Analyzing Affirmative Action's Impact on African American Unemployment

This report examines the impact of affirmative action policies on the unemployment rate of African Americans. The research begins with an introduction outlining the issues of concern, followed by a research question and hypothesis. The rationale and problem statement are then presented, offering a detailed explanation of the study's premise. The report delves into theoretical frameworks, including social contract theory, Keynesian theory, and classical theory of unemployment, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. It also explores major concepts, research methodology, and ethical considerations. A literature review analyzes affirmative action policies, unemployment rates, and their impacts. The report uses thematic analysis to analyze findings, including recommendations and a conclusion. The study aims to understand the effects of affirmative action on employment outcomes and provides insights into racial discrimination within the context of the workplace.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Research on “What is the impact of affirmative action as a policy on the unemployment rate
of African Americans?”
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Abstract
There is a clear demarcation between the domain of the codified law and domain of free
choice. This establishes a contradiction between the restrictions and freedom, which the
employees need to cater while making the required performance in the workplace. The
approach towards maintaining this demarcation holds primary value in terms of assessing the
modifications needed. However, unemployment rates in the blacks and white contradicts the
demarcation. It is the responsibility of the government, private bodies and the committee
members to formulate policies and reforms, which helps in maintaining equality in the social
hierarchy. Consent needs to be taken from the staffs regarding application of these
modification techniques. Not taking consent is accounted as an unethical approach towards
conducting the activities. Data Protection Act (1998) can be mentioned for enhancing the
privacy in the confidential codes and statements of Woolworths. Equality Act (2010) is
adopted in terms of disseminating equal behaviour to the staffs, irrespective of the socio-
cultural background to which they belong.

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Research Question..................................................................................................................2
Research Hypothesis..............................................................................................................2
Rationale................................................................................................................................3
Problem statement..................................................................................................................3
Theoretical framework...........................................................................................................4
Significance of the study........................................................................................................7
Major concepts and variables.................................................................................................8
Research methodology.............................................................................................................10
Research Philosophy............................................................................................................10
Research Onion....................................................................................................................10
Research Design...................................................................................................................10
Research approach...............................................................................................................11
Data collection.....................................................................................................................11
Data analysis........................................................................................................................12
Sample size...........................................................................................................................12
Sampling technique..............................................................................................................12
Reliability and validity.........................................................................................................13
Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................13
Timeline...............................................................................................................................14
Literature review......................................................................................................................16
Affirmative action................................................................................................................16
Policies.................................................................................................................................17
Unemployment rate..............................................................................................................17
Impact of the affirmative action on the unemployment rates..............................................18
Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................19
Gaps in literature..................................................................................................................19
Summary..............................................................................................................................20
Findings, summary and conclusion..........................................................................................21
Thematic Analysis................................................................................................................21
Recommendations................................................................................................................33

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Conclusion............................................................................................................................34
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................35
Appendix..................................................................................................................................38

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Introduction
Unemployment is considered to be one of the social malice, compelling the youths to
commit suicide, as it affects the mental health. The two countries considered can be
considered as projecting a contradiction in the provision of services. This also reflects the
instances of rich and poor, which puts the daily sustenance at stake. In this context, mention
can be made of the policies, which assure the youths that their needs would be catered and
valued. Federal Reserves are at the charge of deciding the policies for improving the
standards and quality of the employment (Bls.gov, 2020). Along with this, government is also
involved in the policy formulation for the youths, in terms of their professional development.
Affirmative actions are required for creating mass appeals for reducing the racial
discriminations and involving the communities into the mainstream activities. This approach
is effective, as it enhances the triple bottom line approach. Social contract theory, classical
theory of unemployment, Keynesian theory of unemployment forms an important part in the
study for enhancing the clarity about the impact, which unemployment creates on the
population of Africa and America. Thematic analysis is conducted for gaining an insight into
the impact, which affirmative actions create on unemployment rates of African Americans.
Research Question
 How does affirmative action as a policy affect the unemployment rate of the African-
Americans?
Research Hypothesis
H0: Affirmative action, as a policy, does not affect the unemployment rate of the African-
Americans
H1: Affirmative action, as a policy, affects the unemployment rate of African-Americans

