A Critique of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, Nickel and Dimed, was certainly a wonderful read and is verily able to open the reader’s eyes to a reality that is usually set aside by many. The book was originally a compilation of her researches as she went undercover to write about people who had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Those people whose wages were below the minimum wage and were so busy with work they were not able to pursue their own interests and who were also supporting dependents. As a whole, the author was able to document her experiences as she wrote in her journal her everyday experiences. Through this, the readers were able to have a glimpse into the lives of people she had worked with as a waitress at Florida, a healthcare aide at Maine and a salesperson of Wal-Mart at Minnesota. To be able to do this properly, though, she had to fake her qualifications and disguise her motives from her fellow workers. As a journalist, she also had to restrain herself from pointing out her political views to her colleagues. I think her method of studying the people may have some flaws, some biases. Below would be several of them. First of all, she wasn’t really like them. These people has had different experiences and lived in a different environment unlike hers. Such factors would have made an impact on how the subjects would act as people, as workers. The author mentioned that her co-workers didn’t even ask about insurance or other possible benefits included on the job they were on and just accepted what their boss said. If the workers were people who knew about such things, they would probably ask. Then, again, even if they knew, most of them would not have time to think about such benefits as a whole because they would be too busy trying to ake ends meet anyway. Then, as one who had to experience the life of a poor worker, she was not able to live out the role very well. One, she did not have anyone who depended on her earnings—no family or siblings, unlike most of the subjects she studied. She did not feed anyone else other than herself nor did she have to consider the medical problems of other people. The author also did not trust religious organizations even when her coworkers were telling her that it would be a great help. She always refused to accept money from charities and other such organizations. People in actual situations would not be refusing such help; in fact, they would have been the ones who would be asking for help from such organizations, whether they believed in its cause or not. She also insisted on living alone, thus pay her rent by herself. She always seemed to talk about this issue but was never really able to solve such an easy problem. Real people would have gone and looked for roommates to share the rent of the house. That way, she could have saved more money and may even develop a relationship with other people. The last part of the statement was also one of the things she failed to do. Humans are social beings, that’s a fact even when there are a few who say they prefer to live alone. All people need each other and so far, the human race is progressing because of helping each other. The same principle still happens and is certainly one of the most effective ways to survive—to help one another. The author, unfortunately, was not able to build a proper relationship with her co-workers. She was not able to build a support network which most people actually have. I believe that this is one of the most vital parts in the lives of the working class. Yeah, they may be feeding more mouths and spending more, but the human companionship, the support, these extra people are giving to the workers actually motivate them to go on fighting and working. There was also this part on the book where she walks out in the middle of her shift as a worker in a restaurant just two weeks after being hired. The truth is, real people would not have done this, simply because they did not have the liberty to do so. They just could not afford to lose a job, however hard it is or low paying it is. And speaking of low-income, hard, stressful jobs, she also irresponsibly argues against corporations giving such small wages without considering the economics behind it like insurance and overhead. These things are work requirements and are deducted from the employees’ salaries. Of course, with those things, and probably additional loans, the employees would really get a small wage after all the deductions are done. Also, the fact that she seemed to give her own thoughts and comments on the issues that were tackled on the book made it less like professional journalism. Ehrenreich thought that the book was the product of undercover reporting, but it certainly lacked a bit of that sense because of the lack of objectivity of reporting the events. She was not even able to tell or relate the lives her subjects were living. She could have picked a person, tried to get to know him and be able to relate in the book more concretely the problems and issues the person was facing. Instead, the book was actually, in another point of view, mostly about her and how she coped up with living the life of such people. Sure, there were the other characters but it almost always seemed like she was the hero since the whole thing revolved around herself. The subjects she was supposed to be studying were like backdrops in her play. She really should have focused more on the lives of the people she was studying. She should have delved more on exactly how these people lived, what are the exact problems they were facing, if possible, what these people wanted, wished, they could do for themselves and what the government could do for them. I’m not saying that Ehrenreich was all the way wrong in her methods and because of that, her book was essentially ineffective. The truth is, although it would have been better with the above suggestion, it has, in effect, really opened the eyes of its readers of the many people who have jobs but still really are poor. The book certainly disproved the mindset that if one has a job, then everything’s going to be alright. It also might have made people reconsider their thoughts about the poor, saying that they are like that because they are lazy. The book shows that there are hardworking people, but unfortunately, even with all the jobs they are balancing, they are still not able to get out of the sticky web called poverty. Works Cited Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001.

