Diversity For Economic And Social Positions: Class Privileges, Risk-Taking, Discrimination And Other Privileges

Class Privileges and Big Decisions

Discuss about the Diversity for Economic and Social Positions.

A class, in general, may be explained as group of people who would fall under similar positions in a society in regards of economic and social positions (About Class, 2016). These positions that they possess may be of several factors such as the income that the people earn, their net work in property holding, social status in terms of job, education, the skills they have and their as a person in the society (About Class, 2016). Class privileges may or may not happen to everyone in any particular period of time. They have not bothered me at all during my difficult times. The coping with the stress and tension of my daily work have very little to do with the class privileges that the environment around me offers. When I go through a difficult time, there is not much that would be taken into consideration given the fact that I am a sensitive person and the society stereotypes me as a person who will not be able to handle his emotions and feelings. I feel exactly the opposite of the stereotypic perception as I am not a person who finds it hard to control one’s emotions that will affect not only them but also the people around them. This quality of not coming under the category of a “privilege-holder” often finds the right window of opportunity where the seeker gets the information about what his potential is in reality (New.Uark.edu, 2016). This may not be elastic as in the form of some perceived values pertaining to the higher perception of an individual’s performing capability to implement their ideas into action. I am a working class individual who pays his taxes and leads a life that is free from problems and unwanted stress (Connell, 1977).

People say that risk taking is the key to any success and it cannot be truer. I have faced some situations in my life where I had to make decisions on that time which I had evaded from since I had thought that all the risk was going to do bad to me. I still fear risk and probably will do in the future also as the human instinct prefers us to stay safe so that no parts in your body are harmed eventually (Kapur, 2014). This is purely genetic and cannot be easily overcome. Study shows that CEOs that belong to highest social class tend to take more risks in the business scenario. Since they grow with relatively higher resources and they are bound to have a safety net in the business since money is not a big deal, they tend to take potential risks often (News.uark.edu, 2016). I have had my shares of risks that I have taken and also some risks that I have not taken into hands. The risks I have taken so far are of smaller risk degree whereas the ones that I have chosen not to take are the hard ones which I why I did not take them in the first place. The biggest decision that I still wish I had taken is my dream to start up my own business in some field. I had graduated recently and was in a constant dilemma whether or not to study further. This gave me a lot of ideas to think about and I had so many ideas that I could and could not do. The business idea posed a sever threat to me as I was afraid of the risk that I might possibly fail even before taking any necessary actions regarding anything about the business. This is something that I think that has a direct effect of my middle-class status in the society (Malveaux, 2016). As much as I would like to start the business not bothering about the consequence, the society stands in the way and hinders me from taking any steps regarding it since I am afraid of failure. This does not have anything to do with the society alone but the fact that I tend to blame the society to hide my actual fear of failing in whatever I do.

Risk-Taking

Being a part of a middle-class family, I was a little affected in the quality of education I received in my schooling period. As a person whose family income is average and not higher than most of the families in the country, the schools that I went to are mostly public schools where the teachers generally do not care about the students learning and thereby the quality of the education provided is substantially high. People who hail from wealthy background have the privilege of studying in premier institutions that provide quality education (Liu, Pickett & Ivey, 2007). One cannot claim this as a reason for not having utilized the opportunity that was available for them yet the whole concept of who gets to lead in certain areas with the help of some money. According to Hershbein (2013), nearly 42 percent of the people who do not have a degree of graduation are found to be hailing from the families that have comparatively higher incomes. Wealth plays a very important role in determining what the individual wants to be (Okun, 2015). The individual can either study or reach heights but at the same time can also choose not to do anything that has to do with the academics and live off the family wealth.

The one case of discrimination that I usually feel in the society is that women in my community are suppressed or treated differently amongst many other people. This type of discrimination is not at all new since it is historic ever since civilization began (Pease, 2010). In a workplace, the roles that are in the top of the hierarchy get paid more since the degree of importance of the job is higher than the lower hierarchy jobs in the organization. I have worked in few companies where I have literally seen people treating women differently in regards to the job performance. When a man performs in a job better, the company appreciates him and encourages him to work harder. But when this is the same case with the women, the management asks the women to step back. They do not like the women in the organization being progressive and straight-forward. This is purely a form of gender discrimination (Midwest New Media, 2016). The pay that the job gives the workers depends on the gender of the individual. This may not be able to be proved these days since several companies have decided altogether that employees should not discuss their salaries with their colleagues. This is primarily done to avoid the conflicts between the workers inside the organization so that there would not be any hassles or clashes inside the company (Americanprogressaction.org, 2011). This has paved a good way for the companies to also hide the salaries that they pay for both men and women since none of them will be having no clue regarding what the peers are getting paid.

