Human Resources Legal Problem - Research Paper Example

? Human Resources Legal Issue/Problem inserts his/her Inserts The human resources legal issue that shall be explored is discrimination at workplace. The notion of discrimination is best described as favorable treatment towards individuals not on the basis of merit but on the basis of bias or other immoral attitude (Mill, 1963). In what follows, the legal domain of two keys forms of discrimination at workplace (race and gender) is addressed along with proposed resolutions. Cases of gender discrimination are a common sight in the workplace today. Not long ago a lawsuit was filed against the Boston Cigna HealthCare Company for charges of gender discrimination. According to the lawsuit, it is alleged that the company intentionally discriminated against Bretta Karp and other female employees by displaying unfavorable treatment towards them compared to their male counterparts in terms of promotion practices, pay increases and an uncongenial workplace environment (Chase & Reidy, 2011). The suit was filed by a law firm Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP in the U.S District Court and is struggling to acquire class-section representation (Chase & Reidy, 2011). The company, however, denied all charges by claiming that it is committed to diversity management and does not allow any such behavior that leads to discrimination of any sort (Chase & Reidy, 2011). On the other hand, the victim Karp claims to have her pay and title reduced without any reason despite having received favorable feedback about her performance from the company and receiving recognition for the same (Chase & Reidy, 2011). Furthermore, two markets that she handled, New Hampshire and Vermont were taken away from her and transferred to her male counterparts (Chase & Reidy, 2011). Also, in the previous summer Karp was denied promotion (that was later given to her male counterpart, Bill O’Donnell, who was less experienced than her) on the grounds that she displayed aggressive behavior in the interviews (Chase & Reidy, 2011). When the victim raised her voice against the issue, O’Donnell threatened her by reminding her that he would be writing her annual performance review (Chase & Reidy, 2011). It is also claimed by the victim that the company’s managers are predominantly males who subject their female subordinates to tighter rules and regulations than their male counterparts and consequently, the female workers end up getting lower performance appraisals compared to their male counterparts for work of similar nature (Chase & Reidy, 2011). Furthermore, she claimed that male workers were given more favorable assignments and preferential treatment in terms of allotment of the company’s resources (Chase & Reidy, 2011). As far as the charges of unfavorable work environment were concerned, there have been cases of sexual harassment in the company with incidents where the male managers have made their discriminatory behavior towards female workers quite evident (Chase & Reidy, 2011). The lawsuit not only seeks rewarding of damages to the company but also a potential change in the company’s structure such that the glass-ceiling is removed and females are promoted to higher paying jobs (Chase & Reidy, 2011). The victim’s lawyer claimed that this case not just concerned Karp but several women could be a victim of discrimination. The lawyer further states that Karp’s case represents the society’s dilemma not just the workplace’s where women continue to receive 78 cents on a dollar for the same nature of work as done by their male counterparts (Chase & Reidy, 2011). The above case is just one of the many concerning discrimination. Discrimination adds to the woes of the minority group by lowering their morale and threatening their self-esteem which is a basic need according to Maslow’s need hierarchy (Gillam, 1995). By feeling threatened, productivity of the minority group is sure to go down to the extent that organizations and entities lose valuable human potential (Crosby, Stockdale, & Ropp, 2007). On the other hand, suits of discrimination result in costly lawsuits against the firms and can result in loss of reputation and goodwill which cannot easily be recovered. It is therefore, of utmost importance that organizations address this area by curbing discriminatory practices. Research suggests that after having controlled for factors such as age, education, experience, skills and parental status, women still receive only 81% of the pay of men for similar nature of work (Ashkanasy, Wilderom, & Peterson, 2010). Since time immemorial, women’s role is subordinated to that of men’s because it is assumed that women tend to be physically weaker than men and family laws in some societies force women to take on a role secondary to that of men. A significant case in the point is the wage differential prevailing between the two genders. Research has proven that some factors such as the amount of work hours, education levels and career ambitions are becoming increasingly similar in the two genders (Howard & Bray, 1988) and these factors have a significant impact on employee progress in organizations. Another major case of discrimination has been the discrimination against minorities, particularly the African Americans or the so-called black skins. Most pertinent to the African American phenomenon of racial stereotyping is the fact that stereotyping pertaining to members of the out-group is a directly influenced by direct interaction with members of the out-group (Pettigrew, 1998). However, when such modes of direct communication are absent, the media plays a significant role in shaping these attitudes (Rada, 2000). From a historical perspective, the process of African American identity exploration begins with deciphering decades of information constructed for them around skin color and/or notions of second class citizenry (Lacey, 2011). This legacy of information