People in a multicultural society have different perspectives on a variety of issues, and these perspectives can be associated with their racial background. The white and black Americans are two of the most distinct groups in the American society and have held different beliefs about their identity, government policy, economic and social opportunities and the general worldview. A survey research on the racial view on inequality in the United States shows that the blacks and whites have different perspectives about the approach to racial equality. The findings indicate that 88% of blacks believe that blacks should continue to be supported by government policy to achieve equal rights with whites, while 53% of whites share a similar view. The findings also showed that only 8% of blacks believed that they had equal rights with whites, while 38% of whites believed that enough had been done for the blacks to achieve equal rights. These racially based perspectives are likely to affect individuals from a given cultural group because it influences their approach to issues, such as their participation in the labor market and employment.
Blacks believe that they are discriminated in the labor market because of their racial background. A wide range of studies has shown that Blacks have a negative view towards formal employment because of racial discrimination. A survey conducted in 2001 found that about one-third of blacks believed that they had been denied an employment opportunity or a chance for promotion because of racial bias. The belief is common for all the blacks irrespective of their socioeconomic status. Research has established that the level of perception of racial discrimination in the workplace is equal for middle-class blacks and the working-class blacks. Perceived discrimination is associated with a wide range of performance and health effects. The individuals with high level of perceived discrimination are likely to put less effort in the labor market. The outcome is poor performance of the people affected by perceived racial discrimination in the society. The blacks in America have a strong belief that they are discriminated in the labor market, and this could be a major factor in the effort they put in searching for jobs or seeking for promotion in the workplaces. The belief that it is impossible to secure formal employment from a certain employer can be a strong determinant on the motivation and effort placed in searching for a job.
The whites do not believe that they are given preferential treatment in the labor market and associate their performance with merit. Whites believe that it is their qualifications and merits which give them an advantage over blacks in the formal labor market. The perception of the whites towards the merit system is important because it determines their level of motivation in the labor market. The white job seekers may be more active in searching for jobs because they are encouraged by the belief that they are going to be considered for employment. Similarly, the rate of productivity by white employees may be higher because they appreciate the system of promotion and compensation at the workplace. However, the merit system is associated with an increase in racial inequality in employment and promotion. Reports based on the performance of merit-based practices in American companies shows that the practices can contribute to increased racial bias and reduced level of racial equality in the workplace. Merit-based practices involve allocation of performance scores to employees for use in determining the deserving cases for employment and promotion.
The merit-based system is associated with bias because of lack of transparency in the allocation of performance scores. While the white people believe that the merit-based system is fair in guiding employment and promotion decisions at the workplace, the blacks, and other minority groups associate it with discrimination. The claims for bias in the merit-based system is supported by research in American organizations showing that women and minorities received lower pay increases when compared to whites in the same unit and under the same supervision. The research shows that for employees who initially started at the same level and salary, the compensation for whites increased more than that of people from minority groups. This difference is associated with racial bias in performance scores where people may be evaluated on different factors based on race. The stereotypes associated with the black people may contribute to increased scrutiny on performance scores leading to lower ratings.
The whites have a perception that employment is not the only way to make a decent living, while blacks associate lack of employment opportunities with their socioeconomic situation. There are views that people do not need preferential treatments in education and employment to achieve economic equality because there are other ways of making it in life. Research has shown that black and white adults in the United States have very different perspectives about the general public policy on welfare.
Thus, the blacks and whites in the United States have different perspectives about public life, and this is related to their socioeconomic status and cultural background. The blacks believe that they are racially discriminated and that the public policy should empower them because of their historical position in the society. The perceived discrimination affects the level of participation of the blacks in formal activities such as seeking employment or pursuing job promotion. The different perspectives between blacks and whites in America can be used to indicate their nature of relations and differences on their socioeconomic status.
