EMPLOYING OLD EXPERIENCED PEOPLE VERSUS YOUNG TALENTED PEOPLE

EMPLOYING OLD EXPERIENCED PEOPLE VERSUS YOUNG TALENTED PEOPLE-illustrate & explain

1. Introduction

1.1 The employment and assortment is the major function of the human resource department, which is the secret of competitive power and the strategic gain for the organizations. Not everyone is capable to do every job. So employing the right person for the right job is the most important task of any organization[1]. But who should employer hire- an old experienced person or a young talented person?

1.2 Positive and negative sides of old experienced employees:

Positive effects of old employees are- their experience, maturity, stability, reliability, professionalism, wise thinking, their locality and long term commitment to the organization. On the other hand, they are inflexible, resistant to adopting new methods, processes, or technologies, cannot change their bad working habits and cannot easily adjust to the new organization culture, which create problems to the organizations.

1.3 Positive and negative sides of young talented employees:

Young employees have positive sides like they are ambitious, enthusiastic, hard worker, challenge taker, can manage any problematic situation comparatively in a short time and can easily cope up with any new technological innovation and company culture. But they have little or no job experience, so, they need training, which is costly for the company. Again they have a tendency to change the job frequently and to break the rules of the organization.

1.3 Age biased recruitment and ethical issue:

Age bias has to do with thinking that the age of the employee will limit his/her ability to perform his/her responsibilities effectively. But for the betterment of the organization an employer should hire employees based on the job requirements. Only focusing on old experienced people or young talented people cannot be a right option for recruitment and this biased recruitment process is not satisfying the ethical or moral decisions.

1.4 Research methodology:

In this research paper I am going to show some examples from the perspective of our country. Then I will show some survey findings and take an interview of a professional person who handles this type of ethical situations. And finally I will prove my opinion about this ethical matter by some ethical theories.

1.5 Examples from the perspective of Bangladesh:

In our country most of the companies and organizations specially the consultancy firms (Key Stone, MAX Automobile Products Ltd, E-Gen, etc), those firms that handles project work, hire old experienced people. Not only that, most of the firms hire old experienced people for their important posts where a young talented person may deserve this post and does his duty effectively. These firms do not even give a single opportunity to them. On the other hand, these firms generally do not hire old experienced people for jobs that need high level of output and hard work (selling products, marketing etc) where an old person may prove himself for the job. This discrimination or preference towards old experienced people or young talented people is an unethical matter which I am going to prove in this research paper.

2. Survey Findings

2.1 Introduction

For my research paper, “Employing experienced old people versus young talented people”, to collect primary data I have made a questionnaire of 15 questions. In my survey there were 30 respondents. All of them were working people. Some of them were the students of North South University and others are the employees of different firms. These respondents were between the ages of 20 to 60 years. The data I found from the survey are given bellow in the form of graphs. The explanations are also attached with the graphs.

2.2 The graphs and explanations of the survey:

A. Figure 1

Main earning member of the family

In this survey it has been seen that, most of the respondents’ families’ main-earning persons are whether the respondents themselves (36.67%) or their fathers (33.33%). Only 16.67% respondents’ families are run by their brothers or sisters and 13.33% families’ main-earning members are the respondents’ mothers. None of these families are run by the earnings of other persons.

So, depending on this question, we can say that, most of the families about 70% families depend on the earnings of the respondents and their fathers.

B. Figure 2

Age of the main earning person

From the survey we found that about 46.67% of the main earners of the families are 46 years old or above. 30% of the main earning persons are between the ages of 36 to 45years and16.67% of the major earning members are between the ages of 21 to 35 years. And only 6.67% major-earners are 20 years old or bellow.

So, here we can see that the major-earners of the families are mostly aged or old people, on whom the families depend and most of them are the respondents themselves or their fathers[2].

C. Figure 3

Salary range of the main earning person

From the survey we come to know that 30% of the respondents earn between the range of 31to 40 thousand. Then 26.67% of the major-earning persons earn between the range of 41 to 50 thousand. 20% earn above 50 thousand. Approximately 21 to 30 thousand taka is earned by 16.67% main-earners. And only 6.67% earn bellow 21 thousand.

So, it can be explained that, the old aged employees are paid more than the young talented employees.

D. Figure 4

Corporate positions of the main earning persons

When it was asked about the corporate positions of the respondents’ families main-earning persons we found that 46.67% main-earners are working at the middle level. 30% of the main-earners are working at the top level and 23.33% main earners are working at the entry level.

