Category: Equality

The USA has been seen as the country of opportunities and the country where equal people live. Nonetheless, researchers claim that American equality is somewhat overestimated. More so, there is an ongoing debate on wealth distribution in the USA. Researchers stress that Americans are unaware of the level of inequality in the country.

Notably, average Americans are used to certain inequality and admit that the rich may have 35% of the wealth (“Americans Underestimate US Wealth Inequality,” 2010). Thus, people think it may be quite fair if 10% of people own 35% of the wealth.

However, even this ideal society is far from being a reality for the USA as the rich possess 85% of the wealth (“Americans Underestimate US Wealth Inequality,” 2010). Officials, researchers and scholars also note that the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing due to the policies provided.

A number of surveys suggest that in the 2000s the top 0.01% of Americans own 976 times more than bottom 90% of Americans, which is a sign of an upcoming crisis as similar distribution of wealth was in the USA in 1928 (“Plutocracy Reborn,” 2012).

There are lots of factors contributing to this distribution. One of these factors is quite an inadequate tax policy in the country as the rich people’s income increases and taxes reduce, whereas average Americans have to pay more in taxes.

Gilson and Perot (2011) note that this illogical tax policy can be easily explained as those who make laws (including tax laws), i.e. congress members, pertain to the top 0,1% of Americans. The researchers also state that such tax policy contributes to the increase of the wealth gap even though the productivity is on the rise (Gilson & Perot, 2011). Admittedly, these are only some of the factors that lead to the gap.

Another factor is lack of mobility within the American society. DeParle (2012) claims that the American Dream is becoming an illusion as only few people can move from rags to riches. This is closely connected with socioeconomic background. Thus, young people coming from well-to-do families have many more opportunities compared to young people from poor families.

One of the central factors contributing to this is availability of education. Richer people can invest in their children’s education which provides the latter with more opportunities as employers tend to pay higher salaries to well-educated employees (DeParle, 2012).

At the same time, poor families do not have such an opportunity and poor remain poor. Researchers also note that the lack of mobility is a bad sign for any country. The USA used to be the country of high level of mobility, but now it lags behind some European countries.

Even Great Britain which has always been regarded as a country of certain stratification has higher mobility. Admittedly, this makes the USA lag behind other industrialized countries in some respects.

To sum up, the gap between the poor and the rich is increasing in the USA. The socioeconomic inequality is increasing due to a number of reasons. For instance, tax policy is one of the potent factors leading to the increase in the gap.

Lack of opportunities also contributes greatly to the unequal distribution of the wealth. Researchers also claim that the majority of Americans are unaware of the changes in the US society which can be quite alarming as people do not understand the real danger.

Reference List

Americans underestimate US wealth inequality. (2010). Web.

DeParle, J. (2012). Harder for Americans to rise from lower rungs. The New York Times. Web.

Gilson, D. & Perot, C. (2011). It’s the inequality, stupid. Mother Jones. Web.

Plutocracy reborn. (2012). The Nation. Web.

Introduction

Ensuring equal high-quality public education within all the states is a challenging issue that imposes numerous problems and debates. Today, in the US, public elementary and secondary schools are funded through local (around 44%), state (47%), and federal (more than 8%) government revenues (Skinner, 2019). Consequently, one can see that educational institutions around the country get finances from different resources. Still, the most significant source of investment here remains to be property tax, and the funds from government revenues come from other types of fees (Skinner, 2019). It is critical to examine the issue of public education financing.

Main body

The point is that taxes as an investment means can be unreliable because all the fluctuations in tax legislation or requirements can influence the quality of education. For example, the signing of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in Colorado in 1992 introduced caps on taxes, which limited the state’s ability to finance schools (National Public Radio 2016). Thus, alternative or additional ways of finding resources for educational purposes should be introduced. It is vital to understand that building an equal atmosphere can help students from different backgrounds gain proper education under appropriate conditions, which requires substantial financing.

Conclusion

It is also critical to reach impartiality for everyone around the country to have equal opportunities to build their future with the help of education. One of the options suggested by the Wyoming Supreme Court is “to treat the wealth of the state as a whole,” which generated a Robin Hood-style model (National Public Radio, 2016). This model implies that the revenues from property taxes from resources-rich areas will be redistributed to poorer districts (National Public Radio 2016). This way, it is possible to work towards equality in providing fair educational conditions for the students.

References

National Public Radio. (2016). Is there a better way to pay for America’s schools? Web.

Skinner, R. R. (2019). State and local financing of public schools. Web.

Introduction: Statement of the Criterion Variabledelves

This research paper continues towards the goal of examining the standard of living across the 129 or 132 countries for which relevant measures have been assembled in the ACLP database. As in most matters of political economy, standard of living is a valid yardstick for the benefits the population derives from both economic development and good governance.

In the previous paper, we had commenced with an analysis of some correlates of per-capita income as a measure of the comparative wealth of the individuals who are the nation’s governed. But merely dividing gross domestic product (GDP) for any given period over population size – while rather standardized and hence, a useful measure for international comparisons – can mask poor governance and serious inequities. The most glaring, of course, is that per-capita GDP conceals the fact that rising economic activity may be concentrated in the hands of dictators, self-declared messiahs, mullahs who have not the wit to run government bureaucracies, dialectic theorists and their cronies. And such public services as exist do not satisfy the ever-rising aspirations of a people for a better standard of living and quality of life, even those at the most basic level: food sufficiency, sanitation, primary health care, education, jobs, and a stable currency. A country’s rising “wealth” may have precious little trickle-down effects, especially in the face of civic disorder, unstable governments, or long-running ones that care little about the long-term good of the people.

This is one reason why the United Nations and other multi-lateral agencies go beyond GDP to urge governance according to more widely benevolent goals such as those in the Human Development Index. The HDI extends to such indicators as child life expectancy, climate change, births attended by skilled health personnel, contraceptive usage, gender issues, etc. (source: United Nations Development Programme).

In turn, any halfway benevolent government with the slightest egalitarian sense realizes sooner or later that income distribution (also known in more familiar terms as the “rich-poor gap”) is a critical goal if one is to subdue urban unrest, insurgency in the countryside, and be seen to promote the common welfare.

The theory this current research paper propounds is that more equitable income distribution is an end-result of income growth due to economic development, a tradition of benevolent governance, the absence of civic strife owing to intractable religious or ethnic conflict, a regime that manages to maintain law and order, some basic form of participatory democracy, and an economy making the transition from purely agriculture and extraction to a greater contribution from the industrial and service sectors.

Operationalizing the Concepts and Variables

In the ACLP database, the criterion variable for the inequality of income distribution is the Gini ratio. In formal terms, the Gini income inequality coefficient measures the dispersion of personal income (and, by inference, wealth) across the national population. The Gini coefficient takes values ranging from 0 to 1 where 0 is perfect equality (the egalitarian ideal, all citizens have the same income) and 1 stand for perfect inequality (one person has all the income, everybody else earns nothing). In turn, the alternative term “Gini index” is simply the coefficient in percentage form.

Table 1. Summary Descriptive Statistics: Gini Index

The ACLP database reveals that, for 103 countries reporting such information, the range of the Gini ratio was from 20% to 63% (see Table 1). The former is rather close to the “perfect equality” end of the distribution.

Around the world, the income inequality situation would seem to segment countries into two. The first group, very likely industrialized and/or free-market economies, cluster around a secondary mode of between 30 and 35 Gini ratio points. The most developed European nations, chiefly the original Common Market signatories plus the UK, show Gini indices of between 24 and 36. The second world grouping, presumably less-developed countries, cluster with distinct kurtosis around the modal class interval of 42.6 to 45.0 ratio points, and form a “heavy tail” to the right. Figure 1 also reveals that the overall distribution is distinctly bipolar. The mode is to the right of the mean and median. Nonetheless, the differences are by no means extreme. Nearly two-thirds of the countries (± 1 standard deviation) are within 10.2 ratio points from the mean.

