Ethics refers to the well-framed standards that define right or wrong, and they prescribe what human beings are expected to do or act about a specific matter. Through ethics, workplaces have obligations to adhere to fairness to all employees in terms of any metric that involves the human workforce (Shafer-Landau 8). Racial disparities refer to the proportion of ethnic groups within the control of a system that defers the proportion of such groups in society by a significant margin (Kandola 117). At workplaces, people of color often face challenges in getting equal treatment with white employees. That has raised concerns over what is referred to as systemic or structural racism, which has resulted in disproportional unemployment rates, as seen in Figure 1. Racial disparities in workplaces have created pervasive whereby black employees are coerced to work in particular roles that may not have similar representation for the ethnic majority.
Although there may be no direct racist deviation, the disregard for equality and uniformity regarding black Americans shows rampant workplace discrimination. In the US, racial bias has cost businesses approximately $54 billion due to increased absenteeism, $58 billion in loss from productivity metrics, and $179 billion in turnover (Kandola 121). That means racial disparities associated with work places can be costly to the revenue generation not only psychological torture.
Applying Ethical Theories to Racial Disparities in Workplaces
Racism has affected the operationalization aspects of businesses, leading to a risk of losing revenue and damaging the reputation of any involved company through its leadership. There is prevalent racial discrimination in many workplaces, leading to inequality, lack of self-esteem, and conflicts within organizations (Jelsma et al. 174). Since the emergence of the Coronavirus, there has been a disproportionate impact on economic aspects related to the income levels of different workers. The reason is that most low-paying jobs are offered to these ethnic-minority groups who only sustain their families and may not develop in any way as far as economies of scale are concerned (Morukian 103). Structural racism is often done by supervisors, most white managers, as shown in Figure 2, or other leaders by giving a huge amount of work to ethnic minorities. When a worker is overworked, they may get fatigued, which is an indicator that productivity goes low.
In ethics, racial disparities can be explained using ethical theories that guide the right action toward a particular group. Virtue theory refers to the occasion where someone is judged based on their personality instead of defining a worker from their previous actions that deviate from their normal behavior (Shafer-Landau 66). In most cases, conflict in employment or at workplaces occurs when a mistake is made, which may cause liability (Herring 17). Most black employees are perceived as less capable, more so when they commit a mistake when working alongside white employees. In this race, structural racism occurs when the other groups judge them as unable to offer top-notch services in a workplace since they made an error. During summoning, these victims of racial disparities are threatened based on they might their jobs or facing disciplinary action (Morgan 4). That happens due to the lapse evident in virtue theory in ethics. Instead of employers or supervisors checking a person’s track record, they maximize on an immediate issue that puts black workers on the receiving end.
In many workplaces, black employees take a long time before they are promoted or given a special mandate on behalf of companies. That is why most white-collar jobs are offered to whites while ethnic-minority gets blue-collar jobs (Jelsma et al. 164). For example, Amazon, a global online giant, was accused of structural racism because of hiring the majority of corporate office personnel from white ethnicity (Hardy 23). The e-commerce firm is said to have a low level of black employees, which puts its diversity commitment into contention. The systemic patterns of discrimination have been permeating the firm due to a few steps that have failed to implement racial equality. Approximately 25% of Amazon workers are people of color where majority work in fulfillment tasks that do not pay as much as other sections (Hardy 28). Regarding privileges, black employees often conflict with human resources due to policies that force them to fit in unequal working divisions. All these issues are brought by modern racism that is indirectly undertaken by most of the population.
There is another theory that can be useful in explaining the rampant racial issues facing many workers today. The right ethical theory suggests that companies should consider workers’ safety by availing appropriate protection against any perpetration of psychological and physical harm. Racial disparities mean that a company disregards the call for the protection of workers from mental harm (January-Bardill 3). The segregation of employees to make them appear lesser than others damage the emotional construct of the victims, which may lead to distress, drug abuse, and violence. The welfare of workers is comprised in this element whereby their needs to be reimbursed highly are evident. There is a lapse in moral consciousness for companies that practice structural racism. Business is expected to follow virtue theory in ethics that probes the management to value workers through words and actions.
