This is definitely frowned upon in today's society, except I"m sure that it does go one, consciously or unconsciously. Small-group is basically the same type of idea, except it involves a small-group of landlords or shop owners who refuse to rent or give jobs. Structural or systematic discrimination is a total one; A type of discrimination that basically lives in the past. These are people who have the idea that past discriminations have and effect on status today. Institutional discrimination is perhaps the biggest form of discrimination, and one of the most influential. "Institutional discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups, which results from the normal operations of a society." (Schafer. 77) This is a very widespread issue in the country, perhaps due to the fact that many people do not even know it is occurring. There are direct and indirect institutional discrimination. As you would assume direct is intentional and purposeful, while indirect is unintentional. Many things such as IQ tests, criminal justice systems, and credit risk assessments, all indirectly discriminate against minorities. However most of these don't consciously understand that discrimination is taking place. .
The problem of institutional discrimination is attempting to be undone through the process of Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action has its common misconceptions about it. Many people of the dominate group feel that it is a reverse discrimination against whites. People also think that it is a way to simply help the minorities. But what people don't know is that Affirmative Action is simply trying to undo what has wrongfully been done to minorities, in that of institutional discrimination.
Discrimination can very easily be confused with prejudice, unless you realize that discrimination is that of an action. It's a denial of opportunities and rights, which are based on prejudices.