When I compare these main-earners age and corporate position, it can be said that generally companies hire old experienced people for their higher post and young talented people for their entry levels or for comparatively lower post. It is because the old main-earners are holding the higher positions than the young main-earners.

E. Figure 5

Number of other working members in the family

From the survey I found that about 40% of those respondents’ families have no other earning members. About 30% of those families have another earning member. 16.67% families have 2 other family-earners. Only 6.67% families have 3 other working members and 3.33% of those families have more than 3 earning members beside the main earning person of the family.

F. Figure 6

Age of other earning persons of the family

We found from this survey question that, about 50% of the other earners of the respondents’ families are between the ages of 21 to 35 years. 23.33% of the other earning-members are below the age of 21. I can also see that only 20% are between the ages of 36 to 45 years. And only 6.67% other earner are 46 years old or above.

So, here the other earners of the families are mostly young persons or middle aged persons and most of the aged persons are main earners of the family[3].

G. Figure 7

Corporate positions of the other earning persons

When I asked about the corporate positions of other earning-members, I found that 56.67% other earners are working at the entry level. 33.33% are working at the middle level and only 10% of the other earners are working at the top level which is relatively a low percentage.

Here it is noticeable that the young or some of the middle age people are holding the entry level or middle level. On the other hand, most of the old employees are holding the top position in their offices. So, it can be said that generally companies hire old people for their higher posts and young people for their entry levels or for comparatively lower post.

H. Figure 8

Salary range of other earning-members

From the survey I come to know that 33.33% of the other earners earn bellow 20 thousand. Then 26.67% of the other earning-persons earn between the ranges of 20 to 30 thousand. 20% earn between the ranges of 31 to 40 thousand. Approximately 41 to 50 thousand taka is earned by 163.33% other earners. And only 6.67% earn above 50 thousand.

So, it can be said based on the survey that, the old employees are paid more than the young employees.

I. Figure 9

Types of jobs the respondents prefer

There was a question in the survey about the respondents preferred types of jobs and we found that 40% of the respondents prefer stable but challenging jobs. Then 30% of the respondents do not prefer challenging jobs, where 23.33% prefer challenging jobs. And only 6.67% prefer others.

Comparing the age and preference of jobs, I saw that respondents between the age of 20-38years either prefer ‘challenging jobs’ or stable but ‘challenging jobs’ but the respondents between 39-60 years do not like challenging jobs. From this information it can be said that younger employees prefer challenging jobs and the older employees do not like challenging jobs.

J. Figure 10

The proportion of old and young people at respondents’ office

In the survey I found that 33.33% of the respondents’ office has a proportion of 20:80 and 30% of their offices contain the proportion of 10:90. Then 26.67% offices have 30:70. But only 10% of those offices have 40:60 and none of the offices have 50:50 ratio of old and young employees.

So here it can be conclude that most of the offices have a greater amount of younger employees than the older employees.

K. Figure 11

Respondents’ opinion about their deserving position in their offices

For this question I found, about 43.33% of the respondents think that they should be at the middle level where 40% of the respondents think that they should be positioned at the top level. But 16.67% people said that they should be at the entry level.

Comparing the age and their deserving jobs, I saw that respondents between the age of 20-40years think they deserve either entry or middle level but the respondents between 41-60 years think they deserve top position at their office. So, here it can be seen that most of the young employees think that they worth either entry level or middle level, where the older employees think that they worth top level in their office[4].

L. Figure 12

Respondents’ preference about recruitment

When we asked in the survey question, “Whom would you recruit to do your most important tasks- a young talented person or an old experienced person?” I got that 57% respondents would hire young talented persons. They would do so because these young employees would be able to give more output, serve greater time and the firm can hire them at a lower salary than the older employees.

On the other hand the rest of the 43% respondents would hire old experience people. They would do so because there will be no need to invest extra time and money to train them. As a result the firm can save money and make profit.

M. Figure 13

Respondents’ HR department

In the survey, it was asked that whether the respondents’ HR departments recruit ethically or not. Here I found that 23% respondents think, their HR departments think ethically while hiring employees because they follow recruitment process. On the other hand 27% do not think so because the employers are biased. But 50% of the respondents think that their HR departments’ decision about hiring people is not always fair, sometimes these employers think ethically and sometimes not. They think, the reason behind it may be to maximize their owners’ profit and to make their work easy.

