There are few things I saw debated more behind the scenes than the whole topic of working with Women-owned and Minority-owned Businesses.
I say "behind the scenes" because I mostly heard private grumbling as opposed to actually reading thoughtful articles or seeing people openly debate this in a policy meeting. The politically correct thing to do is just go along with this unquestioningly. It only took me one second to find the link below in Google. Imagine if you worked at this university. Would you openly question this policy or would you simply complain to your colleagues if you didn't like it?
Click this link and scroll down - this title linked here introduces the fourth paragraph from the bottom of the page you will land on. Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Set-Aside
Really, this is an offshoot of the debate about affirmative action itself. Since the National Minority Supplier Development Council was chartered in 1972, it's kind of amazing that the issue isn't settled and it can still stir up so much passion, even if it's quiet passion.
One of the issues is that MBE's and WBE's tend to be smaller companies with higher prices. Therefore, setting aside a certain amount of spend for them can be at direct odds with the ubiquitous Purchasing directive to save money.
Let the debate begin! I'm looking forward to seeing some honest dialogue on this issue.
» Affirmative (Purchasing) Action from PurchaseRealm
As promised here in Melonie Murray's Workerette blog and in the comments here, this is more detailed information about Women and Minority certifications for business. In the comments link above, I explain how some companies can't even qu... [Read More]
Tracked on: February 26, 2006 12:49 AM | Permalink to Trackback