Final answer:
John's ethical dilemma pertains to fairness in assigning sales territories in a way that respects gender equality, despite customer hostility. Market forces can encourage non-discriminatory practices; businesses seeking to maximize profits or facing worker shortages may have incentives to serve all customers equally and to hire a diverse workforce.
Step-by-step explanation:
John, the sales manager for a building materials company, is facing an ethical dilemma that falls primarily in the area of fairness in the assignment of sales territories. This is because the customers in a profitable sales territory are hostile to women sales representatives, and John must decide how to assign territories in a way that is fair to all sales staff, regardless of gender, while also considering the profitability of the territories. This situation highlights a critical ethical challenge related to gender discrimination and the management of sales teams.
In similar situations, market forces can provide incentives for businesses to act in a less discriminatory fashion: A local flower delivery business with a white owner, noticing a significant number of black customers, has a profit incentive to sell to everyone to maximize sales and revenue. An assembly line traditionally hiring only men might face a shortage of qualified workers, compelling it to broaden its hiring practices to include women and minorities. A firm providing home health care services might wish to pay lower wages to Hispanic workers, but economic pressures and legal requirements for equal pay may discourage such practices.