2.3 Summary of the survey

From this survey it can be concluded that the main earners of the families are generally aged people, who are positioned at the top or middle level in their offices, who do not like challenging jobs and get comparatively higher salary. Most of the firms hire them because they are experienced so, do not need training which saves the firms time and money.

On the other hand the young people are generally hired at the entry/middle level. They are paid less. But the employers hire them because they are interested in challenging jobs, can give more output and can serve the company more than the older people. The firms can also hire them at a lower salary, which costs less to the form.

I have also found that, most of the employers may not think ethically while hiring old experienced or young talented people to maximize profit.

2.4 Limitations of the survey

Though I tried my best to make this research accurate, it has still some limitations. My respondents are North south university students and employees of 2 different companies. They are all working people. But students from other universities or companies and different aged people like teachers, parents, and different working class people may have different point of views from my respondents. Moreover, the time was so limited that I got responses only from 30 people. I think, more researches can be conducted on this controversial issue.

3. Interview

To make this ethical fact more clear I have taken an interview of a technical person, Md. Abdul Wahab, who deals with this ethical matter in his job. He is the Project Coordinator (Railway Division) of MAX Automobile Products Ltd. He also manages the HR department of his division. He told me that when he hires people for a project work he prefers old experienced people because these projects have limited time. On the other hand for the day to day work, he prefers young talented people because they can give a greater output and also can serve the company longer. He also said that his company follows recruitment process and gives higher salary to the old employees than young employees. He also told me that if there is a young talented person and an old experienced person for a specific task which both of them can do effectively, he would choose the young guy because he would be able to give more output. He also mentioned that he tries to think ethically while recruitment but sometimes he has to take hard decisions to maximize his firm’s profit.

4. Theoretical Explanations (Ethical Theories)

4.1 The rules and principles which determine right and wrong for a given situation are called Ethical Theories and through these theories I am going to give a moral look to our issue. This ethical issue, “Employing old experienced people versus young talented people” can take two extreme positions. On one extreme there is Ethical Absolutism, where the right or wrong will be judged by universally applicable moral principals only. On the other extreme there is Ethical Relativism, where the issue will be judged by the person taking the decision and the culture in which it is located. Again this issue can also take a middle ground of these two extreme which is Pluralism.

4.2Western modernist ethical theories generally have 2 groups-

A. Consequentialist Theories:

· Egoism: according to this theory hiring only old experienced persons or young talented persons is moral if the employer’s decision is beneficial for each individuals involved (employer, firm, and candidates) in the short run or long run. Here if the employer, firm and the hired person (old/young) is benefited then the decision is moral. But from the rejected candidate’s perspective the decision is not beneficial so, the decision is immoral.

· Utilitarianism: according to this theory, employing only old/young employees is morally right if it results the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the action. This theory concentrates on welfare created by the decision. According to this theory the moral decisions are those, which maximize pleasure and minimize pain.

Suppose, an employer is going to hire someone (one young/old candidate) for an ordinary job, now I can measure the pleasure and pain from the chart below:

Now by adding up pleasure and pain it is found that according to the theory, the employer’s decision will be ethically moral, if he chooses Action1.

B. Non- consequentiality theories:

· Ethics of duties: in this theory Immanuel Kant developed a theoretical framework, ‘Categorical Imperative’ which consists 3 parts. Our issue can be judged by these 3 parts-

Maxim1: the employer should ask himself whether he would want everyone to act according to the principle of his action (employing only old/young people). Based on this, the decision would be immoral.

Maxim2: the employer should not act or treat the candidates as means to achieve what he wants. He should not forget the candidates’ needs, goals and choices.

Maxim3: the employer should ask himself whether he would like his friends and family to know about his decision (hiring only old/young people). From this perspective it is unethical.

· Ethics of rights and justice: according to this theory, the employer should act from the perspective of human rights of the candidates, and he should hire the person who deserves the job.

On the other hand from the perspective of justice, the employer should hire the employee (old/young) in a fair procedure (recruitment process) which gives out a fair outcome.

· John Rawls’ Theory of justice: according to Rawls the employing decision of an employer is just if-

1^st step: the employer takes care of the human rights of the candidates and fulfills them.

2^nd step: as because inequalities are unavoidable in a free and competitive society 2 conditions should be met-

1. Employing the candidates like the way that the one who profits least from it (hired person) is still better off than he would be without it.

