Wal*Mart
We have recognized that Walmart does not view its wage and benefit structure as being a problem. On its Website, Walmart announces what the company is doing to improve its image in terms of sustainability and other ethical issues ("Walmart Announces New Commitments to Drive Sustainability Deeper into its Global Supply Chain," 2012). However, the company fails to mention anything about how their low wages are hurting communities and the economy as a whole. This approach to public relations must change if the company is to continue being successful. Walmart needs to be more proactive, and at least start pretending to care about its employees.
There are several political image-boosters that Walmart can use to improve its public relations without actually making changes to its human resources policies. One strategy is to feature an employee of the week on the company Website. This will make the company seem like it cares…...
mlaReferences
Dube, A., Graham-Squire, D., Jacobs, K. & Luce, S. (2007). Living wage policies and Walmart: How a higher wage standard would impact Walmart workers and shoppers. UC Berkeley Labor Center. Retrieved online: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/walmart_livingwage_policies07.pdf
Dube, A. & Jacobs, K. (2004). Hidden cost of Walmart jobs. UC Berkeley Labor Center. Retrieved online: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/walmart.pdf
"Walmart Announces New Commitments to Drive Sustainability Deeper into its Global Supply Chain," (2012). Retrieved online: http://news.walmart.com/
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Company. 221 pp. $23. ISBN-10: 0312626681
Barbara Ehrenreich was born in 1941, in Montana. She attended Reed College, where she studied chemistry, and graduated in 1963. She also received a Ph. D in cellular immunology from Rockefeller University. She has written fourteen books during her prodigious career as an essayist and activist. She labels herself as a Democrat Liberal, while being part, for a long time, of the Democratic Socialists of America. She has written both fiction and non-fiction, but, as the New York Times called her, she remains a "veteran muckraker"
. As the paragraphs below will discuss, the book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" fits well into this category.
Nickel and Dimed is a book focusing on the life of…...
mlaWorks Cited
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Company. 2000
Galagher, Dorothy. Making Ends Meet- a review of Nickel and Dimed. The New York Times. 2001
Tremoglie, Michael. Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Diming Truth. Front Page Magazine. 2003. On the Internet at Last retrieved on July 29, 2014http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=17107.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Bait and Switch. The New Yorker. On the Internet at Last retrieved on July 29, 2014http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/09/26/bait-and-switch .
Wage and Benefit Determination
Individuals supply labor to the market at a price called the wage rate of labor. How much labor an individual supplies is related to his level of non-labor income, and cost benefits determination of time spent at leisure, vs. work.
A union can raise the wages of those who continue to be employed in a competitive labor market at the expense of the level of employment. So if the competitive equilibrium is at E0 and the wage is w0 employment is q0. If a union enters this market and sets a wage of W1, a new equilibrium will be established, e1. The supply curve has become w1xs0. At the new wage, W1, there will be q1q2 workers who would like to work but whom the industry will not hire. Employment will be q1. The decrease in employment due to wage increase is q1q2
Minimum wage is the lowest wage…...
"17
Keeping all these facts and figures in mind, it would not be wrong to conclude that low wage is one of the more serious problems of the country and needs urgent remedy. The government needs to address the issue properly and effectively keeping in view the current demographic trends.
eferences
1. Anthony Bimba, The Molly Maguires: The True Story of Labor's Martyred Pioneers in the Coalfields (1950; reprint, New York: International Publishers, 1975), pp. 54-66.
2. Ibid., p. 65.
3. Ibid., p. 66.
4. Edward Wolff, "ecent Trends in Living Standards in the United States," New York University and the Jerome Levy Institute of Economics, New York, 2002 p. 1.
5. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Tomorrow's Jobs. Online. Available: http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm. Accessed: September 9, 2006.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Online. Available: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat37.pdf. Accessed: September 9,…...
mlaReferences
1. Anthony Bimba, The Molly Maguires: The True Story of Labor's Martyred Pioneers in the Coalfields (1950; reprint, New York: International Publishers, 1975), pp. 54-66.
2. Ibid., p. 65.
3. Ibid., p. 66.
4. Edward Wolff, "Recent Trends in Living Standards in the United States," New York University and the Jerome Levy Institute of Economics, New York, 2002 p. 1.
Essay Topic Examples
1. The Impact of Minimum Wage Increases on the Hospitality Industry:
This essay could explore how raising the minimum wage affects the hospitality sector, focusing on aspects such as employment rates, pricing strategies, service quality, and business profitability. It might also discuss the potential trade-offs between higher wages and job automation.
2. Tipping Culture and Its Effects on Wage Equity in Hospitality:
This topic allows for an examination of how reliance on tips rather than base wages influences the income stability of hospitality workers. The essay could consider the disparities between front-of-house and back-of-house staff, and the move towards no-tipping policies in some establishments.
