Ch. 2: Equal Employment Opportunity

Concept and brief description:

Equal opportunity is something that has become very prevalent and important in society today. Several people help enforce equal opportunity, such as the government and the business. The business side of providing equal employment opportunity has to do with preventing any problems. No business wants to wait until the government finds violations with their company. A business should do anything and everything to provide equal opportunity in their work place.

Emotional hook (provocative question/ claim/real-life problem):

You recently started with a new company and there seem to be a few problems that you have noticed. Some employers are treated differently than others. Certain employees are given more time off, while other employees have to work overtime without proper compensation. You are the minority in your work place and have been told that you will be working more than the two men assigned to your team. You meet them and they are both white. Are you being discriminated against or is it just you?

Key points to elicit in discussion:

I really liked this section in chapter 3. It made me wonder how the world would be if we didn’t need laws enforcing equal opportunity. I know that may seem very naïve, but it really is sad how many laws we have to have in order to maintain equal opportunity. A business has to spend a lot of time focusing on what race to hire in order to comply with certain laws when it should be that the person with the best skills is hired. The world is an imperfect place but it is nice to at least think about a world of equal opportunity

Facilitative questions:

Why do you think there is so much emphasis on equal employment opportunity?
How can a work place avoid discrimination but still hire the best candidates for a position?