I belong to L. A Fitness which is has a simple philosophy of providing members with large scope of amenities such as but not limited to heated lap pool and spa, basketball court, racquetball, indoor cycling, personal training, and Kid’s Club services. We also give the friendliest service that every customer would want, not to mention that our services are at an affordable price. We also provide the members with different varieties of services thus we make their fitness experience enjoyable and we make sure that the support for them is there.
We were trained to take out the best in us in order to take ‘work’ out of their workouts so they will be determined enough to continue or pursue their fitness goals. More than anything, we believe that keeping fit is not just because it is the ‘in thing’ nowadays, but it is more of a way of life. Our organization is always of help to those who want to slim down, to get more energy for work and for family to have bonding moments, and to those who just want to look and feel better.
We can give the aforementioned services through giving different options of exercise and having an environment that makes the customers feel at home regardless of the level of fitness a customer has before they go to L. A. Fitness. Since we are the type of organization who gives service, taking care of the customers is our main goal. We make sure that our customers are given much attention and making them feel that every centavo that they pay to us is worth the services they are receiving.
Our organization is composed of bubbly employees that makes work a lot of fun and easier despite the tougher days. All of the employees our friends with one another and we keep that even after work but we make sure that though we have the friendship, professionalism in work is still there. We believe that it is a need to keep the organization working and to avoid some conflicts. As employees, we are well aware of the things that we must do.
At the top of our mind is the goal or objective of giving a quality service to our customers. Given that I am in a business organization, the primary concern of the employees is customer-service. But our organization is not just about customers alone, there are employees like me who are also important to keep the business running. Through out my stay in the organization, I already have the grasp of the “ways and means of life” here. I have learned to cope up with the situation and with other employees.
But that does not mean that the only concern of our company is the service to the customers. There are other things that we look at and paid attention to. One of those is our organization’s compliance to the Equal Employment Opportunity Regulation. The five Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations that we comply with, are – (1. ) Civil Rights Acts of 1964 Title VII – this states that discriminating people based on their sex or gender, religious affiliation, color, race, and/or national origin is prohibited; (2.)
1963’s Equal Pay Act – this states that there is a protection for the discriminating of people because of their gender in obtaining their wage or what is commonly called ‘sex-based wage discrimination’ given that they are exerting equal important efforts in carrying out their duties; (3) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title I and V– this states that discriminating qualified individuals because of their disabilities is prohibited or not allowed; (4)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – this states that there is protection to the individuals who are over 40 years old; lastly, (5) Civil Rights Act of 1991 – this states that there should be a provision of monetary damages when intentional employment discrimination happens. (US EEOC, 2004) The said Regulations are at times, are hard to follow. Yes, we are all aware of the Regulations and the things that we must do, but there are cases that unintentionally we tend to forget those regulations.
The Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, we certainly adhere to this because we do not mind the color or the nationality or other factors, as long as we think that the person has all the characteristics and qualifications that we need, we certainly hire that person. As for Equal Pay Act of 1963, this is well-practiced because in our organization, an employee gets the appropriate salary that is due to him or her depending to the position or employment status (whether he or she is contractual or regular employee) he or she has. It is in the position of the employee and not in his or her sex or gender. Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, with this one, we are kind of having a hard time because what we offer is customer-service, and that involves physical activities.
So we really find it really difficult if someone with disability apply to us. This case happened once, what we did is, we gave the person an office work. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, regarding with this, we seldom encounter applicants who are more than 40 years old. The applicants we had who are over forty were betting for a managerial position. Just like any other, if we think that the person is qualified for the job, we do not mind if he or she is above forty years old as long as he or she has the qualifications. Lastly, with Civil Rights Act of 1991 I am confident to say that we have not charged of any violation with Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations.
That is why this was never a problem to us. But despite of our compliance with the regulations, there are cases that it seems like we do not comply. We are after the service that we can give to the customers that is why we are strict on choosing our employees. Which make us at times discriminatory to the eyes of the applicants especially to those who have different origin. They take it against us if we do not hire them. But we are just doing our job. We always look for the most qualified applicant. To prove that we do not practice discrimination, we have employees who have different nationality. This shows that more than anything we value the qualifications of the applicants most.
Aside from the compliance to Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations, our company has other services to the employees. We make sure that everyone has the fair share of whatever success and developments our company is achieving or getting. We have programs for the employees that would make the company or organization healthy as well. At L. A. Fitness, we believe to the studies of having healthy employees would make the company save money. That is the reason why we have our very own Corporate Wellness Program which includes – increasing the employees’ productivity and morale, reducing turnover, reducing absenteeism, and decreasing healthcare costs. These are significant to the company and to the employees as well.
Doing and/or performing the due process in hiring, there are cases where ethics would come into the picture. It is hard at times when you are torn between hiring the most qualified and hiring an applicant who do not meet the qualifications yet with legal considerations he or she is qualified. Ethical issues are one of the problems that it is hard to face because sometimes, even if you are doing the right thing, ethics would be in question. In our organization, aside from doing the due process we make sure that ethics would not be in question. Ethics is one of the factors that we consider when doing a decision and performing our duties and responsibilities.
We live by the ethics of professional responsibility and development, leadership, fairness and justice, conflicts of interest, and the use of information. In having ethics in what we do, we eliminate misunderstanding and other misconceptions. We also believe that not everything you do that is considered right is ethical. So we both look at things asking two questions – (1. ) Is it the right thing to do? ; and (2. ) Is it ethical? By doing so, we are at peace that we are being fair to everyone and there is justice in everything that we do.
Reference: Equal Employment Opportunity. (2004). U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Retrieved April 5, 2007, 2007, from