Exporting Best Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exporting Best Practices - Essay Example These are reactors capable of operating in order to sustain a managed, self-sustaining fission sequence reaction, and components and equipment specifically designed for use in relation with a nuclear reactor. Computers are another category of dual use commodities. Items included are high performance computers and specifically designed associated equipment, electronic assemblies and parts. These computers may include systolic array computers, optical computers and neural computers, digital computers and analog computers (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2012). The most excellent way of incorporating best exporting practices within the company and in association with freight forwarders would be to adopt and practice the best exporting practices, as outlined by the BIS. The following are the best exporting practices of dual use commodities subject to Export Administration Regulations. These practices will enable the exporter to manage the exports of nuclear reactors and computers. First, the company will pay keen attention to the Red Flags Indicators. The exporter will communicate these red flags throughout the company, to freight forwarders and foreign affiliates (Gustavus, 2012). The information will be communicated when the exporter rejects an order placed by a foreign client on the basis of red flags. The information will also be communicated, when a freight forwarder abruptly declines to offer export services, after obtaining information that the commodities for exports are subject to United States export regulations. The exporter and its foreigner partners will seek to use only those freight forwarders, which administer excellent export administration and acquiescence programs. The company will obtain detailed information in order to know their clients, especially foreign customers. The information will enable the company to evaluate the risk of diversion and involvement in a forbidden transaction. This information will enable the company to

Have we learned any lessons from the financial crisis of 2007-8 Assignment

Have we learned any lessons from the financial crisis of 2007-8 - Assignment Example When the criticality of the matter dawned on the American society, it was difficult to accept the dire consequences of the downfall. Organizations deemed stable enough to survive any surging economic pressure proved to be at the verge of collapse in the 2008 scenario. President Obama had to help America resolve the issue, and settling it needed firm decisions taken in good time to save the average American from the consequences resulting from the crisis. This is how the Dodd-Frank law surfaced as a potential solution to the imminent financial collapsing of the great economy. It is of essence to highlight the critical lessons learnt from the crisis and doing that is the sole purpose of this paper. Causes of the 2008 Recession An analysis of the real situation in 2008 and highlight the main causes of the collapsing of big financial institutions. One fact about the issue is that Americans had build too much trust on some of the banks that they did not see the crisis, coming and this is the main reason why Americans became victims. This does not assert that people should not trust banks but should do so after judging their credibility based on their financial reports. At least people should make an informed choice be ore trusting financial institutions. ... Understanding how banks operate is essential in analyzing how the recession resulted. All banks often make investments that can turn to be failures. If that happens, experts can calculate the asset value and these banks can receive recapitalization for the loss. However, the level of trust is very fundamental in determining whether a bank is worthy of recapitalization. Its performance in the market must prove that it is not subject to sudden collapsing. Banks deemed stable enough in the market have resulted to a form of pathology as Fischer described in his recent speech. These banks reached a point whereby assessing how much they lost in bad investments became a challenge. Before the onset of the recession, these banks were safe havens for most people. Majority of financial experts thought that these banks only suffered losses via mortgage insecurities. However, facts reveal that other toxic investments increased the losses incurred by banks. The bigger banks stand better chances in the market because of the privilege they have. Their stability in the market becomes a crucial factor that serves to reduce chances of bankruptcy declaration. While the less stable banks have a great fear of taking great business risks in fear of ending up bankrupt, the bigger banks can take costly risks much more easily as Arcand, Berkes and Panizza mentioned in their working paper released in 2009. In 2006, big banks sought to take advantage of the declining house prices hoping to make profits in the secondary market as Feng, and Serilitis in their research paper in 2009 on efficiency and technical change in U.S banks. Their investment in housing had its basis on mortgage security. Predictions were that housing

The Country Of Egypt Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

The Country Of Egypt - Research Paper Example 4.3 Unemployment 12 5 Economic Structure 135.1 Agriculture 13 5.2 Industry 155.3 Services Sector 16 6 International Economic Relations 17 6.1 Foreign Trade by Major Countries 17 6.2 Foreign Trade by Commodities 17 6.3 Foreign Direct Investment 18 7 Major Problems of Economy in Future 19 8 Conclusion 20 Bibliography 21 The Country of Egypt 2 1 Introduction Egypt is well-known for its ancient...Egypt is officially named as the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a state in North Africa which is covering a region of about 1,001,450 square kilometers. This paper contains geographical, demographical, governmental and historical statistics and on also focuses on the economic strategy and formation, the macroeconomic situation and the state's global economic relations to present Egypt's position in the world and its markets. Egypt is located at 1,001,450 square kilometers. It is the world's 38th largest and leading country. It is similar in size to Tanzania, double the size of France, four times the size of the United Kingdom and is further more than half the size of the United State of Alaska. However, due to the dryness of Egypt's climate, population centers are determined all along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta which means that about 99% of the population employs merely about 5.5% of the entire land area. Egypt is surrounded by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's significant job in geopolitics branch is from its considered situation that is a transcontinental state; it possesses a land bridge namely, the Isthmus of Suez, located amid Africa and Asia, which sequentially is negotiated by a passable waterway, the Suez Canal that is joined with the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea.

