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Assuming we agree that there has been, and that there

presently exists, discrimination against women and

minorities in American business, what are we to do about

it? When is a program of affirmative action or reversediscrimination morally justified?

As a member of two minority groups, my answer may not go over well. I agree there

needs to be an even playing field for all in regards to opportunities, however I do notagree with looking backward for a compensation resolution. We need to be cognizant of

our actions and the plans we are making in trying to make it more equal while movingforward. With the aspect of the history of discrimination, no one answer will satisfy, nor

resolve the feeling or actual imbalance of said discrimination. A comprehensive plan ofmultiple solutions needs to be implemented. According to your lecture notes, it is

justified when the larger picture of discrimination will assist in the righting of pastdiscriminations; I cant say that I agree.

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One difficulty with focusing solely on credentials qualifications -- is that it requires companies or

schools to ignore everyone else. Is that possible? Suppose you want to get a job with a large company that

is advertising for engineers. You happen to know well a fellow who is an engineer in the very department

in which there is an opening. In fact, he's the one who told you about the job. He is knows the H.R. director

or the engineering department supervisor and could make sure your application is at the top of the pile and

that you get an interview. Further, your friend would put in "a good word" for you, letting the supervisor

know that you are talented and honorable and would, all-in-all, be a great person to have on the team.

QUESTION FOR ALL: What would you do? Would you ignore your friend's offer and submit the

application without notifying him, effectively having your application be just one among a hundred

others? If we are going to base the hiring decision just on credentials then you would be obligated to

apply, as it were, secretly, to divorce yourself from any and all advantages your might have at the

company. Would you be willing to do that?

Is taking advantage of this unfair to the other applicants who might merit the job who have

perhaps even better qualifications -- just as much or even more than you?

Some,whosaytheywoulddotherightthing,wouldsubmittheirapplication

withouttheextraassistance.However,Iwouldacceptthegoodwordfromthe

friend.Peoplewouldusetheoldsaying,Itswhoyouknow,notwhatyouknow,

this,Idisagreewithimmensely.Tosay,ifyouwerequalified,youdontneedthe

extraassistanceisabsurd.Foranyonewhohasbeenonahiringcommitteeforyour

joborknowhowtheapplicationsystemswork,youarescreenedbeyondjustcredentials.Applicationsarescreenedbykeywordsfoundinapplications,resumes,

coverletters,andevenlettersofreferences.Applicationmaterialthatdoesnot

containacertainpercentageofkeywordsorphrasesmaynotbeforwardedontothehiringcommittee.Additionally,iftherewereasuperfluousamountof

applications,anorganizationmaystartthehiringprocessbyapplicationsubmissiondates;theymayneverevenseeyourqualifiedapplication.Aperson,whowanted

tosubmitanonymously,mayactuallybejustthatanonymous.

Isitunfairtootherapplicantsifyoutakeadvantageofthisavenueno.Intodays

socialmediasociety,LinkedInandFacebookoffersgreatnetworkingopportunities

forpeopletoconnectwithprofessionalstheymaynototherwisehavetheaccessto.

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It's very difficult to get objective evidence of current racism. But there is one case study that is very

revealing.

CBS news did a study several years ago. They filled out employment applications at a variety of business

or organizations. One set of applications they filled out with names that might be described as ethnically

African-American. The other set with names that might be described as ethnically European-American

(they did this for both male and female applicants). But: all applications had the same or similar schools

attended and degrees attained, job experience, etc.

They found that the (fictional) applicants with the European-American names received many more

requests for interviews than did the other group.

From the study: "Previous studies have examined how employers responded to similarly qualified

applicants they meet in person, but this experiment attempted to isolate the response to the name itself.

"White names got about one callback per 10 resumes; black names got one per 15. Carries and Kristens had

call-back rates of more than 13 percent, but Aisha, Keisha and Tamika got 2.2 percent, 3.8 percent and 5.4

percent, respectively. And having a higher quality resume, featuring more skills and experience, made a

white-sounding name 30 percent more likely to elicit a callback, but only 9 percent more likely for black-

sounding names."

The complete article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/29/national/main575685.shtml

While race (and perhaps gender in the majority of jobs) should be eliminated from consideration, it's clear

that race is being considered--and given negative weight. Given this, is it fair to put a little positive weight

on race in order to balance this?

No.Idontthinkanypositiveweightshouldbeputonracetobalancethisout.The

ideaofthegreaterimmoralacttobalanceoutdiscriminationofthepastisnotan

excuseorvalidreasontocontinuetodotheveryactthatgotusinthissituationto

beginwith.

Nowlook,thetextandlecturenoteshavebeentalkingaboutanequalgroundforhiring.However,Ihavenotseenanyonementiontherealfactthatevenwith

credentialsbeingequal,anddiscriminationnothappeningonthebasisofraceorthe

soundofsomeonesname,employersusuallyhirefromwithinthecompanyandtypicallyalreadyhavesomeoneinmindforthejob.Thejobpostingandinterviews

aresimplyforproceduressakeandsometimeshavenorelevance.

Mentoringandafocusonnetworkingfromwomenandminoritieswhoare

successfulshouldbeemphasizedandstructuredprogramsshouldbeimplemented.

Ithinkweneedtoseriouslylearnthelessonsofthepasttoimprovethefuture

withoutcontinuingthebadbehaviorthatcreatedtheissue.

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QUESTION: Can you articulate in your own words the main thesis of Richard Wasserstroms article

in which he discusses the relationship between the concepts of most qualified and most

deserving?