Supreme Construction Company began as a small commercial builder located in Baytown, Texas. Until the early 2000s, Alex Boyd, Supremes' founder, concentrated his efforts on small, freestanding shops and offices. Up to that time, Alex had never employed more than 15 people. In 2008, Alex's son Michael graduated from college with a degreein construction management and immediately joined the company full-time. Michael had worked on a variety of Supreme jobs while in school, and Alex felt his son was really cut out for the construction business. Michael was given increasing responsibility, and the company continued its success, although with a few more projects and a few more employees than before. In 2012, Michael approached his father with a proposition: "Let's get into some of the bigger projects now. We have the capital to expand and I really believe we can do it."Alex approved, and Supreme began doing small shopping centers and multistory office buildings in addition to work in its traditional area of specialization. Soon, the number of employees had grown to 75.In 2013, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released construction specifications for two aircraft hangars to be built southeast of Houston. Although Supreme had never done any construction work for the government, Michael and Alex considered the job within the company's capabilities. Michael worked up the$1,982,000 bid and submitted it to the NASA procurement office. Several weeks later the bids were opened. Supreme had the low bid. However, the acceptance letter was contingent on submission of a satisfactory affirmative action program.
1. Explain why Supreme must submit an affirmative action program.
2. In conducting a utilization analysis, Michael discovers that although 30 % of the general population of construction workers are black, only 10 percent of Supreme's employees are black. According to affirmative action, what is Supreme Construction to do?