Excerpt from Term Paper :

To do this, her duties could be diversified, and her position modified in order to give her a greater sense of responsibility. One way to do this could be to appoint assistants whom Sue could train to handle her more elementary duties. She could then learn to assist some of the higher-level positions within the company and work her way towards a leadership position.

In today's democratic and equal society, the law protects workers in diverse workplaces. Indeed, democracy and equality in the workplace and society are two of the most important paradigms in the United States today. As a company that reflects the society it serves, it is the aim of WWW.toprovide its workers with optimal satisfaction and opportunities to realize their work related dreams. In order to do this, it is the manager's job to become familiar with all the legislation relating to workers, their protection and their satisfaction. Only when workers are fully satisfied by their work situation can a company expect to make optimal profits. Happy employees deliver results.

There are many legal guidelines that protect workers such as those described above. They can be summarized as follows:

Workers are protected particularly by the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 1991, and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

According to John Simkin, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was a turning point in American history, and formed the basis for the democratic paradigm that the United States is known for today. At the time, the Act made history by providing every person within the United States with the right of citizenship, and as such with the right to own or sell property. This right, for the first time in the country's history, also extended to slaves, whose status were now changed towards that of citizen.

The problem at the time was however that this change was not accepted by all. It was very difficult for some to overcome their views of slaves as property rather than human beings, and therefore the Act was somewhat defeated by racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act then clarified the exact ways in which people in general and employees in particular are protected by the law. Particularly applicable to the above cases are a number of provisions within the Act that relate to the responsibilities of the employer.

An employee may for example not discriminate in any way against any person based on factors such as race, religion, or original nationality. In terms of nationality, Sue and Carlos are relevant, as they originate from countries outside of the United States. Anna and Tom are born within the United States, but come from vastly different backgrounds. The problem in these terms is that Tom feels that he is being singled out for discrimination. As manager, it is my responsibility to mitigate this situation.

Case law that relates to the discrimination issue relates to affirmative action. Affirmative action has been implemented to redress workplace inequalities based upon race. This later related to the educational field as well. A concomitant phenomenon that has received increasing attention is "reverse" racism, or discrimination against previously advantaged persons, such as white males. Particularly, the concept of reverse racism has first emerged in court cases relating to student quotas in tertiary education establishments. An example of this is Grutter v. Bollinger, in which Grutter, a white woman, sued the University of Michigan for illegal discrimination, because they had a system by which ethnic minority groups with lower admissions scores than her own were accepted for study (NPR). The Supreme Court decided that postgraduate admissions could consider race as a factor for admissions, but undergraduate admissions could not. The basis for this decision is the fact that affirmative action is seen as an important development for democracy. Others however feel that the phenomenon has heightened discrimination and inequality.

The Regents of the University of California, in which Bakke was denied entrance in favor of minority applicants with lower scores than himself. In this, the Court's decision was that Bakke should be admitted, as the quota system was a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

As the manager of the WWW.establishment, I find it of vital importance to take steps towards mitigating the problems faced by the above-mentioned employees. They are each thoroughly protected by the law, and I see it as my duty to familiarize myself with the relevant legislation.

Preventive Measures Towards Compliance

My first step will be to obtain a copy of all the relevant laws to rights in the workplace. When I have a copy, I will call a meeting with all my employees and approach an expert to speak to use during the meeting. The purpose of this is to ensure that everybody understands their rights in the workplace. I will then make a summarized copy of the relevant legislation and place it on the notice board where all employees can see it at their leisure. For the convenience of employees such as Carlos, I will also provide these summaries in Spanish.

My second step will be communication with my employees. As manager, I find it vitally important to ensure open communication between myself and my employees, as well as among employees themselves. I will encourage my employees to visit my office and discuss with me any problems they are experiencing with their position, their payment, or discrimination from other employees.

My third step is to discuss my findings with relevant employees. If cases of sexual harassment or racial discrimination are for example identified, I would call a meeting with all the employees involved and discuss with them the factors relating to the problem. I will encourage all employees to have respect for themselves and each other by also identifying and communicating the criteria for identifying discrimination.

The problem with discrimination, as can be seen in various case studies, is that it is often an arbitrary phenomenon. Some would view a comment about a dress as an innocent remark or a compliment, while others would see it as harassment. It is therefore important to standardize the circumstances under which a person can legitimately make a claim of harassment or discrimination. At the basis of these actions is open and honest communication.

Finally, I want to ensure that all my employees are happy and fulfilled in their work. If they are not, they will also be encouraged to visit my office with ideas on what changes would help them find a better angle to work form. Sue Chen for example will benefit from promotion opportunities, while Tom Hoskins and Anna Regal may benefit from becoming a team rather than rivals. This will mitigate the sense of discrimination that Tom is currently experiencing, and will also provide Anna with the opportunity to use her considerable talents in a way that will be more acceptable to Tom. Indeed, when Tom works more closely with Anna, it will become clear that she is a hard worker who deserves every promotional opportunity that comes her way. I will however also modify the promotion system to include Tom, whose exemplary work will then be rewarded in this way. I do not believe that affirmative action needs to mean discrimination in any form. It simply means that everybody in my workplace is treated in an equal manner, according to their merit and not according to their appearance.

Diversity Plan

1. Create a public employment philosophy for WWW. Such a philosophy should address the fact that employees are appointed according to their merit. Affirmative action in the company does not mean appointing or indeed promoting people according to the color of their skin; instead it means that each person receives the opportunity to prove their merit for promotions and rewards.

2. Create promotion and reward opportunities for all levels of WWW. Establish a Monitoring Committee to implement this. The Committee will be responsible or identifying persons throughout WWW.whomerit rewards or promotions. These are persons who have distinguished themselves in the workplace during the given year. Rewards could take the form of bonuses or symbolic tokens of merit, such as trophies or medals.

3. The Monitoring Committee will also be in charge of identifying cases of harassment or discrimination, or situations where employees could be at risk of these problems. When any such cases or risks are identified, a meeting is held with all the relevant persons. The Monitoring Committee is present at all meetings in order to mediate between parties and maintain the standardization process of identifying discrimination.

4. The Monitoring Committee is to act as the mediator between employees and top management. All problems relating to any form of discrimination or harassment are referred to them.

5. Throughout the year, the Monitoring Committee is responsible for submitting reports and complaints to the manager. The Committee will then hold yearly meetings with the manager in order to determine any needs…