Racial disparities include wrongful dismissal at workplaces over a minute case that involves people of color. In most cases, a disciplinary meeting that consists of black employees tends to dismiss them disproportionately with no legal appeal. On the contrary, when white employees have significant issues requiring them to justify their actions, many do not face any punitive action (Keane 220). That has been bringing an adverse culture of failing to recognize the demands and requests of black people. Walmart was accused of firing a group of West African immigrant employees in 2010, where the supervisors wanted to give their jobs to the locals (Hardy 100). That sounded like extensive racially instigated action, which saw the company tackle a lawsuit filed by the victims. When these racial cases are taken from legal perspectives, most businesses suffer a blow as they are penalized for their decisions regarding black people. For instance, Walmart settled the case by agreeing to pay $17.5 million (Hardy 102). Thus, workplace dynamics have not fully accredited the need to end racial discrepancies, especially those which harm people of color.
One of the key concepts that were covered in class was utilitarianism theory. Technically, this theory justifies racism in some circumstances. The theory insinuates that the most ethical decision is the one that produces the greatest good for the majority (Herring 22). When considering the theory, a freethinker can imply that racial discrimination has been perceived as normal, and many people do not bother ending it. Therefore, where the majority are whites, decisions that favor them are the most considered due to the utilitarian’s view. For instance, during employment, a company may only hire whites despite applications from people of color (Shafer-Landau 24). The stakeholders may be comfortable with that since it satisfies them all, even when the minority has not been listened to. Although this ethical theory justifies various actions, such as launching a war against a certain group, it does not meet the moral requirements for racial equality. The consequences of these majority actions may be uncertain due to changing consumerism and economic factions that may cause businesses to go down (Morgan 16). In this case, dropping sales means a lack of job sustainability for everyone.
Utilitarianism invites troubles when accounting for values such as human rights and justice. For instance, any law passed in Congress that does not favor black Americans may not be revisited as long there is unanimous acceptability from lawmakers (Cheema and Jamal 55). That means a similar matter may be prevalent in workplaces where the hiring team does not check the merit of candidates. Rather, they concentrate more on appearance and proficiency with English as a first language, among other insignificant factors. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends equal subjection of employees in determining their fate in a given company (Cheema and Jamal 55). EEOC allows background checks for new and existing employees, but that provision has been misused by many firms who take stern actions against black workers accused in court. Some of the blanket policies companies do not meet ethical concerns, perhaps because there is basing of choices from a utilitarianism point of view.
It is important to mention the representation of black Americans in film and television. For instance, in movie, black people’s talent is often shut behind the scenes, where consideration is given to their white counterparts (Cheema and Jamal 55). Even in films where a black person is a protagonist, they are given roles that suggest structural racism. The reason is that most the ethnic-minority cover scenes that showcase vices in society. The racial wealth gap is already challenging the US economy, meaning that if people of color are not given the same opportunities as whites, there will be an accumulation of negative attitudes towards the matter in the country. When media addresses barriers that undermine equity in content creation, more than $10 billion in annual revenue is unlocked (Morukian 45). This shows that, ethically, every person is equal to others in terms of power to drive positive change in a given context.
Conclusion
Ethics refers to the guidelines that control what is wrong and right regarding acting for people under various social, economic, and political contexts. Racial disparities in workplaces have been a critical concern of late due to structural racism making many companies face absenteeism from affected people. The representation of black and white employees in the US workforce is disproportionate since people of color are given low-income jobs that can only sustain their families. Most black employees face stern actions when they make a mistake, unlike the ethnic majority, who do not get heavy disciplinary issues.
Virtue theory recommends perceiving someone from their character and not their immediate workplace lapses. In utilitarianism, the actions taken are for the majority’s common good, which has contributed to the escalation of cases where companies, through the executive, fire people disproportionately, adversely affecting black employees. Many wrongful dismissals have been witnessed, and most team leaders in workplaces comprise white employees who take a significant portion of the corporate duties in the US working environments. There is a need to address structural racism holistically so that all workers’ needs are prioritized regardless of ethical and racial affiliation.
Works Cited
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