1.1 Explain the concept of affirmative action and provide reasons why affirmative action programs often fail. The concept of affirmative action often refers only to the workplace; however, it is actually much broader than just the workplace. Other examples are, for example, land distribution, reform of the education system, awarding public contracts and even subsidies to previously disadvantaged organizations and people. Affirmative action refers to the specific steps we or an organization take to promote equal opportunity and to ensure that discrimination does not occur. These measures are generally designed with three objectives in mind, the first is to eliminate discrimination against minority groups and women, the second is to remedy the effects of past discrimination and finally to prevent future discrimination. It is therefore a temporary intervention designed to achieve equal employment opportunities without having to lower the organisation's standards. Why then does it sometimes fail? Several problems can be attributed to the fact that positive programs often fail. • Employment equity programs are slow and inconsistent at the executive level across different departments and organizations. • There is little commitment from top management regarding employment equity, which sometimes only translates into words from said management about the need for it, but nothing actually happens. • Ineffective consultation and communication regarding employment equity progress and implementation. • Lack of cultural sensitivity – new employees are often expected to adapt to their new environment without adequate orientation to the current organizational culture • A lack of cultural awareness programs and a… medium of paper. .....the process essentially involves functions such as planning, organizing, leading or directing and controlling the resources of an organization. Strategic management is the application of this management process at the highest level of the organization. At this level the focus is on the core resources, capabilities and competencies of the company as a whole and on ways to achieve long-term success in the context of evolving and ever-competitive environments. According to Johnson et al., strategies do not arise by themselves. Strategies involve people, especially the managers who decide and implement them. Strategic management consists of 3 elements: understanding an organization's strategic position, making strategic choices for the future, and managing the strategy in action. Strategic management therefore involves two tasks, developing the strategy and making the strategy work.