5.03 - Business Ethics Case Studies

Case Study: Affirmative Action

by Elaine E. Englehardt

Humanities/Philosophy

Peter is a vice president in a large corporation. As part of his duties, he supervises

fifteen managers; fourteen of these managers are men. Only one of the managers

is a black man, and one is a white female.

Peter is replacing one of the white, male managers. He has advertised the position

both in house and outside, as required by his company's hiring policies. After

reviewing all of the applications, he believes that Steve, an employee of the

company for 12 years, is the most qualified applicant. However, in the pool of

applicants there are three qualified women and two qualified black men.

Write two paragraphs regarding how you feel about this article. State what would you like to see happen.