One caveat is that the Gini ratios are not perfectly comparable across countries because the national statistics agencies operate with slight variations in what constitutes income. One country may report solely cash income while another will incorporate the cash equivalent of gifts and payments in kind (e.g. tenants paying their landlord with a half share of the harvest). A second caveat is that one number hardly represents the totality of income equity in even a small country. More sophisticated treatment of Gini coefficients delve into inequality within an income stratum, net inequality between income groups, and what Costa and Morales term the “intensity of transvaluation between subpopulations” (from International Advances in Economic Research, 2008). Yet a third caution is that where there is a sizeable underground economy – as in newly industrializing economies like Brazil or the Philippines, and in former socialist countries like Russia or the Ukraine – the official Gini numbers overestimate the extent of income inequality. Nonetheless, the Gini index is a widely accepted benchmark of the results of welfare and compensation philosophies and policies.

One by no means contends that the Gini index is an all-encompassing descriptor of the economic wellbeing of the population. For instance, high inflation can erode incomes and whether family incomes are reported in nominal or real terms, the Gini ratio is static, suggesting that income inequality is unchanged. And yet, it is inherent in the income inequality situation that those with greater incomes have the discretionary incomes to surmount fast-rising CPI and the savings to invest for a future stream of income. Nonetheless, growth with equity is a worthwhile political, economic and societal goal because attaining progress towards equality reduces social frictions, puts a damper on crimes against property, opens up opportunities for capital formation, and ultimately, stabilizes government regimes.

Hypotheses About Causation and Antecedents

Given the broad range of welfare and compensation variables that can impact the Gini index in any country, this research proposes a shortlist of independent variables as antecedents for hypothesis testing, eight that could show a positive linear relationship and six others for which (bearing in mind that a lower Gini number is to be desired) one expects an inverse relationship:

Analysis

One of the least intuitive relationships in this juxtaposition of the Gini index and the IV’s is the effect of social spending on the part of the government. But the rationale for investigating such a relationship could well be that government spending on health services, free medicines, free education, and welfare payments constitute a return in kind of income that has been taxed. To the extent that such fiscal-sourced subsidies flow to the poorest first, one should certainly expect poverty reduction and, on the assumption that the well-off are disproportionately taxed, some redistribution of income and hence somewhat reduced inequality.

The other hindrance of such an analysis is that scatter plots such as Figure 4 (above) mislead at first sight. The trend line should be downward-sloping and hence, affirm an inverse relationship. It is an inverse relationship of numbers: As government social spending rises, the Gini index for a “typical” country falls. Recalling that lowering the inequality index is a worthwhile social goal, one interprets the relationship correctly as the lower government social spending falls, the worse the inequality index.

Table 2: Leading Correlates of Gini Index

The same situation is evident when the “gxpdssec” correlation is tested against the DV: as government spending on social services as a percentage of GDP rises, inequality falls.

A series of Pearson’s correlation runs reveals that each of the 15 IV’s selected is significantly correlated with income distribution on at least the 0.95 confidence level. But the question remains: can a value for the Gini index be predicted from deciding on what values of the discretionary IV’s to deploy or control?

The answer lies in multiple linear regression which provides the benefits of quantifying the relationship of the many IV’s as a group (understanding the relationship) and improving the extent to which one can move towards improved Gini indices given some flexibility in, say, implementing family planning practices and raising government social spending.

Evaluation of Results

The result is a model that predicts a value for the Gini index at greater than 0.99 confidence level and for which the strongest IV relationships are shown by government social spending, secondary education opportunities for women, robust investment, and political stability.

Introduction

The ideological right frequently argues that equality and freedom are irreconcilable virtues. From the standpoint of social justice, the two principles are relative to each other in any nation, ultimately affecting the country’s human rights preservation. The importance while relating these values indicates that they might be open to a qualitative study. It is possible to have both private property and equality in a state by developing measurable notions through a qualitative analysis of freedom and equality in their relatable aspect. Using examples from ancient and modern contexts, demonstrating their compatibility calls for the effectuation of freedom and equality of mind.

Equality and Freedom

Despite equality being a robust and global norm that can gain significant ground in a moral or political conflict, it can quickly fall short of facilitating calls for justice if it is not correctly stated. Since the beginning of time, equality has been acknowledged as a standard of social justice (Khan, 2021). Ensuring that each person has an equal chance to maximize their potential is what equality is all about. It is the idea that nobody should have worse life opportunities due to their birth circumstances, place of origin, religious beliefs, or physical or mental limitations (Khan, 2021). In this vision of social good, equality does, in my opinion, have some power, but status and avarice often trump it.

Relating to equality, freedom is a position of individuality when one is unrestricted by anybody and may do as one pleases. According to the principle of equality, all people are born free and equal (Khan, 2021). Freedom can even be referred to as a mental condition in which one is unfettered to do whatever comes to mind, thus, experiencing internal liberation. Contrary, humans have been found to have a general urge to rule others through a protracted sequence of surveys. It would be evident that those in positions of power are among the one percent who are more knowledgeable than the majority of people they rule. According to Saint-Simon writings, the universal beneficial authority should be disseminated according to each person’s level of awareness (Paci, 2022). The writings implore that everyone would be satisfied if society upheld democratic rights.

For society to be satisfied in all aspects, equality can only be found impactful when practiced. Practically making anything tenable calls for much dedication and focus while standing firmly with a goal. Everyone is fending for themselves in this God-given world, contributing to how society runs. The premise of equality is that every person is afforded similar rights and treatment. Everyone has the right to receive equal treatment. From the social perspective, those possessing large properties are expected to be higher than ordinary citizens. In truth, granting each of them equal respect and justice is what bears more weight for people. Not everyone desires property or status. Respect and justice are the core values of life. Besides, property is under the constraint of monetary value, unlike equality which, on the other hand, is virtuous. Understanding this will, in the eventuality, does help people understand the social core of living.

In the ancient context, modern bourgeois culture sprang from the wreckage of a feudal civilization due to the revolution. Marx states that class conflicts still exist in civilization, but they have changed due to the widening division of humanity into two opposing factions (Marx, 2020). Bourgeoisie had destroyed the bonds that held people to their masters because of their formerly adversarial orientation, and all existing connections between men got to be defined by self-interest entirely.

Still on the Communists manifesto, Marx argues that property ownership is not gained from the labor of workers, they do not in any ownership. Instead, the money they make is used to take advantage of them. In actuality, many laborers do not currently get things, but those who acquire something do not require current labor (Marx & Engels, 2019). This bourgeoisie-controlled property indicates a societal power rather than a personal one (Marx & Engels, 2019). Because of how the Communist theory undermines bourgeois freedom, it is despised by the bourgeois. Marx responds that uniformity is simply an apparent one. The Communist revolution has completely upended ownership relations. It should not sound surprising that fundamental shifts in conventional wisdom preceded it.

The social factors faced long ago are still the same in these modernized times, but only slightly twisted to fit in. Locke argues that since everybody is born with the ability to survive, it makes sense that they also have the claim to whichever resources nature provides for sustenance. This answers the question of man’s survival throughout history despite the overarching factors faced over time. God created the earth for humanity to use for their benefit, sustenance, and solace. According to Locke, all have a right to engage in physical and manual labor (Jones, 2019). Thus, God blesses the works of those who toil by helping them amass property due to their hard work. According to Locke, the same natural law that grants someone property right also forbids them from taking as much as they want (Jones, 2019). One can only acquire so much land because their labor can only be used to eat a little piece of it. Thus, modesty ought to constrain everyone.

