What types of issues arise during the preparation of an affirmative action plan?
Many difficult issues may arise, particularly in connection with the statistical analysis. For example, in gathering and assembling the underlying data, a contractor must resolve such questions as the exact stage at which an individual becomes an applicant and the way in which job titles should be arranged into groups for purposes of statistical review. In preparing the utilization analysis, a contractor also must determine census categories to use as a basis for comparison, must identify feeder groups for promotions to higher job groups, and must strike the correct balance between external hires and internal promotions as a source for comparative data. All of these questions require judgment calls for which neither the regulations nor any pre-determined formula can provide a universal answer.