The 2007 Real Estate Market Crash Research Paper

The 2007 Real Estate Market Crash - Research Paper Example It is connected to many other aspects of the U.S. and world economies. For this reason, an understanding of how the economy works is important to gain a deeper appreciation for the events that have developed. The paper has three parts that answer the questions: "Where are we now", "How did we get here" and "Where are we going" Answering these basic questions would result in a deeper understanding of events, allow an objective analysis of the causes and how these are linked to the effects, and teach important lessons that could be learned to avoid, or at least minimize, similar experiences and mistakes in the future. The third part is a series of predictions of what would happen, what steps could be taken to minimize the negative effects on the economy, and what lessons could be learned and answers the question "Where are we going" On February 7, 2007, the Senate Banking Committee indicated that nearly 20 percent of sub-prime mortgage loans obtained from 2005-2006 would be foreclosed, threatening over 2.2 million families in the U.S. with losing their homes over the next few years (ABI, 2007, p. 8). Last April 2, 2007, the second largest provider of high-risk, sub-prime mortgages in the U.S., New Century Capital Corporation of Irvine, California, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and fired 3,200 employees in the wake of its own "financial missteps" and troubles with the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice over financial statements which failed to accurately account for financial losses the corporation was suffering, as well as mismanagement of the corporation (Gentile, 2007, p. 1). A September 1, 2007 issue of The Economist (2007, p. 59) revealed that despite official reports in the end of July that the U.S. economy was doing well, the truth was much darker than what most people believed: the economy's weakest link, the housing market, was in even worse shape than many realized. New-home construction plunged in July; the backlog of existing unsold houses rose to a 16-year high; and average house prices in America's ten main cities fell by 4.1% in the year to June. These developments led economists to forecast that the pace of new-home building would fall by a further 30% and average house prices would tumble between 7.5% and 15% by the end of 2008 and by another 15% to 30% in the succeeding years. These news reports can be seen as part of a series of business and financial problems. Houses were built using borrowed money that could not be repaid by builders because the houses could not be sold. Houses could not be sold because too many were built because borrowing was easy. Since houses could not

Consumerism and the loss of identity in the Middle East (Dubai and Essay

Consumerism and the loss of identity in the Middle East (Dubai and Doha) - Essay Example This paper seeks to identify how consumerism has affected the lives of the people and the paper focuses on exploring the concept of consumerism as it has developed in recent years in the Middle East. Globalization as a phenomenon is also studied to determine how the economic progression of the Middle Eastern countries has encouraged a culture of consumerism. The result is a change in cultural and social perceptions and this change is closely related to the consumerist culture which seems to have transformed traditional identities in the Middle East. The focus of this research is also on the consumerist culture pertaining to women and their compulsive buying behavior. Some of the works I have referred to include Consumption by Robert Bocock which explores the history of consumerism and The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, a work that addresses the situation of women in terms of beauty and how it has been used as a marketing tool and created an obsession with physical appearance. This essay explores the concept of consumerism and its relationship with social trends and perceptions and highlights the extensive marketing networks that define consumption patterns. The relationship between capitalistic consumption and cultural traditional identities is also explored to study religious, psychological, political and social dimensions in the Middle East. Consumption in its economic term refers to consumers buying and using the things they ‘need’. However as explored in Consumption by Robert Bocock, there has been a shift in the way consumption is defined. Consumption is founded on the basis of a need and a constant sense of incompleteness that is compensated with material things. This is because consumers desire the â€Å"unattainable- that is the satiation of all their desires.† Constant consumption itself should not be seen as a consumption of material things, but a consumption of

