Ethical Case
You are Director of HR for a private, prestigious law school in Chicago and are charged with filling the open position of Student Recruitment Manager for the college. The position became open when Dan Marshall retired after 22 years in this position. You have spent considerable time and effort attempting to fill this position and have evaluated and interviewed many candidates. You have narrowed your choices down to two candidates.
Michael Schaeffer is your top candidate. He has exactly the education and experience you are looking for. He is extremely articulate and came across as being very professional during all three of his interviews. On a scale of 1-10, he rates a 10 in your mind. He is a perfect fit for the job and you would offer him the job in a heartbeat if it weren’t for one thing; you suspect he is gay although you have no evidence to support this suspicion. This is a concern because your school has a very conservative image and over 90% of the students enrolled are white males . If you suspect Michael is gay you know the students he will be recruiting will as well and you are worried this will have a negative effect on enrollment and might result in revenue loss for the college because potential students might choose to attend law school elsewhere if they were recruited by someone who is gay.
The second candidate is Alicia Morgan. She is young, extremely attractive, and very bright. Unlike Michael who would require little training, it will be a while before Alicia becomes fully productive. She meets the education requirements but has very little experience and is new to the area. She, too, is articulate and she grades out as a 7 on your 1-10 scale.
What are the ethical issues involved in this case? Who would you hire and
Michael Schaeffer is your top candidate. He has exactly the education and experience you are looking for. He is extremely articulate and came across as being very professional during all three of his interviews. On a scale of 1-10, he rates a 10 in your mind. He is a perfect fit for the job and you would offer him the job in a heartbeat if it weren’t for one thing; you suspect he is gay although you have no evidence to support this suspicion. This is a concern because your school has a very conservative image and over 90% of the students enrolled are white males . If you suspect Michael is gay you know the students he will be recruiting will as well and you are worried this will have a negative effect on enrollment and might result in revenue loss for the college because potential students might choose to attend law school elsewhere if they were recruited by someone who is gay.
The second candidate is Alicia Morgan. She is young, extremely attractive, and very bright. Unlike Michael who would require little training, it will be a while before Alicia becomes fully productive. She meets the education requirements but has very little experience and is new to the area. She, too, is articulate and she grades out as a 7 on your 1-10 scale.
What are the ethical issues involved in this case? Who would you hire and