ETHICS OF JOB

DISCRIMINATION
Business ethics

FEBRUARY 7, 2022
SUBMITTED TO: DR. SHAHRUKH HASHMI
Submitted by: Adil Bashir (013-18-0049)
Contents
Ethics of job discrimination.......................................................................................................................2
Introduction:..........................................................................................................................................2
Discrimination at practice:.....................................................................................................................2
Discrimination on the basis of caste, color, religion:.............................................................................2
Intentional vs. unintentional discrimination:........................................................................................3
Other types of discrimination:...............................................................................................................3
Discrimination: Utility, Rights, and Justice:...........................................................................................3
Affirmative action:.................................................................................................................................4
Affirmative action as a compensation:..................................................................................................5
Conclusion:.............................................................................................................................................5
 Ethics of job discrimination
Introduction:

Job discrimination is defined as the unfair and unequal distribution of assets and
rights in the workplace environment. It is unfavorable and leads to many problems in
society. Job discrimination allows a particular sect to rule and the other discriminated
one to suffer at the same time. It has multiple negative outcomes that are hazardous in
organizational terms and one of the most fascinating ones is it eradicates diversity and
a pleasant culture.

If we link ethics with discrimination then, it will let us allow to think over it and make
right decisions at the right time to tackle the problem. Since, ethics is an important
part for an organization to follow at every stage and department. The discussions
concerning equality, diversity, and prejudice have raged on for a long time. The
nature of racial minorities' struggle, women's inequity, and the harm that whites,
minorities, and males have endured as a result of women's and minorities' preference
continues to elicit debate. These ongoing discussions on racial and sexual diversity
have frequently focused on business and its requirements. It is unavoidable.
Discrimination based on race and gender has a long history in business, and diversity
now promises to have considerable financial benefits. Thus, we are going to discuss
various types of discrimination that exist in job related environment, ethics involved
in the process, and their overall impact on human life.

Discrimination at practice:

If we talk about various ethical practices that include ethical implications then there
are lots of factors that play their role. On the basis of stereotypes or personal bias,
people may be intentionally discriminated against. If a woman seeks for a job on a
manufacturing line, she may be turned down because women are seen to be incapable
of understanding the technology. Not only this, there are lots of other related myths
that come under way when a woman applies for a particular job. So, this kind of
discrimination is quite common around the world. There are lots of examples that are
available for such kind of discrimination in practice in organizations and in
businesses.

Discrimination on the basis of caste, color, religion:

Harassment in the workplace, particularly of women, is a kind of workplace

discrimination. It is quite common especially in Asian societies and to some extent to
western societies as well but the good thing is that it is decreasing as the world is
progressing. Caste systems allow a particular to rule over the discouraging one and it
will create an imbalance in the society. In a study, at a school level, it is found that the
ruling class tends to rule over the working class as it is described by Marxist in a
beautiful way. In a capitalist society, these two classes have always been a topic of
discussion. It is not about the inequality and discrimination among these two classes
but it is the persistence and promotion of such inequalities for long term which is a
concern for the whole society. Thus, the outcome of that particular experiment was
that the ruling class always tends to discriminate, so it is necessary to keep balance in
the society in every walk of life.

Intentional vs. unintentional discrimination:

To begin with, a discriminatory act could be part of the isolated (noninstitutionalized)

conduct of a single individual who discriminates purposefully and knowingly based
on personal prejudice. Such kind of discrimination is referred as intentional
discrimination as per its name, it is a deliberate one. Second, a discriminatory act may
be part of an institutionalised group's normal conduct, which discriminates
intentionally and consciously based on its members' personal prejudices. Since, it may
become a part of the routine as per its nature.

Other types of discrimination:

Age discrimination is very common in some of the societies especially in job market.
It is also a source of disturbance in society because one can feel bad when he/she
possesses good skills but is discriminated against on the basis of age. Sexual
orientation is also a type of discrimination which is being widely observed in
workplace environment. This issue mostly remains with females as they are sensitive
and can easily be triggered by their top management. It is not objectively defined and
defended by any act in its favor. So, it has fewer protections than the other kinds of
discrimination. Transsexual status is also a kind of discrimination which discriminate
on the basis of gender and it is also has a few protections.

There is another type of discrimination and it is regarding the disable or especially

able people. The good thing is most of the organizations tend to follow diversity in
their workplace nowadays which is directly connected with this type of organization
as different people from different background get the opportunity. It is also protected
by American disability act. Lastly, obesity is also consider as one of the domain of
discrimination and in a survey, it is observed that it is one of the major reason of
depression among masses and there is no protection exist for such kind of
discrimination.

Discrimination: Utility, Rights, and Justice:

Anti-discrimination arguments are divided into three categories: (i) utilitarian

arguments, which claim that discrimination results in an imbalance in the optimal use
of human resources as humans tend to compare their self with others during the
process which is hazardous for both organization and the employ; (ii) rights
arguments, which claim that discrimination violates basic human rights and this is
sometimes turn out to be an alarming situation because basic rights are the part and
parcel of a person’s life; and (iii) justice arguments, that says that discrimination leads
to an unequal distribution of society's benefits and burdens which is also a concern for
the members living in that society as it plays major role in disturbing the standard of
living.

