...Affirmative Action or Affirmative Discrimination Affirmative action refers to an attempt at equality in the society. It claims that each person receive equal opportunities in the classroom as well as the work force. Not only would this would be subjected to minorities but to women as well. Every sector in America should be equal and unprejudiced - or so proponents say. However, adopting affirmative action would force many employers to replace hard-working employees with those less qualified simply as a consequence of their gender or ethnic background (Sterba, 2003). We can analyze this concept from the perspective of two opponents as “Arguments for ‘Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination’” and “Arguments against ‘Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination’”. First of all, with reference to “Arguments for ‘Affirmative Action is Reverse Discrimination’”, the fact of affirmative action is that it attempts to end discrimination with discrimination, that is, reverse discrimination. The purpose of affirmative action is to correct the past discrimination based on race, sex, religion, etc. But the way that affirmative action taken to achieve this is to sacrifice the rights of others, which leads to reverse discrimination: as we are all members of some minority or majority groups, helping one group would certainly disadvantage others. For example, in USA, under affirmative action, a company might prefer to hire the minority like women or colored people instead of white...
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..."Affirmative Action" was initiated in the early 1960's by President John F. Kennedy in an attempt to improve employment and educational opportunities for people belonging to a minority population ("Affirmative Action"). After the assassination of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. This act started a wave of affirmative action that would later impact every American opportunity ("Civil Rights Act"). At the end of the decade businesses across America were enforcing provisions set forth by the Civil Rights Act, along with other legal enforcements that assisted minority groups of race, disability, gender, ethnicity and age. Though he was against the idea of meeting quotas in the workplace, President Richard Nixon in 1969 used the city of Philadelphia as a test when he "required federal contractors to show "affirmative action" to meet the goals of increasing minority employment" (Brunner). The quotas also found a way into the federally funded educational institutions as by this time numerous regulations had been initiated insisting the entrance of minority group members (Eisaguirre 2). While there were many supporters of affirmative action who saw this as the only way to change the historically discriminative American society, many others saw a trend of reverse discrimination in the nation (Eisaguirre 3). Although I believe that the plan of affirmative action has been beneficial to attain equal rights in our society, I don't think that these ideas can...
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...The policy of affirmative action should be abolished in the Unites States as this practice is not making good to US society on its policy against discrimination. It is in effect violating what it is supposed to protect and could lead to other worse consequences like creating crippling effect upon minority groups because of its obvious message of inferiority , reverse racism , lowering standards of accountability hence rewarding race instead of hard work , showing that the people hired through affirmative action can lead to unqualified workers , leading to create a true `color blind` society , condescending to minorities about their need for affirmative action , demeaning the achievement of minorities , by attributing their success due to affirmative action and not hard work . Affirmative action has a crippling effect upon minority groups because of its obvious message of inferiority. Affirmative action assumes that minority groups are of inferiority quality and hence they should be taken care of and they should not be allowed to compete in the market place. It is actually unfair to these minorities because it has actually described them as being unable to fend for themselves within the business /work environment. Not only that it is demeaning to minorities but it also unfair to white males that rely on their skill rather then their color . Therefore, further sustaining the policy is simply an act lack of common sense and realization on how it is to live in free economy...
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...Evaluate the claim that affirmative action is good for America Affirmative action is a social justice policy that seeks to undo past injustices against minorities by providing special incentives to institutions to hiring them, accepting them into schools among other economic arenas. Some legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that outlawed all sorts of discrimination against anyone based on race, gender, and religion, and included desegregation of public schools. The term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States in "Executive Order” signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, which included a provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, colour, or national origin.” In the United States, affirmative action has been the subject of numerous court cases. In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the Supreme Court permitted educational institutions to consider race as a factor when admitting students. In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, affirmative action is rendered illegal because it does not treat all races equally. This approach to equal treatment is described as being "colour blind." In 1995 after the case of Adarand Constructors v.Pena, Justice Thomas stated that “the constitution, federal and state laws should all be coloured blind”. Meaning these areas should treat every individual equally, removing the previous...
