Discrimination legislation
Even in modern day society, issues of religious discriminations still mar working environments and that should be an issue of concern. Different adherents are affected by what managers in different communities decide to be the basis of their employment terms and conditions. Rather than have a singular platform that allows more people to appreciate the changing strategies as part of addressing their religious discriminations that appear as part of addressing legal policies as defined by the constitution. Based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, religious conditions should not be included if the applicant’s religion is not important in the provision of the needed skills (Vickers, 2016). All employers should refrain from such discriminatory aspects.
Understanding the modern orthodox Jews can be a good way of looking at life from a different angle. When addressing the wearing of the kippah on their heads, the managers can accept this provided it does not go against the company rules and regulations. The kippah does not hinder them from providing their full attention to the way they interact with people within the workplace. Another aspect that managers can celebrate at the workplace is that the modern orthodox Jews attend and mingle with others in public colleges, providing a better platform to accept them at the workplace to increase on diversity. It challenges the rest of the workmates to provide a better collaboration that allows them to feel welcome in the workplace. An issue that may be hard to accept from these faithful is the use of the Torah and other Jewish laws within the workplace (Vickers, 2016). It does not allow the organization to meet its strategic goals, an aspect that the company may not wish to provide within the working environment. It will change the company’s objectives, which may affect other stakeholders. Another issue that may be hard to accept within the workplace is that of not wearing pants for the women will be hard to maintain for those seeking employment within technical fields where the dresses could be a hazard for the same workers
Amongst the Hindus, dealing with their need to celebrate their major holidays can be worked on to avoid any loss of productivity within the workplace. One good way of ensuring this happens is by allocating them flexible working shifts and having them compensate their days off work and still attain their goals. Another thing easy to deal with at the workplace includes the observation of their daily prayers or other religious symbols as long as they do not disrupt work. Nonetheless, one of the things that will be hard to incorporate into the workplace includes wearing of certain attires (Vickers, 2016). Most of the corporations and white-collar jobs have been reluctant to accept any other form of dressing other than the formal ones. They will not accept the fact that the Hindus are seeking to use their attires as part of job demands, hence, making it harder to fit in. as management, the aim will ensure that they are presentable based on the dress code agreed upon by everyone. Another thing that managers have a problem with is that of recitations. Though some may find it easy to include in their workplace, some will be unwilling to inculcate such into their schedules (Vickers, 2016). They will not provide them with the privacy or even opportunities to do so. This may cause some friction between the employers and the employees. This could make things worse for the company at all levels.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can fit into the current working environment based on their need to remain faithful, honest and full of integrity at their places of work. An important thing is to establish a strong means of addressing such issues within the workplace, an attribute that contributes to the growth of any corporation they will play a vital role in ensuring that things run as intended by being accountable. The other reason they will gain a huge advantage is the ability to adhere to the laws and regulations in place. They believe that morality was an integral part of early Christian teachings and should be upheld. They will provide a strong means of addressing such issues within the workplace (Vickers, 2016). An issue that might arise is the prohibition from taking coffee and tea, beverages considered by most companies as healthy for their employees at different intervals within the workplace if they feel that this is a violation of what they believe in, it could make them leave the workplace and look for something else. The company could miss such important skills and diversity within the workplace. The other issue that may be a hindrance to the members of this religious sect is that of language (Vickers, 2016). Many Mormons are against foul language in the workplace, and issue noted to persist in various avenues. The goal, however, should be to create different ways of addressing such language issues that could be offensive to the employees.
Managers need to address these issues to provide the company with an easier way of dealing with employees. They get to work in an environment that is favorable for them and use their skills to improve on the needs of the clients. The manager has a role to establish this with a manual that will ensure everyone knows how to handle the arising issues based on religious differences.
Affirmative Action
Many conclude that affirmative action is an important policy that seeks to provide the less fortunate and members of disadvantaged groups opportunities to gainful employment as well as protection from various discriminations. It creates a sense of defiance to tradition, especially when looking at the role women played and the current positions they hold in various sectors. The goal is to applaud the changes within the community and ensure equality when providing such opportunities to different people across the community (Harpalani, 2013). It creates a sense of promotion that seeks to redefine the gender equity issues as well as reduce oppression amongst minorities.
