Management: Affirmative Action and Diversity Training

In Favor of Diversity Training:

“Here is not merely a nation but a teeming Nation of nations.” “Here the flowing trains, here the crowds, equality, diversity, the soul loves” (Whitman & Beach, 2012).  

 The United States is a land full of diverse people – we are not a nation of just one race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc…  The only thing most of the people of America actually have in common is that our ancestors all traveled here by way of the ocean.  Diversity is around everyone of us constantly; especially in the workplace.  I am from a small town called Farmington Missouri and even in this very small town I have friends of all colors, nationalities, sexual orientation, both male and female, of all ages, and religions.  It is because of this diversity among people that there is a large need for effective diversity training in the workplace.  I say effective diversity training here, because the training needs to be done properly and needs to be taught by an instructor who actually understands how to teach the program based on research/tools that have been proven to assist employees in the training process.   If a manager is simply going through the motions and just doing what is required of them to get people through a training program, then chances are that the program is not going to be as effective as it would be if a proper instructor was doing the training.

Some people cannot rely on parental guidance, legal reprimand, or even social cues to learn how to be tolerant and respectful of others.  From what I have personally witnessed myself, some people enjoy being rude and ignorant when it comes to other people who are different than they are (even if they know it’s wrong to admit aloud that they are prejudice).   Ignorance fuels discrimination and inhibits diversity.  However, ignorance is a curable affliction - "Teaching leads to understanding, understanding leads to tolerance, tolerance leads to diversity, diversity leads to acceptance and acceptance leads to peace” (Fang, 2005).  This is why diversity training is necessary in the workforce.  The information regarding diversity needs to be given to people; after all, would a little education hurt anyone?  Even if a person is extremely tolerant, diversity training would simply be a reinforcement tool.  It is my experience when re-learning something, I always learn something new.  

The overall goals of diversity training are to “minimize discrimination and harassment lawsuits” and to improve “acceptance and understanding of people with different backgrounds, experiences, capabilities, and lifestyles” (Mathis & Jackson, 2009).  However, giving information to people is simply not enough.  People must embrace the idea behind the information; “Research has shown that it is only when people take diversity personally that they are able to turn it into a practice at work” (Gilliard, 2008).  Therefore, the concept of tolerance and acceptance must also be integrated into an effective diversity training program in addition to the basic information of diversity in the workplace and the person/employee needs to be a willing participant in the training program.  Managers truly need to be able to provide effective diversity programs for their employees in an attempt to educate them on the diverse nature of the workplace.  Diversity is prevalent in the workplace and a good program to teach diversity is essential to the harmony of a diverse set of employees. “Diversity is a reality for employers today, and effective diversity management is crucial to HR management” (Mathis & Jackson, 2009).

As a side note, and something to ponder – diversity leads to synergy; new ideas from a diverse background of people.  The introduction and mixing of cultures, languages, technology and much more comes from the fact that the world is diverse and people do have the ability to communicate effectively with those who are different than themselves (the Internet, and globalization are examples).  Now, my question is, how would the world be if all people remained in their own little groups of all-white, all-black, all-Asian, all-gay, all-straight, all-Christian, all-Muslim, all-female, all-male groups?  How would the workplace be different if it was like this?  How would it be better or worse?  Would there be as much discovery and innovation in the world?  These types of questions are important to me because I feel as a human race, these trivial issues of skin color and other genetic assignments should not be considered whatsoever. And for those who are not sure how to treat fellow humankind in the workplace (or the world for that matter), effective diversity training is a step in the right direction.

  

References:

Fang, S. (2005, Jul 12). Ignorance, terrorism go hand in hand. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, pp. 13-A.13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/337201135?accountid=38003

Gilliard, J. P. (2008). Diversity training: A study of the impact of diversity training on organizational performance, financial results and accountability. Capella University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304815214?accountid=38003. (304815214).

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2009). Equal Employment/Diversity. Human resource management essential perspectives (5th ed., p. 56,57). Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Whitman, W., & Beach, J. M. (2012). Book XXIII. Walt Whitman: Leaves of grass (the complete1891-92 edition) (p. 241). Austin, TX: Createspace. (Original work published 1892)

Against Affirmative Action: 

This word alone does not sit well with many people when thinking about Affirmative Action.   The purpose of Affirmative Action is to include minorities who would otherwise not be included in the workplace due to possible discrimination.  “Through Affirmative Action, employers are urged to hire groups of people based on their race, age, gender, or national origin to make up for historical discrimination” (Mathis & Jackson, 2009). 

