MGT 331 Case Analysis: The Affirmative Action Program

Saint Leo University
Case Analysis 2
MGT 331
Lauren Pope
01/18/2015
Prof. Jonnie Barnes
Introduction
After the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s, President Kennedy directed government contractors to take, “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without the regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin” (NSCL 2015). As a result, the Affirmative Action Program (AAP) was established to meet these specifications.
Statement of Problem In this certain scenario, Michael Boyd began working for his father Alex’s company, Supreme Construction. As Michael increased his responsibility and the company continued succeeding, Michael proposed for the construction of
bigger projects. So when NASA released a project, Michael and Alex composed a bid of $1,982,000. Because Supreme Construction had the low bid, it was now time for them to submit an Affirmative Action Program. This raises several questions vital to comprehend as human resource managers. This includes: why must Supreme Construction provide an AAP? What will this program accomplish? And if Supreme Construction’s employment of black people is lower than the general population of construction workers, what should the company do?
Addressing the Problems Organizations with government contracts developed the affirmative action program (AAP) to express that workers are employed in proportion to their representation in the firm’s relevant labor market.
(Mondy, 68). In many circumstances, the OFCCP commands an AAP based on three levels of control. In this first level of control, contracts exceed $10,000 but are less than $50,000 and in this level, contractors are guided by the equal opportunity clause. The second level transpires if the contractor meets one of the following requirements if the organization has 50 or more employees, has a contract of $50,000 or more, has contracts that total $50,000 within a 12-month period, or is a financial institution that deposits any amount in government funds. The last level occurs when contracts exceed $1 million in addition to all stated requirements being met. This third and final level also gives the OFCCP the right to authorize a conduction of compliance reviews. In this particular scenario, Supreme Construction falls under the third level category and must submit an AAP because the bid accepted totaled over $1
million.
The purpose of this plan is to establish fair access to employment opportunities to create a workforce that is an accurate reflection of the demographics of the qualified available workforce in the relevant job market (Human Resources 2015).
In order to accomplish this task, the AAP uses the equal opportunity clause. This clause includes: contractors not discriminating against any employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; contractors must state all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment; contractors must fulfill with all requirements of the Executive Order and Secretary of Labor; and contractor’s nonfulfillment can result in cancellation or suspension (Mondy, 69). This equal opportunity clause is vital as the AAP is a fundamental part. With this plan, it provides solutions and discourages discrimination throughout the workplace.
When a company has fewer minorities or women in a certain group than should be equitably expected is called underutilization. Upon the results of the utilization analysis, it is a requirement if underutilization exists for the company to set a goal of employment for that specific group (Mondy 70). Therefore, Supreme Construction should set a goal to employ more black people to meet at least the minimum of 30
percent.
Conclusion
In closing, the establishment of the Affirmative Action Program has forever changed our world. Many court decisions conducted by the U.S. Supreme Court has majorly impacted the AAP to develop what it is today. Therefore, it is vital for every organization to comply by these policies in order to reflect the fairness of your company. Every person despite his or her race, color, religion, sex, or national origin should have the opportunity to apply for employment.
References
Mondy, W. R., & Mondy, J. B. (2014). Humane resource management (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Human Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/hr/Pages/affirmative-action.aspx

Affirmative Action | Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/affirmative-action-overview.aspx