í Assignments

This week’s readings all showcase a correlation between education and work. The Employment Projections for 2015 show that unemployment rates are highest among those with less education and the rates drop as the level of education rises (www.bls.gov). Articles in Slate and USA Today share a somewhat anti-for-profit colleges rhetoric, as this education does not guarantee work for graduates.  Finally, The New York Times reports cultural and educational institutions that are being built by those with little to no education via exploitation.

In “Raising the Floor, Not Just the Ceiling”, Tressie Cottom disagrees with the president that for-profit colleges help expand educational access to populations who come from minority backgrounds (Cottom, 2014).  She finds that giving more people the opportunity to get higher educations is not the best solution for ensuring all Americans are earning a living wage.  As an alternative, Cottom suggests that a federal job guarantee is necessary (Cottom, 2014).  By raising the minimum wage, indiviuals as well as whole societies, gain economic security (Cottom, 2014).  Additionally, not everyone actually wants to attend college, or do the work required at the jobs one gets with a degree, and should not have to go to and pay for college just to ensure financial security (Cottom, 2014).

In his summary of a report on a two-year investigation of for-profit colleges, “Congressional Report Slams For-Profit Colleges”, Paul Fain explains that for-profit colleges are meant to be alternatives to community or state colleges that may not be suitable options for some non-traditional students, such as working adults (Fain, p.3).  But he points out how a large percentage of students do not graduate from these schools, yet a large amount of their resources are being spent on things besides education (Fain, p.1).  According to this report, for-profit schools are more concerned with enrollment rates and collecting tuition than in actually ensuring their students graduate and go on to have successful careers.

To further highlight the correlation between education and work, Andrew Ross reports on the phenomenon of kafala sponsorship programs, in which wealthy regions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are hiring and exploiting migrant labors from nearby countries to construct of their latest luxury buildings (Ross, p.1).  One such example is Saadiyat Island, where there are villages for the workers to reside and policies in place that are supposed to ensure the workers are treated as well as paid fairly (Ross, p.2).  But Ross uncovers the exploitation of workers on Saadiyat Island as well, who are not being paid as promised, having their wages garnished, and their passports taken away (Ross, p.2).  This horrific exploitation of uneducated citizens living in poverty does not only take place in these far-away regions.  It also happens on a daily basis in the U.S. In order to promise a future that does not involve hard labor at low pay and dangerous conditions, for-profit colleges are on the rise.  They recruit individuals with lower levels of education from low-income backgrounds who are just the people that could be susceptible to being exploited for manual labor.  Unfortunately, according to the congressional report, many of these students will not graduate, possibly leaving them vulnerable to exploitation anyway.

Due Sunday, October 23rd, by midnight. Word count: 400 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. If you paraphrase (which I encourage you to do) make sure to include the proper citation.

Explain the relationship between education and work that is elaborated upon in the articles we read for this week. At what price are cultural institutions being erected on Saadiyat Island? Should we connect these developments in the Persian Gulf to the growth of for-profit colleges in the U.S.?

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber, he states the lines written by Benjamin Franklin to explain the connection Weber is underlining between rationalism and the spirit of capitalism which are the following “Remember, that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labor, and goes abroad, or sits idle, one-half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent, or rather thrown away, five shillings besides” (Weber14).
Till today I would always listen to people say “Time is money” and never pay any mind to where the term came from or who it came or even the history behind it all, until today when doing the readings. Franklin was trying to motivate and explain to the people that our time was value and we should not waste any in minor things that will not give us wealth. Our time is valuable, and the time we do spend working we should think twice before spending it all at once. One should remember the hours spent earning the money and wasted only to reproduced.

I view Webber and capitalism as Benjamins influenced him believes of capitalism and start to use that at his methods in which one should follow to be successful in your life and wealth. He believes one should use his money and reinvest. He became aware of the concept and method before it was implemented in America. He believes that the time we have is used to earned money and the money we gain should be reinvested in capitalism. Weber goes on to describe the ethics one should have to succeed. One should pay its credit on time and be honest the way he will benefit from doing so. That is how one was able to build on his wealth and gain other trust and grew his wealth.

Weber explains how man are driven by the idea of power and wealth, which is very similar to today’s world. Many of us have to choice between our driven career or making better money. We spend more time working than actually enjoying the fruits of our labor. Webber believes that money and wealth will give you all you need, which in reality I think otherwise based on personal experiences in my life.

Hello, Class!

