Final answer:
The hiring practice described, where resumes with Caucasian-sounding names are favored, exemplifies cognitive bias in the labor market. Such biases can lead to significant disparities in hiring decisions, which may be alleviated by professionalizing human resources functions.
Step-by-step explanation:
In research, it has been found that given identical resumes with only the name changed, hiring managers disproportionately select the resumes with stereotypical Caucasian names over those with stereotypical minority names. This is an example of cognitive bias at work. In the labor market, discrimination can occur based on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status leading to substantial hiring disparities.
For instance, studies have shown that resumes with white-sounding names received more callbacks than African-American-sounding names. This type of discrimination, often the result of implicit or unconscious bias, suggests that stereotypical assumptions are influencing hiring decisions.
Professionalizing human resources functions can help reduce such biases. Larger organizations that invest more resources into professional human resource strategies may have less pronounced hiring disparities due to increased experience with a diverse staff and better recruitment practices.