Answer to Question #312119 in Psychology for Dona

Question

To increase diversity, it is often legal to consider race or

gender as a factor in selecting employees. Although legal,

do you think it is ethical that race or gender be a factor in

making an employment decision? How much of a role

should it play?

• Is it ethical to hire a person with a lower test score because

he or she seems to be a better personality fit for an

organization?

Answer 1

A test score is one of the ways of conducting employment recruitment fairly. In my view,

it is unethical to take a person with the lowest test score and especially when the score is very

low. A company which does so indicates that they didn’t structure their test in a manner that was

to produce for them the best candidate suited for their company. What is the need for conducting

a test if employment is not to be done on the basis of merit? To me, such an act is a waste of

resources of conducting the test and also very risky because it can lead to a legal suit.

The only instance where test score may not be considered is when the applicant tie and

the employers are checking the one with the competitive personality advantage. In

an ethical society, legitimate expectation is very important. It is entirely expected that a person meets the test required.