2. Providing a fair chance to all candidates of getting the job regardless of gender, age, race, appearance, etc.

4.3 By using the Alternative perspectives on ethical theories our issue can be judged–

· Ethical approaches based on character and integrity: whether the decision about the ethical issue is moral or immoral depends on the character or integrity of the decision-maker (employer).

· Ethical approaches based on relationships and responsibility: this theory emphasizes on relationships. It can be discussed through Feminist Ethics. According to the key elements of the feminist approach, an employer should hire employees (old/young) based on personal human interrelations and responsibilities for the ethical implications of the employers’ decisions. And finally it suggests employers to take decisions based on past experience rather than applying principles or rules in an abstract way.

· Ethical approaches based on procedures of norm generation: according to this theory to solve ethical conflict of our issue, all parties (employers, employees, candidates) should meet together to enter a norm-generating discourse on the issue.

· Ethical approaches based on empathy and moral impulse: according to this theory, an approach such as postmodern ethics, where each individual actors (employers, employees, candidates) are encouraged to question everyday practices, rules, and to listen and follow their emotions, inner convictions, and gut feelings about what they think is right and wrong in recruitment, to take ethical decision.

4.4 What is an ethical decision of recruitment for an employer?

An employer’s decision about recruitment (young/old people) is ethical,

-if it has significant effects on others (candidates, employees, firm, etc.),

-if the decision of recruitment is characterized by choice ( hiring young/ old people).

-if the decision is perceived ethically relevant by one or more parties (employees, candidates),

4.5 Influences on ethical decision making

There are 2 types of factors which have influences on our ethical issue to be moral or immoral.-

· Individual factors are the characteristics of the individual (employer) who is going through the decision-making process which includes the employer’s age, gender, education, employment, psychological factors, cognitive moral development, locus of control, personal values, integrity, and moral imagination. It also includes the employer’s national and cultural characteristics which consists

Individualism/collectivism– this indicates whether the employer takes decision autonomously or depends on the recruitment group while employment (old/young)

Power distance indicates the employer’s degree of tolerance for unequal power or status during the hiring process.

Uncertainty avoidance indicates the employer’s degree of comfort with ambiguity, uncertainty and risk while hiring a young or old candidate.

Masculinity/femininity indicates the extent to which the employer values monetary benefits of the organization against humanity and relationships while recruiting (old/young).

Long-term/short-term orientation is the extent to which the employer thinks that, whether the candidate (young/old) would make long term or sort term benefits and then hires based either on these long-term or short-term benefits.

· Situational factors are the particular features of the situation that influence the employer’s decision-making. These factors are also divided into 2 groups.

Issue-related factors include moral intensity and moral framing of the situation which has an important impact on the employers.

Context-related factors indicate rewards, authority, bureaucracy, work roles, organizational culture, and national context, which influences the hiring situation and as a result the employer’s decision (hiring only old/young) is influenced as well.

4.6 Equal opportunities and affirmative action to remove age discrimination:

Discrimination in essence is a violation of the second principle of Rawls’ ‘Theory of Justice’ and age discrimination is one of the most unethical issues in the business context. This problem can be solved by providing equal opportunity to the candidates (old/young) while recruitment which is the most basic and conservative approach. The employers should not avoid this problem by showing legislation. Affirmative actions are the equal opportunities whose benefits go further. These affirmative actions are divided into four areas-

I. Recruitment policies should be made so that it reduces age discriminations focuses on hiring minor groups (old/young).

II. Fair job criteria are essential to avoid making the job beyond the reach of a great number of potential applicants.

III. Training programmes for discriminated minorities is a very crucial part for fairness and to solve ethical problems.

IV. Promotion to senior positions regardless the age of the employees.

5. Conclusion:

After all these research about “Employing old experienced people versus young talented people”, we come to the conclusion that an employer should hire based on the requirement of the job and performance, which is ethical, not hire someone unfairly based on age. He should also ensure equal opportunities and affirmative actions to the old and young employees to balance the health of the organization, society and economy

6. Bibliography

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2010), Business ethics: A European perspective (3^rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Green, R.(1993), The ethical manage : A new method for business ethics(1^st ed). UK: Prentice Hall.

Hartman, L., Graw, M., & Irwin, H. (2004), Perspectives in business ethics (3^rd ed.). Mcgraw Publishers.

Trenino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A.(2010) Managing business ethics(5^thed). Wiley Drive: Wiley Publishers.