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News
THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN ff
Wednesday, October 15,1997 3
Study says attractive
employees make more
money for companies
By David Tan-ant
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Beauty is its own reward and its
employer's, too.
Attractive people make more
nfoncy for their companies than
their homelier colleagues do, ac¬
cording to a recent study dubbed
"Beauty and Business Success." by
economists Daniel Hamcrmcsh of
the University of Texas at Austin
and Jeff Biddlc of the University of
Michigan.
But the authors caution against
overreacting to the data.
"If the choice is between getting
plastic surgery or going to college,
by all means go to college." Biddlc
said. "A whole lot of things con¬
tribute to productivity, of which at¬
tractiveness is only one part."
The two economists have spent
many years researching the rela¬
tionship between pretty faces and
the labor market. A previous study.
published four years ago by the two
economists, found that attractive
people tend to earn five percent
more than those with average hxiks.
"The question that arises is: Why
does this happen? One possibility
is discrimination against unattrac¬
tive people. Another possibility is
that attractive people arc worth
more to employers," Biddlc said.
One way to find out if better-
looking workers earned their extra
pay was to measure whether firms
wrth more attractive workers did
better than similar firms with fewer
good-looking workers.
So the researchers studied 2X9
Dutch advertising agencies, gather¬
ing 1,282 black-and-white photos
of management teams for each
agency the people most responsible
for running the agency and dealing
with clients and customers.
Six-member panels of mixed
age and gender rated each photo¬
graph on a scale of one to five
(where one was homely, three was
average and five was strikingly
handsome or beautiful).
While beauty fs often considered
to be in the eye of the beholder,
there was general agreement among
the raters as to who was attractive
and who wasn't.
"We found that in most cases,
firms with more attractive boards
had higher revenues." Biddlc said.
The study also provided evidence
that suggests the value of attractive
employees exceed the extra pay
they receive.
The study doesn't state why
firms with more attractive people
at the top did better. But customer
interaction probably plays a major
role, Biddle said.
That's true in the service indus¬
try as well, he said.
In certain businesses, such as
high-end clothing stores and fancy
restaurants, customers might prefer
attractive employees. "You prob¬
ably want to be waited on by some¬
one who is attractive^' and for the
owner, a beautiful enAployee helps
"to move more product," he said.
"By hiring attractive wait-staff,
you're gaining happier customers
and that would be good for the em¬
ployer.'"
The Dallas area's J.C. Penney
Co. said it values personality, ap¬
pearance and grooming over mere
good looks. "Just to look separately
at how attractive they are? That
would not be our No. I criteria,"
said Penncy's spokesman Duncan
Muir.
Attractive people might also
bring other qualities to work that
benefit their employer. Biddle said.
"Attractive people are treated
belter from the word go.' Attrac¬
tive babies are treated better than
unattractive babies. They become
a little more confident, assertive. By
the time an attractive person
reaches the work-force stage, they
may hive more attractive skills,
leadership skills, for example."
Exit stage right
Ryan Weber — The Daily Collegian
Several ASI senators follow Maribelle Ramon out of Tuesday's meeting.
El Nino
Continued from page 4.
imports.
Soybean farmers in the south of
Brazil were worried that torrential
rains could delay the s'tart of plant¬
ing, while the rain has already de¬
layed wheat harvesting in some ar¬
eas.
There is some good news. The
"hurricane alley," of the western
Atlantic and Caribbean has had the
quietest storm season in years,
thanks to El Nino. But the Eastern
Pacific has seen increased storm
activity.
Australia, where fears df El Nino
induced drought had triggered a
rush to cut crop forecasts, has had
rain. According tc\the Australian
Wheat Board widespread rain in
Queensland and New South Wales
has consolidated the wheat crop.
And Japanese forecasters' were
expecting a mild winter, thanks to
El Nino.