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...Is Affirmative Action still necessary? Introduction This topic will explore if Affirmative action is still necessary in the 21st century. Affirmative Action is the encouragement of increased representation of women and minority group members, in employment. It has been commonly referred to as a positive discrimination policy or program designed to counter discrimination against minority groups and women in areas such as employment and education (dictionary.com). “Pro” position There are several reasons to justify Affirmative Action. It was developed to assist society’s less-advantaged members by promoting affirmative action policies is to remedy the effects of past discrimination. Along with the use of the Affirmative Action policy there is the recognition that wrongs have been committed in the past and acknowledgment that there is a moral obligation to set things right (pros and cons). African Americans are not the only, or even the main beneficiaries of affirmative action. There are a wide range of groups that have benefited from Affirmative Action. Some of the groups include women, Native Americans, Arab Americans, Latino/as, Asian Americans, and African Americans. According to the United States Department of Labor, it found that white women are the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action (aapf.org). “Con” position The opposing view point states that it is reverse discrimination. Those opposed of affirmative action do not contest the moral obligation to...
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...Assignment Three: Negative Action Mr. Sean T. Stewart Prof. Roxanne Grandis ENG 215 February 10, 2013 Assignment Three: Negative Action Affirmative action diminishes fair and open competition and should be prohibited from being exercised at any publicly funded educational institution. Affirmative action in its very essence was intended to make services accessible which were currently or formerly restricted from minorities due to racial discrimination. The measure would assist minority groups by providing greater opportunities for them to succeed alongside peers from the majority racial category. Affirmative action achieves this by giving preference to minority applicants for admission into institutions of higher education. Through these method individuals, who may be better qualified for admission than a member of the minority group, could potentially be denied access to the college of their choosing. This serves as the reasons as to why I feel that affirmative action is not fair and diminishes open competition. Affirmative-action started as a tool to address the discrimination against African-Americans and 1960s. President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded on the importance of affirmative action to achieving true freedom for African-Americans. He stated nothing is more freighted with meaning for our own destiny than the revolution of the Negro American...In far too many ways American Negroes have been another nation: deprived of freedom, crippled by hatred, the doors of...
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...Discrimination Legislation Vernecia Denson American Intercontinental University March 10, 2012 In this paper, you will learn and know how to recruit for a more diverse work team. The word affirmative action will be recognized and defined. You will learn what the initial intent of Affirmative-Action legislation was and why it was created. We will distinguish what the positive and negative results of the Affirmative Action legislation and is this legislation still appropriate today. We will learn what the landmark of Bakke v. Regents case included and how it applied and ties in with affirmative action. We will see what was the basis for the conclusion of this case? When thinking about discrimination in the workforce, the words affirmative action comes to mind. Affirmative action was a law put into action to take positive steps that would increase the representation of minorities and women in areas of employment, education, and businesses from which in historical times were excluded (Fullinwider, 2009). Affirmative action wanted to increase not noticing the basic structures based off of race, gender, or ethnicity when making decisions (Fullinwider, 2009). This action is still around till this day. Affirmative action was initiated first by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. This order showed that Federal contractors was suppose to take affirmative action to guarantee that job applicants and employees are treated fairly and would have a fair opportunity regardless of...
