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15. COMBATING ORGANIZATIONAL DISCRIMINATION
disconfirming evidence. Thus, paradoxically, the aims of affirmative action
may well be undermined by the policy itself. Although it provides access
to those who may have been otherwise blocked from entry, affirmative
action may burden them with the weight of biased perceptions of their
competence, ultimately precluding them from the opportunity to be equal
partners in the organizational enterprise. Thus, the findings reported here
should serve as a warning. Despite the desirability of eliminating discrim­
ination in the workplace, if care is not taken the methods used to combat
it can backfire, causing their own costly and undesirable consequences.
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