College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
Distributive Justice
1) According to critics of comparable worth in "Comparable Worth: A new approach to eliminating sex-based wage inequities in employment," the law of supply and demand ensures that people are paid according to the worth of the job. When jobs have too few applicants, higher wages are expected to increase the number of qualified applicants; and conversely when there is an excess of qualified applicants, wages will fall to reduce the number of people entering the field.
If the market regulates wages on its own, why hasn't the shortage of nurses (primarily women), over the past several years, been met by an increase in salary?2) Since the late 1930s, there has been a large disparity in wages for men and women.
With the increased role of women in the workforce, why does such a disparity remain?3) In your utopia, are wages determined by worth or the market? If by worth, what criteria are used to measure worth or value? And, who oversees the valuation of labor?
4) In the Johnson Controls case study (see JOHNSON CONTROLS CASE), the Supreme Court concluded that the legislature left "the welfare of the next generation in the hands of the parents not the employer." Recently, several states have found expecting mothers that expose their unborn children to illegal drugs and some alcohol to be in violation of child abuse laws.
Today, would a woman at Johnson Controls find herself in violation of child abuse laws for exposing her unborn child to potentially toxic levels of lead? Why has the role of the state in the "welfare of the next generation" changed?5) Should the Pregnancy Discrimination Act outweigh the safety of children?
6) In your utopia, what role does the parent, employer, and the government play in the welfare of children?
Affirmative Action
1) The pay-for performance paradigm states that excellence in the workplace should be rewarded accordingly. This makes for increased individual satisfaction in a competitive marketplace and increased efficiency for the company.
What shortcomings and strengths do you see in this system of hiring and compensation?2) Define discrimination, prejudice, and bias.
3) Affirmative action is sometimes described as an effort to rectify injustices of the past by special policies. Different "levels" of policies can include the following: Passive nondiscrimination, Affirmative action, Preferential hiring, Employment quotas.
Discuss the situations, if any, that each of these approaches may or may not be appropriate. What are the costs and benefits of each?4) Who should be (or is) paying the cost of affirmative action programs and is this fair practice?
5) What are the characteristics of an ideal affirmative action policy? How is it that a policy could be shaped to implement this ideal?
6) What are the possible cost and benefit measures for an affirmative action program. At what point do the costs outweigh the benefits?
Business Enterprise Trust / Lou Krause
1) Do you believe Mr. Krause started an enterprise based solely on moral and ethical standards of excellence?
2) Did Krause happen to recognize a business opportunity that was of benefit to lower class citizens or was the benefit to the lower class the driver behind his business?
3) Would you consider a credit company aimed specifically to serve the needs of the low end of the economic spectrum in the same regard as Krause's?
Comparable Worth
1) Do you believe that jobs comparable in worth should be paid the same regardless of external market value? Is this an effective means of distributing scarce limited resources? What are the implications of setting and following such a standard?
2) What are the shortfalls of setting salaries based on market price?
3) How could "perpetual job rigidity" be encouraged by comparable worth compensation?
4) What suggestions would you have for a system to evaluate and/or measure the "worth" of a certain position? How could consistency and fairness be measured?
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