There is a company that, amongst other things, stores things on high shelves. One of the job positions is “High Shelf Manager.” The job description says that the person must be able to both store and retrieve items from the high shelf, which making sure that they don’t knock anything off.
The current “High Shelf Manager” has moved on to another company. Now, the HR department are on the search for the ideal candidate for the position.
In the past, this position has gone exclusively to tall people. Tall people just have a natural aptitude for putting things on high shelves, as well as retrieving them. That’s the way it’s always been. And this time, there are two tall people applying for the job, and one short person. When they go to interview the three people, they find this out: the first tall person has bad eyesight, and would have to do everything by feel; the second tall person is extremely clumsy; the short person has an awesome ladder and is very good at seeing where things are and how to get them.
Overall, the short person is the best for the job. But the HR department are concerned about the reaction of the rest of the company, especially the department that the short person will be in. Because, really, it’s a tall person’s job, isn’t it?
Ellen Jurik 