My name is MariaIsabel Gallardo; mostly everyone calls me Maria easier to pronounce. I was born in Ecuador and move to New York with my family at the age of eight, from the day one New York became my home. This my third semester at CWE and this class is part of my curriculum at first I wasn’t sure of what to expect from Sociology of Work except for the fact we will be learning about the history if work and the ethics that come with working. I look forward to learning the history of labor and the ethics that go with it throughout the class.

My family owns a Jewelry store where I currently work. I have been working there for about five years already. I used to work for an ESL school as administrate assistant and had to take a leave of absence due to an accident I had while vacationing in Cabo. I was not able to work. Therefore I took a leave of absence and with live always changing I ended up moving to Ecuador for about eight months. After the eight months I move back to New York, and when my father ask me to help out at the store, I accepted and from the day on I been working there, while going back to school to obtain my degree. My dream career would be to become a psychologist or a counselor for Middle School.

My fraternal grandparents who I have always been close were both hard workers in Ecuador. My grandmother who I’m named after Maria is an orphan and from a very young age had to work to earn a living to be able to support herself. While working for a wealthy family who she remembers treated her like a daughter, she meets my grandfather felt and love and marries him at the age of 18. From them on she was always finding ways to make a living from having a bar at a soccer clubhouse, where she would cook breakfast, lunches, and dinners. My grandfather worked doing administrative tasks for the city and the bull fighting Association since Bull fighting was pretty big deal in Ecuador. Sadly, he passed away ten years ago. My maternal grandparents, I don’t know much about them, not much there to tell. My father has worked his whole life back in Ecuador he had his own business, it was a coffee shop. When we move to New York, we started to work in the family store and has been a jeweler since then. My mother has been a housewife most of her life, with some period of times, she is always in the jewelry business.

I believe the fact I see how hard my grandparents and father have been hard workers; it has imprinted on me also to be a hard worker. Also the fact to see my mom been so dependent on her husband has made me want to be independent and be able to support myself. I moved out of my mother’s house and owned my own at the age of 18 years old while I was able to support myself and work at the ESL School, never looked back. Having to support myself made me put school on hold and just work, now I have decided to go back to school and get my degree. Having to listen to how my grandparents and parents didn’t have the chance to attend college and get a degree has defiantly impacted my decision on going back to college and get a degree. While I love to work with jewelry, I also love to help people out, and my dream career has always been to be a counselor or psychologist. I think having different plans and not putting all your eggs in on basket. To see your loved ones struggle to make a living is a huge motivation for me and to be able to provide for my future kids keeps me going and try to improve in my work, education and life for the better.

From reading Weber, I would say he believes in having a strong work ethic will help you achieve your goals and be wealthy. He believes that time is money and should not be a waste. Therefore if you are working and earning a living, you are not wasting your time. You are working for a better life. It was interesting to see how he used religion to compared to work ethics; I helped me have a clear view on the work ethics work.

Sociology of Work
Assignment # 4

In Chapter Two of Karl Marx’s “ Wage Labour and Capital,’’ he begins to define what wages are and their relationship to labor. Marx’s defines wages to be “that wages are the amount of money which the capitalist pays for a certain period of work or certain amount to work”(Marx), Marx begins by stating that despite the different type of work a worker does they all have one thing in common and is a wage. Marx describes a wage to be an exchange of trade between the worker and the employee. It is a transaction in which the employee sells his labor or trade and time to the employee to receive money for their commodities. Marx goes in to explain how time is what capitalist buy whether is an hour, a day or week; the essential is the time of a worker. As the employee commits to his labor, the capitalist will pay him his wage. The wage the capitalist gives the worker allows him to buy commodities weather is meat, clothing, or shelter.He is only capable of doing so, due to his time spent laboring to earned a paid wage. The way I was able to understand Marx theory of wages, commodities and labor are all a domino effect. The capitalist pays for the workers time, in which the worker spends his hours, days, etc. In providing a service for the capitalist in exchange, he receives a wage that allows his to support themselves and lifestyle. As Marx states that ”wages” is the fancy term in which is use to decide the price of one’s time spent laboring.
Marx goes on to explain his theory of wages by using the example of a Weaver; the Weaver is giving the loom and yard by the capitalist. Once the weaver is supplied with the loom and yard, he goes to producing cloth. The capitalist now has his cloth and will continue to sell his cloth for 20 shillings.The Weaver has been paid for his labor and will in no way be sharing the earnings in which the capitalist will receive from demand and supply of his cloth. The Weaver has no concern in what the capitalist will do or if he would even make a profit of the cloth he produced, with the weaver been paid his wages for his labor he no longer has anything to do with the product or selling of the cloth. As the weaver has no connection to the final product with the cloth he finds himself just working to get by and earn a wage to pay for his commodities. Marx explains that the hours the weaver spends does not fulfill him in any satisfying way until he is giving his wages, that is when the weaver start to enjoy his life.
After reading Marx wages and labor piece, I believe more in one should choose a career in which you enjoy. The fact that you will be spending long hours, days and years to come in the laboring to earn a wage to be able to survive and be able to pay for your commodities.

