Final answer:
Market forces such as the profit motive and talent acquisition needs can incentivize businesses to act in less discriminatory ways. This includes recognizing customer demographics, difficulty in hiring qualified workers, and the advantages of maintaining a stable workforce.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to discrimination practices and how market forces might incentivize businesses to adopt less discriminatory practices. Market forces can nudge businesses to become more inclusive and diverse due to a variety of reasons, including profit motives and a desire to source the best talent.
- In a flower delivery business run by an owner who is initially discriminatory against black customers, there is a profit incentive to sell to everyone, regardless of race. Realizing that much of the local customer base is black, the owner may recognize the loss of potential sales and thus be encouraged to act in a less discriminatory fashion to maximize profits.
- An assembly line that has traditionally only hired men might be in need of more workers. If there is a lack of qualified male applicants, the need to expand the business and continue production may lead the business to start hiring women, effectively reducing discriminatory hiring practices.
- A home health care services firm that intends to pay lower wages to Hispanic workers might find that such discriminatory wage practices result in high turnover rates, difficulty in hiring, and potential reputation damage. As a consequence, the owner might be compelled to offer equal wages to maintain a qualified and stable workforce.
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in their hiring practices.