What are potential problems with having a staffing process in which vacancies are filled on a lottery basis from among job applicants or on a first...

If the
goal of a business is to maximize profit through the most cost-effective methods of
manufacturing a product or developing the means of rendering a serviceor if the goal is to
enable the business to achieve significant technological innovations that will exceed those of
competitorsthese goals are unlikely to be achieved through a personnel policy that relies on a
lottery system or on a first-hired seniority system. The best way to achieve goals is to
maximize use of the most skilled employeeseven if those employees are relatively new hires or
are junior to less capable older workers.

Employing a lottery system to fill
a vacancy within an organization is to suggest that the open position is of marginal value to
the company. A lottery system is, by nature, random and ignores priorities and objectives. Also,
a lottery system minimizes the prospect that the winner of the lottery will be the most
capable candidate for the vacant position. Similarly, a seniority system in...