James A. Buford Jr.

In the following viewpoint, James A. Buford Jr. asserts that minorities and women continue to be underrepresented in many types of jobs and concentrated in others, an indication that hiring decisions are not free from discriminatory practices. He contends that affirmative-action programs are effective in overcoming such discrimination. Requiring employers to use reasonable efforts to hire qualified minorities and women helps the economy by putting human resources to their most effective use and reducing expenditures for social services. Buford is a management consultant and a professor in the College of Business at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.

As you read, consider the following questions:
1. How does the author characterize the affirmative action debate"
2. Who makes most of the hiring decisions in the U.S. labor market and how does this work against minorities...