Essay on "Discrimination and Affirmative Action"

Essay 3 pages (1017 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Discrimination and Affirmative Action

In today's widely diverse world, it is difficult to imagine a workplace or business authority that still discriminates against minorities. Indeed, any workplace that does so is subject to legal prosecution. Laws are in place to protect people belonging to minority groups from being marginalized in the business world. Yet it is also true that, despite these laws, discrimination is still a common phenomenon in the business world, particularly when persons from minority groups are attempting to start a business. It is often claimed that outdated paradigms and ideas held by banks and other service companies for example tend to be unsupportive of diverse ownership. Because of such claims, many states have adopted programs that require a certain percentage of business to be allocated to minority- or female-owned businesses. Violations of these programs however still occur, as is the case with a recent report from Maryland, where business was allocated to a company that failed to meet the state's minority goals. When considering the question from a deontological and utilitarian approach, a certain number of conclusions can be drawn regarding whether this contract should have been awarded or not.

The deontological ethical viewpoint considers the case in terms of human rights. Maryland has implemented the minority program to ensure that all persons within the state receive the equal rights of business opportunities. It is therefore imperative that this program be adhered to in order to ensure that business opportunities are available to all minorities. When this is taken into consideration, accepting the contract is a violation of Maryland's determination of human rights and should not have been awarded. Instead, the search for a complying company should have continued in order to ensure that the requirements for human rights are fulfilled.

On the other hand, it must also be recognized that non-minority groups have rights. The company that received the contract for example should have as much right to be considered for the contract as a company that does meet the minority standard. From a deontological viewpoint, exclusively considering certain groups for the contract on the basis of their minority status is not ethically sound. If this point-of-view is considered, awarding the contract is a sound decision, as discrimination should not occur either against the minority groups under consideration or the non-minority groups also opting for the contract.

A third deontological viewpoint is that, historically, minorities have been excluded from business opportunities for the majority of the twentieth century. If the balance of rights is to be restored, minorities should now enjoy rights above those who have been favored in the past. From the global historical viewpoint, it is therefore more desirable to award the contract to a company that meets the minority standards rather than one that does not.

From the utilitarian viewpoint, the greatest good and the most favorable outcome are taken into account. This viewpoint does not consider the rights of certain groups, but instead considers the advantages and disadvantages of awarding contracts on the merit of the level of service that… READ MORE

How to Reference "Discrimination and Affirmative Action" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Discrimination and Affirmative Action Case Study

Discrimination and Affirmative Action

Should disabled veterans get preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans?

Over the last several decades, the issue of employment discrimination has… read more

Case Study 3 pages (985 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Career / Labor / Human Resources

---

Discrimination and Affirmative Action Term Paper

Discrimination and Affirmative Action

Should disabled veterans receive preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans?

First of all, the answer should be a qualified "yes," though… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1396 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Career / Labor / Human Resources

---

Is Affirmative Action Necessary in the 21st Century? Term Paper

Affirmative Action in the 21st Century:

Affirmative action is one of the most divisive and controversial issue in the United States as it has continued to raise numerous debates between… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1267 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Race / Ethnic Studies / Racism

---

Affirmative Action - Historical Review Research Proposal

Affirmative Action - Historical Review

Affirmative Action is defined as the "set of public policies and initiative designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion,… read more

Research Proposal 11 pages (3121 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Race / Ethnic Studies / Racism

---

Affirmative Action and Race Relations Research Proposal

Affirmative Action and Race Relations

Affirmative action, in higher education and elsewhere has been a hotly debated issue, since its inception, among a group of minority faculty and faculty organization… read more

Research Proposal 15 pages (4601 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA Topic: Race / Ethnic Studies / Racism

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>