Write a paper in which you relate an experience with prejudice in the workplace. If you do not have such experience directly, you may base your paper on someone you know who has experienced discrimination
Race, ethnicity, and cultural background are identifiers of individuals. In any society, how we see ourselves and how others treat us depend on many factors. Most people have confronted prejudice based on these identifiers, by either personally experiencing discrimination or knowing someone who has.
Beyond ensuring an organization\’s compliance with the country’s anti-discrimination laws, it is incumbent upon leaders to support diversity in the workplace and to be culturally competent.
Instructions:
Write a paper in which you relate an experience with prejudice in the workplace. If you do not have such experience directly, you may base your paper on someone you know who has experienced discrimination, or on an actual case that occurred somewhere in the world. Address the following in your paper:
- Summarize the situation you are writing about; provide background information, such as how it happened, to whom it happened (you do not need to identify people by name), when it happened and where. Your goal is to demonstrate to the instructor your ability to assess how racial, ethnic, and/or cultural prejudices are expressed in the workplace.
- Explain the implications of the situation to the organization in terms of its stakeholders, its reputation, and its legal responsibilities. What laws, if any, were broken?
- Identify any negative effects of the discrimination issue on the morale and functioning of coworkers and employees.
- Describe three action steps that you, as a leader, would have taken to avoid the situation in the first place, as well as three actions steps you would have taken to handle the situation after it happened. Describe how you would have addressed \”cultural competence\” in both instances.
Expert Answer and Explanation
Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Prejudice in the Workplace
Over the past two centuries, there has been tremendous progress in eradication of racism in the US. The idea of black slavery had spread in the 18th and 19th century, and unfortunately, African Americans are still viewed as an inferior race many generations later (Lorde, 2018). The issue of racism is not a major concern for most individuals affected, but it becomes a problem when it interferes with the normal line of work, limiting someone from performing some duties simply because of their racial identity.
One such case was in Mississauga, Ont, where a video footage was released showing a woman demanding a white doctor to care for her son (CTV News, 2017). While these cases are not uncommon, the reaction of the institutions associated is one of the determinants of the overall wellness of the affected employees.
This paper analyses the case of Tonya Battle, a 49-year-old nurse who was racially discriminated by the patient, and yet the hospital moved with the demands of the patients. Whereas discrimination could be taken as a general issue by some nurse leaders, it leads to reduction of workers morale, and failure to have its timely correction could bring about serious reputation issues for the organization affected.
Summary of Situation
Tonya Battle is an African American who served in Michigan Hospital as a veteran in the ICU, and had over 25 years of experience in another care institution, Hurley Medical center. Battle once encountered a patient who had strange demands for the care of their newborn (Detroit Free Press, 2020). Upon entry into the NICU where Battle was on the bedside of the infant, the man stood and Battle introduced himself by saying that he was the one taking care of his baby, and asked to see the patient’s identification band. The patient reacted by saying that he needed to see his supervisor (Detroit Free Press, 2020).
After engaging his supervisor, Battle learnt that the man was not comfortable having her baby cared for by an African American. He thought that the hospital would deny his request but unfortunately, Battle was replaced with another nurse to suit the patient demands. Also, Battle noticed that in the infant care chat was a note saying, ‘No African Americans to care for babies,’ which was against the racial standards of equality. It is then that Battle filed a lawsuit against the hospital.
Implication of Situation to Organizational Stakeholders
This situation leads to the demoralization of nurses, where African American nurses are seen as less valuable compared to their white counterparts. Also, upon learning about how the organization treats its employees, it is likely that the community members will be less inclined to visiting it to receive care, despite the fact that it may be the leading care provider in the region. As a result, the hospital may lose huge chunks of revenue (McCluney et al., 2018). Regarding the clients, the staff members are likely to treat them with less care since it is clear that their demands, regardless of how irrational they are, are always placed at the center by the management.
Negative Effects of the Discrimination on the Morale and Functioning of Co-workers and Employees
Among the major negative effects of the discrimination is reduced productivity, as the employees would realize that the organization clearly does not care about their welfare, but only seeks to protect the demands of the patient. Also, there is likely to erupt racial conflicts in the workplace, where some employees may demoralize others on the grounds that they are incapable of giving various services or their general inferiority.
Action Steps I would Have Taken as a Leader to Avoid the Situation in the First Place
As a leader, I would be sure to make it clear to all patients who visit the facility that the hospital is a racism-free zone. This way, there would be no weird demands that would be direct ways of racial profiling. Also, I would educate my staff members about the best ways of reacting to patients who are racists, and how they should exercise a high level of emotional intelligence when directly attacked by such patients.
Action Steps I Would Take as a Leader to Handle the Situation After It Happened
After the patients showed their unwillingness to allow the African American nurse to care for their child, I would be careful to explain to them some of the reasons as to why it would be impossible for me to grant them their request. This is the only way that would ensure that I do not promote the spread of racism in the workplace. I would allow the patient to go to another facility where only white nurses serve the patients (if at all one exists).
Conclusion
Racial profiling is a common issue in organizations, and the organizational leaders are tasked with the responsibility of facing it as a strong vice by discouraging customers from such practices, regardless of whether or not the customers may choose to leave the organizations. Besides demotivation of employees, racism in the workplace can be a major cause of reduced productivity. The case of Tonya Battle is a perfect example of how organizational leaders failed to approach a racism issue in the right way.
References
CTV News, (2017). Woman demands ‘white doctor’ for her son at Toronto-area medical clinic. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/woman-demands-white-doctor-for-her-son-at-toronto-area-medical-clinic-1.3467458?hootPostID=bae65588aa1a8a8dba827c59f7102dd8
Detroit Free Press, (2020). Nurse sues after hospital grants dad’s racial request. Robin Erb. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/18/black-nurse-lawsuit-father-request-granted/1928253/
Lorde, A. (2018). Microaggressions, Macroaggressions, and Modern Racism in the Workplace. Microaggressions and Modern Racism: Endurance and Evolution, 105.
McCluney, C. L., Schmitz, L. L., Hicken, M. T., & Sonnega, A. (2018). Structural racism in the workplace: Does perception matter for health inequalities?. Social Science & Medicine, 199, 106-114.
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