June 7: Article Six

article used:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/business/12immig.html

Have you ever wondered what kind of people are the work horses behind these huge technology powerhouses? Well, honestly I don’t think anyone does. However, now words have been buzzing around Silicon Valley, California that the Justice Department has began an investigation about hiring practices of some of the major technology companies, which include Google, Apple, and Yahoo (Helft1).

It seems that companies compete for the best engineers, marketers and executives; however is the competition becoming more than just competing. Randy Komisar, a partner at Kliener Perkins Caufield and Byers said “There is a gentlemen’s understanding all over the Valley that, it’s not that you don’t hire, it’s the process by which you hire.” Human resource executives say that is not that employees can’t look elsewhere but major companies seem to have an unwritten agreement that other companies can’t recruit other companies’ employees. It is unclear on what exactly the Justice Department is necessarily investigating but they definitely concerned with companies having agreements not to go after one another employees. I think that this is a concern because it can restrict mobility of employees and also hinder the increase of pay to employees, which is not far. I believe it is should be a concern of the Justice Apartment because I do believe these big companies do this because in the end it helps them from having to compete with one another; therefore not allowing wages to increase and allowing the companies to save money (Helft 1). Albert Foer, American Antitrust Institute president told the Post “This could be collusive restraint on trade, which could have a serious impact on competition (Buskirk 1).”

It is undeniable that big technology companies or any company for that matter wants the best; however, they also want to spend as little as possible for the best and the unwritten agreement does just that. I believe that this is very unfair to the employees because not only does it cheat them out of getting a pay raise it also traps them in a job.

References:
Buskirk, Eliot. Antitrust Probe to Review Hiring Practices at Apple, Google, Yahoo: Report. 3 June 2009. 7 June 2009 .

Helft, Miguel. Unwritten Code Rules Silicon Valley Hiring. 3 June 2009. 7 June 2009 .