Going for the Look

Should a company hire based on looks? Or is that considered discrimination and should not be allowed? Marshal Cohen from the article believes that a company does have the right to hire based on looks. I also agree with this in a way, I believe that a company has the right to make business and they have the right to do so in which ways they feel necessary. Although there is a difference between selective choosing in hiring and discrimination. I am all for a company that wants to hire a person that they think will better their business. Cohen stated “Being able to fine a brand enhancer, or what I call a walking billboard, is critical.” Cohen is saying that if you need to chose between two people then  you would choose the one that you feel will better your business even if that means hiring the better looking one. Most people that work in a store are not only there to work but also to model off the clothes that the business is selling so finding a person that would look “good” in those clothes and possibly make more sales would be a good business decision.

Mr. Serrano from the article stated, "We were suppose to approach someone in the mall who we think will look attractive in our store, if that person said, 'I have never worked in retailing before,' we said: 'Who cares? We'll hire you.' But if someone came in who had lots of experience and not a pretty face, we were told not to hire them at all." Now this does seem very cruel and boarder line discrimination, but then again there is no law of discrimination that involve looks so stores legally can do this, but is it right? I can see both sides of this because like I previously discussed, a company has the right to do what they feel is essential to make business and it’s their choice. But I truly believe that if a company is going to base their entire hiring process on the looks of people then they might and most likely will pass up a lot of really good salespeople. It is very likely that a company might hire a person who has the looks they want but that person might be very shallow or not approachable while on the other hand they could have hired a person that may have not had the looks they wanted but that person was a really good salesperson and could possibly make a lot of sales and at the end of the day a company is in business to make money and sales. 

Although I am not against companies hiring based on looks (I’m not for it, I just feel that they have the right), I am completely against any form of discrimination based on race, age or gender. Olophius Perry was quoted saying, "If you're hiring by looks, then you can run into problems of race discrimination, national origin discrimination, gender discrimination, age discrimination and even disability discrimination." I truly agree with this statement. A company may not consciously be discriminating race age or gender but it just might look that way to the public. Abercrombie and Fitch is a company that is known for their selective hiring by hiring only good looking people, and it has come to the attentions of Americans that they only seem to be hiring "good-looking young white people." Not only is it illegal to discriminate but it is bad for business, most people will not want to support a company that they feel is being racist or sexist. I know I wouldn’t. Racism and Sexism is still a very real and serious issue and if a person is told they can’t do something or turned away from a job based on the color of their skin or the bases of their gender then that is something that needs to be stopped. Companies have no right to judge on race, sex or gender and they certainly have no right to hire that way.

To sum it up, I feel that companies are certainly granted the right to pursue success and business as with all Americans but they must do so within the law and the rights of others. Since discrimination based on looks is not technically illegal I feel that companies have the right or hire their ideal worker or their “walking bill-board” but they must stay within a fine line. Any discrimination of race, gender or age should not be allow or tolerated in anyway and all those companies that choose to do so are on a road to destruction in my mind.