Flaws of Affirmative Action

Flaws of Affirmative Action Cielo Marte J.Rodriguez Affirmative action is, in retrospect, a blatant failure in an attempt to compensate for America’s history with the brutalities of racism and degradation of segregation. The effects of Affirmative action not only leads to further racism, but only creates an illusionary accreditation that is eventually and distastefully revealed after an individual fails to perform as exemplary as his peers. Affirmative Action, initially designed to boost certain individuals with socio-economic drawbacks, not only hinders those with better chances at a more elite institution, but also forces a group of underqualified individuals to a higher socio-economic standard. Though the difference in economic standards based on race, gender, and financial standing are prevalent, Affirmative Action is essentially outdated, only displays a flawed trial in the social construct, and can even be portrayed as a proponent for reverse-racism. Affirmative Action was first coined in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy declared â€Å"affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.† This declaration, with its intent to welcome a new era of racial equality, was then continued with Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 Executive Order 11246, which stated that no basis of race, gender, or national origin will determine position in employment. In 1995, the University of California adopted the Regents Resolution, basing that race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin does not determine admission to an institution. This is corroborated with California’s SP-1, SP-2, and Proposition 209 to emphasize blind preference. (A Brief History of Affirmative Action, 2002, www.oeod.uci.edu, 4 April 2014, http://www.oeod.uci.edu/aa.html>) Affirmative Action is declared, by some demographics, as the backbone of integration in the America society, as well as one of the current suppliers of rise in minority positions in the job market. As stated by Elkins professor F. Michael Higginbotham, â€Å"Its not time for income-based affirmative action; race-based preference is still vital in the United States given the countrys history of slavery and its continuing, pervasive racial discrimination.†¦erroneously characterizing affirmative action as an unfair preference allows the court to defer to the electoral process just as it deferred to property owners in the 1880s† (Higginbotham, T. Michael, â€Å"Race-Based Affirmative Action Is Still Needed†,27 April 2014, www.nytimes.com, 28 April 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate>) According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Affirmative Action has been one of the leading patrons in paving economic advantages to previously discriminated demographics. â€Å"According to 1998 U.S. Department of Labor statistics, blacks are almost twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. The unemployment rate is also higher for Latinos than for whites. Blacks and Latinos generally earn far less than whites. In 2000, the median weekly earning for blacks was $459; for Latinos, it was $395. In that period, average income for whites was $590. Workers of color are still concentrated in the less well-paying, unskilled sector. In 1993, black and Latino men were half as likely as whites to be employed as managers or professionals and much more likely to be employed as machine operators and laborers.† (â€Å"Affirmative Action†, 2000, www.aclu.org, 2 April 2014, https://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/affirmative-action) Though the basis of Affirmative Action was solely to produce non-discriminatory results in society, its evolution is challenged as â€Å"reverse racist† as a race/income disability becomes a preference in most aids and institutions. With the most recent challenge against Affirmative Action, Fisher V. University of Austin Texas exemplifies the unrest of non-minority demographics. In this case, a Caucasian applicant was denied admission and sued the University, claiming its preference to minority applicants (due to2003 Grutter v. Bollinger case). The petitioner argued that this preference violates the Equal Protection Act. The court upheld the University, allowing ethnic preference in its admission process. (â€Å"Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin†, October 2012, www.supremecourt.gov, 5 April 2014, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions>) Affirmative Action poses the ideal of a flawed educational system where educators and students are â€Å"mismatched† in an institutions pace and rigor. This system causes more damage to its â€Å"beneficiaries† than good. As stated in the New York Times, â€Å"affirmative action can harm those it’s supposed to help by placing them at schools in which they fall below the median level of ability and therefore have a tough time. As a consequence, the argument goes, these students suffer learningwise and, later, careerwise†¦ students — minority or otherwise — do not automatically benefit from attending a school that they enter with academic qualifications well below the median level of their classmates.† Mismatching students and institutions based applied on based on prestige rather than commonality â€Å"†¦often stigmatize minorities, reinforce pernicious stereotypes, and undermine the self-confidence of beneficiaries, rather than cre ating the diverse racial utopias so often advertised in college campus brochures.† A startling difference is the aftermath of UCLA’s ban racial preference in admission decisions. Since its adoption of Prop-209, a drop in minority enrollment was expected. This drop did occur (though short –lived), as was recorded after the Prop209 adoptions. Within years after this adoption, there was a 50% drop in black freshman enrollment and 25% drop in Hispanic enrollment. This drop occurred in such a proliferous manner that, in 2006, UCLA reverted in illegal racial preferences. However, â€Å"the total numbers of black and Hispanic students receiving bachelor’s degrees were the same for the five classes after Prop 209 as for the five classes before.† The prop-209 forced a non-preferential treatment in minority students. With this decision, the Black and Hispanic demographic that were rejected enrolled instead to a more â€Å"fitted† institution where thei r educational needs were better catered and, after all, became the reason for an inline of Hispanic/Black graduates. (Sander, Richard and Taylor Jr., Stuart; â€Å"The Painful Truth About Affirmative Action† 2 October 2012, www.theatlantic.com, 4 April 2014, http://www.theatlantic.com/>) This data shows the flaw of â€Å"mismatching† and the benefits of the absence of Affirmative Action in the college admission process. The flaw of Affirmative Action is not in it its failure to comply as an integrative factor for America’s uneven socio-economic status; it’s the failure to recognize its initial mission: blind preference. Affirmative Action introduces a newer, yet palpably mirrored, view of segregation. Though the intentions of Affirmative Action are beneficial, its specifics do not compensate for America’s segregated past. Perhaps a more effective version of Affirmative Action defers solely to an â€Å"income disability† standard instead of racial preferences. A recent TI ME article by David Von Drehle suggests focusing on a more rigorous elementary curriculum for lower class students that prepare for a college environment rather than preparing students for under qualification, only to permit admission during college where most will not be able to keep up. Drehle suggests that the America education system should â€Å"†¦look for bright elementary school students. The y should go into the homes of those children to explain to their parents that success in college can be a path to prosperity for the entire family. They should create advertising campaigns around their most successful minority students and alums, glamorizing the idea of academic achievement. Steps like these should be taken for all disadvantaged kids of promise, regardless of race. But because they are aimed at the bottom of the economic ladder, they will serve to advance young people of color.† This proposal, though seemingly extreme and undoable, seems rather remedial in comparison to its analogous counterpart: scouting athletes (which are initiated by finding potentials and conditioning their skills for a higher level of achievement). (Von Drehle, David ; â€Å"This Is What Real Affirmative Action Would Look Like†, 30 April 2014, time.com, 30 April 2014, http://time.com) Affirmative Action, with its motives for racial integration, has backfired into yet another racial debacle. This flawed plan can and should be modified to best fit a society with diverse disabilities. In order to compensate for America’s erroneous past, a social construct that sets race aside and focuses on balancing out the financial hierarchy is essential.

