It is now more than forty years since the affirmative action (AA) laws were introduced. The primary aim of setting these regulations was to reduce cases of discrimination in employment. However, the main question is whether the rules have been successful and the effects of implementation. The policy has also been applied in main sectors such as the learning institutions and at the workplace. The law, therefore, affects thousands of employers and students attending American institutions of higher education. The policies command attention in that they tap into significant discussions that involve fairness and justice. Most countries including America are committed to achieving equity for all individuals irrespective of gender, age and race but the global history of equality is far from being perfect. The paper is a discussion of the arguments for and against the implementation of affirmative action in today's business environments.
Overview of the Policy
The affirmative action mainly applies in the education and employment sectors. The policy is the same for both industries; the regulations apply when a firm deploys resources to make sure that people from marginalized groups receive fair treatment. In employment, the rule is controversial, yet it has survived many legal challenges due to the action of compelling government interest. The theory of government interest revolves around something that is of importance to the government that it can be used to enact a law (Karst, 2015). The interest had to relate to a particular fundamental constitutional right. When such a bill is proposed, the courts analyze it before making it legal.
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The policy requires that all business owners who conduct more than five thousand dollars’ worth of business and are federal contractors above a certain size to be affirmative employers. Additionally, to develop the plan, the company must have more than fifty employees. Legally, the policy is made up of two elements; action and self-scrutiny. The self-scrutiny component requires that the number of people employed in various jobs and they belong to protected classes should be monitored. Gender and ethnicity lines mainly classify the protected classes. The federal government provides aid to the companies for the first time they enact the affirmative plan.
Arguments for Affirmative Action
Diversity- according to Noe et al. (2016), the policies are useful in creating more diverse workplace environments by providing equal opportunities to all employees irrespective of their age and gender. Diversity deals with issues that are related to discrimination in different ways. The methods used are complementary, but the primary goal is to change the culture of the firm. Diversity comes along with more benefits to the firm which include providing more adaptability regarding problem-solving techniques. A more diverse workplace has a wide array of possible solutions to a specific challenge. Additionally, companies embrace a multicultural employee roster which is an essential element of competition.
Increased opportunities - the affirmative plan is most effective when applied in the hiring process. The reason is that an organization can expand its opportunities to include government contracts as well as cooperation with international firms. It is more likely that when a company receives a government contract, there will be bigger fields of applicants for specific posts. Additionally, companies that are willingly compliant with the equality policies may be setting the stage for other rosy competitors. Past research shows that organizations that have been striving towards building a more diverse workplace have received applications from high-quality employees who originate from various social groups.
Boosted productivity - the affirmative practice dramatically influences the decisions on who is being hired or promoted at a particular time. By bringing individuals with various backgrounds and job experience in a work setting, productivity is enhanced. A multi-cultural workforce supports diverse skills, knowledge, and abilities. The interaction of such individuals increases the breadth of talent available to produce and solve problems. Along with that, productivity can be used to improve an organizational level of income in that workers have to be more creative when working as teams through the sharing of ideas (Leonard, 2014). Creativity places a firm at a better competitive edge regarding the ability to meet dynamic customer needs and preferences.
Moral commitment - implementation of the affirmative plan means that justice and equality values are upheld in the treatment of employees. These changes work towards a much better means of commitment irrespective of the type of business where employees share the same beliefs and principles regardless of their origins. The advantages of such principled stands are not direct, but they influence the corporation culture positively. The culture symbolizes the unique personality of a firm as well as the core values and principles embraced by the employees. Individuals from marginalized groups are reassured that such firms will give them full consideration on cases of workers right and promotions.
Protection from hatred - supporters of the AA program argue that since the industrialization era, the problems of discrimination against blacks and other minorities have been rooted in society. Therefore, on introduction, the primary goal of the affirmative action was to ensure that those individuals who were committing a crime on a person based on their color, gender or race were legally punished. The policy, therefore, guarantees safety to everyone and also enables the marginalized people to get hold of jobs and support their families. An example is when women get more advantages for posts that appear riskier or masculine such as being a police officer.