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Rationale
Affirmative actions, by the government have impact on the public domain. This is on
the diversified aspects. One such issue is that of unemployment, which adversely affects the
youths. In this context, the perspective is from that of a policy, which revolves around the
benefits of the youths. In case of the Blacks, the unemployment rate drastically fell to 7.6%.
The reason behind this is the racial discrimination, which broadens the distance between the
rich and the poor. On the other hand, the Americans, the employment rate was stable and the
racial discriminations were at a low rate (Cnn.com, 2020). These situations destroyed the
balance between the societies. Affirmative actions prove beneficial in terms of ensuring the
social welfare. In most of the cases, the actions generate religious protests, affecting the
cultural sentiments. The need is that of the governmental intervention, which would be
effective for altering the standards and quality of the employment. Affirmative action laws
have been enforced long back. However, there are uncertainties regarding the success, which
these laws have bore in terms of the social welfare. This research would look into the aspects
of revising the legislation parameters for providing equal opportunities to the youths,
intending for better employment opportunities (Goodman, French & BattaglioJr, 2015).
Within this process, the main emphasis would be on mapping the impact of the affirmative
actions undertaken by the government for reducing the effects of unemployment in the
population of African American. One of the main aspects, which the research attempts to
cater is the longevity of the impact and its propagation. In this process, one of the main
themes would be that of the racial discrimination.
Problem statement
Unemployment is a challenge in terms of maintaining the stability in the economy. In
the current competitive market, there is a labour shortage and the issue of employment is an
addition to the complexities for the achievement of competitive advantage. Along with this,
the youths also lack the essential managerial skills, which is difficult for the companies to

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enhance the growth rate. All these issues have compelled the government to take some
affirmative measured for reducing the instances of racial discriminations, harassments, which
the Africans and Americans have faced in the workplaces. Materialization of the regulative
alters the perceptions of the minority workers regarding employment (Cascio, 2015).
Stagnancy in the perceptions of the minorities contradicts the difficulties in the process of
assessing the impacts of the affirmative actions on the workers. When the affirmative actions
were first enforced, the poverty rates remained unchanged. The percentile rate for this is
estimated to be 30% in case of the black families. According to the claims of President
Clinton, unemployment rate of the African Americans were twice as that of the whites. Racial
preferences aggravated the complexities in the unemployment (Bls.gov, 2020). This research
would attempt to propose the issues of revising the policies of the employment and ethical
code of conduct, which would add a legal touch to the operations.
Theoretical framework
Theoretical frameworks are effective in terms of gaining effective insight into the
issues and its impact on the society as whole. Theoretical considerations are applicable for all
of the issues, which occur within the society like unemployment, affirmative actions and
others. Theories are an agent in terms of gaining a deeper understanding about the impact of
the actions on the people. In this research, the important theories, which are discussed, are
social contract theory, Keysian theory of unemployment and classical theory of
unemployment.
As a matter of specification, affirmative actions are taken by the government for
ensuring the social welfare (Williams, 2013). In this perspective, 3C Model can be applied, as
it is the interactions between the government and the agencies for the upgrading the standards
of living of the people. In this process, the aim is to enhance the triple bottom line approach
for upgrading the scope and arena of the business through the means of corporate social

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responsibility. Bondarouk and Ruël, (2013) states that the aim in this context needs to be non-
profit, as it is related to the outcome of serving the public domain. Competitors in this context
can be the agencies, who might adopt illegal means for gaining the customer satisfaction.
This competition reflects the aim towards grabbing the power, which is a compromise with
the sentiments of the public domain. This approach broadens the gap between the whites and
blacks, re-affirming the caste system. Kim et al., (2014) states that this situation contradicts
the basic essence of the social contract theory, which is individual rights and the freedom.
Racial discriminations on the blacks is considered to be the act of snatching their freedom
and the basic fundamental rights by the whites and the aristocratic. Pondering on the
situation, it is the selfish nature of the whites and uncertainty and fear of the blacks. Munjuri
and Maina, (2013) opines that this aspect nullifies cooperation and ultimately stressing on the
governmental intervention.
Governmental interventions relate to the aspects of security and certainty in case of
the affected. In this context, Christiansen and Sezerel, (2013) is of the view that government
is entrusted with the responsibility to create a “state entity” with the enforcement of
regulations for maintaining the order and harmony of the country. One of the important
aspects of the theory is that of “absolute”, which relates to the absence in the case of the
separation of the power”. In case of the unemployment for the African Americans, Martin, ,
(2014) clearly demarcates the power of the blacks and the white. The power of the blacks is
subdued under the dominance of the whites. This situation stresses on the need for the
governmental intervention in terms of enforcement legislations like that of Equality Act
(2010), which the citizens are to follow. Here, Wilson, (2014) highlights the movement of
anarchy from the national and international level. The state of nature in the social contract
theory is very simple, filled with primitive innocence and ignorance. Coulter and Faulkner,
(2014) is of the view that the state nearly approaches perfection. In case of the state of