The initial mention of the term “affirmative action” was in 1961 when President J.F. Kennedy ratified the Executive order no. 10925 as an increased provision of government contracts to ensure everyone was included in regardless of their color, race, or creed (Harpalani, 2013). It allowed employers to employ people without regard to these things and ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to different working environments and opportunities. Women took this more seriously due to the traditional gender roles that prohibited many from gainful employment as well as an inability to perform tasks without the presence of male figures. They wanted to also vote for candidates of their choice and front women as part of addressing their need to hold such positions (Harpalani, 2013). This granted them more voices to support the liberal movements arising at the time and create a wave that would see changes in the way they were treated.
As noted in the case of Bakke vs Regents (1978), the use of affirmative action as considered a strong policy that would allow as many minorities as possible to gain entry into the University of California. Many thought it was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court concluded that the use of such quotas was wrong if they targeted racial groups but the affirmative action was an important way of addressing such issues to provide education for all. The Supreme Court noted that the use of the quotas did not meet the threshold as discussed in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or even the fourteenth amendment (Ball, 2000). The racial discrimination of whites in favor of the minorities contradicted the spirit of constitutionalism, an aspect that needed some corrections. The basis of the judgment was to provide a strict guideline from which the constitutionalism of such an act may be graded to avoid any conflicts. The legal presentation of the case demands a case-by-case analysis to determine the effectiveness of the affirmative action and devise a new way of appreciating such constructs. The role of diversity in the schools may be a huge motivation towards meeting such demands, attributes that create different parameters to meet different concerns across the community (Ball, 2000).
The issue of affirmative action has been debated for a long time with many examining the negatives and positives of the policy. One noted positive achievement is the ability to have a diverse working environment without worrying about race. Skills and merits have played a vital consideration that has generated more interest amongst different individuals as they look for ways of meeting the demands of their different positions (Harpalani, 2013). Women have ranked higher in various sectors and enjoyed different positions previously considered as masculine. A negative noted is the inability to differentiate between racial profiling and affirmative action. As seen in Bakke vs. Regents, the constitution has to be applied in a manner that appreciates the difficulties that come with such definitions and interpretations. Others also criticize the affirmative action policies followed by colleges where they place students in positions that may be difficult to them just to have racial balance (Hasmath, 2011). Some may get into medical colleges whereas they are incapable of handling the stress that comes with the course. Reconciliation is also hard, making it more of a negative approach to using in certain quarters, an aspect that provides different feelings across the community. Admissions may seem lucrative to various individuals, but the role of racial segregation has not been reversed. Instead, it has been downplayed to meet certain community desires (Hasmath, 2011).
In my opinion, the affirmative legislation is not appropriate. The world today is all about getting the right skills and having the right qualifications to get what one wants. Rather than create racial divides using such affirmative action, it will be easier if people were allowed to consider different conversations regarding the same issue. Furthermore, the growth of the Internet across the world has been critical in bridging the previous gaps that were there in various sectors (Hasmath, 2011). Rather than concentrate on making the use of education as the only way of addressing affirmative action, countries should put more effort into addressing the concerns of their citizens and assure them that they have equal employments and wealth distribution will be an issue of concern for all leaders. This will guarantee an immediate concern that will display the hierarchy of such considerations in part as the community continues to enjoy the hard work.
Many women now need opportunities to square it out with their male counterparts without being given the special passes that are seen to downgrade their capabilities (Harpalani, 2013). For instance, Hillary Clinton has shown she can vouch for the presidency and garner an impressive following across the world. She does not need to be given a special chance to meet her demands but will only fight for the top seat using her skills, capabilities, and merits that kind of valor cannot be attributed to affirmative action in the modern society.
The older generations may have benefited from this but it made them slaves of policies that would determine how far they could go to achieve their dreams. They only had to meet certain points to achieve their goals (Harpalani, 2013). This only made it worse since they could not address their needs without having to worry about their merit list. They do not have a chance to work their way u by exploiting their consistency, confidence, esteem, and skills (Hasmath, 2011). The modern individual must be encouraged and empowered to do so without having to look around for affirmation from others. That will make it easier to deal with issues of gender, race, and nationalities across the world. This will be better than affirmative action policies.
References
Ball, H. (2000). The Bakke case. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas.
Harpalani, V. (2013). "Fisher's fishing expedition". Uni. of Penn. Law School, 15 (1): 57–74
Hasmath, R. (2011). Managing ethnic diversity: meanings and practices from an international perspective. Burlington: Ashgate
Vickers, L. (2016). Religious Freedom, Religious Discrimination, and the Workplace. New York: Hart Publishing
