Business Ethics:

Hiring, Firing and Discrimination

Discrimination and Affirmative Action Policies

The underlying evil of all affirmative action programs is that individuals are categorized by their race as one of the fundamental bedrocks of human rights is the principle that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Discrimination and persecution on the grounds of race and ethnicity are clear violations of this principle. This principle inevitably prolongs racism. So, the corporations desperately seek to present themselves as non-discriminating and careers are shattered by unjust accusations of racism. Affirmative action is a plan designed to end discrimination by guaranteeing minorities will be hired, regardless of race or gender. While our country hires such groups based upon these guarantees, the qualifications of such people are occasionally overlooked and it insists that the employer must avoid the kind of unnecessary escalation of criteria for selection and promotion which has sometimes been used to keep certain classes of people from entering the mainstream of our economic life. This aspect of the plan creates more openings for minorities; however, it also suggests that the standards should be maintained at a low to guarantee these openings. But in the case study of Julie it can be clearly seen that the company is more comfortable and productive when they don't have too much diversity with respect to racialism as part of their policy and discriminating them on the cost of ignoring one’s talent, hard-work and professional experience irrespective of his physical characteristics such as hair type, color of eyes and skin, stature etc which can be beneficial for the company.

Essential Hiring Practices

There are a few principles which should be followed in the recruiting and hiring process. First is to require outside testing which is to allow a competent, impartial professional interviewer to administer both paper and pencil and verbal tests. Secondly, conduct a rigorous personal interview. This includes asking general attitude questions, relating to the applicant’s understanding of the financial workings of a business and the department’s role in the business’s overall success, questions relating to the applicant’s ability to set goals and his or her expectations about achieving goals, questions relating to specific skills required for the job, and general communications required by the job. Third is to arrange a peer group interview which encourages applicants to speak more freely and helps determine how comfortable they will be in working with their peers. Follow up with a meeting of everyone involved in the hiring decision to determine if there is a group consensus about the applicant’s suitability for work at your company. Forth is to do a background check even if it is an employee’s cousin or your competitor’s best salesperson. It’s very easy to set up an account with an investigative firm online and to relatively quickly and inexpensively find out if the applicant has a criminal record or a history of DMV problems, lawsuits involving previous employers, workers’ compensation claims, and so forth. Lastly, we can have a reference check by conducting these over the phone, but they may involve a request in writing. Reference checking is less effective than it used to be, although you may still find a few people who are willing to talk. Most former employers play it safe and verify only dates of employment and salary.

Conclusion

The conclusion is that remedies for intentional and unintentional discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities may pose problems. Governments are obliged to take special measures to ensure the adequate development and protection of racial groups. This includes affirmative action programs. States are also required to promote racial understanding through the education system.

References

1) The legal and ethical issues involved in discrimination and affirmative action policies
[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090308202213AAHkArK]

2) Five Essential Hiring Practices by Jan B. King [http://www.siliconfareast.com/hiring.htm]