Corhmodities traders were less
worried than they have been as, in
cocoa, even though EI Nino is likely
to affect crops in Malaysia and In¬
donesia, "these nations simply pale
in comparison to the potential
Ivorian output," Merrill Lynch said
in its Commodity Market Trends
report.
A potentially record crop by the
world's number one producer Ivory
Coast, where beneficial rains have
fallen after a dry spell, could make
up for losses in Indonesia and Ma¬
laysia.
And scattered rain has brought
hope to Indonesian growers of co-
_coa, as well as rice,.coffee and corn,
although more is needed.
The showers there have also
brought relief from the smog which
covered most of South-east Asia
because of out-of-control bush and
forest fires in Indonesia.
There is a growing realization
that El Nino's adverse effect on
sugar will be limited during thetur-
rent crop cycle, the International
Sugar Organization said.
In Australia, unseasonal rains
have onLy marginally affected
Australia's 1997 sugar output while
a further increase in sugar produc¬
tion is expected in Brazil's north-
northeast region.
Prospects of drier weather due
to El Nino will boost Philippines'
sugar cane crop but in Thailand dry
weather came before the El Nino
cycle got in full swing, and had al¬
ready blighted the harvest.
Changing sea temperatures have
resulted in a bumper Australian tuna
catch but a sharply lower one in the
New Guinea area, and will probably
cut the South American anchovy
catch. EI-r4ino watchers said.
The weather may hit transport as
well, as El Nino could affect tran¬
sit through the Panama Canal early
next year, canal officials said last
week.
y^v-:::rh*expected less-than-normal
rainfall accumulation could lead to
some draft restrictions in the canal
beginning as early as February
1998." the Panama Canal Commis¬
sion (PCC) said.
That could restrict large vessels
with heavy cargo, such as grain
from the US Gulf to the Far East,
from traveling through the canal
because of low water levels.
Kennel Bookstore
Dictionary Days
Visit the Lower Level and receive
20%O|f
ALL Dictionaries
■ ^4^ General Book
OCtOber 15 & 16 *V^ESNO STATE Department
NNierriamN
Webster's
Collegiate]
J)ictionarM
278-4286
Object Description
| Title | 1997_10 The Daily Collegian October 1997 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1997 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | October 15, 1997, Page 5 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1997 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search | fc News THE DAILY COLLEGIAN ff Wednesday, October 15,1997 3 Study says attractive employees make more money for companies By David Tan-ant Knight-Ridder Newspapers Beauty is its own reward and its employer's, too. Attractive people make more nfoncy for their companies than their homelier colleagues do, ac¬ cording to a recent study dubbed "Beauty and Business Success." by economists Daniel Hamcrmcsh of the University of Texas at Austin and Jeff Biddlc of the University of Michigan. But the authors caution against overreacting to the data. "If the choice is between getting plastic surgery or going to college, by all means go to college." Biddlc said. "A whole lot of things con¬ tribute to productivity, of which at¬ tractiveness is only one part." The two economists have spent many years researching the rela¬ tionship between pretty faces and the labor market. A previous study. published four years ago by the two economists, found that attractive people tend to earn five percent more than those with average hxiks. "The question that arises is: Why does this happen? One possibility is discrimination against unattrac¬ tive people. Another possibility is that attractive people arc worth more to employers," Biddlc said. One way to find out if better- looking workers earned their extra pay was to measure whether firms wrth more attractive workers did better than similar firms with fewer good-looking workers. So the researchers studied 2X9 Dutch advertising agencies, gather¬ ing 1,282 black-and-white photos of management teams for each agency the people most responsible for running the agency and dealing with clients and customers. Six-member panels of mixed age and gender rated each photo¬ graph on a scale of one to five (where one was homely, three was average and five was strikingly handsome or beautiful). While beauty fs often considered to be in the eye of the beholder, there was general agreement among the raters as to who was attractive and who wasn't. "We