Essay About Affirmative Action Plans Of Employers And Best Work

Affirmative Action Research Paper
Thesis: Affirmative Action Plans of employers and universities do more harm than good by lowering the standards for minorities and promoting reverse discrimination toward members of the majority group. (Working Thesis, needs work)What are Affirmative Action plans?Management tool to ensure equal opportunity for minorities and womenEnsures equal employment, recruitment, and selection opportunities for all races and genders. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), is a US government agency tasked with ensuring the compliance of these policies. Historical Context of AAP Kennedy’s executive orderEqual Employment Opportunity CommissionFirst use of term “Affirmative Action”1935 National Labor Relations Act, to take affirmative action against discriminationRoosevelt executive order which outlawed hiring practices based in discriminationAAP have three main goals (Barbara Bergmann in We Want Jobs: A History of Affirmative Action)Overcome discriminationIncrease diversity within the workforce To reduce poverty among groups historically victimized by discriminationAmerican Society Should be a Meritocracy (Gary Becker, Univ. Chicago)Why should more accomplished applicants or people in general be pushed aside in order to make room for a less accomplished minorityIt shouldn’t matter what race/gender you are, whoever performs the best work should get the offer/promotion/ acceptance etc.Meritocracy encourages competition which leads to only the best emerging which is good for overall economy and nation.AAP actually create disadvantages for people who use them to get into collegeIf selective universities (Harvard/Princeton) lower their standards of admission in order to accommodate for AAP, then these newly admitted students will be towards the end pf the class and fall behind leading to poor morale and leaving them less likely to finish collegeLeads to Racism later on in lifePeople might assume that accomplished minorities/ females only got to where they were because of AAP not based on meritThat can’t be good for self-esteem of minorities/ femalesAffirmative Action Plans tend to lower the standardsMinorities are often seen as exceptions to the norm during the college application and job application process, what would be good for a white male is now somehow outstanding for a member of a minority group or female. Reiterate the fact that meritocracy is the best way of promoting completion and keeping the playing field fair. True Market Supply and DemandAAP can lead to Reverse DiscriminationGratz v. Bollinger Supreme court case regarding Affirmative Action policies of University of Michigan undergraduate admissionsGrutter v. Bollinger Supreme Court case where they upheld the affirmative action policies of UMichigan Law School AAP promote the acceptance/ promotion of minorities/femalesThis could and has led to the majority group being discriminated against through no fault of his/her own.