Affirmative action is a tool that is used as measure to correct the discrimination practiced in the United States especially on the employment issues. The United States has been using this tool some times on voluntary basis and on other cases on court order basis to reduce discrimination to races, ethnicity, color among other factors used for discrimination when companies are hiring or even promoting employees. Affirmative actions are important within the company policies since they ensure that the companies are able to offer equal employment opportunities to the whole society besides ensuring that the work force is balanced in the organizations. Affirmative action policies ensure that the companies promote social justice and equality and thus giving equal chances to the educated and the elite in the society (Gertrude, 1991, p18). This paper focuses on recommending the affirmative action policies to the company directors as a tool of fairness during hiring and promotions in the companies.
Affirmative action ensures that companies hire individuals based on merit and not on the basis of their color, ethnicity, and race among other factors that are used to discriminate against job applicants. This will ensure a balanced work force in the work place by having individuals who are from different backgrounds. The company will therefore have ensured that the minority or the protected minority in the society are given a chance to explore their abilities within the work force. This will ensure that the company has a work force that is culturally diverse coupled with a lot of diversified abilities. Such a workforce will ensure that there are better approaches to problem solving within the company.
Most companies today are selling much diversified products and the immediate consumers are multicultural. It is therefore very important for the company directors to realize that it is very crucial as a marketing tool to have a work force that is representative of the whole society if it has to succeed in today’s business world (Thomas, 2004, p36). Companies that have adopted the affirmative action policies have also ensured that they have complied with the different laws on employment. This includes laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment, Americans with Disabilities Act, Pregnancy Discrimination act, Civic Rights Act of 1991 among other Employment acts (Bohlander, 2007, p129). Compliance with the laws on discrimination will ensure that the companies have maintained good employee relationships and preferences as they are required by the law.
Affirmative action has been however challenged that it will result in reversed discrimination against the unprotected within the society (Bohlander, 2007, p128). This should not be basis for not adopting the policies since the company directors will ensure that the policies that are used for hiring are not only focused on one group. The hiring can be in form of tables where the company uses quotas for each race or ethnicity such that at the end of the exercise the hired work force is fully representative of the society. In other cases, affirmative action has been accused of being incapable of ensuring good relationships within the work environment. This should not deter the directors from enforcing the policies since this will depend on the culture that the directors and the managers have instilled in other employees. If the leaders are not discriminating against the minority in the society they can offer training programs within the human resource to ensure that the employees are appreciative of one another and work as teams towards achievement of a common goal.
In conclusion Affirmative action allows the companies to correct past areas of discrimination. It ensures that employers have a balanced workforce within the labor market. The adoption of the affirmative action policies today is a responsibility of the managers who wish to recognize the importance of having a diversified workforce in terms of knowledge and also abilities (Bohlander, 2007, p130). Companies that have already adopted the affirmative action policies in their workforce have proved to be a success in promoting the protected class within the society and also in ensuring a competitive advantage for their products within the society.
References
Bohlander and Snell, 2007. Managing Human Resources. Thomson South-Western, p96-130.
Gertrude Ezorsky, 1991. Racism and Justice: The Case for Affirmative Action. Cornell University Press, p12-28.
Thomas Sowell, 2004. Affirmative Action around the U.S. Yale University Press, p23-46.