Leadership Qualities Essay

Bernard Bass considers the combination of transformational and transactional leadership as the ideal leadership. Transformational leadership adopts aspects of transactional leadership too, depending on situations, to make it more effective. Thus transformational leadership also uses ‘transaction’ as a vital and effective skill. The effectiveness of the transformational skills is thus improved, without replacing it. When transformational leaders see dead end while trying to gain an agreement from followers, through value emphasis; they take to transactional styles. A transformational leader facing a win-lose situation would convert it to a win-win situation using transactional methods. According to Bass, transactional styles broadly form the basis of most leaders, when it comes to encountering followers. Leaders use the best style of leadership according to the situation, they find themselves. Bass warns against the adoption of pseudo transformational leadership qualities. Here leaders project a particular image of themselves and on the contrary do something else. They support something publicly while opposing it in private. They resort to various ways for pursuing their personal agenda by either imposing if possible or delaying it, if not possible. They would initiate projects, which they are against and delay its execution such that it is not realized. Bass warns that the pseudo transformational leadership qualities are very destructive and should be avoided. I would like to adopt the transformational leadership, as it is associated with values, and is more likely to produce required results, in the long run. Transformational leadership promotes equality, justice and human rights through loyalty and fairness. The leader’s moral obligations are rooted on a broader base of individuals within the organization, cultural beliefs and the social norms. The followers and leaders involved in the transformational leadership raise the levels of mutual motivation among themselves. This is because the leader attributes due recognition and importance to the perspectives put forth by his subordinates. The subordinates become more aware of the surroundings and the effect of action on the surroundings. Under transformational leadership a new aspect of employment relationship is developed in which employers feel the need for a mutual understanding of each other’s expectations, with their employees. Employees exhibit greater confidence and enthusiasm under transformational leadership as their skills and job knowledge are more sought and heard. Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration are the main aspects of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders are more capable to handle even technical aspects of work than transactional leaders. Recent findings suggest that team performance and communication are improved under transformational leadership. Success of transformational leadership has been observed in various establishments, irrespective of culture and geography. The link between transformational leadership and leader effectiveness is weak among people with cultural values, compared to this link in people without cultural values. Transformational leaders have the strength to improve the performance of organizations beyond expectations and is seen to be the answer to today’s world of organizational instability and uncertainty. As transformational leaders shape social and institutional cultures, organizational transformation must be associated with moral responsibility. I feel that one should appropriately incorporate ideas of transformational and transactional leadership into their personal and professional lives. I should strive to achieve concurrence of opinion through logic, reasoning and judgment. However, when these seem to be failing to get the desired results, I would adopt transactional methods, throwing up harsh decisions and difficult options. The apt leadership type needs to be selected depending on the people to be encountered and also according to the confronting situations. With uncooperative people adopting transactional styles would most likely bring the desired results at the earliest. When situations arise for which I find it difficult to take a decision, either at office or at home, I encourage all relevant people to discuss, and contribute to decision making, in pure transformational style. REFERENCES Homrig M.A., (2001) Transformational Leadership [Electronically Retrieved]. Downloaded on 6th July, 2008 from http://leadership.au.af.mil/documents/homrig.htm

