Affirmative action was started by Lyndon B. Johnson as a way to equalize theemployment field to minority job seekers. What started out as an equal opportunity actionhas become the subject of controversy in many workplaces across the United States. Many feel that affirmative action has gone too far and is an example of reversediscrimination, while others believe that it has yet to do enough to level the playing fieldin the employment domain. From what I have studied, it is my belief that affirmativeaction has started to produce many more negative effects, than positive ones. Therefore,it is my opinion that affirmitive action is a good guideline for hiring practices, but shouldnot be manditory. Lyndon Johnson initiated affirmitive action with the Executive Order 11246, whichordered all federal contractors to have equal employment. Companies had to determinethe perentage of minorities and women and then identify underutilization, which is,when the percentage of employees in a particular job catergory is less than the percentageof potentially qualified members of that group in the labor force(Walker 111). Manycompanies today are required, by law, to have a certain percentage of minorities andwomen working for them. In 1966, when Lyndon Johnson passed this Executive Orderthe United States was a different place than it is now, thirty three years later, and racialminorities and women are treated more equally than they ever have been. Specialtreatment was necessary to equal out employment oppertunities in 1966, but now testresults indicate that many firms today do operate as equal opportunity employers(Ben*censored* 150). Affirmative Action was a great idea, but I believe that it has becomeoutdated and unnessary. One of the major negative outcomes of affirmative action is that many white malesnow feel like they are experiencing reverse discrimination. Often affirmative action worksin a way that it seems that minorities are choose...