Does Affirmative Action cause Reverse Discrimination, polarization, resentment, and separatism among employees:

Many Americans feel that Affirmative Action is a form of reverse discrimination; that if they are a white male, they have fewer opportunities in the workplace.  A testing technician in Gilbert, Arizona, Joseph Ruhnke, stated “It just makes me upset when this subject gets thrown down your throat. I'm a white single male and they try to make you feel guilty because they're not getting jobs and that it's our fault. It's not my fault that somebody can't get a job.” (Morin & Warden, 1995).  When employees are upset in the workplace and feel they are discriminated against but have no real outlet to protect them such as the minorities, I can see where there can be polarization, resentment, and separatism.  It would seem that Affirmative Action reinforces separatism not with skin color, race, or religion, but by grouping minorities against the majority which is the white male.  Some people in the minority group see things just a little differently than Joseph Ruhnke. Graig Gillis, age 25, stated, “There should be some type of reparations for 300 to 400 to 500 years of discrimination of all types of minorities, not just blacks” (Morin & Warden, 1995).  But there already has been justice for the inequalities against women, African American, Native Indian, and more minorities in the United States.  When is enough, enough?  No wonder there is some resentment, polarization, separatism, and feelings of reverse discrimination in the workplace.  Even with laws and policies in place, the NAACP, all-black movie channels, etc... Some people still want more and believe just due to their skin color they are owed more.   This sense of entitlement from a white person, black person, Asian person, gay person, or any person in general creates resentment in other people.  Dan Oswald states regarding the Declaration of Independence: “Nowhere in there does it say we are entitled to respect or to be treated a certain way. And expecting those things, having a sense of entitlement, causes bitterness and resentment.” (Oswald, 2012).   One of the key points outlined in the text states “Affirmative Action creates more equality for all persons, even if temporary injustice to some individuals may result” (Mathis & Jackson, 2009).  And the debate is before us under this section because “Affirmative Action penalizes individuals (males and whites) even though they have not been guilty of discrimination” (Mathis & Jackson, 2009). Since Affirmative Action is based on equality and fairness, does this seem truly fair?

Though quotas are illegal in the United States, do the goals of organizations sometimes become quotas when hiring minorities:   

According to the text, “Goals become quotas by forcing employers to ‘play by the numbers’”. (Mathis & Jackson, 2009).   The Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 1978 through the Bakke decision (formerly The University of California Regents v. Bakke) that quotas were unconstitutional.  Allan Bakke, a white male, applied for medical school and was denied even when minority students were admitted to the program that had lower scores/admission requirements - “applicants were admitted under the special program with grade point averages, MCAT scores, and benchmark scores significantly lower than Bakke's.” (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REGENTS 1978).  The argument for Bakke fell under The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which states: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance”. (Title VI, 1986).   Even though quotas are illegal due to precedence now in the United States, another point is to be made from this case:  Why an executive order now when there are other protections granted through precedence and The Equal Protection Clause and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that clearly protects anyone, not just minorities, from discrimination under the law?      

Do the minorities being hired actually want the charity of Affirmative Action (case in point: white women):  

A story: 

As a white female, I do not feel the need for Affirmative Action.  I feel that my gender has not had an effect on my grades, my life, my personal or professional circumstances and quite frankly the only time I do get offended is when I am referred to as “the weaker sex” or a “minority” because I have good self-esteem. I do not appreciate the labels, nor do I need the labels in order to succeed in life.  I had never been discriminated against due to my race, gender, age, or sexual orientation until I was hired for the purpose of having a woman on an all-white, all-male sales team at an organization when I was 19 years old (I was actually told that is why I was being hired by my boss at the time).  I was not qualified as much as other applicants and I found this out later, but I was 19, I had a daughter to support and I was not going to turn down a job.  I performed the job well, however the men at the job were upset and angry that their boss hired a woman for the position “just because” and because of the fact that I had no official training for the job.  They left pictures of naked women on my desk, they called me derogatory names referring to my sexual orientation (they thought I was gay for some reason), and having been a new mother, they would often call me at my desk and pretend to be advocates from the Division of Child Services claiming I was being investigated.  A couple of the salesmen even exposed themselves to me.  Could I have sued on so many different levels of injustice here?  Certainly.  Did I? No.  I didn’t because I did not want or need anyone’s pity.  Instead I made a plan.  I took all of their sales by simply being a better salesperson; I then called the main office and reported my sales for the previous two months because my sales were not being sent in for some reason before.  I was given “Employee of the Month” for my last two months of work and the owner of the organization came down to Cape Girardeau from St. Louis to personally thank me and take me out to dinner for a job well done.  After proving that I could not only do the job better as an untrained salesperson, I quit citing my reasons as “personal” and in the letter I stated that I was “proud to be the only salesperson in the history of the organization to have achieved 242 sales in only 45 days after only being hired for 4 months”. 

