ASSIGNMENT 01 (707714)
SECTION A
1. South Africa implemented affirmative action as a so called balancing of scales and setting things right. This was done in complete disregard to efficiency and or productivity. In its bare form, affirmative action is in place to protect the majority of ill equipped, poorly trained work force against the minority of outcome based, successful, skilful and motivated portion of society. The idea of giving previously restricted people access to opportunities is a very good idea as to give everyone a fair change, to be able to know that if you are equipped to do the job there will be no discrimination factors applicable. Morally the idea of giving previously restricted people access to opportunities is totally defensible; the thought of giving all the same opportunities seems fair. Unfortunately the opposite seems to be happening also, that is that now some of the more specialized work is set out to the previous disadvantaged people and then there is a problem with the delivery of quality service or any service at all, for these circumstances the need to relook at the whole affirmative action and make sure that it is not in reverse gear that they are operating now just to make sure that the previously disadvantage people are given a change now. People get opportunities that are either out of their capacity or their field of expertise. This has the effect of poor service delivery and also non-compliance. Examples can be found in almost every sector of business in South Africa. It will take many generations to get South Africa in a position where we can be a contender in the global market.
The Term Paper on South Africa 6
Afrikaans and English are the official languages. Afrikaans, derived from Dutch, is the mother tongue of the Afrikaners and the principal language of the Coloreds. More Afrikaners are bilingual than English-speakers. Most urban blacks speak English and Afrikaans in addition to their native language. The Bantu languages are not mutually intelligible. Many blacks speak Fanakalo, a lingua franca that ...
2. Affirmative action in the United States began as a tool to address discrimination against African Americans in the 1960’s. President JF Kennedy’s exclusive order 10925 mandated: “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to race, creed, color or national origin.” The majority of Americans support affirmative action but they strongly disagree about minority preference. One of the reasons why I think the Americans succeed in their means is because they had a well prepared plan and they made studies of all the implications beforehand. Today Americans are much more at ease with the “affirmative action” rule; they know that this brings in place equal rights for all “black, men, women, every culture”. If you are qualified and you earn the job it will be equal rights and opportunities for everyone.
3. South Africa implemented affirmative action as a so called balancing of scales and setting things right. In its bare form affirmative action is in place to protect the majority of the workforce. Effective business demands highly trained people to ensure success. South Africa unfortunately has a record of neglecting certain groups of people and this has created a huge gap in skills. Certain people were not allowed to compete in open market and to use their skills because they were being disadvantaged because of the affirmative action. Again if a government need to legislate to certain people into positions and prevent others from competing in the same arena, we are exactly where we were before 1994. In principle we should not let this happen as it will then again disadvantage another group of people. There is such a fine line between discriminate and previously disadvantage group that it will always be a struggle for some of the people. In other words we people will never be content with circumstances someone will always feel left out.
The Term Paper on Affirmative Action 35
Affirmative Action Nowadays, a normal person in America feels like Alice in Wonderland, because of many social policies in this country are marked with such degree of irrationality that it makes the whole objective reality grossly illogical. The affirmative action policy is the best example of how people who strive to eliminate racism, base their vision of the future on establishing racial ...
4. The objective of affirmative action was to give previously restricted or the disadvantaged portion of society an equal and fair opportunity to compete for positions in business. South Africa has been experiencing close to twenty years of democracy. The playing fields have been leveled for some time. People getting into business, commerce and governance do not need legislation any more. Training facilities, schools and places of learning are open and accessible to all. To ensure that South Africa becomes current and a world force in business we need to move away from things like affirmative action and start to focus on merit and performance. This will ensure an economic future for South Africa. We have proven time and again that South Africans can make it anywhere in the world, in any field and in any discipline. We do not need legislation to make us more than what we are.
5. Unfortunately there are limitations or prerequisites for certain functions in the workplace. No law can force a blind person to visually inspect the progress of a paintjob in a factory. The same goes to the paraplegic that cannot do test runs on treadmills. Business where interpersonal skills, communication skills and the application of ideas are needed should also be seen in the light that the persons should be well equipped and fully in charge of what they have to do. Implementation of this act and legislation stays a challenge for many companies. Appointing a person with a disability or a person of color does not meet the objective of these regulations. To appoint a person on just these criteria could have an adverse effect on productivity and the economy. The implementation of these regulations just to save face, political correctness or necessity to comply will not only discredit employees but also the objective of this legislation.
SECTION B (ASSIGNMENT 1 ) (707714)
QUESTION 1
The cultivating and equal opportunity society have helped countries such as South Africa move a bit forward since the government policies have design to address the often interrelated problem of inequality, poverty and unemployment. South Africa has been facing a range of challenges over the past twenty years
The Essay on South Africa’s Peaceful Social Change
An integrated society or methodological system on resolving certain conflicts is perhaps one of the key factors in buoying up peace within the post-settlement environment. The ideological milieu to such a coherent series of statements leading from a premise to a conclusion is divulged by traversing over the key figures and conceptual entities such as the merging of distinct technologies, ...
Government’s initiatives on equal opportunity society have included the growth employment and reconstruction and development of programs to assist in cultivating the people. It becomes a very important policy if government aims to address the problem of inequality by redistributing gains from economic growth.
One of the policies that the government has implemented quite successfully is the provision of social grant. It has served a main income for the aged and disabled people in South Africa. Equal opportunities in South Africa is a big concern, it is tightly related to the economic growth, poverty and race issues. Since it has been implemented South Africa is showing a positive growth and poverty is showing a decline.
After equal opportunities society has been put in place it has given every person freedom, secure and equal rights to improve his or her life. South Africa became one nation with one future, living together under the constitution in peace. This was a very big step towards the healing process of our land
In the United States of America society has become more equal, following the civil rights revolution of the 1950’s and 1960’s racial issues.
To come back to the point of cultivating and equal opportunities it has definitely helped South Africa to become a country with opportunities for those who have the qualifications. If you are a woman or a disabled person, surely there is a future in our land South Africa.
