Discussion Post
Scenario
Your hospital needs someone to fill a new position. The spot calls for some very specific skills, education, and experience; you happen to have an old friend who exactly fits the bill. In addition, he has mentioned to you that he feels it is time to make a change and has been contemplating looking for a new job. You give him a call and he said that he is very interested, so you call the head of the department in question and tell him about your friend. The department head is very excited and tells you to have him call for an interview. You do and everything seems fine. Several weeks pass and your friend calls you and asks if you have any idea what happened with the job. He interviewed and everything went well, but he never heard back and just learned that the position had been filled with someone who has no experience and a much different background. You call the department head and relay the question. After some hemming and hawing, the department head makes some vague statement about your friend not being a "good fit." He was afraid that your friend's "accent" might make it difficult for him to be understood, and he was concerned about his work ethic since he came from a cultural background that has a more "laid back" work ethic. You hang up and think about it. Your friend is from Jamaica and does have an accent and very relaxed personality, but is certainly not lazy. Then you realize that he is also a minority and that this department not only has no minority employees, but has never had one.
Instructions
For the initial post, address the following:
1) Is the department head being ethnocentric or prejudiced? Is this an example of institutional or ideological prejudice?
2) What do you do?
a) Do you tell your friend what you were told?
b) Do you call someone higher up and express your concerns?
c) Do you do nothing at all?
3) How would you address diversity with the department head in future conversations?
4) What suggestions would you make to your own department head about diversity?
5) How would the use of the Structured Job Interview (Research Summary 2.1, page 45 of the textbook) have mitigated some of the issues in this scenario?
The response must include a reference list. Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.