Final answer:
Literacy training can improve bottom-line performance by increasing employees' productivity and reducing training costs for employers, leading to overall improved profitability and a higher demand for a skilled workforce.
Step-by-step explanation:
Literacy training improves bottom-line performance by fostering an increase in productivity and profits, which is a consequence of a well-trained and educated workforce. Training options like programmed learning, computer-based training, and other methods mentioned in the 2003 study by Arthur, Bennett, Edens, and Bell, lead to effective learning outcomes as seen through a variety of measurements, including the immediate reaction of employees, learning tests, behavioral assessments, and tangible results like productivity.
The demand for labor tends to increase alongside the improved performance of a skilled workforce, leading employers to favor hiring from a pool where the literacy levels are already high to avoid the costs associated with training a less skilled labor force. Thus, the correct answer from the provided options about how literacy training improves bottom-line performance would likely be C) lower costs, as it would save on the investment needed for training and development of under-skilled employees.