Culture as an Open System in Which Individuals Struggle for Regulation and Control - Research Paper Example

Introduction Culture is defined as the entirety of a group’s religion, language, cultural practice and beliefs, customs and philosophical interpretation (Tan, 2005). Culture is described as an open system in which individuals struggle for regulation and control (Tan, 2005). In this context, culture can be seen as the collectivity of a group which defines individual’s affiliation with each other within that group. Because of this affiliation with each other, there creates a difference with another group with different beliefs and customs. The cultural identity of one, then, may prove to be different from another because they belong in different cultures. With this, the differences are amplified and sometimes turn into cultural discrimination that can and may hinder one’s personal development. Different Forms of Discrimination Over the years, various types of discrimination acts have been visible and obvious in every aspect of everyday life. There are a lot of fields that have been affected by discrimination, not only race but also educational status, ethnicity, appearance and other characteristics that may differentiate various groups across the world. It does not only affect an individual’s perception of himself and others but it also has effects in political, social and economical aspects of one’s life. This can be especially seen in getting a job or being promoted to a higher position. Discrimination can be characterized into two forms: verbal and non-verbal (Blank, 2004). Verbal discrimination happens when people speak out anything they could think of on how to describe how they see another person in a degrading or offensive manner. In this case, the pitch, choice of words, intonation and delivery are not of the usual conversational way and tone. Name-calling is also one of the traditional ways of expressing dislike or bias on an individual. On the other hand, non-verbal discrimination is characterized by actions that tend to isolate an individual from a group. For instance, having someone sit far from the group, not giving that person attention, or making that person feel that he does not have an importance to the group are non-verbal ways of discrimination. Degrading and offensive facial expressions, expressing bias, hate or disgust over another individual, are also considered as non verbal discrimination. These situations can be found everywhere within a community, whether it may be on our own neighborhood, school and even at our workplace. Discrimination often starts when someone realizes the difference of another individual. These differences open opportunities for people to make fun of the differences another individual has. The first line of discrimination in terms of differences is color (Chin, 2004). The most visible and obvious way to distinguish a person or individual to be different is his color. It is very common that people would find something strange from a person coming from a foreign land and instinct will tell us that when we see a person who is different in color that that person is a foreigner. Interaction with these individuals provides locals information on foreign culture and most of the time will seem to be funny to the locals. There are also some instances that culture and tradition coming from a foreign land may be offensive to locals or vice versa. This will then lead to misunderstanding that will create conflict, hence, discrimination. And because of this, the negative impression for foreign culture and appearance leads to continuous discrimination which is passed on from one generation to another. An example of discrimination can be found in non-government organizations. These organizations have something or a reason they fight or work for which they believe is beneficial and that would have a good cause for humanity. But more often than not, these reasons would go against another organization’s beliefs. In this situation, it is very clear and predictable that even a small spark can create conflict between these two organizations. And because of their different beliefs that started a misunderstanding, discrimination of one organization on another begins. This does not only affect the organization as a whole but more so the people who work for that organization. With this, the relationship of the individuals within and outside the group creates even more discriminatory acts because of the differences that are reiterated by their organization’s beliefs. Discrimination of different groups with each other can be damaging in the relationships of the groups with the society as a whole. Because of the biases and the misunderstanding between different groups, the entire society is affected. A certain society may include different cultural groups at the same time. And having tensions between different cultural groups will create a strain in the society itself. Discrimination is prominent in organizational structures, systems, policies and practices (R. Dipboye, A. Colella 2005). More so, the negative effect of this certain situation can highly affect and will have a great deal of bearing in terms of labor market discrimination (Cornwall & Wunnava 1991). Cultural Discrimination at Work As we can see, discrimination is visible when differences and misunderstandings are identified. Because of cultural differences, negative criticisms may target the cultural identity of an employee which in turn will magnify the difference of that individual compared to the group’s majority. With this, it creates a barrier for that employee to develop since his workplace is already a hostile environment which will see his cultural differences and hinder his advancement. Cultural Discrimination and How It Affects Job Applicants from a Minority Group Companies have a set of qualifications for an open position they need to fill in. These qualifications required are the basis on screening applicants that would be a competitive candidate for the job. Aside from the qualifications required the applicant’s background can also be a factor which will be considered for his employment. The following aspects highly considered in employment are an individual’s employment history and educational attainment. Biases, which are a direct result of cultural discrimination, however, also play a role in the evaluation of an applicant. Because of the collective essence of culture, the bias on one person affects his entire cultural group. For instance, racial discrimination has been an ongoing problem all over the world. Racial discrimination focuses mainly on the race, more defined by physical characteristics, of an individual. This also results to racial inequality in terms of opportunity, benefits and rights. There have been a lot of cases that an applicant is denied for an employment because of racial or ethnic discrimination (Healey 2005). Cultural discrimination in the early stage of application has a great deal of bearing in