Institutional racism - Essay Example

Final Examination 2. The term al racism is used to refer to the negative treatment of a particular race or ethnic group by institutions that already exist in a particular society and is an outcome of the perceived inferior status associated with a particular racial group. This form of racism is instituted within the structure and system of an organization and is thus referred to as external in nature. This form of racism is not conducted by individuals working within an organization, but this kind of racism stems out of the institutional practices and policies and these policies tend to grade a particular race higher as compared to other races. On the other hand prejudice or personal prejudice is internal in nature and stems out from a particular individuals believes and opinions. Prejudice is caused as certain individuals may think inferior about another individual or a particular group and may treat them negatively in accordance to their held believes. Therefore the main difference between institutional racism and prejudice is that institutional racism stems out through the policies and procedures of an organization, while prejudice is an outcome of previously held believes regarding a particular racial and ethnic group (Pierson 146). Prejudice cannot always be seen as a negative act and is even viewed as a survival mechanism. White supremacy is a term used to refer to the opinion that people belonging to the white race are superior as compared o people belonging to different racial backgrounds and due to this believe that are awarded with dominance and authority over people belonging to the non-white race. White privilege is an outcome of the movement of white supremacy and white privileges are the benefits that are experienced by the white race of United States of America. Under white supremacy, people belonging to the white race are considered as superior, they are able to secure higher positions and positions with much authority as compared to the positions offered to non-whites. Due to their access to authoritative positions, they have more access to favorable resources such as education and wealth. Due to their access to better resources, they are able to use these resources to manipulate the non-white races for their own benefits as the people belonging to the non-white races tend to be in subordination to the white races. They even use their power in case of policy making and they tend to ensure that policies made at institutional level benefit them. Their access to better educational resources even enables them and their children to continue to grow in wealth as they tend to secure lucrative positions in organizations. Affirmative action is a policy according to which those in the minorities and those groups that have experienced different kinds of discrimination are provided preferential treatment in different walks of life such as education as well as employment. In the past, women had been referred to as minorities and subordinates to the male gender and were discriminated against. Their rights were violated and thus they were not treated as equally as their opposite gender. Affirmative action is a way of reconciling with the past mistakes and mal treatments made against the minority groups. If affirmative action is implemented for the female gender, they can benefit in the field of education as well as employment. Previously, women were restricted to lower level positions in organizations and they experienced glass ceilings due to which they were not made part of authoritative position. Under affirmative action, women will get the benefit of becoming a part of the best educational institutes and higher level positions in organizations. But the downside of affirmative action is that those women who are offered preferential treatment may not have the required education as well as skills for a position in an organization and thus if they are given better positions, then this will result in discrimination against those who have the required knowledge skills and abilities to hold a particular position. According to Karl Marx was of the idea that capitalism is an economic condition that comprises of two classes, the working as well as the capitalist class and the capitalist class owns the resources required for production. He further stated that the working class is exploited by the capitalist class as the capitalist class is the wage provider and thus a conflict exists between the two classes as the working class tries to obtain higher wages and the capitalist class tries to restrict it (Pierson 146). The working class experiences fear that they might lose their jobs if they try to fight for higher wages, thus they need to be united in order to over throw the capitalist sect of the society. Marx states that this exploitation will come to an end if the working class fights back and over throws the working class. But this event may not take place as the capitalist class uses racism as means of segregating people. They use racism as a tool to create difference in the working class and due to racist attitudes among different groups of the working class; the working class may not unite in the movement to overthrow the capitalist class. This is because a certain race of the working class will fear that the other race is trying to take over their jobs and may not unite with them. 4. I am working in the HR department of a reputable organization as a Human Resources Executive. I have been assigned with the responsibilities of managing the recruitment section of the department. My responsibilities include: figuring out vacant positions in the organization, obtaining a job analysis for those positions, advertising the vacant positions through various mediums, managing resume database, lining up individuals for interviews, managing interview schedules as well as helping others in other sections of the department. According to Cooley, self concept is form through the way others interact and respond to a particular individual (Roberts 98). My job has had a very positive impact on myself concept as I feel valued by the organization as well as my department members. The fact that my head of department is dependent on me for managing the recruitment section of the department makes me feel that I am an important member of the department. Similarly, not only people of my department, people from other departments are even in continuous contact with me in order to help them in recruiting and selecting employees for vacant positions in the department. This even positively add to myself concept of being a central part of the organization. Since I feel that I am in an important position within the organization, I have quite a positive attitude towards my job and I continue to work hard to keep myself secured in the position and in order to earn a better position in the organization. Autonomy is the level of freedom and independence an individual has while he/she is indulged in the operation of an activity. The autonomy that is provided to me for the position of Human Resource Executive is dependent on different responsibilities that have been assigned to me. The department has awarded me with complete autonomy to select the mediums that I want to use to carry out the responsibility of advertising a particular vacant position for my organization. While conducting other activities including selecting individuals for interviews, scheduling interviews and conducting job analysis I have little authority. I am not allowed to create interview schedules without the permission of my department’s head and the interviewer. Secondly, the resumes are reviewed by the senior executives and the assistant manager before the applicant is selected. Fair amount of respect is shown by my department colleagues, they see me as a hardworking individual who is ready to learn, but they respect me as a student and not as a manager or leader who may have authority over them. Ample amount of respect is given to from the end of the applicants as they see me as an important figure because I am the one they contact for information for the vacant position and I am in contact with them while lining up interviews. Currently I am viewed as an entry level employee who is in his learning stage by my department members as well as other members of the organization from other departments. Several changes can lead to the improvement of my self-concept. Firstly increase in the number of responsibilities along with an increase in the amount of autonomy can impact self concept in a positive manner. If ample amount of autonomy is provided to me while carrying out the responsibility of short listing candidates for the purpose of interviews as well as autonomy in generating the job analysis of a particular position can lead to creation of a better self concept (Roberts 98). Along with the increase in the area of responsibility, an increase in the my compensation and benefits will even positively impact my self-concept as an increase in compensation and benefits will mean that I am of great importance to the company and the company is paying me extra to retain my services. Thirdly, if the other departments as well as people of my department start depending on my expertise in the field of recruitment and selection, I will feel that these individuals respect me more than before and thus my self-concept will be positively impacted. Currently I am working as an executive in the HR department, the next best move or position that I want to obtain in the department is the position of Recruitment and Selection Executive. People working in this position tend to only concentrate on the area of recruitment and selection, and other areas of Human Resources are managed by executives of Training and Development and Discipline. If I am able to secure the position of Recruitment and Selection executives, I will only have to concentrate on the work related to recruitment and Selection which will include: advertising for positions, short listing candidates, interviewing candidates, conducting background checks and selecting individuals for vacant positions. In order to gain promotion to the position of Recruitment and Selection executive, I will have to continue performing well in my current position and continue to learn from my current position as the current position is a prerequisite of the position of recruitment and selection executive. I will have to gain training from the people I am working under such as the senior executives of recruitment and selection and perform their duties in order to prove them that I am worthy of a promotion. Works Cited Pierson, John. Understanding social work: history and context. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2011. Print. Roberts, Ken. Sociology an Introduction.. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub., 2012. Print. Read More