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society, the statutory bodies of law take care of the legislative requirements for catering to the
maintenance of the balance in the operations. One of the other themes of the theory is that of
the prevalence of equality in the operations available in the society for the public domain to
use. Unemployment contradicts this equality, broadening the gap between the black and
white. Affirmative actions towards reducing the unemployment rate can be considered to be a
mystic entity, where the aim is to achieve collective equality, fairness and stability. This is
purely hypothetical, affirming the positive hypothesis. Sparrow, Hird and Cooper, (2015)
states that policies are effective in terms of making the creation of the entity a realistic aspect.
If the attention is turned towards classic theories of unemployment, the main reasons,
which can be excavated are interventions of the government and the private agencies; arrears
in the calculations and inaccurate decisions of the entrepreneurs. One of the other aspects in
this context is that of the artificial resistance. According to the arguments of Noe et al.,
(2015), unemployment is something, which is temporary and can be controlled by policies.
Classical views on unemployment reflect its temporary nature. One of the aspects in this
theory is that of flexibility in the price and wages. Over production results in depression and
unemployment, reflecting the collapse in the prices, due to the increasing demands. In this
context, Bailey et al., (2018) is of the view that policies act as an agent in terms of combating
the malice of unemployment, affirming the positive hypothesis. Policies can include the
strategies of cutting down wages, which would be effective for increasing the demands of
labour. Stimulation of the activity needs to initiate from the government. On the contrary,
Pigou’s theory can be implemented in this context for understanding the mechanisms of
unemployment. According to this theory, unemployment is the result of the alterations, which
are made in the demand conditions. Frictional resistances are an obstacle in this context
towards wage adjustment. Classical theories of unemployment favours slight frictional
unemployment, reflecting the switching from one job to the others. In this context, Wrench,

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(2016) states that involuntary unemployment cannot continue for long times. Unemployment
is the situation where the wages would automatically fall until the situation becomes better.
In view of this policy, the positive hypothesis is affirmed.
Bailey et al., (2016) states that wages and employment are not directly related.
Classical economists are of the view that the economy is self adjusting, therefore
governmental interventions are irrelevant. In this perception, the negative hypothesis attains a
high value. Wages and prices are so flexible, according to the perceptions of these
economists. However, Noe et al., (2017) proposes a contradiction that this is not the case in
the practical nature of the economic mechanisms. Money is not considered as a means of
exchange medium, which makes classical theory unsuitable for forwarding the discussions.
Significance of the study
Affirmative actions are undertaken for the welfare of the public domain. In this
context, the government has an important role to play in terms of formulating and revising
policies. Tactful approach is needed in terms of averting the competitive mentality for
ensuring that equality prevails in the society. If the issue of the unemployment is taken, then
affirmative actions relates to the revision of the standards and protocols of the policies related
to the embracing of equality in the employment. Unemployment had taken a toll on the
population of the African Americans. As a matter of specification, it has given rise to the
issues of racial discriminations between the blacks and whites (Sparrow, Hird & Cooper,
2015). These issues reflect the need for a democracy, where the people are bound to abide by
the laws and regulations. However, there are many cases, which reflect the disobedience in
this aspect. Typical examples of this are the cases of the racial and sexual discriminations and
harassments in the workplaces. In spite of the enforcement of the legislations like Equality
Act (2010), this issue compels the researcher to take up this issue for further research.
Affirmative actions in terms of formulating effective policies would be a means for the

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researcher to enhance the awareness of the readers regarding the ways in which malice like
unemployment can be combated (Coulter & Faulkner, 2014). Suggestions are also proposed
in the form of expanding the parameters of recruitment and selection, so that all of the
eligible youths can get the opportunity to expose their talent and achieve professional
development. Inclusive practices through the means of involving the minority workers are
also suggested, which can be a vital source of information for the researchers intending to
conduct further research on the issue of unemployment.
Major concepts and variables
The major variables in this research are affirmative actions, policy and unemployment
rates. Unemployment is the dependent variable and affirmative actions and policies are
independent variables.
Unemployment is such an issue, which affects the professional development of the
youths, who have freshly graduated. This issue also gives rise to the instances of
discriminations, harassments and conflicts, broadening the gaps between the blacks and the
whites. Policies are the actions undertaken by the governmental agencies for reducing the
intensity of the issues like unemployment (Wilson, 2014). Affirmation in this context reveals
the consent, which is needed from the public for formulating the policies. In this, mass appeal
forms effective in terms of producing collaborative approach towards maintaining the
decorum and harmony in the society. The variables would be measured in this research
through the means of relevant themes, which would be fruitful in terms of mapping the
impact of the policies on the population of the African Americans (Martin, 2014).
Demographic details are necessary for shedding light on the impact of the policies. In terms
of the sustenance, scholarly reviews are needed, which are presented in the literature review
section.

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Research methodology
Research Philosophy
In a research, there are mainly three types of philosophies used: positivism, post-
positivism and interpretivism. Positivism philosophy relates to the development of the
scientific and objective knowledge related to the subject matter of the research (Dougherty,
Slevc and Grand 2019). Post positivism is the act of deducing the results from the anticipated
knowledge. Interpretivism relates to the interpretation of new facts and insights from the
already established facts. In this research, positivism philosophy is applied for developing
tautological knowledge regarding the impact of affirmative actions as policies on the
unemployment rates of the African Americans.
Research Onion
Fig: The research onion
(Source: Sahay 2016)
Research Design
A research is conducted through the implementation of particular designs. These
designs are mainly: exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. Exploratory design implies