3. Wage Disparities and Gender in the Hospitality Industry:
An essay under this topic would discuss the wage gaps that exist between male and female employees in the hospitality industry. It could explore the reasons behind these disparities, such as occupational segregation, differences in hours worked, and the representation…...
mlaPrimary Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. \"Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Food Services and Drinking Places.\" May 2021.
National Restaurant Association. \"2021 State of the Restaurant Industry.\" National Restaurant Association, 2021.Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. \"Compensation and Salary Studies for the Hospitality Industry.\" The Center for Hospitality Research, 2019.International Labour Organization. \"Wages in the Hospitality Sector: A Comparison of Minimum Wages.\" ILO Sectoral Policies Department, 2020.American Hotel & Lodging Association. \"AHLA\'s 2020 State of the Hotel Industry Report.\" American Hotel & Lodging Association, 2020.
Low Income Housing Credit
The low income tax credit has been an issue of debate since it was created. Many believe that the federal government should do more to help the working poor gain access to affordable housing and that the current plan is extremely convoluted making it difficult for developers and tenants to comply with. The purpose of this discussion is to define and describe the low income housing tax credit and to explore the advantages and disadvantages presented by such a system.
Defining the Low Income Tax Credit
According to an article entitled "The Low Income Tax Credit" published by the Internal Revenue Service the low-income housing tax credit was created by Congress to promote the construction and rehabilitation of existing rental housing for the working poor in various neighborhoods throughout the United States.
Congress also believed that the credit would raise the quantity of rental housing for individuals whose income is…...
mlaBibliography
About the Low Income Housing Credit." http://www.novoco.com/Facts_Figures/Aboutlihc.htm
Affordable Housing Needs Boost." Real Estate Weekly. January 10,2001. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m3601/23_47/69676209/p1/article.jhtml?term=low+income+housing+credit
Anderson, George. "Housing and Low Income Americans." America. July 29,2000. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1321/3_183/63649246/p1/article.jhtml?term=low+income+housing+credit
Low Income Housing Credit." Published by the Internal Revenue Service. Number 89018M
Human Resources Management: How to Improve Minimum Wage Policy Management in Hong Kong
The objective of this research is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of minimum wage legislation in Hong Kong. When hike minimum wage can help lower skilled worker. This study will conduct an evaluation of the minimum wage hiking and how it can help the lower skilled workers and will additionally compare benchmarking minimum wage legislation with other countries, for example the standard of minimum wage.
Following minimum wage legislation the primary problems that employers and employees faced included for employers the turnover rate of lower-wage workers and how to reduce the cost of training that affects the quality of service and the working attitude and behavior of employee lack of enthusiasm. For employees problems included the increase in the unemployment rate and reduction in fringe benefits including such as medical insurance. Included in this study will be the…...
mlaBibliography
Blundell, R., and H. Reed, 2000. The Employment Effects of the Working Families Tax Credit. Institute for Fiscal Studies Briefing Note No. 6, April.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, 2000. Annual Report 1999 -- 2000.October.
Bartlett, B., 2000. The Verdict on the Minimum Wage: Guilty on All Counts. Economic Affairs. September.
Bartwell, R., 2000. Age Structure and the UK Unemployment Rate. Bank of England Working Paper 124.
raising minimum wage relates supply demand analysis. • If raise minimum wage businesses compensate raise workers? • According United States Department Labor, Minnesota's current minimum wage large employer's small employer's hour? • How hard working people expect ahead minimum wage low? • Due cost living minimum wage increase? This a comprehensive paper a minimum library resources.
aising the minimum wage: Supply and demand analysis
Although there is a great deal of disagreement about how to regulate the minimum wage in America, statistics indicate that the minimum wage has not been keeping pace with inflation. "The federal minimum wage is just $7.25 an hour and hasn't been raised in three years. But a raise is much more overdue than that. If we look at the minimum wage 44 years ago, and simply adjust it for inflation, it would be more than $10 today" (Weisbrot 2012). However, there is tremendous resistance to raising…...
mlaReferences
Cahill, Ben. (2012). The effect of the minimum wage on getting a foot-long Subway.
Tutor2U. Retrieved: http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/the-effect-of-the-minimum-wage-and-getting-a-foot-long-subway
Characteristics of minimum wage workers. (2012). Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Retrieved:
Incentive Programs Among Low Income
The effects of work incentive programs in encouraging low income individuals to participate in employment depend on the income thresholds of reforms in whether the individual gains benefits that are equal to or greater than what they would receive by not working. The factors in the determination include after tax income plus benefits, such as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and fixed work costs, compared to the total change in revenue received. If the loss of welfare is greater than the total change in revenue, work incentives have no value and discourage employment participation. On the other hand, if the total amount of changed revenue is greater than the welfare loss and compensates for fixed work costs, incentives encourage employment among the low income.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) expanded EITC benefits by increases in the standard deduction, personal deductions, and favorable tax rates.…...
mlaWorks Cited
Elissa, Nada. Taxation and Labor Supply of Married Women: The Tax Reform Act of '1986 as a Natural Experiment. Feb 1995. working paper. 20 July 2013.
