The Concepts of Culture, Minority Groups, Stereotypes and Discrimination - Essay Example

Managing Multicultural Organizations Qn. 1 Define, discuss and explain the concepts of culture, minority groups, stereotypes and discrimination. Provide examples that illustrate your understanding of their inter- relatedness in managing a diverse workforce. Rapid changes characterize the modern world. With these changes taking place, the business world has been one area where these changes have necessitated new approaches to management. In this case, the business world has witnessed workers from differing backgrounds in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and philosophical beliefs come together in the workplace. In some cases, managers are not aware of the inherent differences among their employees. On the other hand, some managers are aware of these differences and try to make use of these differences to the benefit of the organization. This approach is managing diversity in an organization, and it is important for management to find the best approaches to deal with the issues of culture, minority groups, stereotypes, and discrimination in the work place in order to make sure that the organization benefited from all workers. In this case, an organization should find the best approaches to integrate these concepts in the work place in order to manage diversity in the workplace. The United Nations High Commission of Human Rights defined cultures as constituting “differences in academic qualifications, religion, and expressive features of a social group’s traditions and beliefs” (as cited in Almeida, Inserto, Cree, Harris, and House, 2007, p.2). In line with this, it is evident that the contemporary society’s workplace is representative of these people who demonstrate these differences. In an organizational perspective, these different groups enhance the organization’s objectives with their own flavor of cultural background, lifestyle, vision, and fulfillment of challenges” (Almeida et al., 2007, p.3). In effect, it is crucial for an organization to ensure that employees enhanced the organization’s objectives while following a similar approach in order to ensure that the organizational goals were achieved using a common approach. Minority groups are the groups that traditionally lack power in an organization, which include women and members of other ethnic and racial groups that were not dominant in an organization (Forret, 2006). In line with this, it is crucial to point out that these groups face challenges when integrating themselves in the workplace, which affects their productivity due to the factors that prevent their participation in an organization. Hence, managers should define approaches that ensured their integration in a manner that was efficient and effective. On the other hand, these groups might face challenges to participate in the workplace due to the different stereotypes. In effect, the stereotypes contribute to discrimination in the workplace. In line with this, cultural stereotypes also affect the integration of people from disparate cultures in the workplace. Fiske and Lee (2008) identified stereotypes as the “categorical associations-including traits, behaviors and roles-perceivers make to group members based on their membership” (p.14). In effect, these perceptions affect the interaction of workers in the workplace, which effectively affects productivity and profitability in an organization. Hence, effective approaches of managing diversity are essential in ensuring that workers did not allow their perceptions about other workers influence their interaction in the workplace. For example, today’s workplace witnesses more women, who have long been considered a minority group, taking leadership roles in various organizations. In effect, men identified women with stereotypes related to women being sex objects, which limits the ascendancy of women to positions of leadership in organizations and their interaction as equal workers in the same organizations with men (B. Scott and S. Scott, 2006). On the other hand, discrimination refers to “perceiver advantages that advantage one group over another” in the workplace (Fiske and Lee, 2008, p.14). In this regard, these perceptions affect the interaction of employees in the workplace. However, organizations should manage diversity and ensure that the perceptions that people had about other groups and people who were different from them did not affect employee performance. Fiske observed groups that had the least members in an organization as the ones who received the most stereotypes by default (as cited in Fiske & Lee, 2008). In line with this, the groups that are ‘least represented’ are the minority groups in an organization. In addition, groups whose cultural practices were least represented in an organization are subject to stereotypes and discrimination. For instance, the engineering profession has long been a preserve of men. However, it is evident that women have been taking this challenge and the contemporary society faces an increasing number of women engineers despite the number of women engineers being less than the number of their male counterparts. In an engineering organization characterized by more men than the number of women, it is evident that women, who are the minority group and the group that most cultures of the world view as weak in taking the roles of men, will face discrimination. In this case, women will face discrimination since they are the minority and traditionally most world’s cultures do not encourage women to take engineering courses that are mainly a preserve of men. Minority groups and cultural backgrounds contribute to different perceptions about a group of people. In line with this, these conflicting perceptions may contribute to discrimination in the workplace. In effect, managing diversity will help an organization maximize the potential among employees in order to attain productivity and profitability in an organization. Differences in gender, race, religion, and differences from other aspects should not be allowed to interfere with the integration of employers in the workplace. In addition, managers should ensure that these differences did not influence productivity in the workplace. In effect, managing diversity is instrumental, and management should practice effective approaches of managing diversity. Qn. 2 Discuss and explain the Americans with Disabilities Act. Include the legal definition of a disabled person and list at least four barriers to a quality existence. Include in your answer what the law says about accommodations and under what circumstance(s) can an employer refuse an accommodation; provide two examples. Disabled people face discrimination due to their inability to perform the responsibilities that a normal human being can perform in the workplace. In line with this, their protection against discrimination is pertinent in the contemporary society in order to ensure that their treatment is equal with the employers providing the disabled people with equal opportunities. On the other hand, employers should ensure that they used approaches that accommodate disabled people in the