In his article, “The Principles of Scientific Management, (1911:4)”, Frederick Taylor he discusses how one could simplify jobs and make days work more productive. Taylor started this paper by quoting then President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt: “The conservation of our national resources is only preliminary to the larger question of national efficiency (Taylor;p1)”. Taylor explains the concept to which he referred as to “soldiering” in which was his term for “slow working.” Taylor believes that money motivated all workers.Therefore an employee should pay day by day based on the quality of work he produces the day. He believes an employee will not work as hard, and if he saw his fellow co-worker “slacking” he will begin to question himself, why do I get the same amount when his not working as hard as I do?. It will create conflict between workers and decreased the quality of work produced by the company. Taylor believes that there has to be a healthy job environment for employees to keep motivated. He believes that a good relationship between employees and employee is a key factor, for efficient work. When a worker is not being watched so closely and carefully by his employer, will produce a better quality of work. He believes that if employers and employees work together to maximize the product quality and efficiency, it will benefit all, it was a matter of both realizing they are working for the same goal.Taylor believes if there was a solution to end the soldiering, that if the workers will not behave this way it will create higher wages and shorter working hours along with home condition possible.

The three causes for “soldiering” Taylor believed were, “ The Fallacy,”“The defective,””The inefficient rule-of-thumb.” Taylor states “ This paper will attempt to show the enormous gains which result from the substitution by workmen of the scientific rule of thumb methods.” (Taylor,p4) He believes that both the employee and employer will benefit from the substitution of soldering. In my opinion, Taylor’s theory sounds great on paper, however, in today’s world, the fact we live in a capitalist society seems to make a nonexisting collaboration. A capitalist or business owner has the pressure of material and competition, once he feels the pressure, he will begin to put the pressure on his employees and the principles of scientific management Taylor’s theory will be affected.

In Frederick Taylors “The principles of scientific Management” he begins by talking about increasing national efficiency. He discusses the need for more competent men due to the fact that there is a waste in human effort. However, we cannot see this waste the way we do with materialistic things because human inefficiencies are not visible. He feels that men’s appreciation for work comes from memory and is an effort of the imagination. Because this is not seen it does not moves us as much as seeing the loss of material things such as forest and coal.  Taylor continues by stating the demand for more competent men however there is no one willing to create men in which are competent. Businessmen want to hire those who are already trained rather than having to train them themselves. so you are basically fishing in a pool for fish were there are none because no one has bothered to put any fish in there in the first place. Taylor brings up the point that the idea that “captains are born not made” is misleading and false, he believes that our future is depending of the leaders who have been trained correctly so that we are not living in a world where there is a battle between ordinary men and those who are seen as born leaders. It seems that the system has begun to over throw the man rather than putting the men first so they can rise to the top of the systems in which they work. This is known as Systematic management, rather than focus on the outcome the systematic management approach focuses on the process. In addition to fixing the issue to national inefficiency Taylor speaks of maximum prosperity in which business would not only focuses on bringing up their business to its highest excellence but also its employees. Providing Maximum prosperity within wages and work positions may ensure that each employ is working in their best efforts and at their highest abilities. In doing so the prosperity of the business would stay permanent, however if not done then the prosperity of the business who not exist long term. I felt what Taylor was trying to say was that to increasing Nation efficiency you must providing maximum through systematic management. In addition to removing soldering and slow working in the work place.    furthermore, I Believe what Taylor was saying is that men must work along machines, Workers must not feel as if their wage is affected by machines rather than both men and machine creating the “largest possible output” (pg4).  Personally I agree with most of Taylor’s points. I also believe that when these methods are applied along with the allowing your staff to work without keeping an eye on them the entire time you build a trust and confidence within the workers, making them happier and work more efficiently.

Frederick Taylor theorizes that in order to obtain the maximum output of men and machines we have to do away with the causes of slow working and “Soldering.” In order to do away with the inefficiency that is crippling our country, we first have to understand the three main causes of “soldering”. The understanding of the three main causes is needed in order to be able to implement the scientific management that is required to help reach the maximums needed for true mutual success from both workmen and employers. Frederick Taylor discusses the following three main causes of “soldering”(Taylor p.5).

1. Fallacy is the illusion that exist among workmen which basically highlights the fact that if they work at their best speed to have the best production possible, they will do an injustice to the rest of the workers who don’t work as fast nor produce as much as they do.  Which in return will cause men to be out of work (Taylor p.5).

