Affirmative Action for Unemployed Veterans (50 points)
Unemployed veterans, take heart: Walmart wants YOU. In a historic move, the retailing giant vows to hire any returning U.S. veteran who applies. Projections are that Walmart will extend job offers to 100,000 veterans from 2013 to 2018. Other businesses are launching similar initiatives, such as JPMorgan Chase’s 100,000 Jobs Mission, which aims to hire that many veterans by 2020. Is this an ethical choice all businesses should be emulating, or a form of reverse discrimination?
Few people would disagree there is a need to address the plight of returning soldiers in America. As a rule, veterans say employers don’t want them. “There are a lot of companies that say they want veterans, but that conflicts with the unemployment numbers,” said Hakan Jackson, a former technician in the Air Force. He’s right: unemployment rates remain higher for veterans. The suicide rate for veterans is also sharply higher than for active-duty soldiers, and the “hopelessness of unemployment almost certainly plays a role,” reports Georgette Mosbacher, CEO of the Borghese Cosmetics Company and board member of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Veterans need jobs. But is affirmative action justified, or are these former soldiers not competing well in the job market?
According to some veterans, the returning solders are not competitive in the marketplace. Erik Sewell, an Iraq war veteran, suggested the reason the veteran unemployment rate is poor is partly because vets often don’t market their strengths well or showcase their transferable skills to potential employers. Bryson DeTrent, a 12-year veteran of the National Guard, observed that one of the key reasons vets haven’t found jobs is that they aren’t working hard at it, preferring to collect unemployment instead. However, he also found that companies are reluctant to hire veterans, especially National Guard members, fearing these employees may later be recalled to duty. Employers also worry that veterans may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though some managers report that veterans’ work ethic, team outlook, and receptivity to training are greater than among the general populace.
Sometimes, affirmative action is needed to give an unfairly disadvantaged workforce segment an opportunity to succeed, whether it is done through percentage quotas, number quotas, or hiring all prospective employees from the desired groups. But any affirmative action program risks including under-qualified individuals from the target group while excluding qualified individuals from other workforce segments, creating reverse discrimination. Resources are always scarce, and there are only so many jobs to go around. If a manager must choose between a qualified civilian candidate and a qualified veteran, the manager might favor the veteran without discrimination. But if a manager must choose an under-qualified veteran candidate over a qualified civilian candidate due to an affirmative action policy, the manager is forced to discriminate against the qualified candidate. Managers must balance the ethics of affirmative action against the responsibility of strengthening their workforces for the good of their organizations.
Sources: D. C. Baldridge and M. L. Swift, “Withholding Requests for Disability Accommodation: The Role of Individual Differences and Disability Attributes,” Journal of Management (March 2013), pp. 743–762; G. Mosbacher, “Wal-Mart Wants You!” The Wall Street Journal (February 1, 2013), p. A11; B. Yerbak and C. V. Jackson, “Battling to Get More Vets in the Work Force,” Chicago Tribune (October 28, 2012), and “Veterans Unemployment Drops But Remains High,” HR Magazine (February 2013), p. 16.
Class Exercise
Search for two of the sources listed below. Write a two-paragraph summary for each source. [10 points]
C. Baldridge and M. L. Swift, “Withholding Requests for Disability Accommodation: The Role of Individual Differences and Disability Attributes,” Journal of Management (March 2013), pp. 743–762;
G. Mosbacher, “Wal-Mart Wants You!” The Wall Street Journal (February 1, 2013), p. A11;
B. Yerbak and C. V. Jackson, “Battling to Get More Vets in the Work Force,” Chicago Tribune (October 28, 2012), to an external site.;
“Veterans Unemployment Drops But Remains High,” HR Magazine (February 2013), p. 16.
Consider a situation in which your boss asks for help in fulfilling a new company policy to hire a large number of returning war veterans. After interviewing numerous veterans, and not finding a promising candidate, a candidate who had been on the short list prior to the company’s new policy toward war veterans remains on the top of the list. Prepare two letters. (Each letter must have at least two paragraphs).In the first letter for your boss, outline reasons why the most promising candidate should be overlooked in favor of a less qualified veteran. [10 points]
In the second letter for your boss, outline reasons why the promising candidate should be hired even if it goes against company policy. [10 points]
Discuss which individual should be offered the new job, and what this decision means for their prospects in the job market. Write at least two paragraphs. [10 points]
Additional information:
Please make sure that to number your answers. (I will deduct up to 30 points for answers that are not numbered.).