Academia y Sector real

In the technical sense, V is a terrorist. Is terrorism a legitimate way to overthrow an oppressive government? Is it the only way? Were the fatalities likely caused by Vs. explosions worth the ultimate result? Miramar Gadding, Hosts Embark, Augusto Pinochle, Francisco Franco, and Bonito Mussolini, where all dictators that over controlled and completely abused over the people of the countries in which they ruled, by oppressing slaughtering and torturing the ones that where against their beliefs.All of them actually ended the same, killed by the people from their country that where bored off being constantly mistreated, oppressed and who their human right where violated. I think the same happens in the book v for vendetta if v wouldn't have done what he did the only thing that would change would be the time of the revolution people while always rebel to evil oppression. The term terrorism refers to the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purpos es.In that case V is the most accurate terrorist the oral has ever seen, because his method consisted on making fear grow in the government and hope in the peoples heart. The terrorist is the one that opposes to the government because it doesn't believe that what this government is doing is right V wanted to change things to better and he knew very well this government he knew the would not accept any type of opposition whether it was social political cultural o what ever kind was presented. He was witness to all of the horrible things that where done to those who didn't make the cut of the ideal society that the government was trying to create.All the gays, the blacks, the ones with a different way of living, where killed Just for being different from the others. This people control what people see, what people hear, and how people feel. V knew that the only way to tear apart a government which was so cruel, so hostile was by the way of violence or as he call it vengeance. He knew that the government that kills people for being against them would not support a passive rebellion in which the rights of society where demanded. He had to end with this dictatorship from the roots.That's why he had to recur to terrorism or violence, it was the only ay he could really damage and make changes in this government. Words would have not hurt them plus the government wouldn't have let this words spread, they where in total control. It was the only way he could really impact and let people know there was another way to live and not Just by being oppressed and followed. Terrorism is a legit way to overthrow an oppressive government. The oppressive government will never tolerate opposition the will try to get rid of this opposition whether it is by killing, torturing or hopefully exiling it.Terrorism fights back with the name force that the government strikes. Just as the third law of Newton states, â€Å"Each action will have a same reaction† this meaning if the gove rnment kills and oppresses the people, the people will eventually rebel and kill the government oppressors. I believe there are simpler ways to rebel against a government. For example Indian's pacific independence from Great Britain. The difference is that there where not being oppressed and it was what helped this independence to be successful. Mean while oppressed country can only recur to terrorism too make their opinion be taken in mount.The fatalities caused by v where totally worth the outcome of his actions, the people could now build a new England free of oppression, violence, slaughter, and hostility. The can create a democracy where diversity is accepted and cherished. Sure it was not beautiful what V had to do to give this drastic change and great opportunity to the people of England, but it was obviously worth it. As some would say, â€Å"Kill one to save a million â€Å"and that was exactly what V did he devoted what was left of his life to free England from the oppre ssion.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay - 2240 Words

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein We are first introduced to the creature when Frankenstein, his creator, is describing him. First he is described as something beautiful limbs were in proportion and features were beautiful. However, his ability to self-contradict becomes apparent very quickly when he finishes his sentence by saying: à ¢? ¦These luxuriances only form a more horrid contrast with his watery eyesà ¢? ¦ With words like shrivelled complexion and straight black lips, this gives the impression to the reader that firstly the creature does not look a human being and, secondly, he is hideous in Frankensteins eyes. Also when the creature is bought to life the setting is a dreary†¦show more content†¦ à ¢? ¦The whole village was roused à ¢? ¦..Some fled, some attacked meà ¢? ¦.. This shows that people were deeply disturbed by the monstrous appearance of the creature, and also proves that the people have prejudged him because of his looks and not by what he is really like. This passage is important because it has one asking who really is the monster, the people or the creature. The people here would seem like the monsters because of their barbaric behaviour towards something that is different. When the creature peers into a pool and sees his reflection for the first time he is startled by his looks à ¢? ¦how was I terrifiedà ¢? ¦ à ¢? ¦.I was in reality the monster that I amà ¢? ¦ He is filled with sensations of despondence and mortification. This shows that even the creature sees himself as ugly. This is very significant because if we didnt have this then we would be reliant on other peoples view of the creature, and after all who are they to judge. But if the creature calls himself a monster, then maybe it is true. From the creatures narrative we learn a totally different side to him from the way that Frankenstein describes him. 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