Discrimination in the Wrokplace

Aileen Serge

Professor Goldsmith

Week 6 Simulation

April 20, 2006

GM 520

Avoiding Discrimination in the Workplace

Background of the Simulation

The objective of this simulation was to face workplace situations where possibilities of discrimination (whether it was intended or unintended) were present. There are many different cultures, races, and religions that make up today's workplace. Whether on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, or affinity orientation managers must avoid discrimination in the workplace. It is up to the managers, when faced with such situations, have resolutions that are amicable and legal.

In this simulation I was put in situations where I had to choose a selection of words in a recruitment advertisement, select two candidates for vacant positions in the creative department, deal with employees who will not work on an advertising campaign for religious reasons, and handle a female employee who complains that she is working in hostile environment where she is being sexually harassed.

Cycle 1: Select Words in Recruitment Advertisements

There have been some employees that had to be terminated. The task at hand requires that I review the advertisement and take out any phrases that can be discriminatory. In both advertisement there were a lot of references specifically to men or women, being young, speaking fluent English, being an EOE for women and minorities, and drug testing for drug abuse prior to employment. Needless to say, I crossed those out and the feedback I received was those are all phrases that can be construed as discriminatory. But I left out phrases such as, "can you make heads turn?", think sexy and ravishing, check you out, and nimble on your feet. So overall I did a pretty good job. On those phrases I missed I did question them as well, I should have went with my initial gut feeling.

By law, employers cannot discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant and that is the sole reason for why they don't hire her. A company should not ignore the practical implications of hiring pregnant women, but they should also make sure they are able to perform the duties required of the job.

Measures a company can take to reasonably accommodate people with disabilities or those with a known drug problem are providing them with treatment programs and counseling. There should be strict policies on this subject. If an employee comes to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol then there should be some action taken. They may not get fired the first time, but a write up and suggestive action such as counseling or treatment. Then make them sign something stating that if they come to work intoxicated again they will be terminated.

As for people with disabilities, they should not be discriminated and should be hired, as long as they can too perform the tasks required of the job. It depends on what the disability is, but the persons employed that are disabled should be accommodated with whatever special needs they may have. Like what companies do with the handicapped bathrooms and ramps instead of stairs, training manuals with alternate formats such as large print, Braille, captioning, or on audio material. Accessible parking, workspaces, and disability awareness around the workplace are some other measure employers can take to accommodate persons with disabilities.

Cycle 2: Selecting Two Candidates for Vacant Positions in the Creative Dept.

There is a list of five candidates that are up for the position. In this scenario I am asked to review their qualifications and choose the best person for the position. After reviewing each of the candidate's educational backgrounds, achievements, work experiences, and personal interests I felt the two people most suited for the positions on the creative team were Oscar Rosenberg and Jessica Farrago. I picked Oscar because of his outstanding list of achievements and he was voted "most popular manager" at one time. This information tells me that he has people skills as well as the technical skills needed for the position. Although he has lost the use of his legs there is no reason not to hire him based on his disability, one of my associates informed me that there would be no problem accommodating him.

I also chose Jessica because her work experience makes her qualify for the job and I like the list of achievements. Seeing as social issues is her "forte" based on what I have seen under her list of achievements, tells me a lot about her personality. Her social conscious efforts both in and out of work shows that she cares about the projects she works on and most likely gives 100% when she does something.

The feedback I received for making these choices was appropriate because they were the highest scorers on all of the criteria. One of my advisors stated that Oscar might not be able to travel to his condition. The simulation also stated that may be one of the accommodations he may need based on his disability. One of my advisors also stated that Jessica may not fit into an all white American all male team. Her strong feminist views may not fit into culture at the workplace. The feedback in addition to that opinion also stated that I may not have felt that these issues pertained to essential functions of the job.

It is true; I did feel that Oscar and Jessica were the best two candidates for the job. I did think that his disability could be accommodated and I did not think that Jessica's views pertained to the essential functions of the job. I would not decide to not hire Jessica, although it is her who may not feel comfortable and decline the offer once she sees whom she is working with.

The candidates that might have a good suit for employment discrimination if rejected would be any of the women and Oscar. I say all of the women because based on the team of current employees being all men and all white they could sue on the basis of discrimination of gender or a couple of them for race or religion. One of those ladies is from India and follows the Koran and she may feel rejected based on the religion she practices. I said Oscar because of his disability and not being able to lose his legs. He is qualified for the position and I am sure he knows it. I also think that personality, attitude toward work and future upward mobility be considered when hiring is important. So many of the jobs today require interaction with clients, co-workers, and management