Affirmative action
Affirmative action has gotten a lot of public attention lately, but usually in a political
or civil rights context. What is frequently overlooked is its impact on business, which is
considerable.
Affirmative action affects three major areas, all of which have significant influence
on the relative success of businesses, large and small: education, employment, and public
contracting. Affirmative action is intended to ensure that opportunities in these three
areas are equal for all people regardless of race or gender by setting goals and
timetables in instances where significant inequities exist. Small businesses are
especially able to benefit from the impact of affirmative action programs because they can
take advantage of the results in these three areas, and generally don't have to comply
with the same regulations that apply to government agencies, academic institutions, and
large companies.
So how does affirmative action affect business? Let's take a look at each of the areas.
Education is the lifeblood of business. A better educated population means a more
highly skilled workforce that businesses can utilize to generate products and services,
and compete in the global market. Affirmative action has provided many opportunities for
students from diverse backgrounds and income levels who ordinarily would not be considered
for admission to colleges and universities. This means that the pool of talent coming out
of the higher education system is larger and better able to contribute as productive
members of the workforce.
Affirmative action has had a profound effect on employment hiring and promoting
practices. Historically, close to ninety% of all jobs are filled without being advertised,
with the majority of positions going to friends, relatives, or acquaintances of company
employees. The result of this practice is that employers often end up with employees who
are not the best person for the job if it were properly advertised.
Affirmative action has encouraged many companies to engage in employment practices that
set minimum standards of job definition, recruiting, outreach, and evaluation that result
in choosing the right person for the job. Finding the right person for the job or the
promotion is critical in letting business efficiently utilize the workforce and allow each
person to reach his or her full potential.
Public contracting is the least visible and probably the least understood aspect of
affirmative action. The federal government spends close to $300 billion a year in products
and services from the private sector. Even though 99% of all businesses in the country are
small businesses, only about 25% of the federal procurement dollars go to small
businesses. Even worse, less than 10% go to minority or women-owned businesses, which tend
to be small businesses.
Despite those relatively dismal statistics, the affirmative action programs in public
contracting have significantly increased the participation of small, minority, and
women-owned businesses over the past ten years considering that these types of businesses
were virtually non-existent in public contracting before the programs were enacted. This
participation has resulted in increased competition for contracts, which means the
government pays less for goods and services, and the taxpayers save money.
Most of the criticism of affirmative action has come about due to political motives,
not business motives. Recently, the California Business Roundtable, an organization
comprised of dozens of chief executives from the state's largest companies, issued a
statement supporting affirmative action as "good for business". As small
business continues to represent the bulk of all new business startups and job creation, we
will need a highly educated and skilled workforce. Affirmative action can be an effective
tool to make that happen.
For more information about
affirmative action, see our sister site:
www.EthnicMajority.com |
