Essay On Situational Thresholds

Analyzing the significance of situational thresholds, whether or not an investigator for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) believes a charge of discrimination should be filed against an employer, Hindera and Young (1998) researched the correlation between investigators (African American and white) and the proportion of charges filed on behalf of African Americans. Consistent with previous research, they find that both African American and white passive representation is related to African American discrimination charges. They suggest this is possibly due to a number of different factors, including: when black investigators are the socially prominent group in the EEOC district offices, presence of a socially dominant group facilitates an advocacy orientated decision process, and that the EEOC’s recruitment policy affects agency responsiveness toward specific clientele. The findings further suggest that given the discretion of the investigators
This suggests that an active representative bureaucracy doesn’t ensure that the general public interest will be served. This does pose a threat, especially if each member of the bureaucracy only represents the sectional interests he/she reflects. Similarly, research suggests that increasing representative bureaucracies coincides with an increase in the lack of accountability. In addition, the extent to which one group is benefitted over another is a concern. Likewise, active representative bureaucracies could lead to an increase in discrimination against minorities by other bureaucrats and a possible reduction in the effectiveness of minority bureaucrats’ ability to reduce biases held by other non-minority bureaucrats. While all of these are important to consider, further research should be done to determine whether or not they outweigh the benefits of representative