Rudin, J., Weaver, K., & Wingham, D. (2004). Equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation and small scale businesses: real hazard or red herring. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 17(2), 93.
Major Thesis
The article attempts to study the impact of the ‘equal employee opportunity’ legislation on small businesses in the US. It further examines how the human resource management can formulate strategies to act in accordance with this set legislation. In this article compliance with EEO legislation is viewed as an important aspect of businesses to public policy. This calls for organizations to uphold fair employment practices on their human resource. Further analysis of this proves that EEO may have an influence on the overall business survival. According to the article the key EEO regulation is the Civil Rights Act, this proscribes employment prejudice on a diversity of bases that includes; religion, gender and race. In order to gain proper insight on the effects of EEO on organizations, the article focuses on strategic human resource management literature.
Strategic human resource management involves an outline of arranged employee activities aimed at enabling the organization to attain its objectives. EEO is perceived as a contrast of strategic human resource management because it is represented in the technical category of human resource management. This is because technical human resource management activities do not serve as sources of competitive advantage to the organization (Wright, 1998). This is attributed to the reason that it is easier for competitors to copy any achievements that might be realized in the technical spot. The article also asserts that one obstacle to strategic human resource management is caused by traditional practices which include compliance with the central regulations. Thus, the managers can use political influence to uphold their positions and power while creating no room for change in the HRM. The article advocates for a human resource management that develops and sustains an organization’s strategy.
However, in this context an organization would be violating the set federal regulations and hence would not be socially responsible. In contrast, the article suggests that there would be organizational effectiveness with the compliance of EEO. This is because firms shall experience minimal lawsuits concerning employee opportunities that lead to huge costs for the firms. Several studies prove that lawsuits by a company’s former employees or present employees against the company result in the most severe costs for the firm (Sullivan, 2000). Therefore, compliance with EEO can minimize costs that could otherwise be met by the organization. In addition, an organization that does not discriminate employees reaps the benefit of being associated with a diversity of people who have different potentials (Rudin, 2004). Hence, this means that the quality of the workforce in such an organization is very capable. Therefore, it can help the firm in achieving its goals effectively. This further reduces the rates of mortality for organizations since the workforce can support the survival of the firm to its full potential. The data used in this article was restricted to small business hence it would be prudent to carry out an analysis of the whole business environment with regards to compliance with the EEO legislation.
Utility
This article presents a case where businesses can choose whether to comply with the set EEO legislation or to violate the laws. The major objective of a business is to improve performance and at the same time considering its continuity in the future. Therefore, to achieve the organizational goals, the company’s strategic human resource management should ensure that they incorporate compliance in the overall business strategy. This would ensure a smooth operation for the firm without necessarily having to rub shoulders with the authorities. This would in turn create a good image for the business to the society. For instance, in my business I would advocate for compliance of EEO to ensure that there is equality amongst all the employees. This would ensure that there is no discrimination against race, religion, or gender of the individuals. This would further boost the employee performance and loyalty to my company. Consequently, the quality of the workforce will be excellent resulting to achievement of the set organizational goals. Lack of compliance with the EEO regulations will only incur costs to the business and attract very few individuals to join the workforce.
Conclusion
An equal employee opportunity (EEO) is a strategic human resource management tenet that should be put into consideration in any business operation. The article presents a case for compliance and non-compliance with the EEO laws. In compliance with the regulations, the author is aware of the fact that it reduces costs that could be met for non-compliance. Compliance with the laws also ensures that an organization deals with individuals from different backgrounds that possess different potentials. This means that the firm would benefit greatly from a variety of capabilities in different levels of work. Noncompliance with the EEO laws will yield severe costs in the long term that become a burden for the firm. Discriminating individuals will also mean that the company will attract a limited number of potential employees who are competent in their fields of specialty. Consequently, the organization misses the services of these competent employees. This means that an effective HRM should be able to abide with the EEO laws in all the strategies that are formulated for the organization. Consequently, this would lead to improved productivity and a higher organizational performance.
References
Rudin, J., Weaver, K., & Wingham, D. (2004). Equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation and small scale businesses: real hazard or red herring. Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 17(2), pg. 93.
Sullivan, J. (2000). "10 Tenets of 21st Century HR." Workforce 79, (1), pg. 54.
Wright, P. (1998). "Introduction: Strategic Human Resource Management Research in the 21st Century." Human Resource Management Review, pg. 187-191.