Conclusion

Throughout history, and as God intended for man, people should reap what they sow. All people are uniquely blessed, which relates to their ability to work and fend for themselves and their families. Despite all this, peoples’ worth should scale not against monetary value but by how virtuous they are. It is through respect and honor that life bears true meaning. Owning private property does not mandate anyone to see others as any lesser of equal rights or status. Vices like greed, hate, and jealousy are all that restrain many societies from forging good relationships. It is necessary to ramp up efforts to advance equality and combat vices through statutes and institutions since doing so will build freedoms and liberties and equitable public narratives. Healthy relationships between people start with respect, which should be accounted for so that people may recognize equality in any society.

References

Jones, H. (2019). Property, territory, and colonialism: An international legal history of Enclosure.Legal Studies, 39(2), 187–203. Web.

Khan, M. M. (2021). Political state and the dilemma of dignity, equality and freedom: Evidence from a sovereign state.Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(1), 29–37. Web.

Marx, K. (2020). Bourgeois and proletarians 1. Industrial Work and Life, 395–404. Web.

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2019). The Communist Manifesto.Ideals and Ideologies, 243–255. Web.

Paci, D. (2022). The Saint-Simonian Vision of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean Europe(s), 20–36. Web.

Introduction

Development is slow but gradual process that is marked by changes in lifestyle, processes, technology, policies and other aspects that affect human life. Human beings desire to use modern technology to ensure there is efficiency in production processes. In addition, they hope to move very fast from one place to another and access information within a very short period (Muilanovic 27).

These and other aspects of modern societies propel people to use various ways of ensuring that they are placed in strategic positions to acquire wealth, power and influence that will help them to control others.

This has led to inequalities in various spheres and there are fears that competition for the available limited resources will push people to use unethical and illegal survival tactics. Inequality occurs in various forms, including social, political and economic and each of these aspects has significant impacts on the society. This essay presents different ways that show the impacts of inequality on development.

Definitions

Inequality refers to unproportional and unfair allocation, access, distribution and provision of social, political and economic resources to people (Duflo 9). This means that this term covers all aspects that show unfair consideration given to people of a particular group. This vice makes some people to be perceived to be more special than others yet this is not supposed to be the case.

Equality exists when fair measures are used to allocate people resources and ensure every person gets what they deserve. Development refers to the progress made by individuals and is usually marked by improving living conditions, infrastructure, economy and access to quality social services (Duflo 11). Development is measured by comparing events and situations between two or more societies during different periods.

This aspect may be positive or negative depending on its impacts on the society. Negative development means that the society is experiencing serious challenges in promoting equality among its members. On the other hand, positive development means that people have equal and reasonable access to resources and thus nobody violates their rights and freedoms (Greig 32).

Growth refers to visible changes that occur in the society as a result of equality or inequality and how their impacts on people. Inequality has serious impacts on growth and development and that is why nations and individuals have established various ways of eliminating this vice.

Types of Inequalities

There are three types of inequalities in all societies and their causes and effects are similar. These classes originate from the issues that create differences among people, and that is why they are named after their subjects. Social inequality presents issues that affect people at the family and community level and this means that it is concerned with how people interact with others (Stewart 41). This includes gender, sports, communication, jobs and roles of different members in the society.

Economic inequality involves unfair allocation of factors of production and resources that are important in increasing food production, creating employment opportunities and improving economies of nations. Political inequality refers to the unfair preferences that exist in the allocation and distribution of power within a region.

This includes appointments, initiation of development projects, diplomatic relations, and other aspects that regulate government activities. The impacts of these inequalities may be similar or different depending on their occurrence, victims and conditions that promote them.

Impacts of Inequality on Development

The segmentation of aggregate demand in an economic system is a significant impact of inequality in the economy of a society. People in the middle class struggle to fit in the superfluous consumption groups and this force them to strain their budgets at the expense of basic needs like proper food and shelter.

This group earns a low income, but cannot be satisfied with the way it lives. Therefore, it has to seek for various ways of ensuring that it does not fall into the low class category by struggling to emulate the behavior of the upper group. High consumerism usually takes place in regions that are close to poor and marginalized communities that have poor standards of living and cannot get proper food, medical attention or clean water (Muilanovic 33).

The desire for secondary goods by the middle and upper classes and that for basic needs for the lower category triggers an imbalance between consumption and demand. This leads to wastage and misuse of resources by the rich and this undermines social cohesion in the society. The irritating consumerism of the rich and the shortage of basic needs in low income societies lead to the multiplication of conflicts between the rich and poor.

In addition, it leads to increase in insecurity because the poor will struggle to get what they can afford through criminal activities like mugging, robbery and corruption (Sicherl 71). The existence of democratic governance becomes impossible because the marginalized groups will resist attempts to persuade them that the government has their interests at heart.

Irresponsible environmental destruction practices will increase because the poor and rich populations will be struggling to utilize resources, particularly, non renewable to satisfy their needs. The structure of the production system will be affected by unskilled laborers because of lack of money to pursue specialized training. It is very difficult for a society to develop if it cannot provide equal resources and opportunities for its people.

Secondly, the supply and production system of a society will suffer if it allows inequality to exist. The high consumerism of the middle and upper classes and the high poverty levels of low income earners generate a low demand that cannot consume the goods produced by production systems that aim to expand their operations. This causes an imbalance between the level of consumption of goods and services and what the society produces.

The market for goods and serviced produced through modern technology lack market and this exposes producers to stunted growth and some of them may be forced to close their companies (Kuznets 20). Development is blocked when investors spend a lot of money in production yet they cannot recover their capital because of low demand for their goods.

In addition, there are possibilities of the development of a segmented demand that pushes production systems to produce goods and services that satisfy the few individuals that can afford to pay for expensive products. This enshrines a defective social stratum that protects the interests of those that have money to buy expensive goods. The middle and lower classes are usually forced to struggle to meet the high standards set by the bourgeoisies or recede to poverty and desperation.

At the same time, the low middle-income earners limit the development of their production system because they constrain their producers to produce goods that meet their demands (Greig 44). Therefore, they cannot sell their products to the affluent communities because of their poor quality.

In addition, producers at this level do not benefit from economies of scale, specialization, improved technology and skilled employees because they have inadequate capital to expand their operations. Therefore, a significant part of an enormous production potential will be sterilized at the bottom of the social pyramid. Capital formation will be limited to the production units that serve the upper class that has a dynamic market.

Therefore, economic growth becomes stunted because of misdirected production capacity that will not produce adequate income to spur development. In addition, few businesses become capitalized and this restricts income distribution and the ability of a society to increase employment opportunities (Kloby 69). Therefore, social stability is affected because of inequalities and this compromises the security of citizens. These aspects become unstable and this threatens the survival of democratic governance.

Moreover, societies that have inequalities have low levels of savings and investments. Income and asset ownership inequality means that the upper class (usually very few individuals) recycles resources that should be invested in productive activities. They invest a significant part of their resources in speculative activities like hoarding and smuggling that are usually profitable compared to legal investments.

The proletariats will be forced to buy their products at whichever price the bourgeoisie will deem necessary because they do not have alternatives. Secondly, this practice concentrates resources in the affluent sectors and this spurs consumerism and wastes resources that should be used for development purposes (Stewart 63). Economies should recycle resources by allowing money to move from one individual to another and create utilities.

However, inequality concentrates money surpluses in a few hands and this reduces chances of recycling maximizing returns. People save their money and use it for speculative activities that slow development in societies. These practices enable assets, income and savings to concentrate and be controlled by a few individuals and this prevents people from participating in economic activities that spur development because of limited resources and investment opportunities.

In addition, they cause mismatches between production abilities of an economic structure and demand that arises from legal earnings and interests (Kloby 720. Therefore, the bourgeoisies will always have chances to manipulate financial institutions for their selfish interests and this creates favorable conditions for the occurrence of recurrent economic crises.

In addition, science and technology are indispensable aspects that spur development in societies. These issues represent powerful leverages of contemporary growth because they enable people to simplify production processes. Market opportunities and scope expand permanently when people use discoveries and innovations to improve their investments and enhance productivity. Science and technology focus on the expansion of knowledge and understanding various issues and this leads to efficiency in production processes.

