Racism has been a prevalent issue in many work places and organizations. Racial discrimination is an imbalanced treatment of people or groups on the basis of their background or race (Pager & Shepherd, 2008). On the other hand, racial discrimination in an organization entails a differential treatment to workers based on their race.
It has become clear to organizational decision makers that discrimination in the work place is a serious and expensive problem that needs to be addressed. The financial costs connected to discrimination settlements have been found to be extremely high as compared to other contingent costs (Pager & Shepherd, 2008).
Even though there has been some improvement in the promotion of the status of the racial minorities, major disparities still remain. According to research, white people are twice likely to be employed than black people. Additionally, the salary of the blacks has in most cases been found to be lower than that of whites.
An experimental audit study focused on equality in employment strongly brought out the existence of racial discrimination, with the estimation of the number of whites getting employed ranging from 50% to 240%. Evidence presented indicated that black men use significantly more of their time looking for work, acquire less steady jobs as well as less working skills as compared to the whites (Pager & Shepherd, 2008).
A research on wage differences based on different attributes indicated that, among the applicants who were given various job positions, the salaries given to the white applicants were more than that of the equally qualified black applicants by fifteen cents each hour (Pager & Shepherd, 2008).
According to Gelfand et al. (2007), organizations should eliminate the glass ceiling concept; the unseen barriers that prevent racial minorities from progressing to the senior leadership positions in organizations. Substantial evidence shows that racial minorities are always underrepresented in the upper administration.
A good example of this is Southern California Edison, where a group of black workers accused the company of denying them promotions, not paying them fairly and having biased job assignments. Without the full commitment of the upper level leaders in an organization, different schemes are likely to fall apart, and the practice of discrimination is likely to continue.
In addition, it is important to examine the performance of the mid-level management and supervisors, and to find out if they may be perpetuating racial discrimination (Mor, 2010). Organizations need to always provide equal chances of employment to people of all races, as well as enforce stringent punitive measures on employees who discriminate on the basis of culture or race.
Organizations should ensure that they work without discrimination and that they always deal fairly with the issues presented by workers, guests, customers and members of the public (Alberta Human Rights Commission, 2013). For instance, in 1994, Advantica Restaurant Group made changes to increase diversity in the organization, after they settled a racial discrimination lawsuit for $54.4 million.
The management of any organization should ensure that all workers review the discrimination policies and process manuals, as well as receive adequate training on issues related to discrimination and their equal rights as employees. The management should also encourage cooperation and equality among the different work groups and departments within an organization (Caffoor, 2011).
Conclusively, racial discrimination in organizations is an issue that has been going on for decades. It is the work of the management to provide a neutral working environment within any organization, as well as ensure equal treatment and opportunities for all employees regardless of their race.
Employees should be discouraged against displaying their cultural identity at the work place. Racial remarks and jokes within the work place should also be prohibited to avoid creating a discriminative attitude among workers.
References
Alberta Human Rights Commission. (2013). Human Rights in the Hospitality Industry. Web.
Caffoor, M. (2011). The Fight against Racialism. London: Pluto Press.
Gelfand, M., Nishii, L. Kaver, J. & Schocider, B. (2007).Discrimination in Organizations: An Organizational-Level Systems Perspective. New York: Cornell University ILR School.
Mor, M. (2010). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. London: Sage.
Pager, D. & Shepherd, H. (2008).The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Emloyment, Housing, Credit and Consumer Market. Annual Review of Sociology, 34 (1):181–209.