workplace in order to ensure that their conditions of work befitted their abilities. In line with this, the American government enacted The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (P.L. 101-336) in 1990 with the view of protecting the rights of the disabled in the workplace. ADA is the most comprehensive law in the United States that criminalizes the discrimination of people with a disability in government facilities, public accommodation, employment opportunities, the workplace, transport system, and in accommodation services (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). In line with this, it is crucial to note that ADA requires all entities in the public and private sectors that offered these utilities to comply with the law or risk prosecution. The law defines the criteria that individuals qualify to be disabled falls under three broad categories. These categories are the category of people who are already disabled, persons with a history of disability, and people perceived by others as disabled regardless their disability (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Based on the categories, ADA defines a disability as impairment, either mental or physical, which “limits one or more major life activities” (as cited in Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Furthermore, the law defines these major activities in life as the ability of an individual or a person to take care of self, hear, speak, see, breathe, maintain social relationships, work, walk, and many other life’s activities. First, it is important to point out that those employers who ask their potential employees about their conditions before a job inhibit quality existence. Hence, ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against a qualified person, who had a disability while using the person's disability as a basis in the job application procedure, hiring, advancing in a career, compensation, discharging employees from duty, and many other areas since they do not promote quality existence (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Secondly, denying people with disabilities services in state and local government agencies based on their disability is a barrier to a quality existence. In line with this, ADA prohibits all government agencies, regardless of whether these agencies received federal assistance, at the state and local level from denying people with disabilities services. These services include healthcare services, voting rights, employment opportunities, recreation services, and other services (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Private entities and other services that offered accommodation services, on a profit or nonprofit basis may act as barriers to quality existence by denying people with disabilities public accommodation. Hence, ADA realizes the roles that these services play and prohibit schools, banks, hospitals, and other related facilities from denying people with disabilities services based on their disability (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Finally, telecommunications access can act as a barrier to quality existence. In line with this, ADA requires television stations and telephone providers to consider accommodating disabled people with hearing and speech disabilities while providing their services since they can act as barriers to quality existence (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, n.d.). Title I of ADA provides employers the rights and responsibilities of accommodating people living with disabilities and provides measures to accommodate this group with reasonable accommodation, which protects the disabled from discrimination in the work place (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], 2002). In line with this, reasonable accommodation is “any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities” (EEOC, 2002). The employer has a right to 'refuse accommodation' in cases whereby accommodation would cause ‘undue hardship’ on the employer. In this case, the determination of undue hardship has a basis on an individualized assessment on current circumstance that identify significant difficulties or expenses to an employer based on the reasonable accommodation they will provide (EEOC, 2002). In this case, the employer should offer proof that the accommodation will bring undue hardship to their workplace. For example, a storeowner who employs two attendants with one attendant asking to shift his or her work from full-time to part-time basis may cause an undue hardship over the employer once accommodated this worker. In this case, the storeowner will have to increase the workload of the other clerk and affect service delivery. In effect, the storeowner may deny accommodation. In another example, if a worker’s request for adjustments in their working hours such that these adjustments disrupts the other employees from working, then an employee may suffer unnecessary hardships in such instances and refuse accommodation. Qn. 3 Explain key issues impacting special groups such as people with disabilities, gay and lesbian workers, women, or members of non-western traditional religious affiliations. Select two of the aforementioned for discussion. Include what law(s) say about the treatment of these individuals and ways in which managers can promote a positive and collaborative work environment between people belonging to a heterogeneous workforce. People with disabilities, gay and lesbian workers, women, or members of non-western traditional religious affiliations face one key issue of stereotyping in the contemporary society. In this regard, these groups will face stereotypes in the workplace, achieving positions of leadership, and in any other area that required equal participation of all people. Consequently, these stereotypes, especially negative stereotypes affect the perceptions of other people towards these groups. In most case, the negative stereotypes affect this special group by facing discrimination in the workplace and other critical areas where integration is important and crucial. It is common knowledge that a large section of the population has not shown their support for gays and lesbians rights. Conversely, another section of the population opposes gays and lesbians rights by using facts that were not factual, which effectively confounds the debate about this special group. In effect, this group will misinform the public and demonize gays and lesbians. Consequently, gays and lesbians face stigma with the community shunning them instead of supporting them as equal members of the society regardless of their sexual orientation. In another example, it is evident that despite the gains that the contemporary women have made in the workplace, stereotypes and discrimination abound and affect their advancement through the corporate ladder. On the other hand, people with disabilities face challenges in the workplace since they are considered as people who are unable to work or people whose level of productivity is low in comparison to those without disabilities, which is a stereotype. In effect, this stereotype contributed to this special group failing to obtain equal opportunities in