On two fronts, utilitarian arguments have been disputed. First, if jobs should be
assigned based on job-related qualifications only when doing so will advance public
welfare, then if public welfare would be advanced to a greater extent by assigning
jobs based on some factor unrelated to job performance, then the utilitarian would
have to hold that jobs should not be assigned based on job-related qualifications, but
on that other factor. Second, it's possible that discrimination against some groups
would benefit society as a whole. Since, utilitarian tends to see cost and benefit
analysis for a particular situation and that is why its second front talked about the
optimistic angle of discrimination.

Human beings, according to Kantian Theory, should always be considered as ends

rather than means. At its most basic level, the principle states that everyone has a
moral right to be treated as a free and equal person, and that everyone has a moral
obligation to treat everyone as a free and equal person. Discriminatory activities are in
violation of the concept on two levels. For starters, prejudice is based on the
assumption that one group is inferior to others.

John Rawls argued among the principles of justice that the enlightened parties to the
"Social and economic inequalities are to be attached to offices and positions open to
all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity." Discrimination undermines this
ideal by denying minorities’ access to more desirable on inside an institution, denying
them an equal opportunity to others. It is unjust to give some people less of a chance
to compete for jobs than other people. Women and minorities have fewer work
prospects and are paid less. Again, the right to be recognized as a free and
independent individual.

In a case study of Indian School of Business, author discussed the extent and nature of
discrimination in the job market in an amazing way. There are some of the kinds of
job related discrimination that are discussed there. Firstly, it is the social group
discrimination which defines individuals on the basis of social classes which is rather
upper or lower if we look at the extremes. Social group discrimination allows an
individual to discriminate on the basis of income, standard and it results in
disturbance and problems. This type of discrimination is very common in the job
market.

Furthermore, there is an existence of experience based job discrimination which is

being followed in the society and especially in Asian culture. Most of the firms go
with advertising and looking for an experienced candidate rather than looking at the
skills, education and abilities that may become a vital part. Since, this kind of
discrimination also hurt a lot to the suffering party. In another type of discrimination
that is followed widely in work related environment is related to the taste of the
participant. It is when an organization wants to go for a person with specific skills or
interests. Lastly, there is also a consideration that some of the companies prefer to go
with candidates with a certain background and it is found in even many multinationals
who try to focus on a particular background of the candidate to perform the job.
Affirmative action:

To counteract the impacts of previous prejudice, several companies have implemented

affirmative action programs that give preference to women and minorities in order to
establish a more representative distribution of minorities and women inside the
company. Affirmative action programs are now mandated by law for all companies
with government contracts. What exactly is an affirmative action program? A careful
examination (a "utilization analysis") of all main job classes is the firm's heart of an
affirmative action program. The goal of the research is to see if there are less
minorities or women in a certain job classification than would be predicted based on
their availability in the area where the company hires.

Affirmative action programs begin with a thorough investigation, known as a

"utilization analysis," of the organization's primary employment classes. The purpose
of the study is to see if there are less minorities or women in a given job classification
than would be predicted. If the analysis reveals that women or minorities are
underutilized, the company must implement policies to address the problem.

Affirmative action as a compensation:

The concept of compensating justice is used to defend affirmative action as a sort of

recompense. It implies that people have a responsibility to repay those who have been
injured intentionally and unjustly. The purpose of affirmative action is to provide
balance and eradicate the effects of previously held discrimination and allocation of
optimal option. It is not the hard and fast rule that the previously held discrimination
to be corrected but it can be current one as well. It can be helpful and used in many
ways such as to bring diversity among the employees.

Opponents of affirmative action schemes have claimed that other factors must be
considered in addition to race and gender when making hiring decisions. First, if sex
and race are the only criterion utilized, unqualified employees will be hired, resulting
in a decrease in production. Second, many jobs have a big impact on other people's
lives. As a result, if a position has a substantial impact on others' safety,
characteristics other than race or sex should take precedence and should outweigh
affirmative action. Third, opponents believe that if affirmative action policies are
maintained, the country will become more racially and sexually conscious.

Conclusion:

Job discrimination has got several aspects in human life and the good thing is, people
are more aware in current world. Keeping this awareness aside, there is still a need of
taking a leadership role and play a part to eradicate various types of discrimination
that are still there in the world. There are various types of discrimination that are
discussed and they all play their role in disturbing the wheel of life. To cope up with
such kinds of discrimination, organizations use affirmative action policies in order to
cater such thing. Affirmative actions do help but one need not to remain independent
on any one criteria, since, there is a need of individual responsibility at every level of
the job which can be done through awareness and self-responsibility.

References
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Hanming Fang, A. M., 2011. Theories of Statistical Discrimination and Affirmative
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Soomi Lee, A.-M. C. O. M. B. C. L. J., 2020. Various Types of Perceived Job
Discrimination and Sleep Health Among Working Women: Findings From the Sister
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