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...Affirmative Action Jackie Carter COM/220 May 18, 2011 Staci Weaver CheckPoint - Introduction and Conclusion Are affirmative action policies and programs still necessary in this day and age, even if it creates reverse discrimination? One of the country’s top debated issues is affirmative action. Affirmative Action came about when President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 that created the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity whose purpose was to ensure all employees are treated fairly, without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin (Elliott & Ewoh, 2000). Since its inception, Affirmative Action program and policies have taken on a life of their own. Affirmative action is a term that refers to mandatory and voluntary programs intended to affirm the civil rights of designated classes of individuals. Affirmative action or Executive Order 11246 (EO11246) was created, after the civil rights movement, by the federal courts to ensure companies were not using discriminatory hiring practices. Affirmative action is similar but different from equal opportunity. Equal opportunity is an attempt to avoid discrimination by applying the performance related criteria to all applicants, in other words, each individual should be given the same treatment as all other individuals. Unequal treatment of minority groups is considered discriminatory and illegal. This process ignores the past history of discrimination of an employer and also...
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...Con affirmative action Affirmative Action has been a long debated issue in United States. One group believes affirmative action should be abolished and other group thinks it serves an essential purpose. Our group believes Affirmative Action is fair and we still need it to eliminate discrimination and establish inequality to make our country is a better place. The continued use of affirmative action is still needed to address our existing discrimination and to break down all the barriers to make sure each individual have an equal opportunity so that they can prove themselves in the society as per their talents and abilities. Compare to other countries United States have made significant progress in recent years in creating equal access to opportunity, but we still need to accomplish more. Affirmative action worked as a proven solution that had been addressing existing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity. Ending affirmative action would end the dreams of opportunity for many. “The fundamental purpose of affirmative action is to further equal opportunity and counter or prevent current discrimination. Importantly, affirmative action programs have a positive impact not only on women and people of color, but all members of our society”. This program ensures equality and provides opportunity to many women, people of color, disabled, and veterans. It is a path where they can compete and be evaluated fairly for jobs and education opportunities. The opposition group often...
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...“Affirmative action is an effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). It was the way of bringing to an end the discrimination that occurred by individuals of a certain group and allows them to purse educational and employment opportunities. There is a question of rather affirmative action is still necessary or rather it has run its course. The answer to that question can be found by taking a look into the history of affirmative action while showing the pro and cons of it. Affirmative action is still necessary in American in order to ensure fair representation and opportunities to American’s diverse minority individuals within universities and workplace. The original intention of affirmative action was to form equivalent chances for individuals who had been treated with discrimination in an earlier period. “Elements of an affirmative action plan include a written policy self evaluation to identify efficiencies, steps to correct them on a time table and accountability by senior management.” (Britannica) Affirmative action is frequently established in administration, instructive, and employment situation with the intention of making certain that minorities are incorporated in each opportunity available. The core reason behind affirmative action is to give assistance in reimbursing for the earlier periods of discrimination and concentrate on current discrimination. In earlier periods...
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...Affirmative Action Affirmative action is wrong and will not help solve the problems minorities face. The reason it is wrong is because it's discrimination. It has no place in today's society in today's society because it does more bad than good. In addition to that most people don't enjoy the presence of affirmative action. Also, it appears that affirmative action can actually be detrimental to employees health. First of all, affirmative action is discrimination, there is no hiding it. When an employer hires anyone because he or she is a minority, even if someone else if more qualified to do the job, it is discrimination. Just because it is reverse discrimination, when whites are discriminated against and minorities are being discriminated for, doesn't make it right. Affirmative action legalizes discrimination (Steele 1990, 39). "I thought discrimination was illegal in this country (Buchanan 1995, 1)." Also, if this discrimination continues racism in the United States may become worse. Imagine what you would feel like if you couldn't get a job just because you are a white man and not a hispanic man. The racism will become worse because of it, and that is the very thing it is trying to prevent. It is possible that because of affirmative action, racism will grow and continue to grow until we history repeats itself and we end up living under Jim Crow laws again. That is an extr! eme possibility to end up under Jim Crow laws again, but it is a definite possibility...
