Assignment

Equity in any organization can be related to public problems. Equity is equal distribution and due process for all involved. It could be in the form of pay, benefits, and the work that is distributed among employees. The term equity can be defined differently across cultures. What one culture defines as equity may not be the same definition for another culture. Equity is a value concept that functions as a standard for evaluation; on the other, it refers to an actual state of values distribution (including interests, opportunities and rights) that inevitably involves the contradiction between freedom and equality and between formal and substantive equity (Junfeng, 2012).

Equity has both a direct and indirect relationship to public problems. Directly, it can be in the form of individuals in an organization who go on strike. If teachers go on strike at the beginning of the school year, this delays the start of school, which in turn impacts the families and potentially the parents work they get done at their job, and puts the end of the school year at a later date. It impacts the education of a child to move up in grades if the strike lasts for a while; holding kids back.

When analyzing public policy, it would be important to think about the "what if's". Developing a contingency plan to address the "what if's" in policy would allow for an organized plan to address public problems. In the case of teachers going on strike, an agreement with other local school districts to educate the children during the strike could be made. This would have less of an impact on families and children.

Equity can also be indirect to public problems. Individual workers within an organization may not find the work or decisions made are equitable. This could lead to an employee calling in sick or low morale. It could lead to lack of support from the community, the contributions it receives, and the overall support the agency receives. Equity affects the image of the organization. If the image of the organization is that it is inequitably managed, this could lead to organizational failures.

Ensuring equity within an organization requires good analysis of policies. It is important to ensure the processes established in policy are equitable. Who determines if policies are equitable? Not just one person should determine this but rather a diverse group of individuals should be involved. An equitable policy is one for which effects (e.g., units of service or monetary benefits) or efforts (e.g., monetary costs) are fairly or justly distributed (Dunn, 2012).