Achieving Ethics and Fairness in Hiring, Research Paper Example

Issues and potential problem

Two of the main issues Doris has to address as HR Director at Billings Company all stem from the company’s staffing methods. The fact that managers create their own interview questions randomly, and that rates of compensation are allowed to be determined by individual managers instead of a certain set of criteria, it creates an unbalanced and inconsistent hiring process. Most importantly, these hiring practices also can have a negative impact on company performance, as if there is no transparent process in place for succession, or promotion based on performance or some other form of verifiable measurement, employee morale and trust in management will inevitably decline. The second main issue also associated with hiring, has to do with the potential for cronyism that may be occurring within the company has half of the employees all come from the same college as the CEO. This subtle statistic could reveal a bias in the Billings Company hiring that will stunt its growth in the long run.

Factors of Difficulty

One of the main difficulties that might arise can be seen with cronyism. Cronyism is defined as the process of appointing associates or friends to positions of higher power or authority without any regard for their qualifications. This is what is happening every-time an applicant is hired who may be less qualified for a position at Billings Company than other applicants, specifically due to the fact that they attended the college of the CEO. Cronyism can also be seen executed in a more formal way, as Ann C. McGinley (1997) notes in her report published in the Arizona Law Review on the emergence of cronyism in the defense industry. She talks about Sharon Foster an African civilian employee who wanted a better job and aggressively applied but never advanced her career as the Naval base only employed internally. This policy is an example of structural, or formal cronyism, within policy and it demonstrates why is could be very difficult to change The Billings Company’s tactic int his regard.

Complexities

The main complexity of these hiring issues can be seen in the balance between law and ethical practice in business. Adler notes that, “since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and more recent Federal legislation, managers, regulators, and attorneys have been busy in sorting out the legal meaning of fairness in employment. While ethical managers must follow the law in their hiring practices, they cannot be satisfied with legal compliance” (2006). Alder concludes by pointing out that ethical fairness subsequently underlies the law enabling managers to make better choices in their hiring processes. The reason why this is a complexity that Doris must face is due to the fact that the managers she is reviewing may actually be hiring employees according to the guidelines of the law, but their methods are clearly unethical, which treads the fine line between law and ethics.

The issue of emerging cronyism is complex because there is also no guarantee that the 50% of employees who all stem from the CEO’s almer mater are not most qualified. For example, as Billings is a software company, if all of the employees graduated from Stanford, it could be argued their level of education warrants the favoritism.

Problems to Consider

One of the most important problems to consider is prejudice, while hiring employees based on the fact that they attended the CEO’s alma mater is a prejudicial act, it can not be easily identified within the traditional prejudicial hiring practices such as hiring based on gender, religion or race. Likewise the fact that managers tend to make their own interview questions individually, or that they tend to set the standards of pay, may be prejudice, but it’s entirely reliant on the judgment of the said manager. Adler (2006) does make the argument that by not practicing ethical standards in hiring it leaves managers much more vulnerable to making unfair of prejudice decision. It should also be noted that fairness is relative to those perceiving it. On the surface, it appears as though there is no rhyme or reason to how Billings Company hires their employees, and while it could be argued their hiring methods would be more fair if they implemented the use of legislation like affirmative action, Caperhart and Richard (2005) found that hiring decisions are perceived to be fair when there is not explanation given for them. In a study where they explored the perceived fairness hiring decisions, the authors noted that, “In particular, we examine the effects of no justification, and the affirmative action argument on the perceived fairness of the hiring of women and minorities. Results indicate that the hiring decision is perceived to be fairer when no justification is given than when affirmative action is used to justify the decision” (2005). While Doris may be certain that the hiring practices of Billings Company are unethical and thus have a hiring chance of being unfair over time, there is no guarantee that they are actually unfair or perceived as unfair by the public or the company’s employees. This consideration must be taken into account as Doris attempts to make improvements.

Manager Practices

The first main issue deals with managers taking certain liberties in regards to the interview process and setting pay rates. An alternative method to the current random, or individualized, method used can be a company standard interview questionnaire, with sections specifically based on certain departments. The pay scale should also be standardized across the board for all departments and all companies. Another alternative method would be to base pay scale and interviewing on set criteria that must be met in order to gain employment or achieve a certain level of work compensation. The best method is for standardization across the board in regards to interview process and pay scale as it provides employees with the most transparency.

Emerging Cronyism

The second issue can be seen in the emergence of cronyism that may be occurring through employing half of all employees from one specific college. A method of solving this problem would be to recruit at other institutions.  An alternative method could be to setup programs that actually develop certain skills required for employment at Billings Company and have that program offered at a variety of colleges. While this may not completely eliminate the alienation of certain applicants, it would diversify the hiring pool. The best method most likely would be for Billings Company to actively recruit at all schools.

Reference

Alder, G. S., & Gilbert, J. (2006). Achieving ethics and fairness in hiring: Going beyond the law. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(4), 449-464.

Chambers, H. (2005, Summer). Surviving the Micromanager. How to succeed with a my way boss. Canadian Manager, 30(2), 24-25. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Amy McMillan-Capehart, Orlando Richard, (2005) “Organisational Justice and Perceived Fairness of Hiring Decisions Related to Race and Gender: Affirmative Action Reactions”, Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 24 Iss: 1, pp.44 – 57

McGinley, A. C. (1997). The Emerging Cronyism Defense and Affirmative Action: A Critical Perspective on the Distinction Between Colorblind and RaceConscious Decision Making Under Title VII. Ariz. L. Rev., 39, 1003-1421.