Arguments Against Affirmative Action
According to Schultz (2018), most employers tend to oppose the AA policies claiming that they bring more disadvantages than advantages to their firms. First, companies are forced to hire members of minorities even when far superior candidates are available contributing to incompetency at the workplace. Opponents argue that human beings are diverse in various forms hence the hiring process cannot be narrowed down into one vertical academic or gender terms. Companies should ensure an investigation of suitable alternative selection procedures which have as little adverse effect as possible on their level of production. Past research shows that there is no standard policy or criteria that have been effective in excluding women and minority groups from a particular job class unless the firm in question demonstrates the necessity of such standards based on the job requirement.
Secondly, the AA plan requires discrimination against a specific group of individuals who are now classified under the new minorities an action commonly known as reverse discrimination. The most affected are the young white males who do not fall under any group of minorities. In that sense, the affirmative action is seen as another form of discrimination since it separates people based on color and gender (Lozano & Escrich, 2017). An excellent example is the quotas rule that is a direct violation of the equal rights amendment. The reason is that by reserving some seats exclusively for a minority group, it means that there is an unequal application of decisions. Continued use of the plan might lead to competition in the applicants who are qualified. Respect as a social value requires that we treat every person based on behavior not as a means to be used for social purposes.
Thirdly, the plan places an argument from the principle of merit. Traditionally, the business environment required that the best-qualified employees were awarded the highest positions. Merit is not a one-sided policy in that there are strong reasons for assigning positions on its basis. Applying the AA regulations leads to the introduction of low standards for employment and education in the country which negatively influences national development. From a practical standpoint, the regulations tend to ignore base knowledge and test scores that most American institutions offer in their curriculum. Keeping in mind that the world is continually evolving, life circumstances must also change to promote growth. The merit technique should, therefore, enjoy a weighty presumption in our social practices.
Lastly, implementing the affirmative action regulations leads to some form of stigma where women and individuals from marginalized groups believe that they can only obtain positions in companies that are based on gender or ethnicity instead of qualifications (Vaughn, 2015). In any organizational setting, such stigma might lead to low production and questioning the competency of employees from marginalized groups. Having people of different genders and ethnicity does not always mean there is diversification of opinions. People of the same origin are not necessarily the same regarding qualifications, ideas or even cultural beliefs. The minority group members might also end up questioning the decision of their employer to hire them.
Conclusion
Today, it is easier to uncover the long-term effects of the affirmative action since its introduction in the labor market. Like every other change technique, the action plan has both benefits and challenges. Even though it is easy for companies to analyze the problems before implementing such measures, it is also important to consider the employee's reactions towards such changes. Other components of evaluation include the effects on wage rates, working hours and earnings for different individuals based on gender and ethnicity. However, on assessment, the whole plan is more beneficial when used appropriately.
References
Karst, K. L. (2015). The revival of forward-looking affirmative action. Columbia Law Review , 104 (1), 60-74.
Kluegel, J. R., & Smith, E. R. (2017). Beliefs about inequality: Americans' views of what is and what ought to be . Routledge.
Leonard, J. S. (2014). The impact of affirmative action regulation and equal employment law on black employment. Journal of Economic Perspectives , 4 (4), 47-63.
Lozano, J. F., & Escrich, T. (2017). Cultural diversity in business: A critical reflection on the ideology of tolerance. Journal of Business Ethics , 142 (4), 679-696.
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2016). Human Resources Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, Tenth Global Edition . McGraw-Hill Education.
Schultz, V. (2018). Telling Stories About Women and Work: Judicial Interpretations of Sex Segregation in the Workplace in Title VII Cases Raising the Lack of Interest Argument. In Feminist legal theory (pp. 124-155). Routledge.
Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues . WW Norton & Company.