Elissa, Nada, Kleven, Henrick Jacobsen, & Kriener, Claus Thustrup. Welfare Effects of Tax Reform and Labor Supply at the Intensive and Extensive Margins. May 2004. working paper. 20 July 2013.
Riccio, Jim. Promoting Employment Stability and Advancement Among Low-Income Adults. Mar 2013. article. 20 July 2013.
Rothstein, Jesse. The Unintended Consequences of Encouraging Work: Tax Incidence on the EITC. May 2008. pdf. 20 July 2013.
Laws and Wages
Legislation and Wages: An Intricate Dance, but Who's Leading?
Government and employment have always had and will necessarily continue to have a complex and mutually influential relationship, not least in the area of wages. What people are able to earn has always been a pressing issue in any capitalist system, and can influence the formation and the actions of government in numerous direct and indirect ways. In the other direction, legislation enacted by the government can both directly impact employees' wages and have indirect impacts through the changing of burdens that employers must contend with in compensating employees and operating their businesses. This paper briefly examines the relationship between government and wages, and specifically between legislation and employers' abilities to pay wages and utilize wages as an effective workforce motivator and stabilizer. This examination shows that good intentions can sometimes have questionable results, even when the ethical goods they…...
mlaReferences
Bernstein, D. (1993). The Davis-Bacon Act: Let's Bring Jim Crow to an End. Accessed 12 December 2012. http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-017.html
Cornell. (2007). Lilly M. Ledbetter, Petitioner v The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Accessed 12 December 2012. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-1074.ZD.html
US DOL. (2012). The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). Accessed 12 December 2012. http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-sca.htm#.UMrWu3Pjmjc
US DOL. (2012a). Compliance Assistance - Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Accessed 12 December 2012. http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/#.UMrWpXPjmjc
Minimum age
Even though minimum wage has been around for many years, and was established to make sure that working people could survive and pay their bills, there are still many problems with it. This paper address both the pros and cons to raising the minimum wage, discussing not only how people can be helped by the increase in pay, but also how they are ultimately hurt by it to a larger degree. Organized labor usually fights to raise the minimum wage, but every time it goes up, prices follow, until those that make minimum wage end up worse off than they were before their wage increase.
Some states also have minimum wage laws, and often the state minimum wage is higher than federal minimum wage. hen the federal minimum wage is raised, states are at a loss with whether to raise theirs or not, and sometimes employers go out of business…...
mlaWorks Cited
Brown, C. (1988). Minimum wage laws: Are they overrated? Journal of Economic Perspectives 2:133-47.
Burkhauser, R.V., Couch, K.A. And Wittenburg, D.C. (1996). Who gets what from minimum wage hikes: A replication and re-estimation of Card and Krueger. Industrial and Labor Review 49:547-52.
Deere, D., Murphy, K.M., and Welch, F. (2004). Sense and nonsense on the minimum wage. Regulation: The Cato Review of Business and Government. [Table].
Minimum Wage. (2004). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
Economists have consistently argued that the very existence of a minimum wage reduces employment opportunities for low wage workers. A small business, for example, may have work that needs to be done but can't afford to hire a minimum wage worker; that is one less job that will be offered and, perhaps, willingly taken. ecent research has supported this contention (Turner, 1999).
eduction of poverty is the crux of any argument for enacting a minimum wage, and yet in the 72 years since the first minimum wage was created in the U.S., poverty rates have not been substantially reduced (Joint Economic Committee, 1995). Instead, the existence of a minimum wage has been shown to offer opportunities for a few as they use entry-level employment as a stepping stone (Kersey, 2004), while at the same time negatively impacting some of the socio-economic groups most in need of assistance in the U.S. To…...
mlaReferences
Fair Labor Standards Act. (1938). P.L 75-718.
Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States. (1995). 50 Years of Research
on the Minimum Wage. Washington, D.C.
Kersey, Paul. (2004). The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage. Testimony before the House of Representatives; Small Business Committee; Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment, and Government Programs.
Only 2.1% of minimum-wage workers belong to a union, versus 12.0% of the overall working population. Nonetheless, labor unions fight passionately for a higher minimum wage (Sherk).
When the minimum wage rises, it becomes more expensive to hire unskilled workers. This makes the decision to employ highly paid and highly skilled workers, instead of unskilled workers, more attractive to businesses, and so businesses want to hire more skilled workers (Sherk).