the success rate of an applicant. When manpower is an urgent requirement, cultural discrimination can be seen in the roles assigned to an employee based on their culture and gender, benefits and privileges, and wage equality (W. Rodgers 2006). Interviewers have their own preferences in screening applicants, the mentality of having a colleague with the same cultural background would be highly preferable because of their similar cultural characteristics. For instance, a particular culture has a reputation of being always late in appointments and work schedules. This becomes a disadvantage for an applicant that belongs to that particular cultural group. The main problem with cultural discrimination is that the negative mentality and impression on a small number of people is generalized to the whole cultural group. Prejudice and discrimination directly affect the minority group’s attitude and behavior towards the standards set by the dominant culture. Members of the minority group are also influenced by the personal experiences they have in dealing with different people that belong to different social and cultural groups. This also affects an organization’s outlook and confidence on an individual who is culturally discriminated. And because of this, cultural preference highly affects accepting or rejecting applicants for a job position in an organization (Simpson & Yinger, 1985). Cultural Discrimination and Its Effects on Employees from a Minority Group Individual behavioral patterns are developed from cultural foundation and background. These behavioral patterns are not known to be negative all of the time, however, failure of understanding these little or specific differences leads to discrimination. In this particular scenario, individuals belonging in the minority group are belittled by those belonging in the majority groups. Because of this discrimination, an employee who manages to advance and get a higher position are less accepted and respected by those in the majority groups (Drenth, 2001). Even if they have a higher position, because of discrimination, they are still treated as inferior by the majority groups who think they are superior over other cultural groups. Proposed Solutions to Eliminate Cultural Discrimination Over the years a lot of effort has been done to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in the aspect of race, culture, gender, age, status and education. Recommendations for systematic reform in terms of equality in opportunity and advancement have been proposed, however, discrimination is hard to fight since it has been a social problem all through history. It will be very difficult to eliminate this kind of situation, but as the years go by, there are changes taking place in the business and organizational setup to avoid cultural discrimination. Employers nowadays look little on cultural differences. The requirement of filling out the required positions with skilled applicants is the first priority. But despite of the structural changes that have been done over the years, discrimination still remains discreetly and still affects the possibilities and opportunities for an individual to get a job. There may be different cultures and races in every location, but the main idea is to utilize a person’s ability and skill for the position in order to get the job done. Individuals coming from different races and cultural background also have their own strengths and qualities in terms of skills and labor. It is then suggested to concentrate on the difference and improvement an individual can contribute rather than to judge the possible outcome of his or her employment because of the individual’s cultural background. Everyone can make a difference, and every individual has the skill to do so, regardless of his or her race or cultural background (Ford, 2005). Since cultural differences are almost invariable phenomenon in race relations, discrimination is unavoidable (Ford, 2005). However, these differences in terms of physical, behavioral, ethical, skills and educational qualification can also be an advantage on other aspects that can also be highly considerable and a plus factor in getting the right person to get the job done. Along with racial and cultural differences are the difference in skills and characteristics. These differences can clearly be an advantage for the minority groups if perceived or used in a positive way or manner by organizations. Also, there are laws against discrimination at work, whether it be racial, age or gender. What is important is to look at the skills and capabilities of the applicant because the skill is the one that makes them work out in the job rather than their cultural background. Conclusion Based on the information provided by the materials used, it is very clear that cultural discrimination still exists everywhere. But along with change, groups and organizations are finally learning how to utilize the skills and qualifications of these individuals to the advantage of the organization. Today, cultural discrimination, especially of the minority groups, still exists within the society, but the effect on cultural discrimination in terms of getting a position or a job is not as obvious and as blatant compared to the earlier years when race, cultural background, gender, age and education and experience used to be a big issue in hiring people to do the job. The importance of qualification and performance of an individual based on his personal experience and work experience and its relation to the job requirement available is given more consideration rather than their cultural origin. Bibliography Blank, R., Dabady, M., Citro C. F., National Research Council (US) (2004). Measuring racial discrimination. Washington, DC:National Academic Press. Chin, J.L.. (2004). The psychology of prejudice and discrimination Vol. 2: Ethnicity and Multiracial Identity. CT:Praeger Publishers. Cornwall, R. & Wunnava, P. (1991). New approaches to economic and social analyses of discrimination. CT: Praeger Publishers. Dipboye, R. & Colella, A. (2005). Discrimination at work: The psychological and organizational bases. NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Publ. Drenth, P., Thierry H., De Wolf C. J. (2001). Handbook of work and organizational psychology, 2nd ed. Vol.2 work psychology. UK:Psychology Press. Ford, R. (2005). Racial culture: A critique. NJ:Princeton University Press. Healey, J. (2005). Race, ethnicity, gender and class: The sociology of group conflict and change, 4th ed. OR:Pine Forge Press. Rodgers, W. (2006). Handbook on the economics of discrimination. MA:Edward Elgar Pub. Sharp, A., Register C., Grimes P. (2003). Economics of social issues, 16th ed. NY:McGraw-Hill. Simpson, G. & Yinger, J. (1985). Racial and cultural minorities: an analysis of prejudice and discrimination, 5th ed. NY:Plenum. Tan, S. (2005). Challenging citizenship: group membership and cultural identity in a global age. VT:Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Read More