There are many types of discrimination that affect every day life in the American Workplace. One of the most common types of discrimination is racial discrimination. This is a huge problem in the United States even though there are laws in place to prevent it. Through time and a conscious effort from many people, racism in the workplace has gone way down throughout the years. Discrimination is about much more than just pay and promotion opportunities in the workplace. It is an issue that Americans have allowed racial issues in any situation make it this far. The business world should be more focused on helping others and the economy than discriminating against people of any race.
Buckingham and Demetria (2010) talk about how this is a major focus for today's Human Resource Management. This is one of the topics that affect the office environment on a daily basis. Racial discrimination is something that has been swept under the rug for so long that it is becoming a major priority to avoid in today's business. "Effective human resource management is beneficial for both the employee and the organization" (Buckingham and Demetria, 2010, p.12). This was one of the statements that stuck out from this article because it is extremely true. The solution for racial discrimination in the workplace relies mostly on Human Resources. It is up to Human Resources to, for the most part, control the culture in the workplace. Wilson (2005) mostly described how racial discrimination has been a problem that has been expected to disappear by this time. He said that decades ago people thought that racism would be a thing of the past by now. Sadly, this has not played out the way that people had expected.
Smith and Joseph (2010) said, "true management of organizational diversity focuses on how to effectively integrate a traditionally white, western, male workforce with more diverse members including women and ethnic minorities". This is a good way to give a general description of the idea of diversity to someone that is not educated on the matter. However, Dias (2011) described diversity to be more of how everyone works together in general. The way that Smith and Joseph explained what diversity is only makes the problem worse. The companies need to focus on getting everyone to work better together. The explanation of diversity by Smith and Joseph makes it sound like the business world belongs to white men and that they need to be more accepting of women and people of other ethnicities. By looking at it from this perspective is what makes a difference in the way women and minorities are treated. There are laws that protect women and minorities from being discriminated against and if these laws must be enforced. It is time that we all stop talking about treating each other equally and realize that we are equal.
Wade (2003) talked about how she has led many seminars and taught law in business at two law schools in the New York area. She goes on to discuss that when she leads these seminars about business law, it always gets uncomfortable when the topic of race is brought up. As previously mentioned, racial issues were expected to be much less common by this time in the world. That could be why race is such a difficult topic for people to discuss. That should be a direct message to anyone that has had anything to do with racial issues in the work place. It is a hard topic to talk about because it is embarrassing that it is still an issue in today's workplace.
Thompson (2013) takes a statistical look at racial discrimination by laying out many charts and numbers of wage differences and unemployment rates. Every statistic is as anyone would imagine with the white male making the most annually. The fact of the matter is that minorities have less people in the workforce than white males. That is what makes it hard at times to look at this from a statistical matter. The average pay for the white male is higher because they also account for more of the positions in businesses. There is no denying that pay differentials for white males and minorities has been an issue in the past. This should not be acceptable in today's workplace. Again this is where a Human Resources Representative should step in and throw up a red flag to the company. Equally qualified applicants, regardless of ethnicity, should have the same opportunity to get jobs. Getting back to the topic of diversity, the real issue is the way that everyone in the business comes together to get a common goal accomplished. Equal wages and opportunity should no longer be an issue in the workplace. Racial discrimination is a problem that needs to be fixed and it is up to Human Resource Management to take care of these issues within a business.
Buckingham and Demetria (2010) talk about how this is a major focus for today's Human Resource Management. This is one of the topics that affect the office environment on a daily basis. Racial discrimination is something that has been swept under the rug for so long that it is becoming a major priority to avoid in today's business. "Effective human resource management is beneficial for both the employee and the organization" (Buckingham and Demetria, 2010, p.12). This was one of the statements that stuck out from this article because it is extremely true. The solution for racial discrimination in the workplace relies mostly on Human Resources. It is up to Human Resources to, for the most part, control the culture in the workplace. Wilson (2005) mostly described how racial discrimination has been a problem that has been expected to disappear by this time. He said that decades ago people thought that racism would be a thing of the past by now. Sadly, this has not played out the way that people had expected.
Smith and Joseph (2010) said, "true management of organizational diversity focuses on how to effectively integrate a traditionally white, western, male workforce with more diverse members including women and ethnic minorities". This is a good way to give a general description of the idea of diversity to someone that is not educated on the matter. However, Dias (2011) described diversity to be more of how everyone works together in general. The way that Smith and Joseph explained what diversity is only makes the problem worse. The companies need to focus on getting everyone to work better together. The explanation of diversity by Smith and Joseph makes it sound like the business world belongs to white men and that they need to be more accepting of women and people of other ethnicities. By looking at it from this perspective is what makes a difference in the way women and minorities are treated. There are laws that protect women and minorities from being discriminated against and if these laws must be enforced. It is time that we all stop talking about treating each other equally and realize that we are equal.
