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220 PART 2 Managing Business Behavior

promote individuals from underrepresented minority groups. The primary basis for
affirmative action in the U.S. workplace is a presidential executive order entitled
Executive Order 11246 The presidential Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and man-
executive order mandating affirmative dating that companies that have contracts with the federal government of over
action in employment by large federal
government contractors $50,000 per year, which covers most large U.S. companies, develop affirmative
action goals and plans with respect to their workforce.
Executive Order 11246 has been highly controversial. Some individuals and
groups argue that while it has helped women, African Americans, Hispanics, and
other minority groups get a toehold in the workforce, it hasn’t done enough; women
and minorities still hold very few top executive positions. Others, however, argue
that the executive order has led employers to adopt workforce quotas for hiring dif-
ferent types of employees and led to some minority group members getting prefer-
ential treatment in hiring, promotions, and so on, thus helping create feelings of
tension and mistrust on the part of white males and others.

University of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases

On June 23, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases, Grutter v. Bollinger and
Gratz v. Bollinger, involving affirmative action admissions programs in the Univer-
sity of Michigan’s graduate and undergraduate programs, respectively. In the Grutter
case the Supreme Court upheld the university’s use of race as a positive factor in its
admissions process because of the compelling educational benefits that flow from
having a diverse student body. In the Gratz case, however, the Court struck down the
university’s use of a quota system using race in admissions decisions. In short, the
Supreme Court in the University of Michigan cases held that universities can count
race or ethnicity as a plus in a particular applicant’s file but that they must also con-
sider that file on an individualized basis in competition with all other applicant files.
Over 50 major U.S. companies joined legal briefs to the Supreme Court sup-
porting the University of Michigan’s general use of affirmative action, and the
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Supreme Court’s decision was hailed as a big victory for corporate America. For
example, Microsoft Corporation, which was one of the many companies joining
briefs generally supporting the school’s use of affirmative action, issued the follow-
ing statement immediately following the Supreme Court’s decision:
Microsoft applauds the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the University’s right
to include race and other factors in its admissions process. We hope this ruling will
help preserve the ability of our nation’s institutions of higher education to develop
the diverse talent many companies need to cultivate a multi-cultural workforce. At
Microsoft, we believe that the ability to recruit such a diverse workforce is critical
to our success in today’s global marketplace, and we look forward to continuing
our partnership with the University of Michigan and other institutions. 19

In sum, the recent University of Michigan cases can be seen as a strong endorse-
ment by the nation’s highest court of the general concept of affirmative action.

Workforce Diversity After 9/11
The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have raised a variety of workplace diver-
sity issues. One very important issue is to what extent companies should take spe-
cial measures to prevent potential workplace harassment or discrimination against
individuals of Arab descent or Muslim belief. The EEOC has been particularly vig-
20
ilant in this regard, urging employers to promote tolerance and guard against any
misdirection of anger toward innocent employees because of their national origin,
ethnicity, or religion. The EEOC has also brought lawsuits against employers
accused of discriminating against Arab or Muslim employees. 21

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