Sure, I felt horrible and what they did was not only wrong, it was illegal in many ways, but I did not need pity or a push.  I feel that perseverance in the face of diversity, tolerance in the face of ignorance, and gaining respect of peers through hard work is what is truly important.  One year later, I re-applied to the organization after all of the people who previously worked there were fired or left for their own reasons.  I worked there for another 6 months and maintained very high sales records (I left because I had to move to a different city).  I was not hired again because I was a woman, I was hired because I had more sales experience than the former applicants (and I made sure of it this time).  This experience taught me a lot about diversity as well as the workplace environment, but most of all it taught me how not to hate or be resentful toward people just because a handful of those types of people were ignorant.  In other words, I do not feel that society owes me anything; I feel that I owe my society something. I am not alone in the feelings of other people labeled the same way in our society as a minority.  “Two out of three women opposed affirmative action preference programs for women, compared to three out of four men.” (Morin & Warden, 1995).  Maybe in the 1960’s and 1970’s Affirmative Action was the most helpful but I feel that it has worn out its welcome. “Few white women think themselves beneficiaries of affirmative action, and most are simply not open to the idea that they have been; few if any expect it to help them in the future; and most share the same concerns as white men regarding "reverse discrimination," or the perceived hiring of unqualified minorities.” (Wise, 1998). 

Side note ** On the case for both diversity training and Affirmative Action, one clear constant keeps arising – that is the level of education and qualifications of people after K-12 school.  I have run into countless articles providing direct links between quality of education, intelligence, pay scale, and tolerance.  I read complaints regarding a level playing field for all races but the ground is only truly level when there are equal qualifications. Perhaps the problem really isn’t with the types of diversity training, or the “temporary injustices” of Affirmative Action; however perhaps the problem rests with the quality of education for our children in the United States?      

References:

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2009). Equal Employment/Diversity. Human resource management essential perspectives (5th ed., p. 57,58). Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Morin, R., & Warden, S. (1995, March 24). Washingtonpost.com: AMERICANS VENT ANGER AT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/politics/special/affirm/stories/aa032495.htm

Oswald, D. (2012, March 2). Dangers of a Sense of Entitlement | The Oswald Letter by Dan Oswald. Hr Hero Blogs. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://blogs.hrhero.com/oswaldletters/2012/03/02/dangers-of-a-sense-of-entitlement/

Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964. (1986, October 21). OASAM. United States Department of Labor. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titlevi.htm

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REGENTS v. BAKKE, 438 U.S. 265 (1978). Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=438&invol=265

Wise, T. (1998). Is sisterhood conditional: White women and the rollback of affirmative action. NWSA Journal, 10(3), 1-26. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233240063?accountid=38003

Insight to Social and Racial Inequalities

        Racial and ethnic inequality has been a part of human life as far back as the first diversity of blue eyes, or blonde hair appeared. Humans naturally notice differences – the question is, do they discriminate based on these differences? We have all been a part of ethnocentric practices whether we realize it or not. Simply noticing the marked differences between African Americans and white people can be considered ethnocentric to an extent. Why? Because when an American sees a person from a different culture, he or she does not think to themselves “oh they are better than me”. And the same goes for an Indian, Chinese, Mexican person looking outside to other cultures. 

      We, as humans automatically want to feel superior – whether it is due to race, creed, etc... In any given culture, people are reminded that their culture is a good culture. For instance, in America, we give thanks to the President, and those who believe in him imagine that God is on our side no matter what. We are taught at a young age our country's national anthem, and pledge of allegiance (which by name is a pledge of allegiance to our home country, and by definition is ethnocentric in nature itself). Therefore, we have all been guilty at one point of ethnocentric behaviors by simply believing our culture, or country is the best. Who would admit it wasn't? 

      I want to discuss what is meant by the social construction of race, how this concept can be applied to Americans from multiple racial backgrounds; I will discuss the various ethnocentric practices historically used by the United States that may have contributed to the development of prejudicial attitudes toward other cultures or groups of people, I will define the term “model minority” and discuss which minority group in America is perceived as living up to that image; I will explain why other minorities have not been as fortunate in obtaining a "model" status; and lastly, I will describe how I have been ethnocentric in my own behaviors as well as my positive and negative ways of thinking in regards to other cultures and belief-systems.

     The social construction of race is defined simply as a designated and understood separation of races based on social and cultural differences. The distinctness of racial formations is that no one person or group can escape the label they are given in any society. For instance, Native Americans are Native Americans, white people are white people, mixed people are mixed color / nationality, etc... Race is micro-defined by looking at genetics, ancestry, national origin, facial features and skin color mainly. Although, we are actually all one race – the human race- in society, people tend to construct races based on the aforementioned qualities of an individual or a group of people. In scientific circles, such as anthropology, the term “race” really has no significance, since we are, again, all human. Some examples for social construction of race are: 

            1. Allotting certain land area for Native Americans. 

            2. The “One-Drop” rule designated by White Legislators in the 1800's to distinguish who was indeed Black or White. 

            3. When a politician plays a “race card” and tries to instill fear or hate of another nationality in order to win favor of his / her nationality (such was the case with George Bush calling Iraqis “Evil Doers”). 

