Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Prejudice in the Workplace

Summary of the Situation

My African American friend once narrated to me an incident where his uncle was racially discriminated in his workplace. His uncle was a nurse at the Stanhope Medical clinic in New York. The clinic has existed for around 40 years now with his uncle getting having secured a job in the institution in 1998. Up to date, he has worked for almost 20 years making him the second longest serving employee after the medical superintendent. Even though my friend's uncle studied his degree, masters, and finally his Ph.D. over the years, he has not been promoted to any significant position in the company. The hospital's work policy stipulates that an individual will be promoted based on their academic qualifications and experience. Many junior white nurses have joined the hospital and have overtaken him in the pecking order. The issue affected the nurse for many years and even caused him to contemplate resignation. It was apparent to him that the company either did not appreciate the minorities or it merely overlooked them. Currently, the head and the deputy head of the nursing departments hold bachelor’s degrees. It is therefore clear that his uncle has been racially discriminated in his workplace, something that has significantly affected his morale.

Implications

According to research conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2017, racial discrimination accounted for up to 33.9% of all the workplace related forms of prejudice (Jones et al., 2017). To date, racial discrimination remains a reality in many organizations. Although the perpetrators draw some form of benefit by locking other potential employers, such a trend has a counterproductive effect on the welfare of the company including the stakeholders, the reputation, and legal responsibilities. For the company’s stakeholders, racial discrimination in work can lead to losses and a waste of time for the management. When an individual is accused of racially discriminating the other, a tribunal hearing or a lawsuit can be launched that can be costly to the company. The low morale on the part of the workers can lead to decreased productivity thus hurting the financial well-being of the organization. An employee that has suffered racial discrimination or abuse can eventually be a target of media attention causing the spreading of the news. The overall implication here is that the company will be painted in bad light thereby tarnishing the reputation that it has taken years to build (Offermann et al., 2014). Therefore, with regards to the Stanhope Clinic case scenario, if the nurse decided to report the issue, it would be a significant blow to the stakeholders and the reputation of the company.

Any discrimination such as this also means that companies have failed to observe their legal obligations. Title 4 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents the discrimination of any employee based on their color, race, national origin, and sex (Krislov, 2012). Another blanket law that prevents any form of discrimination is known as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act that takes into consideration the factors named earlier including age, disability status, sexual orientation, and political beliefs among others (Krislov, 2012).

Additionally, racial discrimination also possesses an effect on morale and functioning of coworkers and employees. As described in the case scenario, no African American employee will be motivated to participate in further studies hoping to climb the corporate ladder. Also, the workers will feel underappreciated, undervalued, and overlooked in relation to the majority. Most fundamentally, their dreams will slowly die thereby costing the company since their goals will no longer align with that of the organization. Research has also shown that perceptions regarding a lack of fairness can lead to depression, sleeplessness, and migraines (Offermann et al., 2014). The prolonged stress that emanates from racism or any other form of prejudice can lead to multiple health problems such as hypertension and stroke. Overall, the company will reduce its potential to recruit members from this particular segment of society due to perceived discrimination.

Steps To Avoid the Occurrence of the Situation

First, I would ensure that laws the workplace policy on promotion is followed to the latter in a bid to ensure that every member of the staff receives promotion based on merit. Secondly, I would comply with all departments to ensure that all federal laws such as the Equal Opportunity Employment Act are incorporated as part of the organizational culture. Once they are followed to the latter, any form of discrimination will have been minimized. Lastly, I will ensure that there is a whistleblowing protocol in the company's ranks so that any unethical behavior such as racial discrimination is promptly brought to the attention of the authorities for action. In leveraging all these strategies, cultural competence should inform the strategies. Cultural competence involves the ability to understand and communicate with people across various cultures adequately (Shih, Young, & Bucher, 2013). In emphasizing the anti-discriminatory laws, as the leader, I will also ensure that the organizational philosophy is based on cultural competence.

Steps to Handle the Situation after It Happened

The process will begin with investigation and review of workplace policies on promotion and discrimination. Secondly, all the concerned authorities in perpetrating the workplace discrimination need to receive punishment and training on cultural competence. Thirdly, a new structure, based on cultural competence, will be created to ensure that such a scenario does not happen again. Employment and promotion should be based on merit. Secondly and most importantly, every person should be treated equally and fairly irrespective of their cultural affiliation.

References

Jones, K. P., Arena, D. F., Nittrouer, C. L., Alonso, N. M., & Lindsey, A. P. (2017). Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 10(1), 51-76.

Krislov, S. (2012). The Negro in federal employment: The quest for equal opportunity. Quid Pro Books.

Offermann, L. R., Basford, T. E., Graebner, R., Jaffer, S., De Graaf, S. B., & Kaminsky, S. E. (2014). See no evil: Color blindness and perceptions of subtle racial discrimination in the workplace. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(4), 499.

Shih, M., Young, M. J., & Bucher, A. (2013). Working to reduce the effects of discrimination: Identity management strategies in organizations. American Psychologist, 68(3), 145.