2. Defective systems of management, refers to the notion that there is a very poor relationship between employers and workmen. As a result of their poor rapport, employers don’t know how much time is needed to complete different projects. Which in return causes the employees to idle one’s time away.

3. The inefficient rule of thumb has been generated using previous results from earlier samples that were arrived by trial and error methods. Therefore creating various approaches to handle particular jobs. The fact that there is no set rule to handle certain jobs creates wasteful techniques that aid the “soldering.” (Taylor p.5)

According to Frederick Taylor scientific management would be the best option for eliminating the “soldering” of workmen that are not benefiting nor helping the employer prosper. That in turn results in the need to get rid of slow working in order to achieve prosperity for both the workers and employers. By implementing the scientific methods it would in turn result in higher labor production that consequently lower labor costs.  In using the scientific methods, the manager would be able to get involved in the labor processes and in response be better informed about the time it takes to complete the task assigned. By improving the involvement of management of the workers they will therefore be able to influence the results of productivity to be a positive one. Even though Taylor doesn’t claim that in using the scientific management slow working and soldering will end, he can definitely help the troubles that exist for the workmen and employers.

In the reading “Wage Labour and Capital “by Karl Marx, explains the Financial and labor agreements made between a capitalist and the worker. The Worker or potential employee has Labour power. Labour power is the task and man power the person can complete for a set period for a set amount of money. The worker than negotiates the its Labour power with the capitalist in exchange for money. This is called price or wage. He spends this wage on food and shelter. This can be translated the worker exchanges his Labour power for food and shelter.

In the example of the Weaver and loom workers, Marx defines what the weaver is truly getting paid for. The weaver is receiving wages based on the agree Labour he perfumes. He does not receive results of his Labour. The results of his task completing skills is the piece of fabric which was created by the yarn provided to him. The yarn came from another laborer or employee called “The loomed “who made the yarn from raw materials. The “Loomers” Employer than sold the yarn to the weaver’s employer. He then provided the yarn to the weaver who exchange his man power to convert the yarn to fabric.

Karl Marx, continues to explain the capitalist method of production and reason why. Community changed as needs for production increased. This made the community change both materially and socially. What the worker produces and the profit of what he produces is the surplus value. The worker does not receive compensation from such profit.

The worker does not exchange his labor for commodity only but also for the satisfaction of living life. For the small moments human enjoy like sharing a bed, being part of a social group and caring for others. These things can be provided to him by exchange of labor for wages. These wages he uses for the exchange of these experience.

History shows Labour ownership was not always exchanged for wages. It was purchased once and never renegotiated. This was called slavery. Capitalist or slave owners had slaves to complete all the daily operation of any land or industry of their ownership. Now era the endeavor is completed by rented Labour owners in exchange for wages or commodities.

In conclusion, the relationship between “capital and wage Labour” is Labour –owner or employee gets hired by the capitalist or employer to complete a job for a particular period of time and wage. This wage is then exchanges for commodities.

In Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management, he explains the fundamentals of Scientific Management. In an obvious view of an example of a successful business, you would believe that the employer and employee work together to produce whatever the object is to make the business successful. This would make both the employer and employee happy. The worker would work quickly and to the best of their ability in order to increase productivity and in return the employer can sell more units of the commodity. The employer would get the best profit and also pay the worker a decent wage. The employer and employee should both be happy with this outcome and therefore should be working together.

Instead of working together to prosper the business, employees are working slower in order to stretch out the work over time. Taylor believes that the only way to reach maximum prosperity is for the employee and employer to recognize that they have the same goal and must work quickly to keep high wages for they worker and better profit for the employee.

Taylor mentions that even if an employee is a quick worker, he will decrease his speed when he realizes that other workers are not working as quickly and still earning the same pay. This is called “soldiering”. Other employees may become upset if one worker is showing more enthusiasm and working much quicker and are able to produce double or triple the amount of work than the rest of the workers. If they work too quickly, this can also show the employer that they may possibly not need as many workmen. This happens when the relationship between employees and employers is poor and both are just doing what they have been told or taught by elders. Soldiering has been hindering the success of many industries

But the employees are not the only ones creating a challenge for reaching prosperity. The methods of the employers have also been to work people as much as they can for the least bit of money in order for them to gain a bigger profit.

By properly managing these workers by getting rid of employee “soldiering” and the employers “sweat-shop” like ideals of management. Taylor believes that it would be possible to be competitive, and lower production cost. There are many more people who are spreading the soldiering way to work. The employers also must be educated properly on management to create proper leaders in many industries.