found that in most cases, firms with more attractive boards had higher revenues." Biddlc said. The study also provided evidence that suggests the value of attractive employees exceed the extra pay they receive. The study doesn't state why firms with more attractive people at the top did better. But customer interaction probably plays a major role, Biddle said. That's true in the service indus¬ try as well, he said. In certain businesses, such as high-end clothing stores and fancy restaurants, customers might prefer attractive employees. "You prob¬ ably want to be waited on by some¬ one who is attractive^' and for the owner, a beautiful enAployee helps "to move more product," he said. "By hiring attractive wait-staff, you're gaining happier customers and that would be good for the em¬ ployer.'" The Dallas area's J.C. Penney Co. said it values personality, ap¬ pearance and grooming over mere good looks. "Just to look separately at how attractive they are? That would not be our No. I criteria," said Penncy's spokesman Duncan Muir. Attractive people might also bring other qualities to work that benefit their employer. Biddle said. "Attractive people are treated belter from the word go.' Attrac¬ tive babies are treated better than unattractive babies. They become a little more confident, assertive. By the time an attractive person reaches the work-force stage, they may hive more attractive skills, leadership skills, for example." Exit stage right Ryan Weber — The Daily Collegian Several ASI senators follow Maribelle Ramon out of Tuesday's meeting. El Nino Continued from page 4. imports. Soybean farmers in the south of Brazil were worried that torrential rains could delay the s'tart of plant¬ ing, while the rain has already de¬ layed wheat harvesting in some ar¬ eas. There is some good news. The "hurricane alley," of the western Atlantic and Caribbean has had the quietest storm season in years, thanks to El Nino. But the Eastern Pacific has seen increased storm activity. Australia, where fears df El Nino induced drought had triggered a rush to cut crop forecasts, has had rain. According tc\the Australian Wheat Board widespread rain in Queensland and New South Wales has consolidated the wheat crop. And Japanese forecasters' were expecting a mild winter, thanks to El Nino. Corhmodities traders were less worried than they have been as, in cocoa, even though EI Nino is likely to affect crops in Malaysia and In¬ donesia, "these nations simply pale in comparison to the potential Ivorian output," Merrill Lynch said in its Commodity Market Trends report. A potentially record crop by the world's number one producer Ivory Coast, where beneficial rains have fallen after a dry spell, could make up for losses in Indonesia and Ma¬ laysia. And scattered rain has brought hope to Indonesian growers of co- _coa, as well as rice,.coffee and corn, although more is needed. The showers there have also brought relief from the smog which covered most of South-east Asia because of out-of-control bush and forest fires in Indonesia. There is a growing realization that El Nino's adverse effect on sugar will be limited during thetur- rent crop cycle, the International Sugar Organization said. In Australia, unseasonal rains have onLy marginally affected Australia's 1997 sugar output while a further increase in sugar produc¬ tion is expected in Brazil's north- northeast region. Prospects of drier weather due to El Nino will boost Philippines' sugar cane crop but in Thailand dry weather came before the El Nino cycle got in full swing, and had al¬ ready blighted the harvest. Changing sea temperatures have resulted in a bumper Australian tuna catch but a sharply lower one in the New Guinea area, and will probably cut the South American anchovy catch. EI-r4ino watchers said. The weather may hit transport as well, as El Nino could affect tran¬ sit through the Panama Canal early next year, canal officials said last week. y^v-:::rh*expected less-than-normal rainfall accumulation could lead to some draft restrictions in the canal beginning as early as February 1998." the Panama Canal Commis¬ sion (PCC) said. That could restrict large vessels with heavy cargo, such as grain from the US Gulf to the Far East, from traveling through the canal because of low water levels. Kennel Bookstore Dictionary Days Visit the Lower Level and receive 20%O|f ALL Dictionaries ■ ^4^ General Book OCtOber 15 & 16 *V^ESNO STATE Department NNierriamN Webster's Collegiate] J)ictionarM 278-4286 |
