Economic Lens In The Workplace

1. Describe two examples of important things that financial planning skills can help you do, and explain why these things are important to you personally. (4-6 sentences. 2.0 points)

Imagine that you have decided to open a small ice cream stand on campus called "Ice-Campusades." You are very excited because you love ice cream (delicious!) and this is a fun way for you to apply your business and economics skills! Here is the first month's scenario--you order the same number (and the same variety) of ice creams each day from the ice cream suppliers, and your ice creams are always marked at $1.50 each. However, you notice that there are days when ice creams remain unsold but other days when there are not enough ice creams for the number of customers.

Tournament is a kind of reward system where fixed rewards are used for a fixed group of people and the “distribution of rewards is based on the order of the participants’ performance” (Lazear & Oyer, 2009, p. 9). In this particular situation, four agents in one of Mitch & Murray’s offices are given a strong incentive to succeed in a sales tournament. Mitch & Murray uses a set of prizes that diminish in value as a person’s relative performance gets lower. The top seller will win himself a Cadillac, the second will win himself a set of steak knives, and the others will be out of job (Glengarry Glen Ross, n.d.). In response to the given prizes, four agents react in different ways.

The popularity of the television show, The Office, is partially a result of its connection to problems and topics that members of the society face daily. One example of these problems is the emergence of Marxism between social classes that can occur due to businesses or the economy. In one episode of The Office, the boss, Michael, is assigned with the task of choosing a health care plan for his employees. Jan, who is over Michael, says to him, “You know the whole reason that we are doing this is to save money” (“Health Care”). The main goal for most companies is to make as much profit as possible and cut unnecessary expenditures, however, companies often become so obsessed with becoming wealthy that they often neglect the needs of their employees

In the U.S. labor relations, a group of employees who desire to bargain collectively rather than individually, are those who typically form a union (Dooley, 1957). This demonstrates to the employer that the majority of its employees support the union and the organizing process begins. First, employees cannot form a union without abiding by certain basic procedural steps and legal standards that are required. Decisions to vote against or for a union are based on factors such as satisfaction with their job, beliefs of the effectiveness of the union, and the culture or social environment in which the employee works. Next, when an employer exerts undue punishment to an employee who the employer suspects as being an illegal alien, this may be poor public policy. From a legal perspective, a recent federal court case, Singh v. Jutla & C.D. & R. Oil, Inc., 214 F. Supp. 2d 1056 (N.D. Cal. 2002) spoke to this issue. In this case, when the plaintiff Singh filed a wage claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employer fired him and reported him to INS as an illegal alien (Labor Law, 1969). Likewise, the union certification process which was established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 was a victory for workers waning union representation upon its initial implementation. Workers could petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a determination made democratically of whether a majority of workers favored unionization (Labor Law, 1969). This effort

In the film, Office Space, director Mike Judge brings the viewer inside the mind of Peter Gibbons. Peter is not happy at his job as a computer programmer at Initech Corporation. Unable to endure another moment of the tedious, soul-sucking routine and trivial annoyances at Initech; Peter’s soon to be ex-girlfriend talks him into seeing a hypnotherapist. Following one session Peter decides that life is too short to continue the corporate grind. This paper will look at how the film represented some of the more common concerns that employees encounter in the workplace today; such as, erosion of civil liberties, job tasks, working conditions, wages, and promotions. In addition; the ethical aspects of personnel policies and procedures such as promotions, discipline, and wages will be discussed.

