In 2003 the New Haven Fire Department conducted a promotion test for lieutenants and captains. To the dismay of the test takers, the test was really hard and the results of the test seemed to segregate the racial community of the firefighters. When the results were viewed by the Civil Service Board and they realized only one Hispanic and zero African-Americans would gain the promotion spots, they decided not to validate the test results for fear of a law suit from the minorities. Counter to their thoughts the white promotable test takers, who did pass the test and were looked over, sued on the grounds of disparate treatment. The question is did the city of New Haven act reasonably in rejecting the test results because of the lack of minority representation? This paper will analyze the deontological and utilitarian perspectives of the actions taken by the City of New Haven and answer the question at hand.
The reason the city of New Haven was worried about accepting the test results was because of fear of prosecution by minorities based on the grounds of affirmative action (AA). Allen states, “Affirmative Action is a means by which government activity openly promotes the hiring and promotion of members of groups that have historically suffered job-related discrimination” (2003). For this reason the City of New Haven wanted to ensure the test and their grading standards were not flawed, in doing so they created another potential lawsuit for the majority (whites) based on disparate treatment. Either direction the City of New Haven took the results they were backed up against the wall. AA was created to force employers to give minorities a fighting chance in the workplace. Disparate treatment was created to ensure employers did no...
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...Executive 5, 45-56.
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“Anyone interested in higher education should want to contemplate, on behalf of colleges and universities, students and faculty, alumni and paying parents, the fate of affirmative action(Chace, M William 20). The Oxford Dictionary states Affirmative Action is “an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination.” In 1961, John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order calling for “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” This is now known today as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC). Affirmative action policies would later be forced upon businesses and have also been instituted at many universities where minorities are given preferred admissions over non-minorities. An Example of this would be at the University of Michigan where applicants who represented racial or ethnic minorities were given 20 points towards admission out of a 150 point system where only 100 points were needed to gain admission. Trying to put the 20 points in perspective, applicants with perfect SAT scores only received 12 points toward admission. This system was later struck down by the Supreme Court, but another similar policy was upheld at the University of Michigan Law School. With how diverse our society is currently compared to years ago, it seems to compliment that the policies have indeed worked. But now, the policies are questioned by many as whether or not they moral, constitutional, and/or...
The progress, justification and contesting of preferential affirmative action has ensued in two ways. The first is administrative and legal systems. Departments of government, courts and legislatures have formulated and implemented guidelines calling for affirmative action. The other is public discussion, where the policy of preferential management has generated many controversies. The two pathways make inadequate interaction, with the public arguments not based in any prevailing lawful practices.
For many years, people have presumed that Affirmative Action has played and continues to play a vital and important role in the lives of most minorities . However, some people have raised questions about the effectiveness of Affirmative Action. Since it's conception, it has been believed that in some instances, Affirmative Action has been more harmful then helpful. One may ask the question, is Affirmative Action really worth fighting for? Some may argue, that if it had not been for Affirmative Action, the minority unemployment rate would be much higher.
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The Lewis v. City of Chicago case was filled because the City of Chicago, Illinois, offered a firefighter candidate exam, in which over 26,000 persons applied (Grossman, 2010). The city issued a public announcement following the exam that only candidates which received a minimum score of 89 or above on the test would be considered as well qualified and selected from a lottery pool to continue on in the hiring process for positions with the Chicago Fire Department (Grossman, 2010). Candidates who scored below a 65 were notified that they had failed the exam and would no longer be considered for a positi...
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In many companies, employees feel diversity ix not an organizational priority. Diversity has to be apart of...
This document will explore what a company can do to foster diversity in the workplace. The business case highlights the development and implementation of organizational initiatives that could:
The foundation for developing an effective diversity management program relies on leadership commitment and the CEO should communicate the organization’s position on diversity management and his or her sincere belief in the importance of diversity (Cañas & Sondak, 2010). Indra Nooyi, the current Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, is a leader who demonstrates a strong passion for managing diversity. In this paper I will be discussing Indra Nooyi’s personal and professional background, the status of diversity within PepsiCo before her role as CEO, the leadership philosophy on managing diversity Indra Nooyi has taken, the strategies she has used to implement diversity management, and her diversity related goals. I will conclude with a discussion on the current status of PepsiCo in terms of diversity, their future diversity goals and how Nooyi’s diversity management efforts have affected the overall success of the company as a whole.
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Lockheed, Marlaine. (1998) International Perspectives on Affirmative Action in the 1990s Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, No. 9, 6-7.
The impact of diversity in the workplace is contingent upon several factors. Across companies diversified workforces are becoming increasingly common. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, organizations are ensuring that employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds; are gaining an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves; and behaviors that isolate or intimidate minorities are being improved (Noe et al., 2010, pg. 302).