An adamantly repeated refusal to compromise quality marks the diversifying efforts of all the companies.

"We are out there to recruit the best students." Barr says.

This orientation toward excellence combines with a smaller pool of qualified minorities to make the recruitment process very competitive, she says.

Barr says many companies compete for the same attractive candidates. This process often includes wining and dining them, as well as funding flights and hotels for students with interviews. "You do the best job you can to market yourself," she says.

Cohan says there is also a social welfare argument to be made in favor of diversity recruiting. He says many indicators, including GPA, record a lower performance by African-Americans--even among those whose parents fall within the same income range.

"Structural factors lead me to believe the wrongdoings of the past still...condemn African-Americans today," he says, explaining that this calls for some sort of equalization if society is to be made more fair.

Far more than new recruitment practices come into play in creating a diverse work force, the staffing manager of the New Jersey company says.

She emphasizes retention of minorities over efforts to hire them initially, citing a disproportionately high turnover rate among minorities who have worked for the same employer for 12 to 18 months.

Minorities and women quit companies more than twice as often as white males, a 1995 University of Michigan study shows.

The staffing manager attributes the high turnover rate to a lack of internal support systems for minority employees and a sense of an impenetrable "old boy" network within companies.

To help maintain minority employee satisfaction, the First Chicago Bank's Leadership Program employee satisfaction, the First Chicago Bank's Leadership Program provides mentorship and sensitivity training, according to Barr. She says the bank's turnover rate for minorities is the same as for whites.

Companies have begun to include diversity among their top criteria for measuring success. Price Waterhouse has a new diversity index, Littlejohn says. Likewise, Merrill Lynch awards bonuses to vice presidents on the basis of eight criteria, one of which is recruitment and retention of minorities, according to Business Week.

Minority satisfaction seems high at Price Waterhouse, Littlejohn says.

"The attitude among minorities is that there are never enough," he says. "People are very anxious to assist and very passionate about improving the numbers."

Majority Resentment