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...Job Discrimination: Its Nature * Discrimination in its root meaning refers to the act of distinguishing one object from another. * In modern usage, the term refers to "wrongful discrimination," or distinguishing among people on the basis of prejudice instead of individual merit. * Discrimination in employment involves three basic elements: * It must be a decision not based on individual merit. * The decision must derive from racial or sexual prejudice. * The decision must have a harmful impact on the interest of employees Forms of Discrimination: Intentional and Institutional Aspects * Discriminatory acts can be categorized according to the extent to which they are intentional and institutionalized. * An act may be part of the isolated behavior of an individual: * Intentionally discriminates based on personal prejudice. * An act may be part of the routine, institutionalized behavior of a group. * The act must intentionally discriminate out of personal prejudice. * An act may be part of the isolated behavior of a single individual who unintentionally discriminates because he or she uncritically adopts the practices and stereotypes of his or her society * An act may be part of the systematic routine of a group that unintentionally discriminates because group members uncritically incorporate the discriminatory practices of society. Discrimination: Its Extent * Discrimination exists when a...
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...AFFIRMATIVE ACTION What is affirmative action? As your advisors, paid handsomely to represent the issue of Affirmative Action in the United States to you, we have gathered and analyzed the core considerations surrounding the issue. We see that there are immense difficulties in reconciling opposing moral views, and that empirical data does not reveal an obvious truth. But there can be much gained in way of a better understanding of the issue in spite of these obstacles if we can take a holistic approach to the problem. Affirmative action is a two-pronged effort that includes “the right of all persons to be accorded full and equal consideration on the basis of merit” (K.U Medical School) and, concurrently, a policy of actively “hiring and promoting qualified individuals in protected groups such as minorities, disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veterans and women” (U. of South Dakota). It was created to focus on education and jobs, and the policies were put in place to take active measures, under the framework of non-discrimination, to ensure that disadvantaged groups that had prevalently suffered discrimination have the same opportunities as whites. The U.S. Department of Labor describes affirmative action as the “ban[ing of] discrimination and requir[ing of] contractors and subcontractors to take… action to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or status as...
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...Head: AFFERMATIVE ACTION Affirmative Actions Affirmative action is an action taken by an organization to select on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity by giving due preferences to minorities like women and races being not adequately represented under the existing employment. To make the presentation of all these compositions almost equal in proportion to do away the injustice done in the past. The Supreme Company need to design an affirmative action program in the light of recent Supreme Court judgment passed in favor of affirmative actions to be adopted by various companies. Affirmative action is not free from controversies. It is one of the issues in the country, which has raked most controversies since past few decades. The purpose is the implementation would be correct the past discriminative actions against the minorities. It is a fact that minorities are not well represented in all the sectors of U.S economy. The logic and rational always given against the affirmative actions that it kills the meritocracy and the policy is of bringing in favoritism in the spirit of work culture. This would lead to loss in productivity and would be instrumental in bringing down the morale of work forces. This rational would have justification had the philosophy of affirmatives been laid without proper designing it. Care need to be taken in observing each and every details that how it is going to affect the meritocracy, the percentage of minorities like woman, ethnic...
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...in business cover almost every aspect of business for example, in finances, in handling customers, in waste disposal and also in staff recruitment. This paper will discuss why discrimination in hiring, retaining and remunerating staff is unethical in business. Discrimination in the workplace was such a serious and frequent occurrence that the government developed the affirmative action policy. Affirmative action requires that business when hiring recognize the fact that all people to need be accorded equal and full consideration on the basis of their qualifications and merit. Affirmative action was created in order to promote the hiring of individuals in protected groups especially minorities and women (Rowland and Loury, 2010). The policy allows for active measures to be taken in order to avoid the non-discrimination of women and minorities in the work place. Rowland and Loury (2010) explain that affirmative action is the banning of discrimination against disadvantaged people. It requires that equal opportunities be provide to all people in terms of employment irregardless of their color, race, religion, national origin, sex and disability. Why did the government feel it was important to develop an affirmative action policy? For a start, the government realized that there was a lot of discrimination that was going in staff recruitment and in the work place. This was not only wrong but...
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