Ward's Cove

Unit 4 IP

Dianna Akehurst

June 25, 2007

AIU Online

BUS207-0702B-08

This case is interesting and the decisions of the court justices proved how different opinions can come out of this case. I will be discussing the following: 1) Do I feel the current hiring practices are discriminatory? 2) What policies should be adopted? 3) Is there a correlation between the hiring practices for cannery and non-cannery workers? 4) Should the practices be the same even though the positions are different? 5) Is it acceptable practice for the cannery to rehire skilled non-cannery workers it has worked with previously? 6) Is it acceptable even if the non-cannery workers are predominately white? 7) And finally, developing a new hiring policy.

I do not agree that the hiring practices are discriminatory. The plaintiffs argue that the hiring practices are discriminative. Although I would have to agree with the justices who argue that the burden of proof rests on the plaintiffs. There is no one saying that a Filipino or Alaskan isn't more qualified than a white person for the non-cannery jobs. The only way to know who is qualified for what position is through an assessment of their qualifications. Not all jobs in the cannery were held by non-whites and not all non-cannery positions were held by whites.

There is a distinct degree of skill needed for certain non-cannery positions. In order to hire effective qualified people to fill those jobs, a single hiring practice should be adopted. There is no reason to have two separate practices. But just because there is a single hiring practice does not mean that they have to only advertise the positions in one place. All these positions should be advertised in many different places. When you are hiring for specific skilled positions, then you need to put more emphasis on the skill needed. You never know if there are qualified people locally or not.

There is no correlation between the hiring practices for cannery and non-cannery workers. The hiring practice should be the same even though the positions are different. When looking at advertising on the internet or in the paper for jobs, there are many companies that hire for many different positions but use normally the same approach. These positions are usually open to anyone that wants to apply for them. But they normally hire the most qualified people for the positions.

If the company rehires a non-cannery worker that it has worked with before it