According to the textbook, being the “Next person” is to be part of, and having the structure of an ethical environment: “Ethical leadership, ethical action, ethical education, and ethical awareness”. There are stages that individuals go through to develop these ethical stages such as the preconventional, conventional, and postconventional stages. When showing an ethical attitude you want to display a sense of honesty, integrity, and doing the correct things at all times to set an example to those who are after your position or those who idolize you as well as your work ethic. Yes, I agree with Mackey when he says that if people get a clear understanding of how successful the next person can be they will try to be that next person. Most employees want opportunities for promotion or general success in their job. If an employee has an image of the “next person” that was placed by their employer, the level of success that the “next person” was reached will seem attainable to them. When goals seem to be attainable to employees, they are more likely to not only strive toward the goal but to remain persistent.
According to the textbook it says “Yet some employers find it less expensive to hire and retain younger workers, who generally have lower medical bills as well as lower salary histories”. A major disadvantage of sharing salaries with all employees is that it can cause a riot of jealousy and rebellion. This is especially due to the fact that age discrimination is a big part of salary differentiation. Salary shouldn’t be determined by age, but rather by job.
The textbook mentions how “The EEOC was created to increase job opportunities for women and minorities and to help discrimination based on race, color, religion in any employment practice such as hiring, promotion, and wages practices”. However, discrimination in age is still happening in some workplaces today; a younger employee may have just as much financial need as their older coworker. The case states that “Whole Foods believes that sharing salary data can motivate employees to excel and work harder to get to the next earnings level.” To contrast, for the lower paid employees this could cause chaos, they may feel underpaid and become less motivated to work. Another disadvantage that can happen because of sharing salary could be slowness of productivity.
The frustration arising between the employees and HR about salary may cause a negative effect on the business such as people refusing to continue to work there or not giving their best effort anymore. Thus I have to disagree with Mackey’s statement, “he uses salary information to bring to light the type of performance and achievement necessary to reach each level within the organization.”
