BX3054: Human Resource Management Essay on Aboriginal Employment

This essay delves into the complexities of Aboriginal employment in Australia, examining the pervasive issue of workplace discrimination and its historical roots in the colonial era. It highlights the significant challenges of unemployment faced by Aboriginal employees, including limited access to education, training, and opportunities. The essay explores the crucial role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in combating discrimination through various regulations, training programs, and equal opportunity provisions. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Equal Opportunities Act 2010, alongside government strategies aimed at bridging the gap between the Aboriginal community and the broader population by promoting education and job opportunities. The essay underscores the ongoing efforts by both the government and HRM professionals to address these critical issues and foster a more inclusive and equitable workplace for Aboriginal Australians.

Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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[Type the company name]
Human Resource Management
Essay
Student
10/13/2019

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Introduction
This assignment is based on previous research, which was conducted over Aboriginal
employment. In this following assignment, 6 questions and answers have been addressed related
to the topic so that an in-depth study can be conducted.
Question 1: "Discrimination has become one of the biggest issues that can be observed at
the workplace.” Explain the statement in the context of Aboriginal employment.
Yes, today the prevalence of discrimination in the workplace has become a concerning
issue for the organizations as well as for the Australian authority. Discrimination is considered to
be a prohibited act, where one person is deprived of various opportunities in comparison to
another person (Biddle, Howlett, Hunter, & Paradies, 2013). The discrimination can be based on
gender, status, profession, and education. In Australia, the individuals of Aboriginal society are
considered to be as most targeted and discriminated against people in professional places. About
70% of Aboriginal staff in 2011 has complained and shared their experience of discrimination
during their professional career. One of the major caused of discrimination was indicated as
their, history, unique skin color and culture which hampered their employment opportunities and
career growth.
Question 2: How the colonial era has contributed in the above issue that is discrimination
among the Aboriginal employees
Aboriginal is considered as the oldest people that have been residing in some part of
Australia from more than centuries (Paradies,2016). The development of the community has
happened during the colonial era. The colonial policies that were a combination of racism and

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restriction. It suppressed their freedom. During the end of this period, various societal institutions
have mistreated the people of this community, which alienated the primary stakeholders in
multiple communities(Paradies,2016). All these things have created damaging effects over the
people, due to which there was a low production of laborers and the contribution of indigenous
people in the economy. Moreover, due to such colonial oppression has, Aboriginal struggled to
avail of good quality education and training, which might able to open various opportunities for
the people.
Question 3: "Unemployment has remained a contentious social-economic issue in
Australia. Explain this statement while focusing on the issues faced by Aboriginal
employees
In Australia, the case related to unemployment has higher. According to the recently
published reports, its prevalence is even higher in remote areas. The major reason for such an
issue among the native people is the lack of accommodation, due to which they are bonded to a
particular place. Due to unemployment, the people over there indulged in various disturbing
activities like Alcoholism and depression because of a lack of career opportunities and several
attempted suicide has created a negative impact on the well-being of employees. Moreover, due
to the inaccessibility of educational facilities and training, native people are not able to upgrade
their skills, which has created various challenges for them to survive in this competitive
environment. Such incompetence and under-representation of the native people increased various
obstacles to entry at the workplace (Jones, Arena, F., C. Alonso & Lindsey, 2017).
.

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Question 4: What is the Role of Human Resource Management in the elimination of
discrimination from the workplace?
In this new era of the workplace environment, human resource management, as well as
the employees of the company, are promoting and accepting the Aboriginal people in the
workplace. Managers are ensuring the interest of the Aboriginal employees by introducing
various regulations and are conducting training sessions especially for them so that they upgrade
their skills and knowledge so they can become confident and do not face any kind of
discrimination at any level. HR across the country aims to eliminate discrimination through the
assistance of various provisions so that employees can avail equal opportunities to growth which
will eventually create a positive impact over the working of the organization (Jones, Arena, F.,
C. Alonso & Lindsey, 2017).
Question 5: Define and explain some of the act that was introduced by the Australian
Government
To prevent discrimination across every organization as well as from the society, the
government has introduced various reforms like the Fair Work Act, 2009 and The Equal
Opportunities Act 2010. Fair Work Act, 2009 has been implemented in the system to eliminate
discrimination. This act has been developed to prevent employees to form any decisions based
on the color. However, any employee identified to be practicing discrimination will be heavily
penalized. Another reform is The Equal Opportunities Act 2010 which ensures that the
Aboriginal community must receive fair treatment( Ferdinand, Paradies & Kelaher,2015).
Question 6: What are the different strategies adopted by the Australian Government?

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After conducting extensive research over employment in Aboriginal communities, various
recommendations have been provided for the development of Indigenous Australians ( Syed &
Kramar,2010). Efforts have been taken by the government to bridging the gap between the
Aboriginal community and the rest of the population by promoting education and various job
opportunities. Moreover, the government is planning to provide financial assistance to the local
organization so that they can impart knowledge to the people (Trudgett, 2010).
From the above discussion, it can be observed that at every aboriginal community are
facing discrimination at the workplace, hence to prevent its government, as well as human
resource managers, are implementing various strategies.

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References
Biddle, N., Howlett, M., Hunter, B., & Paradies, Y. (2013). Labor market and other
discrimination facing Indigenous Australian. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 16(1), 91.
Ferdinand, A. S., Paradies, Y., & Kelaher, M. (2015). Mental health impacts of racial
discrimination in Australian culturally and linguistically diverse communities: a cross-sectional
survey. BMC public health, 15(1), 401.
Jones, K. P., Arena, D. F., Nittrouer, C. L., Alonso, N. M., & Lindsey, A. P. (2017).
Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle. Industrial and organizational
psychology, 10(1), 51-76.
Paradies, Y. (2016). Colonisation, racism and indigenous health. Journal of Population
Research, 33(1), 83-96.
Syed, J., & Kramar, R. (2010). What is the Australian model for managing cultural
diversity?. Personnel Review.
Trudgett, M. R. (2010). Supporting the Learning Needs of Indigenous Australians in
Higher Education: How can they be best achieved?.