With skilled workers in greater demand, their job opportunities and earnings rise. Unionized workers tend to be more highly paid and highly skilled than the population as a whole and, so, benefit from this effect. Raising the minimum wage could actually raise the earnings of union members who compete with minimum wage workers by 20 -- 40%. Meanwhile, non-union, low-skilled workers' earnings actually fall due to reduced working hours and fewer job opportunities (Sherk).
So the fact that unions are for higher…...
mlaBibliography
Gallaway, Lowell and Richard Vedder. "Does the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?" June 2001. Employment Policies Institute. 7 May 2009 .
Sherk, James. "Union Members, Not Minimum-Wage Earners, Benefit When the Minimum Wage Rises." 7 Feb 2007. The Heritage Foundation. 7 May 2009 .
Turner, Mark D. "Does the Minimum Wage Help or Hurt Low-Wage Workers? ." 14 Jan 2000. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services . 7 May 2009 .
Wage and Hour Division (WHD). "Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act ." July 2007. U.S. Department of Labor. 6 May 2009 .
While it will certainly be helpful, especially given the cuts in student loans, for young people trying to work their way through college with their parent's help, a raise in the minimum wage is simply one step in what must become a greater war on poverty and its causes. Teach a worker to fish for a lifetime, not merely to eat a bit better on a slightly better wage for one day. Increase access to job training, institute a health care system so that low-wage workers will not have to divert their salaries to such costs, and create more access to safe and affordable day care to make the increase in the minimum wage meaningful, and not just minimal improvement....
.....social injustice and inequality. First, literature related to the fundamentals of discrimination and descriptions of gender discrimination are discussed in the literature. Following a detailed discussion of what the literature says about gender discrimination, the literature review shifts toward the quantifiable effects of gender discrimination in the workplace. Effects are examined both in terms of measurable effects on organizations and individuals.
Fundamentals of Discrimination
Discrimination is unfortunately pervasive in the workplace. Described as an "inaccurate perception of differences," discrimination can be based on independent variables like race, gender, language, and other demographics (Cleveland, Vescio & Barnes-Farrell, p. 149). The differences perceived are "inaccurate," and also have a direct impact on status, access to power, and access to avenues of promotion or pay increases. Most literature frames discrimination as being "subtle and covert," well concealed from the realms of legal scrutiny, and often difficult to define precisely (Marchiondo, Ran & Cortina, 2015, p.…...
Job opportunities and working conditions for Canadian women during the period between 1880 and 1920 were fairly limited. Women were expected to be part of the labor force, but only until they married. At that time, men were expected to be the primary breadwinners and married women were discouraged from participating in the workforce. In fact, over all the progress towards women’s rights in Canada has been relatively slow.
Technically, the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century offered many opportunities for advancement for women’s rights. Women began to attend universities and....
Outline for an Essay on "The Causes and Consequences of Migration in Trinidad and Australia"
I. Introduction
A. Hook: Begin with a captivating statistic or personal anecdote related to migration.
B. Thesis statement: Clearly state the argument that migration in Trinidad and Australia has multiple causes and consequences.
II. Causes of Migration: Trinidad
A. Economic factors: Discuss the role of unemployment, low wages, and economic inequality in driving migration.
B. Social factors: Explore issues such as crime, political instability, and discrimination.
C. Environmental factors: Consider the impact of natural disasters and climate change on migration patterns.
III. Causes of Migration: Australia
A. Economic opportunities: Highlight the appeal of higher....
I. Introduction
A. Brief explanation of fast food and its popularity
B. Thesis statement: Despite its convenience and quick service, fast food has detrimental effects on individuals' health, environment, and society.
II. Body Paragraph 1: Health Concerns
A. Explanation of the high levels of unhealthy ingredients in fast food (processed meat, trans fats, excessive sodium, and added sugars)
B. Discussion of the health problems caused by regular consumption of fast food, such as obesity, heart diseases, and blood pressure issues
III. Body Paragraph 2: Environmental Impact
A. Explanation of the excessive use of packaging materials in fast food industry
B. Discussion of the environmental consequences of fast food....
Title: The Bitter Bean: Core-Periphery Dynamics in the Global Coffee Industry
Introduction:
The global coffee industry vividly exemplifies the core-periphery relationships prevalent in the world economy. Core countries, such as the United States and Western Europe, exhibit economic dominance and control over production and distribution, while peripheral countries in the Global South, where coffee is primarily cultivated, experience exploitation and marginalization. This essay delves into recent news developments in the coffee industry and analyzes how they reflect these core-periphery dynamics.
Coffee Prices and Income Inequality:
Recent reports highlight the widening income gap between coffee producers and corporations. In 2023, the global coffee industry was....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now