Business Perpetuates Rather Than Reduces Inequality in the Society Essay

Business Perpetuates Rather Than Reduces Inequality in the Society - Essay Example This to a great extent has not been the case; in fact in many cases business has perpetuated inequality in the society. These inequalities are mainly manifested when it comes to the personnel in the business organization. The inequality comes in three major regimes; gender, class and race. This paper discusses how business increases inequality in the society rather than reducing it. Discussion First I will define the inequalities that occur in business organizations. As stated earlier the main ones are class, race and gender. Class refers to the differences in control over and access to the resources of the business organization. Class differences are manifested during employment and the wages that are paid. The hierarchies that may be created in organizations may create a wide gap between the top management of the business organization and the workers at the bottom. In large corporations the Chief executive officers sit at the top and wield more power than other workers in the busin ess. Such class difference might not be experienced in small businesses but still the owner or boss has class power over employees. Gender inequality is seen in the difference in beliefs of identities of men and women. Despite efforts to try to close the gender gap in business organizations, most top positions in organization management are still held by men while the low white collar positions like clerks and secretaries are dominantly held by women. Supervisory duties have always been assigned to men in many business organizations. This brings about gender inequality because men and women are not treated equally (Smith 2002). Race inequality comes about because of differences in physical characteristics, oppression, culture and historical domination justified by the underlying beliefs. Businesses owned by certain races in some cases discriminate other races when it comes to employment. They might fail completely to employ the other races or they may employ them and give them junio r positions. There are other differences that might be the base for inequality in business organizations. These include sexuality, religion, physical disability and age. Some business organizations may discriminate against the homosexuals when it comes to employment. There are also cases where certain religions have been discriminated in business organizations. These differences might be vital but they do not carry more weight like gender, race and class in creating inequality. The main intention of business organizations is to make profits (Banerjee 2012). The requirements that are placed for work ensure that the organization does realize profits. These requirements may cause inequality between genders and classes. In a business organization work is designed in favour of men who are totally dedicated to earn a living and do not have other responsibilities for family demands or children. Eight hours of continuous working, giving the work maximum attention, arrival on time and being able to work for extra hours if need arises are some of the general requirements for employees in business organizations. Since it is mostly the workers at the lower level who perform duties that are vital for the realization of profit for the business, it is not easy to relax these requirements for them. On the other hand, the top management may bend these rules for their members. A manager for the business organization may work in the organization on part time basis, may not be required to arrive early, he may also be undertaking other business and is rarely required to work for extra hours. This is not true for a junior employee. Since it is the top management