Michael tries very hard to keep his employees through the company's downsizing, and does so successfully. This is because he truly cares about his employees, wanting to create a happy and comfortable work atmosphere, and believing that people are a company's most valuable resource. He tries hard to make the new temporary worker feel comfortable and accepted (when he compliments him on his pun). He also tries to diffuse and hear both sides of disputes (when Dwight is mad at Jim for suspending his stapler in Jello). Although Michael's management methods are unconventional and often irresponsible, the way he values his workers and puts their needs first is admirable. Many managers are able to increase profit or cut expenses, but how many make a genuine effort to help every employee feel more comfortable at work? This episode of 'The Office' taught me that although my grades and overall performance are vital to success in this course, just as important is how much I will connect and collaborate with my team

Neoliberalism affects the world globally because when corporation have the power and freedom to do whatever they desire without government control, they will become egotistic and do whatever it takes for them gain more profits, such as paying workers as little as possible or closing down the company if they desire. Although companies and business corporations would choose to have neoliberalism, it will make workers, especially racialized women be oppressed since they are in the lowest hierarchy in terms of gender, race, and class which would make them be segregated into the least attractive jobs, and earn lowest pay.

Due to the significant cost associated with DVD creation, replication, shipping and install Clifford Thames will charge a $10 flat fee surcharge for all DVD customers. This surcharge is irrespective of the number of DVDs (i.e. dealers taking 1 DVD will be charged $10 and dealers taking 9 DVDs will also be charged $10). The $10 surcharge will be a separate transmittal and will be entirely payable to Clifford Thames to partially offset the costs and this is not part of the revenue share.

Motivation according to Kelley (2014) is the ‘process through which managers build the desire to be productive and effective in their employees’. If an employee is motivated, they are more likely to be productive and generally staff turnover is low. The problem of worker motivation is that workers are not seen as humans, they have a lack of freedom at the workplace and lack of job fulfilment. Taylor and McGregor Theory X argue that there is not a problem with worker motivation, workers will be obedient because of fear of losing their job motivates them to do well. Whereas Maslow and McGregor’s Theory Y argues that there is a problem with worker motivation because of class conflict between the worker and the manager. The

Capitalism is an economic system in which industry, trade and factor and means of production are controlled by private investors or owners with an aim of making profit in a market economy. It affects the rate of capital accumulation, labor wage and the control of competitive market. This usually affects the economy of different societies since the government has no control over the economy. The forces of capitalism greatly affect the societies in that the poor continues to be poorer while the reach society continues to accumulate wealthy and become richer. It widens the income disparity gap. It influences both the economic aspect and social aspect of the societies largely. This mainly is influenced by the forces that

When describing the sociological implications of the modern economy and the workplace environment there are many subject to think about like: depend on the type of job, professional training, and level of occupational achievement and that person self of esteem and social approval. Today’s jobs and career’s depend on that persons qualifications they have to be qualified to do that particular job. Many jobs strive to reward their employee with bonuses, gift card or paid time off. Some employer try to fix that person self-esteem, by try to make them more successful and giving them more work hours. Spending so much time at work build your sociability with your co-works, it build creditable with your skills, and it give you the income you need to live the way you like.

One certainty regarding Canada’s diverse labour market is that, simply, some jobs are better than others. When comparing what makes one job better than another, various factors such as work hours, wages, benefits, and security are assessed. It makes sense that permanent, full-time, well-compensated, secure positions would be considered “better” than precarious (unreliable and/or unpredictable), part-time, temporary, low-wage, benefits-absent jobs would be. However, to complicate this labour market division further is the overwhelming presence of inequality within the market(s), driven by historical conditions and ongoing market standards which have put and kept women, visible minorities and other groups in a vulnerable position. It is these certain groups that consistently suffer the consequences of labour market insecurity and inequality, and experience structural and social barriers to improving the conditions.

The movie Office Space, examines and critiques various organizational practices in our society. It is a story about work life and the effects of bad management on the morale of the workers. It is set in a high-tech company and the central character is a technical professional in the organization who has no motivation or passion for his job. Pete works at Initech, a software company. His job consists of sitting in a cubicle crunching numbers all day long, which is enough to make anyone go crazy. Office Space depicts an oppressing, unsatisfactory view of the working world in an attempt to demonstrate unhealthy and ineffective practices that many businesses and organizations utilize. While many elements

The landscape of the labor market is a critical factor in the economic comparison of different countries. Countries with a friendly job market are economically stronger because such an economy is able to achieve high living standards for its citizens. This paper therefore endeavors to explore some of the trends in the labor market in the US, EU, Japan and China