Genetics as a field has affected many aspects of daily life, but its implications for the business world remain controversial.
Genetics focuses, on a general level, on DNA's transcription into RNA and the RNA's subsequent translation into proteins. The type of protein that is translated is based specifically on tiny portions of DNA, known as genes. The basic functional unit of heredity, genes determine a person's development, physical characteristics and even explain the etiology of many diseases.
Recently, however, genetics has started to have a greater influence in business, a burgeoning field referred to by consultants as "scientific management." By applying research done on genes, neurotransmitters and hormones, some business managers might wish for a quantitative method to predict an employee's success and development in a particular job position.
Because of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which bans the use of genetic information in job recruitment, businesses may have to be careful about how they would implement such practices. But Scott Shane's book Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders, which was published in March, has drawn interest to the subject. Shane, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University stated in his book that "your genes influence your work interests, work values, decision making, risk taking, and work life."
Shane, an expert on management and entrepreneurship, is an influential proponent for developing scientific management. "Genetic factors influence the tendency of people to engage in workplace behaviors in a myriad of ways and these effects have implications that you should be aware of," he wrote in the book.
To illustrate his point, Shane focused on twin studies to support his data, observing the behavioral and chemical differences between fraternal and identical twins. For example, Shane cites a 1960s study showing that "among boys, 41 percent of the variance in interest in a business career is accounted for by genetic factors." Using this statistic, Shane supported his claim that "identical twins tend to show more similar levels of interest in business jobs than their fraternal counterparts." Furthermore, he suggested that genetic deviations accounted for the estimated 40 percent variation in income.
The practical implications of such studies could prove valuable to managers.
"It'd be interesting to see how the results would affect recruiting, as a chemical meter would offer a non-biased view that could potentially benefit the workplace, from an economic perspective," third-year Commerce student Rick Forshaw said.
As Shane points out, the lower levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter dopamine could be associated with a "novelty-seeking gene, because dopamine makes people feel good, if we have less of it for some reason, we try to get more of it." With a fuller knowledge of gene expression, therefore, managers could have a new view of the workplace.
Nevertheless, neither business leaders nor scientists have widely accepted the use of genetic information to influence business. Criticisms of "scientific management" predominantly fall into two disparate views: the reliability of using genes and the ethical issues of genetic information.
"Being human is more than the genes that we have," Asst. Biology Prof. Sarah Kucenas said. "The variability between people is immense."
As Kucenas suggests, applying genetic information to a big sector, such as business, should be approached cautiously, as it is also a person's environment that plays critical factors in development.
Shane, however, said he does not doubt that environmental factors play into scientific management. In his book he said he is "certainly, unequivocally, not saying that the environment has zero effect," yet stated that his goal "focuses on the ways that your genes impact how you act." He believes that both play a role but looks at genes because it is "merely one more factor that affects the odds that something will occur."
Still, Kucenas continued to warn against relying too much on genetic assessments.
"Trying to carve out thresholds with regards to how people behave or to improve on behavior simply by looking at their genes is ignoring what we know about the human body," she said.
Use of genetic information could have big consequences that lead down a slippery slope, leading to another issue with scientific management - its ethical implications.
"The correlation could be quite valuable," Forshaw said. "An employer already has my personal information, and knowing my genetic information would better the work experience. Still, there a number of other things that must be factored in."
Ethical conflicts of scientific management are described as the "Fear Problem," citing examples such as eugenics. But Shane argues that a more comprehensive understanding of genetics can positively impact society, as well. "The potential for misuse of genetic information is no reason to avoid understanding the impact of genes on behavior," he wrote. "If we think that people will employ genetic data in undesirable ways, then we need to put proper safeguards in place."
With all these ethical and legal considerations in place, further research must be conducted before genetics in business can have widespread acceptance.
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