This means that market for sophisticated technology and skills will expand and fetch good returns because people hope to improve their investments (Pritchet par. 4). Therefore, they will invest their resources and concentrate them on technological aspects to ensure that they are able to defeat their competitors. They ignore social and environmental needs that are important in determining the future of people living in low income areas.

The need to explore scientific innovations is usually driven by motivations to control the instruments of economic production and not maximization of returns and income. Therefore, the requirements of concentrated markets condition the scientific and technological results that are expected to benefit the society. Few individuals gain at the expense of environmental degradation, displacement of populations and a reduction of arable land in poverty stricken regions.

Social cohesion, security and proper governance are indispensable issues that enable societies to develop. Equality means that all members of the society get equal burdens, efforts and results of their actions. However, some groups, especially the upper and middle income earners, do not take their responsibilities and they dump onto the poor the costs they are supposed to bear. It is very disturbing that they are the ones who get and enjoy the largest portion of the results of economic activities in their societies.

Those in power use subtle mechanisms that cannot be understood by the poor that are usually illiterate, unskilled and inexperienced to perceive legal and economic interpretations. These uncouth mechanisms include regressive tax systems that ensure the cost of producing goods is met be consumers and differential access to learning and health care institutions (Kuznets 59).

In addition, some of them withhold information about public work contracts or investment opportunities because of their proximity to influential politicians, investors and businesses. Social inequality brings different standards of living within a society by giving some people greater opportunities while neglecting others.

This causes resentments and misgivings in societies that are supposed to be united; therefore, they hardly make any progress because of poor social cohesion that discourages dialogue and meaningful interactions. There is no way a hungry person can sit on the same table with an individual that has never understood the meaning of hunger.

Social cohesion is weakened when oppressed individuals struggle to balance their lives with those of the upper and middle classes. Conflicts between the rich and poor become a daily routine and this creates enmity in the society. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a society to develop if its members have unsettled differences and each group thinks that it deserves better treatment than the other.

Lastly, sustainable development is important in ensuring that societies achieve their objectives and everybody has access to quality and adequate goods and services. Inequality enables few individuals to control all factors of production and thus the poor have little say in development matters (Pritchet par. 7). However, sometimes governments and institutions intervene in these situations and offer loans or incentives to individuals to offset economic imbalances.

It is necessary to explain that these loans are serviced by tax payers and this means that there is no rational for exposing them to unnecessary budgets when they are unable to afford basic needs. In addition, the bourgeoisies are the ones that control financial institutions and the interests gained on loans are shared with them because they are usually the majority shareholders in banks.

People over borrow money from financial institutions and this means that they will have nothing to invest in income generating activities (Sicherl 86). The artificial maintenance of demand and supply balance is sustained by successive borrowing that exposes individuals to risks of bankruptcy. Societies cannot develop if they keep depending on loans to offset inequalities between the rich and poor.

Conclusion

Inequality hinders development because it limits investments and wastes the production potential of individuals and nations. In addition, it hinders small businesses from enjoying economies of scale and this means they will continue to produce cheap and poor goods. Moreover, it promotes irresponsible consumerism and creates conflicts between the rich and poor. Lastly, it destroys the environment and force people to rely on high interest loans to access quality education and medical services.

Works Cited

Duflo, Esther. Women Empowerment and Economic Development. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research Press, 2011. Print.

Greig, Alastair. Challenging Global Inequality: Development Theory and Practice in the 21st Century. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.

Kloby, Jerry. Inequality, Power, and Development: Issues in Political Sociology. New York: Humanity Books, 2003. Print.

Kuznets, Simon. Economic Growth and Income Inequality. New York: Wiley, 2012. Print.

Muilanovic, Branko. The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idionsyncratic History of Global Inequality. New York: Basic Books, 2012. Print.

Pritchet, Lant. “Divergence, Big Time”, Journal of Economics Perspectives. 31 Oct. 1997. Web.

Sicherl, Pavle. World Inequalities in Human Development Index. New York: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. Print.

Stewart, France. Horizontal Inequalities: A Neglected Dimension of Development: Center for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity. Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 2011. Print.

In America, constitutional reforms provided negative and positive benefits to the nation. These reforms, including the Missouri Compromise, had positive political, economic, and social impacts on the country. These impacts include enhancing economic equality, political balance, unity of the northern and southern states of America, and controlling the spread of slavery in the country.

The impact of Missouri Compromise promoted economic equality among American states. Missouri Compromise DBQ (1) shows that Previously, the Northern states had more commercial activities and power than the Southern ones. On the other hand, the southern states were more agriculturally powerful and resources than the northern states. As a result, the Missouri Compromise balanced agricultural and commercial activities between the northern and southern states of America.

In America, the Missouri Compromise supported political equality for the residents. The Missouri Compromise DBQ demonstrates that the constitutional amendment provided a balance of power and voting rights in the Senate of America. The reform balanced the number of free and enslaved person states in the Senate. Therefore, the change provided a conducive senate structure for creating and amending laws regarding slavery and social, political, and economic inequality affecting the U.S.

Another major impact of the Missouri Compromise includes enhancing and supporting the unity of American states. Missouri Compromise DBQ shows that unfavorable taxation and slavery were among the factors that disunited the states of America. Thus, the change united America since the Missouri Compromise balanced the number of free and slave states, as well as the political and economic powers of northern and southern states. Based on this, Missouri Compromise DBQ confirms that the Missouri Compromise controlled the volatility and threats from states to disaffiliate from United States Union.

Finally, the Missouri Compromise controlled the spread and prevalence of slavery in America. According to Missouri Compromise DBQ (2), the constitutional amendments, including the Missouri Compromise, emphasized the importance of treating all men equally regardless of ethnic, cultural, and demographic differences. The Missouri Compromise DBQ also confirms that the Missouri Compromise reduced slave trade and custody in specific territories of Missouri, such as Louisiana. This supported social and racial equality among North and Southern American residents.

Conclusively, the Missouri Compromise managed slavery prevalence in the U.S. The constitutional change promoted socio-economic and political balances between Northern and Southern U.S. states. Thus, the amendment paved the way for all people in America to access equal opportunities to improve socially, politically, economically, and health-wise.

Works Cited

Missouri Compromise DBQ. Document 1. Classroom Material.

Missouri Compromise DBQ. Document 2. Classroom Material.

As economic concepts, the notions of income and wealth are not to be conflated. While income is used to denote a sum of money received regularly within a specific period, wealth means net worth (Fuller et al., 2020). From a democratic perspective, social equality requires equal distribution of capital, which leads to the question of whether economic equality should be defined by the equality of income or that wealth. Since equality suggests equal chances to exert power within society, the level of wealth appears to be the primary factor, defining wealth to a significant extent, the income also plays a major role in building democracy.

When viewing democracy as the opportunity for all citizens to participate in shaping state policies and gaining political influence, one could connect wealth to democracy. Indeed, given the fact that wealth as a long-term asset defines the extent of one’s political influence within a community, equal distribution of wealth implies the promotion of democracy (Mijs, 2021). However, one could argue that building equal wealth is impossible without equal income. Namely, as long as income inequality remains an issue, poverty and, thus, drastic wealth inequality will remain a social concern (Le et al., 2019). Therefore, it could be argued that democracy requires equality of wealth, which, in turn, is based on the equality of income.

While wealth equality as the presence of equivalent opportunities to exert political power appears to be the essential factor in establishing democracy, income equality as the opportunity to build wealth is also a factor. Therefore, though wealth equality seems to be the crucial factor in creating an egalitarian community, both concepts play a notably large role in promoting the principles of democracy within a community. Consequently, both income equality as a short-term chance at acquiring power and wealth equality as a long-term option for retaining it must be regulated accordingly.