Wade (2003) talked about how she has led many seminars and taught law in business at two law schools in the New York area. She goes on to discuss that when she leads these seminars about business law, it always gets uncomfortable when the topic of race is brought up. As previously mentioned, racial issues were expected to be much less common by this time in the world. That could be why race is such a difficult topic for people to discuss. That should be a direct message to anyone that has had anything to do with racial issues in the work place. It is a hard topic to talk about because it is embarrassing that it is still an issue in today's workplace.
Thompson (2013) takes a statistical look at racial discrimination by laying out many charts and numbers of wage differences and unemployment rates. Every statistic is as anyone would imagine with the white male making the most annually. The fact of the matter is that minorities have less people in the workforce than white males. That is what makes it hard at times to look at this from a statistical matter. The average pay for the white male is higher because they also account for more of the positions in businesses. There is no denying that pay differentials for white males and minorities has been an issue in the past. This should not be acceptable in today's workplace. Again this is where a Human Resources Representative should step in and throw up a red flag to the company. Equally qualified applicants, regardless of ethnicity, should have the same opportunity to get jobs. Getting back to the topic of diversity, the real issue is the way that everyone in the business comes together to get a common goal accomplished. Equal wages and opportunity should no longer be an issue in the workplace. Racial discrimination is a problem that needs to be fixed and it is up to Human Resource Management to take care of these issues within a business.
Resources
Edwards Buckingham, C. D. (2010). A case study exploring the impact of managing workplace diversity on diversity awareness and employee job satisfaction (Order No. 3397665). Available from ProQuest Business Collection. (205415699). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/205415699?accountid=28644
Wilson, G. (2005). Race, ethnicity, and inequality in the american workplace: Evolving issues. The American Behavioral Scientist, 48(9), 1151-1156. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/214765480?accountid=28644
Janice, W. S., & Joseph, S. E. (2010). Workplace challenges in corporate america: Differences in black and white. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 29(8), 743-765. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02610151011089500
Culbreth, D. (2006). Employment discrimination in the 21st century: An empirical investigation of the presence of intraracial colorism discrimination among black americans in the workplace (Order No. 3226798). Available from ProQuest Business Collection. (304918744). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/304918744?accountid=28644
Wade, C. L. (2003). ATTEMPTING TO DISCUSS RACE IN BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LAW COURSES AND SEMINARS. St.John's Law Review, 77(4), 901-917. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/216773088?accountid=28644
Thompson, D. (n.d.). The Workforce Is Even More Divided by Race Than You Think. Retrieved January 28, 2017, from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/the-workforce-is-even-more-divided-by-race-than-you-think/281175/
Janofsky, M. (1993, June 19). Race and the American Workplace. Retrieved January 28, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/business/race-and-the-american-workplace.html?pagewanted=all
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books. ISBN 13: 978-1-4533194-3-7
Wilson, G. (2005). Race, ethnicity, and inequality in the american workplace: Evolving issues. The American Behavioral Scientist, 48(9), 1151-1156. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/214765480?accountid=28644
Janice, W. S., & Joseph, S. E. (2010). Workplace challenges in corporate america: Differences in black and white. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 29(8), 743-765. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02610151011089500
Culbreth, D. (2006). Employment discrimination in the 21st century: An empirical investigation of the presence of intraracial colorism discrimination among black americans in the workplace (Order No. 3226798). Available from ProQuest Business Collection. (304918744). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/304918744?accountid=28644
Wade, C. L. (2003). ATTEMPTING TO DISCUSS RACE IN BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LAW COURSES AND SEMINARS. St.John's Law Review, 77(4), 901-917. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/216773088?accountid=28644
Thompson, D. (n.d.). The Workforce Is Even More Divided by Race Than You Think. Retrieved January 28, 2017, from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/the-workforce-is-even-more-divided-by-race-than-you-think/281175/
Janofsky, M. (1993, June 19). Race and the American Workplace. Retrieved January 28, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/business/race-and-the-american-workplace.html?pagewanted=all
Dias, L. (2011). Human resource management. Saylor.org/books. ISBN 13: 978-1-4533194-3-7