Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is defined by Webster New World College Dictionary as "a policy or program for correcting the effects of discrimination in the employment or education of members of certain groups." The phrase "affirmative action" was coined by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 when he issued Executive Order 10925, initiating the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246. This order required federal contractors to take "affirmative action" to increase the number of minorities that they employed. However, when Kennedy and Johnson established affirmative action, they didn't intend for it to have the perverted and distorted effect that it has today. Such perversion and distortions include the hiring of unqualified workers, the causing of problems for groups it originally set out to help, and reverse discrimination that results in unfair standards into higher education and the workforce. The practice of affirmative action must be stopped. The main argument for affirmative action is that it creates equal opportunity for people in the workforce and for students seeking admission into higher education. However, this isn't a logical point. While aff
The first reason affirmative action should be stopped is that employees often are hireed that are not qualified to perform their jobs effectively. Many times employers are forced to find the best minority, rather than the person most qualified for the job. For example, a policy was adopted by Duke University in 1993 that required each department at the university to hire at least one new African American for a faculty position. However, various surveys and estimates show that less than 4,000 blacks receive Ph.Ds in the United States. Therefore, Duke University's policy would force them to hire faculty that are not as qualified, due to a shortage of black Ph.Ds, as their white counterparts. The hiring of unskilled workers is also detrimental to businesses as well. The primary purpose of a business to make money for the employer, as well as employees. The hiring of unqualified employees is harmful to the businesses' production. When employees cannot perform their specific task, it often leads to error, which costs the company time and money. If the business is continually paying for worker errors, its profits will decrease, producing a decrease in employee pay. Many times companies are forced to hire unqualified individuals because of quotas. Often when a businesses' quota is not filled it is forced to conceive unnecessary jobs for minorities, which also decreases a company's profit. Incapable employees are a detriment to worker unity as well. If an employee is not as qualified as his or her co-worker, it may create tension and frustration between them, in turn creating another complication. The third, and perhaps major reason that affirmative action should be stopped is the issue of reverse discrimination. Affirmative action uses reverse discrimination to solve the problem of discrimination. Discrimination against whites, in particular males, is just as wrong as discrimination against minorities. As are many problems of affirmative action, reverse discrimination is present in both the workplace and in institutions of higher education. Reverse discrimination in
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Approximate Word count = 1411
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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