References

Fuller, G. W., Johnston, A., & Regan, A. (2020). Housing prices and wealth inequality in Western Europe. West European Politics, 43(2), 297-320. Web.

Le, Q. H., & Nguyen, H. N. (2019). The impact of income inequality on economic growth in Vietnam: An empirical analysis.Asian Economic and Financial Review, 9(5), 617-629. Web.

Mijs, J. J. (2021). The paradox of inequality: Income inequality and belief in meritocracy go hand in hand. Socio-Economic Review, 19(1), 7-35. Web.

Introduction: When Equality Is at Risk. Organizational Culture

Discussed so far and wide that the issue should have been worn out the next day it was brought up, inequality in workplace still remains one of the greatest problems in the present-day world. No matter how hard it is to admit it, the instances of people’s rights infringement occur on a daily basis in some companies, which is why inequality I business organizations is worth bringing up once again.

Despite all the attempts to reach equality on all levels, whether cultural, social, or biological, people still have to face the harsh light of reality; according to the results of the recent researches, inequality is still on the agenda of the modern entrepreneurships. However, with the help of efficient management, the solution to the problem can be found. While avoiding inequality completely hardly seems possible, bringing its rates down is still within the powers of the company managerial.

Taking a Retrospective: Where Inequality Stems from

Before going any further, it is necessary to locate the root of the problem. In the given case, the inequality issue has been obviously spawned by a number of prejudices against a certain type of employees. By and large, inequality in the workplace is mostly a result of setting the wrong atmosphere among the staff and enhancing wrong attitudes.

Though occasionally stemming from a specific conflict or initiated by a specific person who consciously discriminates against a certain type of people (Banerjee, 2008), workplace segregation is usually a result of the lack of care towards building the right atmosphere within the team. Taking a closer look at the enhancers of segregation moods in a team of employees, one can possibly find the way to put a stop to workplace discrimination.

Leadership issues: taking the wrong turn

The fist reason for any discrimination is a very weak and insufficient leadership (Cooke, 2003). Left without a leader, a team is likely to structure their relationships in their own way. Depending on the type of relationships between the members, the need in a “scapegoat” might appear.

Organizational culture: it is the HRM to blame

One of the greatest problems of the HRM personnel is the inability to embrace the needs and wants of every single member of the staff. As Jackal (1988) explains, “Many managerial decisions are routine ones based on well-established and generally agreed upon procedures” (Jackal, 1988, 77).

When rivalry rates hit the roof: envy as the root of all evil

Another thing that is most likely to hinder the development of a more friendly attitude towards the social outcasts in the team of office workers is the result of the process defined by psychologists as the “mirror stage”: “The mirror defines an essentially competitive, rivalrous relationship both to self and others; and in this sense the mirror stage identifications found an interest in the control and domination of others” (Roberts, 2001, 110).

Thence, it can be considered that the relationships based on rivalry, which are inherited at an early age, rule people’s lives in the future and set the behavioral models for adults in their workplaces. As Roberts explains, “At the same time, with the mistaken identification of self with the image of self, a new vulnerability is created at the level of self-identity; a narcissistic preoccupation with the potentially ‘existence confirming’ (or annihilating) look of the other” (Roberts, 2001, 110).

The Means to Fight Inequality: The Right Thing to Do

Breaking the rules that have been set in a team unofficially is extremely hard. Therefore, it is clear that the process of eliminating any traces of discrimination within a team of employees is going to take a lot of time and effort. Hence, a good leader and a strong, well thought-out strategy must be developed to encourage the change and defeat inequality within a team of colleagues.

As it has been mentioned, a lot of resistance is expected because of two reasons. First, people are not prone to rapid changes, and, second, the fact that someone is being discriminated against is the fact that the rest of the team has already built a specific hierarchy. Destroying the latter means that a new one has to be created, which is a very hard effort to make.

Changing the leadership strategy: ruling with an iron fist

Though often taken for granted, the leader’s persona plays an immensely great role in the development of relationships within a certain group of employees (Fineman & Gabriel, 1996). As a matter of fact, a leader often does toned any legends to back his/her authority with – the mere fact of being the head of a department/office/any other working team makes people feel subordinate towards the person in question.

Indeed, according to what Gabriel (1997) says, “To many people in the lower echelons of organizations, top leaders do not appear altogether human, not at least in the sense that colleagues or immediate superiors are” (Gabriel, 1997, p. 316). Therefore, shaping the leadership strategy and changing it from merely establishing moral standpoints to actually sharing a positive attitude (Watson, 2003).

Setting an example: the power of authority

Enhancing morality within the team, however, can result in a complete failure unless the persona of the leader leaves an impact on all those involved. There are some issues with the given decision, however, which are worth being discussed. To start with, it is quite hard to believe that most people will follow the rules set by a person who has just recently become the company leader.

Moreover, even with a person who has been an authority for a considerable time, it is hard to believe that the employees will willingly accept the moral values that are going to be imposed on them instead of the traditional ones. However, Zimbargo et al. assert that a true leader can change not only the way people act, but also the way they think, thus, shaping their attitudes and behavior:

Although many participants dissented, saying that they didn’t want to give electric shocks to the learner, some even crying at the prospect of what they thought they were doing to that poor victim, only a minority of the participants actually disobeyed and stopped pressing the shock keys (Zimbargo et al., 2000, 219).

It is out of question that a leader can not only make people behave in a certain way, but also convince them that what they are made to do is actually for their own good. Thus, even in the place where certain discriminatory issues exits, with the right course set by the right person, any segregation moods will soon disappear.

Self-development as the ultimate answer

There is no need to explain that, unless the leader of a certain group shows an example, no one is ever going to change their attitudes. Therefore, the aspect of self-development is crucial for a manager who wants his/her team to overcome certain discrimination issues in the workplace.

According to the existing evidence, the importance of self for a leader must not be underrated. As Jackson and Carter explain, people are “adaptive and genious” (Jackson & Carter, 2000, 144) for the most part, which means that they can change if the leader wants them to.

At this point, however, it is necessary to reconsider the significance of self for the manager and for the team. While it is essential for the leader of the team to prove his/her point with the help of his/her influence, thus, reclaiming his/her authority, the self of the employees somewhat fades into the background.

On the one hand, the given phenomenon is quite undesirable, since it diminishes the significance of the employees for the organization. On the other hand, however, the given situation allows the company manager to solve the existing conflict and stamp his/her authority most efficiently to put a stop to any sort of discrimination among the employees.

The Probable Pitfalls: Breaking the Undercover Rules

However, as one might have expected, fighting the existing discriminatory attitudes in a company is quite difficult even for a company manager. However, knowing is half the battle – once the basic problems that a manager can possibly face while fighting discrimination among the employees are outlined, it is possible to fight them efficiently. Learning the key issues, one will be able to handle any conflict within the shortest amount of time.

Against the mob rule: when employees do not want change

Naturally, there will be quite a few people who will accept the changes willingly. Therefore, one of the greatest obstacles on the way for a manager to overcome the discriminatory attitudes in the team and set the course for cooperation and non-confrontational attitudes among the employees will be people’s unwillingness to change.

It can be argued that with a proper motivation, though, people will change their manner of treating the less fortunate members of the team in an appropriate way. Still, going against the power of the mob, one will have to use a proper leadership tactics, which only a person with appropriate leadership skills can handle. As Jackson and Carter stress,

Yet there is, within the theory and the practicing of managing organizational behaviour, an extraordinarily strong emphasis on the requirement for employees not to have instrumental attitudes but, on one hand, to be loyal and committed to the organization for itself and, on the other hand, to find gratification in this loyalty and commitment – to be, for example, satisfied by intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, rewards. (Jackson & Carter, 2000, p. 149)

Hence, there are reasons to believe that it is natural for employees to strive for their own intrinsic rewards; however, as Jackson and Carter stress, with the right motivation, a leader can inflict an immediate defeat to the existing discrimination moods in the team.