Class Privilege and Education

There is also this minority group discrimination that happens in the workplace. This, of course is a not very open and obvious but people tend to avoid the minority in the office. The people who hail from different cultures and different geographic locations would be isolated from the usual office groups. This happens in a subtle way that no one barely talks about this issue yet it happens.

Though I hail from a middle-class family, I was always the best performer ever since my school days and my college. This gives a person the special treatment inside and outside the educational institution. I have a habit of reading the newspaper daily which has given me the head start in striking a conversation with even strangers (Walford, 2011). This gives you the total upper hand when it comes to creating a perception of me on other people. The academics and keeping up with the current affairs have always made me feel confident in the society. With the globalization of the business markets and other technologies, the need for having knowledge in variety of subjects is higher (Ossowski, 2003). I have found this very useful in my life as well as my career. This provides the necessary status among the people I work with and interact on a daily basis. So, it is very essential to be strong brain-wise even when someone is a minority or a person who is discriminated based on his gender (Wright, 2016). This wipes away the need for the others to treat them with indifference and ultimately help them to determine the true potential of the individual.

The atmosphere that a person surrounds himself with is rather very important when it is with regard to his economical, social or gender class that gives them the privilege of getting certain things done without having to do much for the job or having to do a lot more than what a normal individual would do in order for the job to be completed. The class privilege that an individual gets from the society, his friends and family will always be in the bias of the person who is on the other side silently judging the characters of other people (Pewsocialtrends.org, 2015). This is a never ending process that is happening and will continue to happen regardless of what the consequences may be. This happens as it is a genetic factor which cannot be changed over time and is stored so deep inside the mind and soul of the people that they can never be wiped off to their entirety. The seriousness of this issue can be dealt only when an individual is capable of striking the chord between the right and wrong. The person must also possess the ability to deal with his stress effectively so as to avoid any conflicts that he might face within himself.

References

About Class.  (2016). Class Action. Retrieved 13 October 2016, from https://www.classism.org/about-class/

Connell, R. W. (1977). Ruling class, ruling culture. CUP Archive.

Devesh Kapur, M. (2014). Being middle class in India. The Hindu. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/being-middle-class-in-india/article6673580.ece

Liu, W. M., Pickett Jr, T., & Ivey, A. E. (2007). White middle-class privilege: Social class bias and implications for training and practice. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 35(4), 194.

Malveaux, C. (2016). Study Examines Relationship between CEOs, Social Class and Risk Taking. Ehstoday.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://ehstoday.com/safety-leadership/study-examines-relationship-between-ceos-social-class-and-risk-taking

Midwest New Media, L. (2016). Sex / Gender Discrimination – Workplace Fairness. Workplacefairness.org. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://www.workplacefairness.org/sexual-gender-discrimination

New.Uark.edu (2016). CEOs from Highest Social Class Take the Most Risks, New Study Finds. University of Arkansas News. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://news.uark.edu/articles/33633/ceos-from-highest-social-class-take-the-most-risks-new-study-finds

Okun, A. M. (2015). Equality and efficiency: The big tradeoff. Brookings Institution Press.

Ossowski, S. (2003). Class structure in the social consciousness (Vol. 102). Taylor & Francis.

Pease, B. (2010). Undoing privilege: Unearned advantage in a divided world.

Pewsocialtrends.org. (2015). The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

The Middle Class Is Key to a Better-Educated Nation – Center for American Progress Action Fund. (2011). Americanprogressaction.org. Retrieved 14 October 2016, from https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/reports/2011/11/08/10647/the-middle-class-is-key-to-a-better-educated-nation/

Walford, G. (2011). Privatization and privilege in education (Vol. 205). Routledge.

Wright, E. O. (2016). Class, crisis and the state. Verso Books.