel. Story To move sequentially through the lesson, click the next button at the bottom of this screen. Ageism To figure out how many more slides you need to read, check these numbers. History When you see the brainwork icon below, this is your signal to stop and provide answers. Summary Test Yourself Facts & Implications Your Challenge Brainwork Icon You must type in answers when asked. When satisfied with your answer, click the Done button. Clicking Done will store your answer in a file that will later be sent you your supervisor. You cannot move to the next slide until you have clicked Done. DONE A picture of the Done button. 4 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Overview Overview Story You will start by reading a story of an elderly woman’s shopping experience. Ageism Test Yourself You will learn that the root of the story's problem is age discrimination or ageism. History Facts & Implications You will be given the opportunity to explore any potential biases you might have in three short tests. Summary You will review a brief history of prejudice and then explore a number of facts about the elderly consumer that can be integrated into the Millard culture. Your Challenge At the end of the lesson you will use all of this information to make a creative suggestion about how Millards should work towards solving the ageism problem. Slide 5 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions A story Overview Story Story Last fall an elderly woman shopped in a department store to find clothing for an upcoming vacation. She stood for a while at the clothing rack trying to locate something she liked. While she searched, two sales clerks were talking and laughing nearby. Ageism Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Both sales clerks assumed that the woman was poor since was wearing an old dingy raincoat and carried a plastic bag that appeared to be her purse. Clearly the older woman didn’t seem to be the kind of person who could afford to be shopping in that department anyway. Summary Your Challenge After 10 minutes a young couple walked in. One of the sales clerks immediately asked the couple if there was anything in particular that they were looking for. The other sales clerk walked to a different section of the store. Eventually the elderly woman found a number of clothing items she liked. These she piled Slide 6 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions A story(continued) Overview 10 inches deep onto her frail arm. As she walked towards the dressing room, several items trailed onto the floor. The salesclerk stopped her scolding loudly “You’ve got too many items for the dressing room.” Story Story The woman apologized meekly while the salesclerk pointed to a barely legible sign illuminated poorly under a dim light. “5 item limit per dressing room” History Ageism Test Yourself Facts & Implications Summary While the woman dressed she didn’t receive help when she needed a change in the size of the clothes, nor did the sales clerk offer to exchange the old items for the ones she hadn’t yet tried on. Your Challenge The old woman left the store without purchasing anything. Instead she went home and ordered her clothing from a mail order catalog. Slide 7 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions A story(continued) Overview When her son called her that evening she shared her story. The son guessed that his mother had worn her old raincoat and carried her money in her famous plastic bags. She had more than enough money, but because she had lived through the depression she would never abandon her value of thrift. Story Story The next day the son went to work and called the two clerks who had failed to help his mother the day before into his office. He just happened to be the store manager. Facts & Implications Ageism Test Yourself History Summary Your Challenge This is a true story, and regrettably it took place here, in Millard’s Department Store. Slide 8 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Discrimination defined Overview In the story of the elderly shopper, the salesperson demonstrated a number of discriminatory behaviors. Discriminatory behavior is behavior that assigns characteristics to people that are similar in some way. For example, “Old people are senile”. “Women are bad drivers”. These stereotypes are then generalized to all people that share the similarity. For example all old people or all women. Thus, individuals who may be old and non-senile, or individuals who are women and excellent drivers, are unfairly lumped into a stereotypical category. Story Ageism Ageism Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Biases, stereotypical thinking, and prejudice (all considered to mean the same thing in this lesson) take place because human minds like to simplify. It is much less work and thinking. The problem is that characteristics categorically assigned to groups may not be fair or reasonable. The type of discrimination that this lesson is about is called ageism, or, discrimination against the elderly. Elderly is a relative term, but, typically the term is applied to people 65 years and older. Slide 9 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Based on the definition of Overview discrimination on the previous slide, which of these ways of thinking is NOT discriminatory Story Ageism Ageism Test Yourself A. Disliking an elderly customer because they were demanding and ungrateful. B. Thinking most older people are unfriendly based on your experiences with an unfriendly neighbor. C. History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Avoidance of elderly people because they make you feel uncomfortable. Slide 10 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Statement A is NOT discriminatory Overview Discriminatory behavior is behavior that assigns characteristics to people that are similar in some way Story Ageism Ageism Test Yourself A. B. C. History Disliking