But what of the Americans who are “Mixed” in nationality, such as Latin-Americans, Indian-Americans, African-Americans, etc...? How are they to handle the situation from which none of us can escape? Because the word and concept of race is pretty much a social construct in itself, the answer is these people hyphenate their nationality, or they choose one or the other. Sadly, because they are not considered a social majority, many have a very hard time blending in with any culture in specific. These people are then scrutinized and subject to be stereotyped and discriminated against.

      American history has not made it easy for people of different color or nationality to blend well with “whites”. A good example of this is slavery - from the foundation of our roots in this country, white men tried to and successfully enslaved and controlled Native Americans. To me, the treatment of the Native Americans was the worst treatment of humans ever in the history of our country (yes, that includes African American slavery, though this was a close second). There were many instances of maltreatment toward the Native Americans, however the biggest slap in the face was legislation in the early 1800's which essentially plotted their “race” off from the rest of the “white” world. African American slavery was also a set back which allowed for prejudice in America. When the government, in the past, made laws that perpetuated the skin color or nationality differences among naturalized citizens, this created hate, fear and prejudices. The government set a bad example by clearly insinuating that white men were better than others who were different. Because this type of belief was indoctrinated into citizens to create conformity, those beliefs were passed down to children who were susceptible to their parent's ideologies. Unfortunately, though these ideals are not as common today, children are still being exposed to such ideologies and hate groups are formed and condoned within the system. These hate groups and the idea that different is bad, do come from the simple-minded ideologies of our framers, sadly. This type of thinking has clearly contributed to the prejudice of immigrants – in the early 1900's, Italian, Scottish and Irish immigrants were not treated as “white” , but rather they were treated badly in terms of social acceptance. This still holds true today, unfortunately, when people are against Mexican immigrants, what do they say? I have heard, “They steal American jobs” and I have heard “They do the dirty jobs American's refuse to do”. This is a stereotype of Mexican / Latin people on the issue of immigration. Perhaps, and this is my opinion of course, if the government would simply step in – a key political figure could set the record straight on the immigration issues by simply stating, “Please do not use hate or stereotypes on immigrants coming to our country. We respect them as part of the human race, as I hope they will respect us and our differences to them as well.” But, the government does not stand up, or talk loud, because it seems that is not a good way to win an election. Sometimes, it is not only what governments have done, but rather what a government has not done that hurts the human race.

      A model minority is a minority group who has, despite discrimination and prejudices, exceeded the standards of society economically, without resorting to forming their own hate groups or enacting violently in order to succeed. The ideal minority in America are the Asian Americans because they have been able to rise above expectations in education, social status and economically without resorting to a confrontation with whites. Other races have not reached the label of “model minority” because they have caused confrontations, they have fought for their “rights”. For instance, the civil rights movement, integration sit-ins and demonstrations, prominent black leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers in the 1960's, and eventually in today's time, the segregation by the black community in the form of an all-black Miss America and all-black television channels. Asian Americans did not “rise above” the whites or try to cause friction with the majority color of a nation. There was not an Asian American who preached to other Asian Americans about dishonestly of the white man. In short, Asian Americans did not try to turn other Asian Americans against the white population in order to make a point, thus creating the label of “model minority” for their ethnic group in America.

     Throughout my life, I have had Mexican, French, Russian, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, African American, Asian, and various other types of close friends. I accept all people as friends, unless they cannot accept other people, themselves. I do feel good about being an American, however I do not let it rule my life. When I introduce myself to new people I say, “hey, I'm Laura how are you?” I do not say “Hey, I'm a white American named Laura”. I do not even think that way – as a matter of fact, I feel that color, nationality, sexual orientation, creed, etc... are not something to be “proud” of. All of these things are a product of genetics, and place of birth. I tell people that if they want to be proud of something, be proud of an achievement or something you can actually earn; don't be proud of circumstance.

     In conclusion, race and the social construction of race is a completely man-made stratification within any given culture or society. It separates people based on genetics, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, and more instead of identifying the fact that we are all one under the human race. No individual or group of people can escape from their social labels, including people who are multinational or a “mixed” race. Because of history, and maltreatment of specific races, our country has initiated and perpetuated hate groups, and indifference among united citizens. The Asian American people have been labeled not only with “Asian American”, but also with the term “model minority” which suggest that since they were essentially quiet in overcoming prejudice, they are considered model as opposed to other minorities in America. I do not agree with or condone any type of segregation among the human race or labels within the strata. I feel that differences in people are what make people interesting. I do not feel there is anything to fear or hate from diversity, but rather there is more to learn.