Beauty and the Labor Market

Since ancient times, man and woman alike value beaut in the same level as they value their possessions and as yet their family. This is well seen in works of art, in works of poetry and other forms of books that praise strike. Balladeers get under ones skin sung its ability to intoxicate more rigid than wine and its capacity influence man and his many endeavors.The subject of peach is very important in human history beca delectation the human execute is disposed(p) to marriage and it is the reproduction of children that allows the said specie to continually omit the earth. It is therefore non surprising how much money and effort is given to the pursuit of saucer and the celebration of the same.In the late 20th century, 2 men, Daniel Hamermesh and Jeff Biddle were too stricken by the allure of steady but pursued it from a unique angle. These two researchers proposed the idea that if discrimination with regards to race, nationality, etc. exists in the workplace then there is surely discrimination when it comes to an employees steady-going looks or the neglect thereof.Both men went further as to say that good looks non sweep throughly allowed men and women possessing of this enviable quality to get good line of productss but they in like manner atomic number 18 able to append their income more successfully than those whom Hamermesh and Biddle described as homely in appearance. But before proceeding to find indorse or contradictions that will shoot down their thesis, Hamermesh and Biddle went on a elongated discussion strengthening their position that there is indeed a right smart to do an empirical field of take away of the said subject matter.MethodologyHamermesh and Biddle were right on target when they remarked in the offset printing of the paper that there is no press release forward without having established the fact that truelove can be measured. The setoff thing that they did was to look for related literature that wo uld support their claim that peach can be measured statistically.They went further as to say that not only does beauty a trait that can be measured scientifically but more importantly, perception or normals of beauty is or sothing that does not abruptly change or shift easily in a short period of time. In other words a propagation or two of Europeans, Americans, and Canadians will obligate the same standard of beauty at least in the 20th century when the paper was do.Then Hamermesh and Biddle scrutinized the methodological summary used in the multiple tests to determine a beauty standard and they were satisfied with what they learned. In fact, in Part II of their study they made the following discoveryWithin a destination at a point in time there is tremendous agreement on standards of beauty,and these standards change quite slowly. For example, respondents ranging in age from seven to fifty who were asked to pasture the appearance of people depicted in photographs showed very high correlation in their rankings (see Background portion of study).Now, in recount to make their study reliable and the results credible Hamermesh and Biddle made their case airtight by flavour closely at their respondents and the other variables that would affect their results significantly. An example of this is the exclusion of those who have questionable health status for this would surely affect their performance and would have made the study unreliable to say the least.But both(prenominal) men did not stop there they also presented other factors that would have made their summary unacceptable. They pointed to the fact that there can be other forces involved in the hiring of employees possessing above-average good looks. And these are namely 1) there are industries that require good looking people and 2) in the case of overcrowding a manager may use the criteria of good looks to choose among the many applicants competing for limited jobs.SignificanceThe world of l ine of credit is surely indebted to Hamermesh and Biddle and those who wanted to offer something in the altogether to the growing proboscis of knowledge concerning what would increase the productivity of a particular enterprise. In the beginning of this study the two proponents were correct in saying that in the compass of discrimination in the workplace there is very little if at all, a systematic analysis on the effect of a individuals looks on the quality of job that he or she will get and subsequently the degree of success that will be achieved in his or her lifetime.This study is also helpful in providing more info to those seeking to resolve issues concerning an employers alleged discriminatory actions with regards to an employee unable to rise atop the corporate ladder due to the misfortune of being born with a kinda homely appearance. This study would form the foundation of future inquiries as to the piece of beauty in the corporate world.AnalysisThe study was a vast challenge for the two researchers because they decided to tackle something as difficult as trying to catch the wind with bare hands. They aimed for the im executable to measure beauty and ugliness. If this is not enough their study was made more complicated by move another hurdle and it is to understand the correlation between beauty or the lack thereof and productivity in the workplace.It does not motivation further discussion to conclude that beauty is in the eye of the commentator and that what is sweet to one culture may be offensive to another. In fact a mere two hundred year crack in history is enough to totally transform standards of beauty. The researchers admitted early on when they cited that paintings made in the 17th century depicted a rather different standard when it comes to what feature makes a beautiful man or woman when being compared to what is celebrated today in the media and the arts.But they pulled off a rather convincing argument using a passing con trolled study where people from all ages 7 eld old to fifty years old where able to demonstrate that indeed for a given generation there is a standard of beauty that does not change even after the passage of time. Here is the beginning of their problem.They said so themselves that in the time of the famous artist Rubens beauty is measured by the plumpness of the lady and not by the reed thin supermodels that are highly esteemed in modern times. So how can they be received that their standard does not change after thirty years or more? tho, they have concluded that either Canadians have a elegant difference in their outlook regarding beautiful people or that they are not comfortable in being brutally frank when it comes to mind another persons appearance. This shows subjectivity arising from differences in culture etc.Now, for the rice beer of argument, this paper will allow that Hamermesh and Biddle were both correct in their analysis that there is indeed a standard of beauty that is both measurable and unchanging. Then this will lead the discussion to another perceived impuissance in their work which is the fact that they conducted their study within European culture and there is no data to support the fact that they considered the preference of Asians.Another possible weakness in their methodology is the fact that they were not able to all the way establish the standard of beauty in a way that their study could be geminated in the future and in different regions of the world. What occurred was that in order for their results to be accepted as scientific then they would have to prepare a similar group of respondents every time they would try to replicate their study in other locations outside the U.S. or Canada.Another problematic prognosis of the study is the fact that a person uses more than beauty to complete a job. Mental capabilities and social skills play a major role in the development of a persons career. The study is not that complex to s eparate intelligence quotient and beauty. There is no way to right simply observe beauty in action apart from the use of mental faculties.Throughout the course of the research the duo were struggling in putting together a very convincing argument that indeed beauty alone is the major factor in achieving success. There are in force(p) too many variables involved in the process of doing a job whatever it may be. In the end Hamermesh and Biddle were almost back to square one for they were not able to come up with anything that is radically new except for reinforcing the already known idea that there are some jobs that require attractive people in order to be more productive.Hamermesh and Biddle tried an escape route by saying that they do not have to demonstrate the validity of their claim because according to them people surpass a lot of time and money in grooming acquired immune deficiency syndrome and purchase of good clothes in order to enhance their carnal beauty. But it can be argued that grooming and beauty are two different things. A celebrity which many considers beautiful can don a plain shirt and still people would find her attractive.Hamermesh and Biddle were both correct in their final analysis that there is a pick out to study, relationships between looks and earning within particular narrowly defined occupations (see Part VIII). Moreover there is a need to extend the timeline of their study to determine if attractive employees were able to sustain a high level of success and that their increase in income is not merely a result of a mobile promotion because the manager was biased to people with good looks but currently regretted his actions when he found out about their performance.Works CitedHamermesh, D. & Biddle, J. Beauty and the LabourMarket. American Economic Review 84.5(1994) 1174-1194.