one elderly customer because they were demanding and ungrateful is not discriminatory towards all elderly. Facts & Implications Assigning a characteristic to a group of people based on limited evidence is discriminatory. Your elderly neighbors unfriendliness is not a reflection of all older people’s attitudes. Summary Your Challenge Avoiding all elderly people based on a feeling is discriminatory. Slide 11 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Let’s test your understanding of discrimination in another way. Identify the discriminatory behavior and attitudes that took place in the opening story. Think of these things: What kinds of things did the salesperson do that indicated biased thinking? Think of the things the salesperson didn’t do. Ageism Ageism Test Yourself History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 12 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Compare Overview Did you include these statements? Story Ageism Ageism Test Yourself Assuming the woman was poor because she was old and had on a dingy raincoat (Old people are poor) History Shouting loudly as if the elderly woman was deaf (Old people are hard of hearing) Your Challenge Facts & Implications Summary Implying the old woman couldn’t read the sign (Old people are less intelligent) Slide 13 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions We need to avoid ageist thinking. Overview Biased thinking about the elderly has negative Story consequence. Consider these spending facts. Ageism Ageism •Sales from our customers over 65 years of age dropped 30% last year Test Yourself •Sales for other age groups neither increased nor decreased significantly History Facts & Implications •Mail order sales for the over 65 crowd is one of the fastest growing markets in the clothing industry Summary Your Challenge •The majority of the elderly population in our community have incomes over $50,000 per year. What does this mean for Millard’s Department stores? On the next page you will be asked to share your thoughts. Slide 14 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story What do these facts mean for Millards? Ageism Ageism Test Yourself Think of these things: •Sales dropped 30% for people over 65yrs. •Sales same for other age groups. •Mail order sales are up nationally. •Elderly community have $50,000+ incomes. History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 15 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Compare Overview Did you include these statements? Story Ageism Ageism Test Yourself Millard’s is losing money since sales to other age groups are constant and sales for the elderly population are declining. History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge There is increased competition from the mail order industry. Millard’s could remain competitive by attracting and maintaining elderly customers who have the resources to increase our profits. Slide 16 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Test 1 You have learned what discrimination is and why it is harmful. Let’s see how discrimination free YOU are. Test 1 of 3. Overview Story Which group matches the statement below? Ageism Don’t hang up clothing after trying them on Test Yourself Test Yourself Old? Young? Opinionated Old? Young? Never satisfied and always complaining about clothing styles Facts & Implications Old? Young? Old? Young? Hang around the dressing rooms Old? Young? They shop because they are bored and have nothing better to do Old? Young? Forgetful of keys and credit cards when making purchases Old? Young? Have more freedom than other people Old? Young? Don’t act their age Old? Young? Disrupt other customers by talking loudly History Summary Your Challenge Slide 17 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself Most of the shopping characteristics on the previous slide could be assigned to either old or young populations. If you had a difficult time assigning “young” or “old” categories, your thinking is relatively bias-free at this point. History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Let’s try another test. Slide 18 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Test 2 Overview Test 2 of 3. Take a minute and describe yourself as an elderly person. Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Think of these things: •What will you be interested in? • What will you feel like? •What will you look like? •What will be important to you? •Who will your friends be? Facts & Implications Type here __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 19 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Think about what you wrote. Were you biased in your responses? If you listed more negative characteristics of yourself when old, this may indicate a negative bias towards growing old. Ask yourself: •How many positive comments did you make? •How many negative comments did you make? •Did you have more positive than negative comments? Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 20 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Test 3 Overview Test 3 of 3. Are any of these birthday cards offensive? Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Slide 21 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Are these offensive or funny? Overview Inside of card … Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Slide 22 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Are these offensive or funny? Overview Outside of card … Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Slide 23 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Are these offensive or funny? Overview Inside of card … Story Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Slide 24 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story ALL of these cards could be considered offensive: Ageism Test Yourself Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Your rocking chair is going to wear you out. Your eyes are shot! Slide 25 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions How did you do? Overview Story •Did you assign a behavior to an entire age group? Ageism •Did your include more than one negative description of your “older” self? Test Yourself Test Yourself History •Did you identify potentially offensive greeting card messages? Facts & Implications Summary If you answered yes to any of the above, you might reconsider some of your ideas about the elderly. Your Challenge Let’s turn now to the history of prejudice. Slide 26 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Where do people learn to discriminate and stereotype? Overview Story We like to blame our youth obsessed media (movies, television, advertising …) for ageism. We wistfully yearn for the “good old days” when age was respected. To prove a point, ask yourself which of the following are true? Ageism Test Yourself History History Facts & Implications True False Puritans believed that age was considered a sign of favor Summary Your Challenge True False Puritans taught their youth to treat the elderly with respect True False Henry David Thoreau said “I have lived some 30 years on this planet and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors. They have told me nothing and probably cannot teach me anything.” Slide 27 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions All of the statements were true! Overview The point made is that overtime, culture has moved to a disrespectful attitude towards the elderly. Gerontophobia, or fear of growing older, manifests itself in many ways. Story Ageism Test Yourself History History •Clothing is fashioned for younger body types. Facts & Implications •Derogatory vocabulary is used to describe older people: “old fogey”, “codger” and “gaffer”. Summary Your Challenge Codger? •Expressions such as “You are only as old as you feel” or “Age before beauty” (implying that age is not beautiful) are commonplace. Slide 28 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions You’ve read a number of things Overview about ageism and have discovered where biased behavior originates and might be perpetuated. Story One of the best ways to dispel biases, and change behaviors, is to look at the facts or data. In the following screens you will be asked to read a statement and think about whether that statement is true or false. Ageism After thinking about your answer, you will compare what you think to what the data suggests to be true. Read these screens carefully. Each fact has some ideas about how we can make Millard’s more customer friendly. Facts&& Facts Implications Implications Test Yourself History Summary Your Challenge Slide 29 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions True or False? Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself People who are older do not see or hear as well as they did when they were younger. TRUE History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications FALSE Summary Your Challenge You must click True or False to move to the next screen Slide 30 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Answer : TRUE Overview Story This is a correct statement: Ageism People who are older do not see or hear as well as they did when they were younger. Test Yourself History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications Summary All five senses tend to decline in old age. Your Challenge Ideas for improving the shopping experience Make sure the lighting is strong, particularly in areas where the elderly shop. Make sure signs are legible. Be sure print is in a large enough size to easily read. Play music softly to improve hearing social exchanges. Slide 31 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions True or False? Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself A majority of the elderly population is mentally depressed. TRUE History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications FALSE Summary Your Challenge You must click True or False to move to the next screen Slide 32 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Answer : FALSE Overview Story This is the corrected statement: Ageism A majority of the elderly population is NOT mentally depressed. Test Yourself History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications Summary Research shows that the elderly population is not significantly more depressed than other age groups. Your Challenge Ideas for improving the shopping experience Maintain pleasant and friendly interactions with the elderly as you would with any other group of people. Avoid condescending behavior. Slide 33 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions True or False? Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Older people have less muscle mass than younger people. TRUE History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications FALSE Summary Your Challenge You must click True or False to move to the next screen Slide 34 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Answer : TRUE Overview Story This is a correct statement: Ageism Older people have less muscle mass than younger people. Test Yourself History Facts & Facts & Implications Implications Summary Physical strength declines with age. Your Challenge Ideas for improving the shopping experience Idea to improve shopping experience. Carry heavy items for the elderly. (Be sure to exercise judgment though. One elderly customer complained when a clerk insisted they carry his three pound purchase. The customer was physically fit and capable of carrying much heavier items.) Help the elderly find clothing lines that are flattering to the elderly physique. Avoid items with small buttons. Look for elastic, Velcro, and zippered openings. Slide 35 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions True or False? Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Learning new information tends to be slower for older people. TRUE History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications FALSE Summary Your Challenge You must click True or False to move to the next screen Slide 36 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Answer : TRUE Overview Story This is a correct statement: Ageism Learning new information tends to be slower for older people. Test Yourself History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications Summary Learning new information tends to be slower. However the decline in performance is usually due to variables other than age (unfamiliarity with content, illness, technology). Your Challenge Ideas for improving the shopping experience Introduce new products with written materials that the elderly can read at their own pace. Be sure to exercise judgment. Many elderly maintain their intellectual abilities. With increased time they are likely to know more about a new technology than you do. If so, learn from them. Slide 37 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions True or False? Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Population aging creates new business and career opportunities. TRUE History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications FALSE Summary Your Challenge You must click True or False to move to the next screen Slide 38 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Answer : TRUE Overview Story This is a correct statement: Ageism Population aging creates new business and career opportunities. Test Yourself History Facts&& Facts Implications Implications Summary Not only is the percentage of people over 65 increasing, but increasing numbers of the elderly desire to work or volunteer work. In fact, a majority of older people want to continue some form of work. Your Challenge Ideas for improving the shopping experience Offer part-time and volunteer employment to people over 65. Not only will new employees appreciate the opportunity, they may also attract elderly customers. Slide 39 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Up until now you have read quite a bit of information about discrimination. Take a minute to summarize the key information below Think of these things: •What main topics have been covered (look at menu) • What do these topics suggest for Millards? Ageism Test Yourself History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Summary Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 40 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Compare Overview Did you include these statements? Story Ageism Test Yourself Ageism is rooted in cultural beliefs that are learned History Stereotypes result from the natural tendency of humans to categorize information to decrease the complexity of thought processes Summary Summary Facts & Implications Your Challenge There are many misconceptions about aging. Considering the facts about aging may improve customer relations. Slide 41 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions What can YOU do at Millards? Overview Based on the information you’ve received in this lesson, make TWO suggestions for improving the treatment of the elderly at Millards. Think of store policies or events that might make the older Millards customers feel welcome and appreciated. Story Ageism Test Yourself History Facts & Implications We will assemble a panel of three judges to judge all suggestions. Three suggestions will be selected. Each suggestion will be award a $500 bonus. Summary Your Challenge Your Challenge The next two screens are sample suggestions to prompt your ideas. Slide 42 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions A sample suggestion Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Sponsor athletic activities. History Facts & Implications Sponsor marathons for ages 65 – 70. Summary Sponsor mall walks. Your Challenge Your Challenge Include refreshment tables with beverages and snacks that are pleasing to the elderly palate. Slide 43 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Another sample suggestion Overview Story Ageism Test Yourself Create a local newsletter featuring elderly in the community. History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Your Challenge Use the newsletter to advertise products in which the elderly are likely to have interest. Slide 44 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Suggest your first strategy to improve customer relations with Millard’s elderly customers. Think of these things: •Strategies to reduce bias towards elderly customers •Strategies to increase the positive shopping experience at Millards Ageism Test Yourself History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 45 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Suggest a second strategy to improve customer relations with Millard’s elderly customers. Think of these things: •Strategies to reduce bias towards elderly customers •Strategies to increase the positive shopping experience at Millards Ageism Test Yourself History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ Summary Your Challenge Your Challenge Click Done when finished. You can not continue until you have clicked Done. CLEAR DONE Slide 46 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions This is the end of the lesson. Overview Thank you for your participation. If you have any comments, positive or negative, please share them here. Story Ageism Test Yourself Suggestions: •What did you like best about this lesson? •What do you like least about this lesson? •If you could change one thing, what would it be? History Type here Facts & Implications __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ CLEAR Summary Your Challenge Your Challenge DONE Slide 47 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT Millards’ Training Department Welcome AGE Discrimination Instructions Overview Story Ageism The End Test Yourself History Facts & Implications Summary Your Challenge Slide 48 of 48 BACK HOME NEXT