Surname Client's Name Course Name Instructor's Name xx September 2012 Case Study Age Discrimination Response to Question

1: Age discrimination has progressed and developed into something that impacts the productivity in an organization. For instance, some companies prefer young workers to work for them, thinking that they offer better productivity and higher compensation. With older employees, companies have come up with the assumption that as a person grows older their performance might fall for a number of reasons, the main reason is age. Companies also tend to spend more on older employees because of health reasons. They perceive that the older worker will have higher rates of absenteeism and turnover, or generally perform at lower levels than their younger counterparts. These companies hesitate to send employees or older workers to training programs, afraid that they might retire soon. On the other hand, there can be a very beneficial relationship that may exist between employers and older workersthose who are in there late 60s and 70s. Companies, instead of regarding these employees as liabilities, should consider them additional assets to the company. Their age may bring them physical disadvantages but the experience and knowledge that they may have obtained from all their employment years may be a great advantage for the company whose employees are mostly young and fresh from college. The older employees can be very good teachers of the new generation of workers because their skills and mental capacity can never be underestimated and overlooked.

Surname In the coming years, a lot of these older workers, or the baby boomers, will be retiring and replaced by the new generation employees. This kind of change can be very threatening for companies because if the baby boomers will not be treated appropriately and if their talents will not be managed accordingly companies will soon be faced with a huge knowledge gap concern. Indeed, the baby boomers are changing the conditions and most workplaces today. The baby boomers have led companies to embrace flexibility mainly because of the work conditions they require are different from those of the younger employees. Response to Question 2: Discrimination can happen to anyone at any place and time. In the event that companies violate federal laws against discrimination, the offended party can file a suit or claim for damages under the provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Such law has a fundamental responsibility to implement anti-discrimination treatment and to protect job applicants and employees from any biases specifically, but not limited to, aspects of age, gender (including pregnancy), race, national origin, disability or genetic information. The commission also protects employees or other individuals from being discriminated due to participation in an employment discrimination investigation, filing of discrimination charges against the company, or complaints about discrimination. What I could recommend to Ford is for the company to encourage diversity in its workforce and establish an inclusive working environment. Multiculturalism and diversity

should be promoted at all times because it allows the workforce the chance to develop and satisfy their professional and personal goals and, at the same time, this satisfaction reflects on the workforces performance, thus a win-win situation for all parties. Thus, if the employees are still able to perform their tasks then they should be allowed to work with the company. If there is any

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difficulty perceived on the part of the employees, then, it is the responsibility of the management to openly communicate with their people and provide them the assistance they need to improve performance. Ford needs to make diversity management a priority. Stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination are behaviors that should not be allowed at any level. These negative behaviors cause, a decrease in productivity, feelings of exclusion, and most importantly are illegal. Companies that make every effort to guarantee that all employees regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual preference and age are dealt with equally create an organizational culture that encourages diversity and loyalty to the company. Hutchinson, therefore, needs to realize that a center on joint effort, employee involvement and empowerment could lead to a further efficient and innovative organization and as a result to a sustainable competitive advantage.