Recruitment in Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Recruitment is one of the most important functions undertaken by the human resource department since it helps the organization in acquiring the talent and the skills that it may be falling short of. Organizations undergo certain decision-making stages before they decide the individual to recruit. There are two main recruitment sources that include internal and external environment. The organization may decide to promote some of its employees, which falls under the internal recruitment while at other times, it may decide to get fresh talent form outside the organization. When recruiting, it is of critical importance for an organization to avoid any form of discrimination because employment laws protect individuals against such treatment. Here, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 has taken care of any discrimination issues that may arise due to pregnancy, childbirth or any other related medical conditions (Tobler, 2005, p. 47-48). Specifically, this Act protects individuals against issues related to employment such as promotion, layoffs, training, hiring, and leaves among other conditions related to employment. When discriminations take place, the employee or employees can file lawsuits for unfair treatment (Schneid, 2011, p. 196-197). However, it is important to understand that some instances that may pass as discrimination are allowed by the law and include jobs such as those that require members of a certain religion. At times, pregnancy discrimination may be viewed as discrimination based on gender (Gregory, 2003, p. 11-13). In the case of Jenny and Melbourne Finance, Jenny has a right to take legal action against the organization because of how it conducted her previous application for an opportunity. It is clear that she was discriminated because she was pregnant (Siegel, 2006, p. 528-529). Although the organization may have had genuine reasons for denying her the opportunity such as that she may have to undertake constant visits to the doctor for pregnancy check-ups, they still violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This is one of the main mistakes that the organization did during the recruitment. It is appropriate to conclude that she was discriminated because of several reasons that include that she was more aware of how the organization ran implying that she was more qualified than an external individual would be and that the position that she was awarded later was senior to the one that she was denied. This also shows that she was qualified for the previous position that she applied for when she was pregnant. The other possible mistake is not having the required measures in place to ensure that all laws, both organizational and countrywide, are followed. If such measures were in place, Jenny may have been awarded the position. This may be supported by the fact that the professionals behind the interview did not even mention her pregnancy. This is because it was not in the company’s laws. Another possible mistake would be to consider pregnancy as a disability, which led them to decide not to allocate the opportunity to her. In the business world, law requires pregnancy to be treated not as a disability but as a normal process that is related to work (United States Department of Labor, 2014). This is provided for under the Rehabilitation Act, which also maintains that certain pregnancy complications may be treated as disability but the job position for the mother must be kept open. Based on the identified mistakes that the organization has taken, it should then take certain steps to ensure that the affected employee, Jenny, does not proceed with her plans of taking legal action. This is because it would affect the overall image and reputation of the organization, which has been built over a long period. Here, the organization can compensate her for the discrimination and undertake strategies to ensure that similar cases do not take place in the organization. To ensure that this is successful, the organization can evade the lawsuit and any form of media embarrassment if it gives Jenny the opportunity to decide how she may want to be compensated for the damage. In addition, the organization should then implement a law that specifically states the fate of pregnant women and how they ought to be treated with respect to their employment (Magil, 2014, p. 1179-1180). Here, a new law can be introduced and made known companywide that pregnant women will also be treated equally as any other individuals seeking promotions or other benefits that they are entitled and that include but not limited to training. When undertaking any recruitment exercise, the organization should ensure that the individuals involved in the recruitment are aware of this rule. This implies that they should be trained so as to foster a culture of openness in the organization. Equal consideration should only be exempted if the organization has proof that the pregnant woman has other underlying conditions that may render her unable to perform her duties accordingly (Ford et al., 2000, p. 19-20). Otherwise, these women should be treated fairly and equally as other individuals. Moreover, the organization can also take the step of advising all pregnant employees on issues that include their rights as well as responsibilities as they relate to pregnancy (Pregnancy Discrimination, 2014). This would improve fairness. Some improvements should be facilitated at Melbourne Finance to ensure that similar situations do not occur in the future. First, the organization should ensure that the rules that have been passed in relation to this and other issues are followed to the letter and that the recruitment individuals are reminded of the same constantly. This would ensure that there is a slim chance of a similar mistake being repeated in future recruitment periods. Second, the organization should also ensure that all new and old employees are aware of these rules. This implies that as part of the training that the employees go through once they join an organization, the female employees should be made aware of these rules so that they would not be sceptic of their appointment possibilities if they attend interviews when pregnant. Lastly, the documents indicating the rights that female employees have with respect to employment and pregnancy should also be made easily accessible by the employees. These employees would feel more secure and motivated, which could result in better outcomes with regard to performance. References Ford, K. E., Notestine, K. E., & Hill, R. N. 2000, Fundamentals of employment law. Chicago, Ill, Tort and Insurance Practice, American Bar Association. Gregory, R. F. 2003, Women and workplace discrimination: overcoming barriers to gender equality. New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers Univ. Press. Magil, F. N. 2014, iChron 20c Hist Bus Comer New York, Routledge. Pregnancy Discrimination. 2014, [Online] Available at < http://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/GraphicsFolder/showcontent.aspx?content=Pregnancy+Discrimination > [Accessed 2 Dec 2014]. Schneid, T. D. 2011, Discrimination Law Issus for the Safety Professional. Florida, CRC Press. Siegel, J. B. 2006, A Desktop Guide for Nonprofit Directors, Officers, and Advisors Avoiding Trouble While Doing Good. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. Tobler, C. 2005, Indirect discrimination: a case study into the development of the legal concept of indirect discrimination under EC law. Antwerpen, Intersentia. United States Department of Labor. 2014, What to Expect When You're Expecting (and after the birth of your child)... at Work. [Online] Available at < http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-pregnancy-discrimination.htm > [Accessed 2 Dec 2014]. Read More