comparison to able-bodied people. Conversely, members of non-western traditional religious affiliations face stereotypes and discrimination with regard to their practice and religious affiliations considered as archaic and strange. In effect, they fail to secure equal opportunities with members of other religious affiliations. It is important to point out that these special groups are minority groups, and there are laws that protect their rights with the laws available in acts and statutes. For example, disabled people have The Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects their rights by prohibiting their discrimination in the workplace, communication, transport, employment opportunities, and in accommodation facilities. In addition, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces the rights of the disabled people in America. In this case, this commission clarifies the rights and responsibilities that a disabled person should enjoy in the workplace and the measures that an employee should put in place in order to accommodate the disabled person and integrate them into the workplace (EEOC, 2002). The Americans with Disabilities Act requires managers to provide disabled employees with equal opportunities with the able-bodied employees. In this regard, this law ensures that disabled employees were accommodated in the workplace together with their able-bodied counterparts using the approaches that were best suited for different cases. Importantly, managers should accommodate the disabled employees by changing some aspects of the workplace in order for the workplace to enable the disabled person enjoy equal opportunities. Hence, an employee can modify or adjust a job position to ensure that the disabled person who qualifies for the position does not face any challenges while playing their roles. There are different laws that protected the rights of women in America and the workplace. In this case, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits the discrimination of individuals due to different aspects with sex being one of these aspects. In addition, this law protects women against any form of sexual harassment in the workplace (Groves, 2010). In effect, this is the law that forms the basis for protecting the rights of women and ensuring they did not face discrimination in the workplace. On the other hand, there are numerous other laws that protect the women and their rights in the workplace. In this regard, these laws and statutes include The Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Other laws are The Equal Pay Act of 1963, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, enacted in 1978, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, and other laws (Groves, 2010). In order to ensure that women and men collaborated in the workplace, it is important to integrate women in all levels of an organization to promote their integration in an organization. In this case, ensuring that women were represented in all levels of an organization enhanced the elimination of stereotypes that contributed to women’s discrimination in the workplace. On the other hand, it is important for managers to ensure that the wages and salaries of their employees in the same level were equal with the intention of ensuring that men did not stereotype women as a weaker gender that requires less compensation than men do. In line with this, men will view women as an equal gender and ensure that there were increased collaborative efforts in the workplace. Qn. 4 What was it that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law almost a year after The Civil Rights Act of 1964, that prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors that generally have contracts that exceed $10,000 from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin? Is it necessary today? What are its positive and negative implications in the workplace? After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed The Executive Order 11246 (E.O 11246) almost one year later. The order “prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors, and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors that generally have contracts that exceed $10,000 from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). Other than this, the order requires contractors to ensure that they carried out affirmative action in their operations in order to provide chances of equal opportunity to all people regardless of the environment of operations. In the contemporary world, The Executive Order 11246 (E.O 11246) is still relevant. In this case, it is evident that discrimination plays an instrumental role in the contemporary society. Hence, the law will ensure that every resident in the United States had equal chances for employment from contractors who were assisted by the federal government. In effect, this creates equity and ensures that the contractors identified the importance of diversity in the workplace by integrating diverse employees regardless of their gender, ethnic background, sex, race, or any other factor. In addition, it is evident that integration of diverse people in the workplace promotes cohesion and encourages national building. Hence, the law is relevant in helping the nation achieve national cohesion. Importantly, this executive order promotes diversity in the workplace. In this case, integrating diversity is crucial in helping an organization obtain talent from different and diverse backgrounds. On the other hand, it is common knowledge that affirmative action remains a controversial topic in today’s world. Hence, this executive order might impact the workplace negatively by creating discord in the workplace with some employees viewing other employees as surplus to requirement and identifying their roles as inconsequential since their role is only to fill positions as required by law. References Almeida, C. M., Inserto, F., Cree, L., Harris, S., & House, G. (2007). The Effects of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest. Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. (N.d.). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/whatlaws-adaact.html#TII Fiske, S. T., & Lee, T. L. Stereotypes and Prejudice Create Work Discrimination. In A. P. Brief (Ed.). Diversity at Work (pp. 13-52). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Forret, M. L. (2006). Impact of Social Networks on the Advancement of Women and Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups. In M. F. Karsten (Ed.). Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Workplace: Issues and ..., (Vol. 3) (pp. 149-167). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Groves, S. (2010). Women’s Rights Are Human Rights: U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/testimony/womens-rights-are-human-rights The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC]. (2002). Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/accommodation.html#undue United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/ada.htm#.UMcjnqzV3N0 United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). The Executive Order 11246. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-eeo.htm#overview Read More