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Employee potential should sway decision

The decision a business must make when hiring someone should be solely based on how beneficial a potential employee will be for said business. For the most versatile, successful business that decision should usually fall somewhere in between a policy like affirmative action and a merit system.

A business should be able to see where they are lacking and hire an applicant who can fulfill certain duties the best. For example, if a business is struggling with obtaining new business because of a lack of marketing or social media participation, it shouldn’t be considered discrimination to hire a younger applicant who is possibly less experienced in the field over an older applicant with experience who is less knowledgeable in social media. With that being said, a business could be lacking in client retention and in that case, that same older, more established applicant may be more beneficial.

The issue of discrimination regarding age is just as important as gender discrimination. Although less common in this day and age, gender discrimination still occurs, but the same mindset should be put into play. It should not be considered discrimination if a male applicant is chosen who may be less qualified than his female counterpart on paper, but has a more dominant, aggressive personality that benefits the business.

Possibly the most progressive views businesses have already implemented in regards to hiring minorities is incorporating a diverse staff of race, culture and ethnicity. The perks of having varied personnel in reference to race ranges from bridging language barriers all the way to creating more availability for overseas expansion.

While it is natural for someone not belonging to a minority group to be resistant to affirmative action for self-preservation purposes, it’s a policy that should be taken into consideration when considering the greater good of a company. On the other hand, one should not be wholly in favor of a merit system. Having a varied staff creates a better, more successful business while creating a happier, more welcoming employee environment.

All in all, the best approach to hiring employees is to consciously choose candidates that create the most versatile, well-rounded environment in which employees are able to learn and gain from each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This creates a happy medium between affirmative action and a merit system.

 

WSU Student

Christopher Duersch

Finance major, Junior

 

 

Autumn and Michaela, include this at bottom of letter

The Signpost welcomes and encourages letters to the editor. This is a public forum, and the opinions expressed DO NOT reflect those of The Signpost or its staff. All letters must be submitted to [email protected] for consideration.

 

Letters must include your first and last name. We accept letters from all members of the community that The Signpost serves — mainly Davis and Weber counties.

 

Letters should be less than 400 words. We will edit letters for libel, grammar and spelling and reserve the right to edit them for space.

 

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