Free «Equity and Its Relationship to Management» Essay Sample

Equity is commonly used with other concepts such as equality. Equity means that there is fairness and equality in the outcomes. The term was coined by Stacy Adams who argued that employees place a lot of value on equity (Clow, Hanson, & Bernier, 2015). Equity involves looking into the organization systems that have put some people in a disadvantaged position trying to address the issues. Most of the times, the term equity is used in the education sector where people try to seek equity in education. The term is also broadly used in the organization when people seek impartiality regarding the access to opportunities. When talking about equity, one should refer to the qualities of justice, impartiality, and even fairness. It is unfortunate that many organizations claim to observe equity but, in the real sense, they do not uphold it. Often, some people receive better treatment than others. Equity is a virtue that should be upheld in any organization. It should be applied in almost all the sectors of the organization. Equity ensures that people have access to opportunities, power resources, and other things that they need to achieve their full potential. Equity also aims at resolving the injustices that people had suffered from in the past.

The overall meaning of the term equity is changing a lot due to the various situations. However, the aspects of justice and fairness are still eminent irrespective of how the term is defined. Organizations need to change and work towards maintaining equity. In this paper, I will lay an explicit focus on how equity relates to management functions.

There is an interaction between equity and the various functions of an organization. First, equity is one of the aspects that are inseparable from leadership. As part of promoting a good leadership, it is very important to observe equity (Normore, 2008). A leader provides direction to the juniors at the same time ensuring that all the employees receive the same treatment. Equity serves as a guide in making good leaders (Gottfried & Reese, 2008). For example, it is through equity that a leader can be described as just or fair. The principle of equity thus forms an important element that helps in defining the type of leadership demonstrated by a person. Also, equity also enables a leader to involve others in the whole process. Leaders who observe equity have no favorites. They treat everybody as equal and ensure that all people have the same chances of development in the organization. Such leaders are in a better position to build and maintain trust among their followers. People are likely to have confidence in a leader who observes equity because they feel that they are not treated differently from other people (Gottfried & Reese, 2008).

People are likely to be motivated when they receive a fair treatment and form certain perceptions of what they believe is a fair treatment. Such perceptions will play a critical role in forming motivation. Equity in leadership helps motivate the employees; therefore, leaders should ensure that they observe it in their leadership styles (Gottfried & Reese, 2008). They should treat people with fairness and justice irrespective of their differences. Equity in leadership is one of the key aspects that can help leaders to maintain a strong leadership in an organization.

Equity is also applicable when organizing. It is a multidisciplinary process where leaders work together with their juniors to identify the various tasks that have to be performed so that the organization can achieve its set objectives. The process involves assigning people tasks that match their capabilities. Equity and organizing are also inseparable (Department of City and Regional Planning, 2013). Equity is important in the whole process of organizing. At first, the leaders must take into account the opinion of the various players in an organization. This means that irrespective of the race, gender or any other stratification, the opinions of the others must be factored in. Equity ensures that there is participation in the organization process. All people are given a chance to participate, and no one is left out (Organizing and Equity, n.d.).

On the other hand, the aspect of equity is also very important in defining the various roles needed in the whole process. Favoritism should not occur when assigning tasks. People should be assigned roles that they can easily handle (Normore & Fitch, 2011). Equity is, therefore, an important aspect of organizing. All the activities in the organizing process must be based on the principle of equity.

Planning is also another important function in an organization that must observe equity. The planning process involves identifying the future goals of an organization and coming up with the strategies that will help in achieving the organization’s objectives in the future. Planning involves setting up various activities useful in achieving the objectives. Observing equity in planning is very important since it ensures that the organization’s activities are planned in a way that all people will feel that the planning process was fair (Department of City and Regional Planning, 2013). According to the theory of equity planning, it is very important to include all the employees in the planning process (Brenman & Sanchez, 2012). It all starts with establishing an environment that allows people to participate effectively in the planning process (Gottfried & Reese, 2008). However, without equity, people cannot participate effectively. Equity and fairness in the participation are imperative. It ensures that there is quality decision-making. On the other hand, the organization benefits from a good planning process since the plans set will not fail (Frederickson, 2009).

Equity is also very useful in control functions of the organization. Control is the responsibility of the management that involves comparing the performance with the set standards. In case there is a serious deviation, a corrective action should be taken (Akrani, 2011). For example, when sales drop, a manager tries to look into the issue and takes action against the employees who did not reach their target.