Organizational culture vs. company revenues

It is hard to ignore the fact that a company is headed towards getting revenues, while the relationships between the people involved in the business serve as a power enhancer in the business venture (Linstead, Fullop & Lilley, 2009). Therefore, the relationships are not a priority, but the tool with the help of which a company can help the employees reach mutual understanding and, thus, make sure that the production process is not hindered by misunderstandings of any kind. As Roberts (2001) commented on the issue,

In competing for the recognition of the value of the self in these terms, the person is individualized such that all relationships – with self, colleagues, and subordinates –come to be seen solely as means or obstacles to securing “success” in the eyes of the market. (Roberts, 2001, 110)

Therefore, the choice between introducing strong moral values and enhancing the efficiency of the employees is often rather hard. Once the emphasis is on the company morals and values, the efficiency of the production process might be hindered.

Conclusion: When Efficient Leaderships Tips the Scales

Taking into the account the fact that the personnel needs efficient guidance, as it has been shown in the previous paragraph, one can come to the conclusion that a strong leader can save the day, solving the existing conflicts. In the given case, the leader is supposed to face an especial challenge, both establishing him-/herself as a powerful authority and as a person who is going to represent the voice of morality in the team.

Hence, it must be admitted that the job of resolving inequality issues within a specific organization is an extremely challenging task. The management will have to go into great lengths to convince the staff to follow the newly established morality principles and to treat the ones who were discriminated against with due dignity and respect. However, once the measures described above are taken, one will be able to reduce the instances of discrimination to zero.

Reference List

Banerjee, S B 2008, “Neocapitalism,” Organization Studies, no. 29, pp. 1541-1563.

Cooke, B 2003, “The denial of slavery in management studies,” Journal of Management Studies, vol. 40, no. 8, pp. 1895-1918.

Fineman, S & Gabriel, Y 1996, “The gods,” in S Fineman & Y Gabriel (ed), Experiencing organizations, SAGE, Stamford, CT, pp. 60-72.

Gabriel, Y 1997, “Meeting God: when organizational members come face to face with the supreme leader,” Human Relations, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 315-342.

Jackal, R 1988, “Looking up and looking around,” in Robert Jackal (ed), Moral mazes: the world of corporate managers, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 75-100.

Jackson, N & Carter, P 2000, “Self,” in N Jackson & P Carter (eds) Rethinking organizational behavior: a poststructuralist framework, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, pp. 143-167.

Linstead, S, Fullop, L, & Lilley, S 2009, Management and organization, 2^nd edn, Palgrave McMillan, New York, NY.

Roberts, J 2001, “Corporate governance and the ethics of Narcissus,” Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 109-127.

Watson, T J 2003, “Ethical Choice in managerial work: the scope for moral choices in an ethically irrational world,” Human Relations, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 167-185.

Zimbargo, P G et al. 2000, “Reflections on the Stanford Prison experiment: genesis, transformations, consequences,” in T Blass (Ed) Obedience to authority: current perspectives on the Milgram paradigm, Taylor & Francis, New York, NY, pp. 193-257.

Introduction

Ashworth and Bart introduced their article by asking a critical question that inspires the mind of a reader. In their opening remarks, the authors seek to answer the question of how, apart from the usual challenges of ethnic minority, enclaves can national, international and local artifacts be well managed to ensure equality of representation.

From the article, the authors assert with vast reference to living examples that the inability of authorities to formulate policy frameworks that foster balance between stakeholder groups ignites unprecedented chaos (Hutchings, 2007).

Clearly an article should offer readers with a formidable background upon which they base their discussion. From the article, the authors begun from a well grounded review of the challenges facing local, national and international heritages in terms of management and policy issues (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002).

This background information enabled the authors to formulate a basis that grounded their thesis. The concept of ownership of the world’s heritage continues to witness varying opinion.

The title of the article renders a reader to prepare for a critical examination of the subject being reviewed by the authors (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002). This title allows a reader to ask intriguing questions aimed achieving the purpose of the article.

Therefore, the author clearly demonstrates the purpose of the article through the title. Clearly, the authors aim at generating answers to the question of ownership of heritages and the fundamental principles that must be envisioned to quell the animosity among competing groups (Hutchings, 2007).

Analysis

The discussion of the fundamental issue draws from a wide scope of reference to demonstrate how conflicts arise and failures associated with it. The authors assert with clear reference to world’s happening about how local heritages affect national and global stakeholders.

For instance, the authors cite the destruction of the largest Buddhist statues perpetrated by cultural and religious vandalism (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002).

According to the article, the authors find critical evidence to suggest that while local conflicts may be crucial to the existence of significant monuments, destruction of such images causes a global attention.

Although the article does not explain or offer justifications for destructions observed over the past years, the authors provide a vivid explanation of the concerns raised, reactions, and the ultimate consequences of local, national and international players (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002).

The clarity created by the authors helps to neutralize the effects of readers’ implied meaning of the article’s mainstream thesis. The authors set out clear aim and concerns that the article intended to address to avoid vagueness.

The clear background can help readers to develop a preliminary clue about the climax of the authors’ claims (Bean, 2011). The article asserts the position of the authors by referring to issues that seek to answer questions surrounding cultural heritage ownership and management, which is the mainstay of tourism (Hutchings, 2007).

The article has been arranged logically, and sequentially to help the reader understand the authors’ narration and claims relating to cultural heritage conflicts, events, and reactionary moves that have defined the current situation.

The article begins by detailing the genesis of the development of some of the largest cultural monuments that define the current Afghanistan.

From the article, the authors are explorative in the sense that they attempt to document historical facts that may form part of the evidence for their conclusive claims.

The article begins by placing the current destructions in their historical context to help imagine how conflicts have resulted in current global destructions.

The article affords to document how cultural neglect or avoidance has lead to misconceptions that threaten future of global heritages. The authors use these historical destructions to explain why the current situation borrows from historical injustices.

For instance, the article uses the 1669 destructions of artefacts to explain the current of heritage. They assert that where significant cultural heritages were ignored or neglected, conflicts arose (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002).

Despite the fact the world’s heritages are enlisted by UNESCO and its agencies, some of the monuments have not been listed either deliberately of otherwise, which has caused perceived negligence on the side of affected groups.

Therefore, the emergence of cultural and religious groups that seek to dominate others results in cultural destruction with a view to maintain the status quo. The authors have succeeded to exhibit how failures in the management of cultural heritages can lead to serious conflicts of interest.

Attempts to safeguard religious monuments such as the removal of the Islamic images and even complete destructions have sought to demonstrate the need for organized management plans.

Although the author does not offer sufficient explanation to enumerate why governments, especially the Afghan government assume that the existence of such heritages promises idol worship (Ashworth and Van der Aa, 2002).

This suggestion, however, does not seem to warrant the destructions of cultural and religious artifacts by either groups or governments under the guise of threatening national values (Knox and Marston, 1998).

After explaining the facts that surround the historical destructions of the artefacts, the authors achieved to explore some of the reactions that followed these unwarranted events.

From the article, the authors use extensive literature to structure their article with a view of remaining authoritative and relevant.

For any authorial power to draw authority and expunge any potential criticism of lacking evidence, researchers must be able to utilize strong evidence to concretize their claims (Bean, 2011).

Therefore, the authors of this article have been able to eliminate suspicions of bias and subjectivity. The article utilized most recent literatures that seek to discuss some of the issues relating to cultural, religious, and government extremist acts that have seen many artefacts destroyed.

According to the article, cultural artefacts are and should be seen as the property of the cultural groups to whom these artefacts are essential. As such, failures to allocate sufficient safeguards by governments to avert historical acts of destructions have served to justify similar acts (Knox and Marston, 1998).

Given the ongoing trend, the authors use experience to suggest that lack of commitment from relevant bodies will continue to threaten the future of local, national, and international heritages (Tunbridge, 1984).

In the concluding parts of the article, the authors allow readers to make their own judgments about what and how a world heritage means, and how it can be achieved.

Following the factual representation of the resentment from governments and contrasting religious and cultural orientations toward artefacts, the authors suggest that while heritages are elements under the propriety of individual groups, they are ultimately envisioned for the good of the whole society (Tunbridge, 1984).

Perhaps this assertion serves to answer the preliminary question that underpins the objective of the article.

It can be argued that the authors have systematically used theoretical underpinnings and logical arrangement of the facts to help derive their research solutions. That is, to answer questions as to whom heritages are owned and what should be done to maintain them.

References

Ashworth, GJ, and Van der Aa, BJM 2002, Bamyan: Whose Heritage Was It and What Should We Do About It? Current Issues in Tourism 5(5), 447-557.

Bean, JC 2011, Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Hutchings, A 2007, With Conscious Purpose: A History of Town Planning in South Australia, 2nd edition, Planning Institute of Australia South Australian Division: Adelaide.

Knox, PL, and Marston, SA 1998, Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Ogundipe EH, and Hodgson, RE 2005, Lecture Notes on Paper Critique: Research Methodology and Statistic for Critical Paper Reading in Psychiatry, Victoria: Trafford Publishing

Tunbridge, JE, 1984, Whose heritage to conserve? Cross-cultural reflections on political dominance and urban heritage conservation, Canadian Geographer 28 (2), 171–80.

Executive Summary

Today, due to the technological advancements, companies prefer expanding their business across the globe. As a result, all global companies have employees from around the world. Hiring employees is not that tough a job as to retain them. Efficient people, irrespective of their ethnicity, caste, creed, colour, nationality, and gender, are always in demand.

Companies try to impress efficient employees of other companies by offering them higher wages and perks. Due to this incessant growth in competition in the global business scenario, it has become crucial for worldwide business houses to adopt certain policies so that their global employees don’t feel disregarded.

For this assignment we have chosen IBM as the company on which the report shall be based. IBM is an Information Technology company based in the United States of America. We have chosen this company because of its commendable strategy regarding its workforce diversity.

The company has bagged several awards and accolades for its workforce diversity policies. The company won the ‘Top Organization for Multicultural Business Opportunities’ in 2012 and the second position in ‘Top Global Diversity Companies List’ in 2009, among other coveted awards and accolades.

Introduction

Diversity management is one such field which, if followed, can be beneficial for organizations but on the contrary, if organizations don’t pay much attention it can lead to great financial and other losses. Other losses means loss of workforce, reputation etc. Why will a person work in an organization that is not concerned about the wellbeing of its employees? So if an organization wants to prosper, it should give due importance to the diversity management policies.

Importance of managing workforce diversity for today’s managers

Diversity, when defined, is a very simple term. It relates to the dissimilarities between human beings. But it’s a vast topic and of crucial importance to multinational organizations. If a company follows proper diversity management policy there are very bright chances of its’ achieving success. On the contrary, disregarding the diversity management may lead to heavy losses; financial and otherwise.

There are certain benefits that come automatically when diversity management policy is formulated and followed religiously. Such benefits are:

• Having diversity in an organization is very beneficial. In today’s business environment where companies are going global, diversity recruitment becomes all the more crucial. Managers have to tackle their diverse subordinates in a very delicate and professional manner. Companies have to do buying and selling throughout the world. It is human tendency to favour people of the same ethnicity and culture. In such a scenario, if organizations have employees from various ethnicities and cultures, it will be easy for them to do their business. Suppose if a British Company has business interests in India and has Indian sales personnel, it will be easy to convince the Indian buyers. Moreover, the Indian sales personnel will have the idea of the mentality of Indians and will have the tactics to convince them. This particular aspect will become all the more important in the ensuing years when companies, due to saturation at home markets, will expand their business to other countries.
• By creating a harmonious work atmosphere where diversity is irrelevant, managers can augment their company’s repute in the placement market. This will help the company in catching the attention of qualified and efficient workers. In the long run such diverse employees may prove to be beneficial for the company.
• If the managers are efficient and if they follow the company’s diversity management policy, they can generate such a work atmosphere where all the employees would feel themselves to be important and valued. Rewarding the better performers, irrespective of their diversity, will further infuse motivation among the employees and as a result, they will work more enthusiastically and will involve themselves more.
• Managing the diverse workforce properly makes the task of managers easier since it “leads to reduced turnover. A 2008 study by Gallup Management Group in the United States revealed that engaged employees had 51% lower turnover on average” (MOM).

Impact of workforce diversity management on human resources

As discussed earlier, diverse workforce is an asset to any organization. In absence of workers from around the world, organizations may find it tough to penetrate foreign markets. “Managers who acknowledge they face strong legal and social mandates for diversity may conclude that accommodating racial diversity provides a better fit with organizational circumstances than resisting it.

This implies that the best approach to diversity management is particular rather than universal” (Dass & Parker 1999, p.68). Dass and Parker are logical in their opinion because the nature and surroundings of people differ from place to place. So an organization can not have the same diversity management policies for all of its offices around the globe.

Such policies ought to be changed with regard to different countries. The important factor that should be considered while formulating diversity management policy related to human resources in a country is that the emotions of the local employees of that particular country should also be taken into consideration. We shall take an example to better understand this. Suppose there are two British Sales Managers.

One of them is sent to the American office and another one is sent to the Indian office of the company. It should be understood that the terms and conditions of both these employees will be different. In India, the British Sales Manager in India will get the same wages and perks as those of his Indian counterparts. This kind of policy will raise the morale of other employees and they will work more enthusiastically.

Impact of workforce diversity management on motivation of employees

If all the employees of an organization are treated without any bias, there ought to be better results or performance. It is human psychology to expect one’s right of equality. There are certain factors that can play a major role in the performance. Following are the major ones:

• In a diverse atmosphere, organizations can not afford to have holidays on all the festivals of the world. But it can have a policy that allows employees of different religions and ethnicities to take holidays on the days of their respective religious or other festivities. This will have an emotional impact on the employees and will motivate them.
• The salary and other perks, incentives etc., should be at par. The incentives should be based on performance and not on the ethnicity or cultural background.
• English is a global language. In countries where English is not the national language, organizations should arrange special tutorials for the natives. This will infuse confidence and motivation among the employees.
• Promotions and career development should also be based on the performance and not on the nationality of employees. This will inculcate a feeling of equality among the employees and they will perform better. “The employees of IBM represent a talented and diverse workforce…A key element in our workforce diversity programs is IBM’s long-standing commitment to equal opportunity” (IBM).
• Organizations should support fellow-feeling groups among its employees. Employees who have left their homes and have relocated to serve their organization need to be given some freedom so that they can relax and feel at home while conversing with their fellow countrymen. This again will have a positive impact on the employees.
• Organizations should have such a promotion policy that allows people from various cultures and ethnicities to attain the higher positions. To make it simpler, higher positions in an organization should consist of diverse workforce.

Even though there are certain benefits of the diverse workforce, there are some disadvantages and challenges as well. Managers have to understand this and be ready to successfully handle such challenges. If the management’s strategy towards diverse workforce is not efficient, it may result in the disheartening and demoralizing of its employees.

This may hamper the organization’s performance and may result in financial and other losses. On the contrary, if the diversity management policy is formulated keeping in consideration the factors discussed earlier in this paper, and the same is followed religiously by managers then there are bright chances of better employee performance, attendance, productivity and less legal complaints.

“An organization that lacks a strategic view on Workforce Management to drive Performance Management and does not align business activity with staff rostering will have major cost and customer satisfaction implications for any business, especially those in service industries” (Cubewise 2012). “Although employees of different backgrounds do have similar organizational motivations, employers should know that a diverse workforce does come with some challenges” (WorkforceDiversityNetwork 2008).