is reinforced in the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans. Where the darker skinned African Americans are largely ascribed to the labor class, the lighter skinned counterparts are portrayed as more successful in the society and as being more educated than their dark skinned counterparts. This forms the basis of most stereotypes concerning the African Americans today. Studies indicate that the association of seeing African Americans as criminals reinforces the stigma of stereotypes found that the more people watch either local or network news, the more likely they are to draw on negative stereotypes about blacks (Cosby, 1994). Consequently, media programs help to determine and develop sets of beliefs values and attitudes that serve as a template for perceptions of African Americans. Not surprisingly, research also suggests that African American children often see media images as authentic reflections of African American identity including how they speak, walk and dress (Cosby, 1994). Consequently, internalizing these images may foster feeling of inferiority. The case is worse for women in minorities as they become victims of both types of discrimination- race and gender. Since salient physical characteristics, such as hair skin color facial features, are assessed according to Western standards; it is not surprising that African Americans have relatively low efficacy in this domain (Valentine, DuBois, & Cooper, 2004). African American women, in particular, struggle with the present culturally sanctioned exclusionary images of beauty because expectations of physical attractiveness are applied more heavily on women. More aggressive projections of the African American women have instilled beliefs in this community regarding their sole identity as sex objects (as shown in pop music). Negative appraisal of African American women was recently reflected in a controversial blog entitled “Why Are Black Women Ugly” (Kanazawa, 2011).This study was a social comparison of various races of women to determine the race that was most and least attractive. Consequently, the study concluded those African American women are the least attractive of all (Kanazawa, 2011). Because the study was met with a storm of controversy from irate readers as well as scrutiny from the scientific community, the blog was taken down. However, even after removing the post, the damage was already done as this social comparison reinforces the prevalent notion that black women do not match up to the acceptable standards of beauty and thus, serves as a mechanism for perpetuating self-hatred amongst this community. Discrimination on the basis of factors such as race, religion and disability has been protected for in countries such as the United States through legislation. For these groups, there is stringent law enforcement and legislation such that showing unfavorable treatment towards these groups on the basis of race, religion or disability is unacceptable and an offense. However, there are groups such as those pertaining to transsexual status who are still in the early phases of their journey towards equal civil rights (Barron & Hebl, 2010). It is important to note that discrimination may take any one of the two faces: explicit and overt discrimination and non-verbal or interpersonal discrimination (Barron & Hebl, 2010). The former is more formally defined and results in explicit discriminatory behaviors that are considered as a violation of civil rights. On the contrary, non-verbal or implicit discrimination is hard to identify as “discrimination” and often takes the shape of non-verbal cues, such as staying distant from people of a certain group. The difficulty of identifying such forms of discriminatory behavior as discrimination is because there may be a host of other factors responsible behind an individual maintaining distance with people of a certain group. One of these reasons is that the individual from the out-group may be less friendly or reserved and, hence, hard to approach. It is, therefore, important to discuss resolutions regarding these issues in the context of current dynamics. There have been laws such as The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act which have guarded the interests of women in the workforce (Barron & Hebl, 2010) . Nevertheless, instances of discrimination have been growing and according to one estimate over 31% of all discrimination cases in 2006 were related to gender (Barron & Hebl, 2010). Kimberle Crenshaw has been accredited for her recommendations of improving civil rights laws approximately two decades ago for individuals who find themselves a victim or multiple forms of discrimination (Barron & Hebl, 2010). The Federal equal employment opportunity legislations seek to address the issue of discrimination at work which is a major reason behind socio-economic discrepancies in the society. Although this law has improved the condition of these vulnerable groups in the society, it is still plagued with various loopholes. Sociologists have pointed out the paradox that exists whereby those who are less privileged members of the society (in terms of fewer socio-economic resources) have to bear the expensive process of lawsuit in order to realize their legal rights, thus putting their efforts on a backburner (Barron & Hebl, 2010). Another major limitation with the EEO legislation is that it only considers “intentional” discrimination, thus, narrowing the scope of its reach and practical use (Barron & Hebl, 2010). There are often instances of discrimination whereby there are unintentional discriminatory practices that are based on preconceived notions and stereotypes- no protection is provided against such practices. Also, in many cases it is difficult to prove that the act of discrimination was intentional. During the past few decades there has been a shift from viewing workplace discrimination as merely an individual and intentional notion to viewing it as an unintentional, institutionalized behavior. During the 1960’s workplace discrimination was looked upon as an intentional, individual practice. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 implies this notion of viewing discrimination as individual and intentional (Mill, 1963). However, this approach was shunned in the late 1960s when the Executive Order was issued in 1965 whereby any organization trading with the Federal Government was required not to discriminate and to rectify any racial disparity in their workforce (Mill, 1963). Thus, in the 1970s the concept of affirmative action programs was born whereby organizations were required to include the minority groups in proportion to their ratio in the available workforce (Mill, 1963). These efforts are not just targeted at hiring individuals but also indulging in training programs and outreach programs. This has serious implications for the HR since these efforts must be made a part of the company’s hiring process and these policy guidelines must be written in the employer’s HR manual. This was further compounded by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 whereby legislations to deal with discrimination were increased which resulted in greater power of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Mill, 1963). However, the notion of institutionalized discrimination has come under attack by critics who claim that discrimination is not a corporate act but an act of individuals (Mill, 1963). Consequently, it is not possible to generalize that discrimination exists in an organization unless individual cases of discrimination are brought under scrutiny. However, the problem with this view is that it is impossible to isolate the factor that results in lower competitiveness of minority groups. Therefore, the only way of identifying whether a particular minority group is being discriminated against is by analyzing the instances of discrimination that these minorities have faced as a group. However, the 1980s witnessed another shift during Reagan’s government whereby the idea of systematic discrimination was disregarded such that affirmative action programs began to lose their popularity (Mill, 1963). This mindset was reversed again the 1990s when George Bush’s government took over (Mill, 1963). However, in what followed there were numerous attempts to curb affirmative action programs and there was lack of consistent policy framework in this regard. It is interesting to note that affirmative action programs have come under serious attack recently. First, if race and gender are the criteria for hiring individuals then productivity will take a backseat and organizations will suffer. Second, jobs such as that of a fire fighter or a surgeon have a significant impact on others’ lives; therefore, for such individuals criteria other than race and gender ought to be used (Mill, 1963). Third, critics argue that these programs highlight “race” and “gender” and, thus, promote discrimination rather than curbing it. Keeping the above criticisms in mind, it is highly recommended for organizations to hire minorities only if they meet basic minimum qualification criteria. Thus, if minorities and non-minorities for the same position are at par in terms of the job requirements, then the minorities ought to be given preference. Also, for jobs that are critical to safety of human life, the criteria should not be race or gender, rather it should be qualification. Perhaps, a more useful approach in the context of this legal problem is that of diversity management. The term diversity management includes identifying the differences that exist among individuals in terms of race, color, religion, sex and ensuring that their concerns are addressed in the organization (Greene & Kirton, 2009). The concept of diversity management has extended far beyond provision of equal opportunity employment and affirmative action (Burke & Cooper, 2005). To conclude, organizations can no longer afford to lose the acumen and talent of minorities. Social trends depict the increasing role and dominance of women and minorities in times to come. Thus, the best solution in this regard is to accommodate the needs of minorities such that they are able to perform their jobs better. Day-care services, flexi-times and working from home ought to be made a normal way of working. At other times, counseling, training and skill development programs for minorities are very useful as they boost their confidence and performance. The ultimate solution chosen will depend on the organizational dynamics and the nature of job at hand. Works Cited Barron, L. G., & Hebl, M. (2010). Reducing “Acceptable” Stigmatization Through Legislation. Social Issues and Policy Review, 1-30. Burke, R., & Cooper, C. (2005). Reinventing human resource management: challenges and new directions. Oxon: Routledge. Chase, K., & Reidy, C. (2011, March 4). Cigna sued on claims of gender bias:Manager says her pay, title reduced. The Boston Globe. Crosby, F., Stockdale, M., & Ropp, S. (2007). Sex discrimination in the workplace: multidisciplinary perspectives . Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Gillam, S. (1995). Discrimination: prejudice in action. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. Greene, A., & Kirton, G. (2009). Diversity Management . Oxon: Routledge. Howard, A., & Bray, D. (1988). Managerial lives in transition. New York: The Guilford Press. Lacey, K. A. (2011). Authoring the other: Regarding race and gender in a multicultural adaptation of the classic fairytale "Cinderella". Cambridge: UMI Dissertation Publishing . Mill, J. S. (1963). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son and Bourn. Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 65-85. Rada, J. A. (2000). A new piece of the puzzle: Examining effects of television portrayals oAfrican Americans . Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 704–715. Read More