Becoming an Effective Leader Essay Example for Free

Becoming an Effective Leader Essay My job title is Training Co-ordinator for an organisation called Lifeskills Centres, I assess in the following areas; business administration, customer service, management, delivering level 2 and 3 and also any supporting key skills needed. I am responsible for my caseload of learners; their progress, learning and achievement of the qualification. I must cater each programme to suit the needs of the individual learner, I do this by setting each new starter off on initial assessments so that I can see what level they are currently at which will help me decide which course is the most suitable and which approach will be the most beneficial for the learner. I am also responsible for creating strong professional relationships with the learners new employers and maintaining relationships with existing employers this is for two reasons so they would recommend us to other employers so we gain a good reputation and so that they will want to use Lifeskills as a training provider for all of their staff and will not use a different organisation as it is a competitive market. I also advertise vacancies for our employers who have had good experiences in the past with apprentices and would like to recruit a new one. I agree with the employer all of the details to go on to the advert and interview all of the candidates and trial period the suitable ones for a week before sending them to the employer themselves to interview and then make the final decision. Within my role I use a number of different leadership styles in different situations and with different people in order to progress and achieve what needs to be achieved for example; I use the leadership style autocratic when I come to the end of the programme and I tell my learners what I want and what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, this is when the learners are short of time if they are leaving the organisation and don’t have much time to complete and it works the best when they want to achieve and are highly motivated. I have used the leadership style democratic when I had a group of learners in one particular placement where I was finding it hard to make them progress as they wouldn’t complete any work unless I was there  with them and they had no motivation towards the qualification. I discussed with the learners my concerns and asked how they thought we could move forward and they suggested one to one meetings, I informed the learners that this would be too time consuming and that I could afford to have a morning or afternoon out of the month for me to come in to the organisation and support them and motivate them to complete the knowledge questions, technical certificate and key skills side of the qualification. The learners confirmed that this was an effective method and I informed them that I will observe them twice a month but they do not have to complete any written tasks for me between observation as it will be done on the one morning / afternoon per month. I used this leadership style so that they felt they were included and to help me gain more respect from them and I do not think that it came across as a weakness from myself I think it showed that I was honest and realised that there was something not right and then discussed and implemented a solution. Lastly the leadership style I use not very often but I do still use is delegative which is where I let the learners make their own decisions on how they can progress through their qualification. I usually use this style when a learner has progressed from a level 2 qualification with myself on to a level 3 so they know the way the programme works and we have a comfortable relationship I also allow some level 3 learners to reference their own work in to their files. Application of emotional intelligence in shaping performance I employ the two aspects of emotional intelligence when dealing with learners and colleagues at all times as I must first understand myself and my goals, intentions, responses and behaviour and understand others and their feelings to be able to manage my learners and their progress. I empathise with learners and use the understanding of their emotions to motivate them and inspire them to complete their work. I am aware of my own feelings and emotions and control these to make sure that I do not behave in a way that is unacceptable towards learners or colleagues, I may not have to say anything to communicate how I am feeling as it can be portrayed in my body language and facial expressions which is also something that I have to control. Based on Goleman’s theory to be an effective leader I must be aware  of my own feelings and emotions and manage these to make sure that my emotions do not show in my behaviour if they are unacceptable. I must motivate myself which I do by meeting appraisal and review targets and setting myself my own goals to achieve. I must also manage other peoples emotions I do this by building a relationship with my learners and getting to know what they like and what annoys them so I can recognise this and stop it from becoming an issue where possible, it also makes the learners feel valued and that I care about the way they feel. It is also stated in Maslows Hieracy of needs that to work to your full ability and progress in your job and grow as a person you must have the following; Be in a healthy state, feel safe, feel like you belong somewhere and have some form of social life (friends, family, relationships) and have self esteem before you are able to grow personally. I must make sure that I show all learners that I care about each of them as an individual and that there progress and growth means a lot to me. I think an area that I personally have to work on is when I worry and panic about things for example we were mock inspected and I felt very anxious about it, I must make sure that this feeling does not come across to learners or employers and that the rest of my work doesn’t suffer from it. I also try to understand and manage the employers I deal with emotional intelligence as I want to build a relationship with them and trust so I make sure that I empathise with them and try not to do anything possible which may annoy them for example if I can see that an employer is very busy instead of updating them after the appointment with their learner I will ask if they would like an update via email as I can see they are really busy and then they can decide how they would like the feedback. Setting direction and gaining commitment I communicate and set direction for my learners by visiting them fortnightly, observing them work, showing them what each observation will cover or link in with, giving them feedback on their performance and setting them targets for the next appointment. I provide ongoing support via email and over the telephone to learners when I am at work but not at an appointment with them and review their progress and set targets formally at their ten week reviews which gives them clear direction and motivation to meet the targets they  agree by the next review. I provide support and tutorials to learners for the whole of the technical certificate and functional skills they complete and also offer training on the telephone, prioritising techniques and assertiveness skills as I have noticed that this is an area for development that employers ask for and the learners too. I also motivate and gain commitment from learners and try and persuade new employers to take on new learners by using myself as a role model example, as I began my career by completing an administration level 2 apprenticeship and have completed enough qualifications and worked my way up to becoming a Training Co-ordinator. I communicate and set direction and motivate employers by keeping them up to date with the learner’s progress and exactly what I have been doing with the learner after each visit where possible and including them in the qualification by asking for witness statements and also asking them to participate in the learner’s reviews. With my colleagues I communicate direction in standardisation meetings where we share best practise on how to cover and assess certain units that we may find difficult or what we have found that works very well. I try to motivate my colleagues by being hardworking and genuinely enthusiastic about my learners achieving and my job .