An analysis of the types/kinds of workforce diversity that exist in the organization

Esty, Griffin and Hirsch (1995 p. XI) claim that, “Today’s workforce is truly a mosaic of different races, ages, genders, ethnic groups, religions, and life styles”. Basically, the aspects of diversity can be divided into two segments; primary and secondary. Primary dimensions are such differences between individuals that are irreversible.

Such aspects have an everlasting impact on people until their last breath. Secondary dimensions are such aspects that are changeable. These aspects are inconsistent and change or can be changed according to the circumstances and surroundings. The following are some common aspects that should be attended to while formulating diversity management policy in any organization:

• Area (nationality)
• Sexual category (gender)
• Society
• Age
• Background
• Physical qualities
• Educational qualification
• Income
• Marital status
• Family status
• Religion
• Professional experience

It has been observed that there are two factors that influence most the recruiters of organizations. First is the gender and second is the physical quality or condition.

During earlier days, women were considered to be house wives and were supposed to take care of the homes while men went out to earn livelihood. But due to the advancement in technology and availability of various opportunities for women in education and profession, today’s women have stepped of their homes and help their husbands in the earnings.

But even today, there are people who have the same old ideology and don’t prefer women at work. Their justification is that women are more concerned about their homes and children. As such, they would not be able to engage themselves as much as men would do. But the circumstances have changed and there are numerous examples where women have done wonders in almost all spheres of life.

Another factor that influences the recruiters is the physical condition of candidates. They think that handicapped people will not be able to give their full contribution to the organization. But our reasoning is that even well qualified handicapped people can do wonders if they are assigned a job that is suitable for them. For example an efficient software engineer who is handicapped and can’t move around freely, can do his/her job extremely well by just sitting in the office.

Moreover, such people will have better results because they can’t move about freely and will sit in their offices for the maximum amount of time and do their work. Also, they will be more concerned about their future and will try not to commit mistakes that may hamper their career. “For qualified people with disabilities, IBM makes workplace accommodations that comply with applicable laws, and which IBM determines are reasonable and needed for effective job performance” (IBM).

All these are very delicate subjects and need to be handled with great precaution and understanding. Managers should be well trained to deal with people having all the aforementioned different factors. In our opinion, the two main things that bother an individual are his/her religion and career growth.

They believe that nothing should come in between their religious beliefs and career growth. The religious factor is a primary dimension and cannot be changed but the career growth is a secondary dimension and can be changed by dedication, sincerity, honesty, hard work, and performance. But if a person is working sincerely and is giving good results and someone else with lesser performance is being promoted due to his/her background then this may have negative impact on the overall performance of the organization. The need of the time is to recognize the good performers so that they get motivated and work even more sincerely in future.

Australian companies are a good example where the diversity workforce management principles are applied. “The Australian workforce is more than 50 percent female and highly multicultural with a large migrant population. The proportion of older workers is steadily increasing as fewer young workers enter the workforce. Almost 20 percent of working age Australians have a disability” (Kulik 2011).

At IBM, “Business activities such as hiring, training, compensation, promotions, transfers, terminations and IBM-sponsored social and recreational activities are conducted without discrimination based on race, colour, genetics, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age…” (IBM). One of the senior managers at IBM said that, “I am lucky in that I do have culturally diverse managers reporting to me. They are a living testament to equal opportunity” (as cited by Cornelius 2002, p. 313).

People from different countries have different perspectives regarding the ethics of work. Iryna Shakhray is of the opinion that “…Germans believe that telling the truth they will achieve a successful result, even if it is unpleasant for others. The English, however, prefer not to cause trouble. The Chinese advance a view that there is no absolute truth” (Shakhray 2009, p. 4).

An analysis of the management strategies in place in the organization for managing workforce diversity

As mentioned earlier in the paper, diversity workforce management policies differ from organization to organization. Organizations identify the diversity values to be adopted that would be important and beneficial for them. Accordingly, the values are included in the recruiting process and candidates are questioned based on such values.

The interviewers are also trained to ask questions pertaining to such values. According to a study conducted by the U. S. Department of Commerce and Vice President Al Gores, the factors responsible for a successful implementation of diversity management policies are, “Leadership and management commitment, employee involvement, strategic planning, sustained investment, diversity indicators, accountability, measurement, and evaluation, and linkage to organizational goals and objectives” (Walker and Benton).

While formulating policies for diversity management, organizations should consider the society as well because ultimately the success and failure of a business depends on the society in general. Multinational companies should consider the social and environmental environment of the countries where they are doing business.

“In order to avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits of a diverse workforce, employers need to adopt a broader vision of inclusion, a vision that includes not only the organization itself but also its surrounding community and its national and international environment” (Mor-Barak 2005, p. 291).

In the business world, where organizations have diverse workforce, there is a term called ‘Inclusive Workplace Model’. According to this model, the main points to be considered while formulating a diverse workforce strategy are whether the organization “…is accepting and utilizing the diversity of its own workforce, is active in the community, alleviates the needs of disadvantaged groups in its wider environment, and collaborates across cultural and national boundaries with a focus on global mutual interests” (WorkforceDiversityNetwork 2008).

The management should understand the fact that the organization runs or makes profits due to their employees. So it’s very crucial to keep them happy. By simply taking care of the sentiments, emotions and interests of their employees, organizations can reap huge profits. Moreover, it becomes the moral responsibility of the organizations to take care of their employees.

Organizations should formulate such diversity management policies that allow the employees to continue with their primary dimensions of diversity since they are irreversible. But as far as the secondary dimensions of diversity are concerned, the organizations should formulate such policies that allow the employees to improve on the various dimensions such as education level, moral values, culture etc. Such a policy will be helpful to the organization as well as the employees.

The organizations will be able to keep their employees happy and devoted and on the other hand, the employees will be able to improve their capabilities that will assist them in their future career. Like for example if an employee is not fluent in English language, he/.she might as well take learning classes within the organization and improve his/her English language.

Following is a flow chart of total quality diversity:

Source: www.edchange.org

Conclusion

In concluding, it is understood that diversity management policies are a must for any organization, especially for the multinational ones. The future holds much more for the diversity management. Organizations will have to formulate more flexible diversity management policies in order to recruit and retain their employees.

As the global business is developing, so are the organizations and new businesses are being set up incessantly. The competence of candidates is also increasing and so is their expectation. Its human nature to expect the best and as such, candidates will prefer those companies that offer better human resources.

Recommendations

In view of the present scenario of diversity management there are still certain improvements that ought to be made in order to improve performance of the organizations. Organizations should respect all the religions and should try to celebrate all possible main events in any religion.

Human beings are social animals and fear God. If they see that their organization respects their religion, they will be happy and impressed and will get more engaged in the organizational works. Apart from this, organizations should identify other factors that have an emotional impact on its employees. If organizations can win the hearts of its employees, it will never fail in its goals.

References

Cornelius, N. 2002, Building workplace equality, TJ International, Cornwall.

Cubewise 2012, IBM Cognos TM1 workforce management solutions. Web.

Dass, P. & Parker, B. 1999, ‘Strategies for managing human resources diversity: From resistance to learning’, The Academy of Management Executive, vol. 13 no. 2, pp. 68-80.

Esty, K. C., Griffin, R. & Hirsch, M. S. 1995, Workplace diversity, Adams Media, United States of America.

IBM, IBM Workforce Diversity Policy. Web.

IBM n.d., IBM policies. Web.

Kulik, C. 2011, Effectively managing a diverse workforce: Is good diversity management just good management? Web.

MOM, Why Should I Care About Managing Diversity? Web.

Mor-Barak, M. E. 2005, Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace, Sage Publications, California.

Shakhray, I. 2009, Managing diversity in the workplace, Grin Verlag, Germany.

Walker, O. & Benton, D. Best practices in achieving workforce diversity. Web.

Workforce Diversity Network 2008, The importance of diversity in 2008 and beyond. Web.