Brains versus beauty in the knowledge economy: the relative predictive powers of qualification and physical attractiveness in the decision to employ a knowledge worker

Description

It is a widely held belief that those who are attractive generally experience an
easier life; that the door to success is opened by perfect bone structure and a
sparkling white smile. However, this might not be the case. Attractiveness might
play a far lesser role in individual’s achieving their objectives than has
previously been thought. Is it possible that an individual’s qualifications may
have a greater influence regarding the perceptions of managers who question
the suitability of a candidate to fill the position of a Knowledge Worker?
The main purpose of this research was not only to identify the existence of the
so-called Beauty Premium in the Knowledge Economy but, to determine that if
it does indeed exist, how to explore the influence of this aspect regarding the
hiring decisions for which managers are responsible.
A two-phased experimental design was followed that investigated the existence
and strength of the Beauty Premium amongst a group of managers who were
provided with fictitious resumes coupled with photographs of the applicants.
These managers were requested to make a hiring decision based on the
information in front of them.
The results revealed the existence of a Beauty Premium but that is was
relatively weak and that the qualification of an individual had a far greater
influence on a manager’s perception of the suitability of a candidate to fill a
position of a Knowledge Worker. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Links & Downloads

1. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/44913
2. Ford, R. (2014). Brains versus beauty in the knowledge economy: the relative predictive powers of qualification and physical attractiveness in the decision to employ a knowledge worker (MBA mini-dissertation).Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria. Retrieved from http://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/1818

Tags

UCTD

Human behavior

Economics—Psychological aspects

Knowledge economy

Knowledge workers

Additional Fields

Identifer	oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/44913
Date	January 2014
Creators	Ford, Richard
Contributors	Price, Gavin, [e-mail]
Source Sets	South African National ETD Portal
Language	English
Detected Language	English
Type	Mini Dissertation
Rights	© 2014 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria.