Is Your Job Going Abroad?

"Outsourcing, before acquiring its current incendiary meaning, was referred to the practice of turning over noncritical parts of a business to a company that specialized in that activity". Now, outsourcing is more commonly known as sending the labor overseas, so the labor costs are cheaper than those of America. This could be an extreme negative for the future of work in America. The jobs we used to send over were simply "running the cafeteria or cleaning the office. Then it started moving up to corporate-service functions." With foreigners getting the American jobs, it not only is causing Americans to become unemployed, but also is building up those third-world or developing countries, such as India.
I believe this has been so utilized by Americans for one main reason. It's all about the money. If they can find cheaper labor, that means more money in their pocket, which is just what an employer wants. America will not lose jobs all together that are medical or educational. We will always need teachers, and we will always need someone to take care of us when we are sick. I believe these two types of careers, along with maybe a couple others, are safe from the constant outsourcing between America and foreign countries.
This trend is almost impossible to stop. There are a few ways to minimize the amount of outsourcing, but many would require major laws, unsure results, and upset people. In the end, it would be extremely difficult or next to impossible to completely end outsourcing altogether. However, something must be done to minimize outsourcing or America will continue to economically decrease.

Scripted Talk

Taylorism, also known as scientific management, is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows, improving labor productivity. Frederick W. Taylor was "the originator and foremost proponent of taylorism." He advocated a strict separation between thinking and doing, and was able to cut down unnecessary body movements. This made the working force much quicker in carrying out actions, thus saving manager's time and bringing them in more money.
Scripted talk fits into this type of management because it cuts down unnecessary words, allowing the flow of labor to quicken. For example, when eliminating full sentences and only speaking in phrases or short questions, a drive thru at McDonalds is able to move quicker, thus bringing more cars in throughout the day. It is for this reason thatso many businesses organize their companies in this fashion, making their employees use 'scripted talk'. It saves time and money, and that is every employer's dream.
In my opinion, and from my personal experience as a employee at Skyline's drive thru, I feel that scripted talk does improve the rate at which cars come through, thus making skyline more money. After using scripted talk so much, it got to the point where after a while I was able to rattle off questions or read back an order with no hesitation at all. This, however, can also be a negative, in that the employee has to know how to be quick, efficient, and polite all at the same time. Overall, I believe that scripted talk is very beneficial to employers in the working force.

At the Edge of Poverty

In this essay, Shipler argues that poverty in America is not easy to define. He says this because there are so many factors that go into determining the poverty line, such as income, number of people to support, etc. For example, if one makes $30,000 per year, one might say that the amount is living in poverty, or not well off. However, if this person is just supporting their own being, then they are actually able to provide for themselves, while also getting certain wants as well. Another way people may be considered in poverty is due to their frame of mind or self-confidence. If an individual always wants more than what they have, they may consider themselves poor, even though others may not have as much as they do.
It is a proven fact that once a family hits poverty or rock bottom, it is very difficult if not next to impossible to come out into the middle or upper class. I believe this is because of the "snowball effect". Once one thing goes wrong in life, it costs money which causes something else to go wrong and more money to be spent, and so on. It is extremely challenging to reverse this effect unless family or close friends help out with the situation.
Despite the national War on Poverty that occured in 1962, the financial gap between the 'rich' and the 'poor' is constantly growing. In 1962, the poverty line was based on food. In the 1960's, this may have been a legitimate way of measuring the poverty in America. In modern day America, however, this is not an accurate measuring tool. The price of food has lowered, and the number of families are increasing.
It is more difficult to be poor in America than a developing nation, Shipler argues. This is due to the fact that "the skills of surviving in poverty have largely been lost in America." I very much agree with this statement. When visiting a third world country, you will find people or tribes with not a lot to their name, but a smile on their faces. Also, they work long, hard, laboring days with little or no income, just to survive. In America, the electricity would go out for a few hours and we would all go crazy. To them, our less important items mean the world. It is astonishing at how little they NEED, and how much we WANT. This is a troubling issue that must be fixed, or America is going to get itself into more problems than it's ready for.

Technology Versus African Americans

Walton believes that African Americans have had and are continuing to have struggles with the growing technology. In the past, technology was never provided for them, due to slavery. They never had the rights to engage in anything other than picking cotton or doing their master's daily chores. Even in the present, technology is harmfully affecting the African American society. They are far behind other races in the technology provided for them. In looking at these facts, Walton asks the question, "where are the armies of ghetto youths ready to meet the innovation and programming needs of an exponentially expanding electronic frontier and get rich in the process, in what is perhaps the last gold rush in American history?"
Economics has always been presented as a problem for African Americans on the topic of technology. Many who come from the "ghetto" or the "slums" of America do not have the financial supply to purchase newer technology, much less produce products such as Microsoft or Hewlett Packard. Everyday that people do not take advantage of the technology presented to them is a day they fall farther behind in America. Technology has changed so much even over the past ten years. Another puzzling question is how much technology is actually presented to them?
Getting involved with technology beyond consumerism is crucial. Many African Americans are more involved with entertainment-type careers more so than educational-type careers. Poor education is a major problem for them. Many schools lack the money and therefore lack resources necessary to gain a good education with the use of technology. Another issue is the way they were brought up, or their "folkways". People in general are more likely to follow what they know rather than make their own pathway. Walton says "folkways, the consciousness of the race, change at a slower pace than social conditions do - and so a working strategy can turn into a crippling blindness and self-limitation. While much of these issues are out of their control, I feel as if they still need to encourage younger generations to become apart of the technological mainstream. "Otherwise they will be unable to cross the next technological threshold that emerges in human civilization."

The Just-Add-Water Kennedys and Barbecue Bread Violence

Polyestra's opening response, "fewer than one percent of Americans break out of the social class they are born into", actually does not shock me. I think it is very difficult to have a large economic increase from one generation to the next, due to the fact that large sums of money are not simply thrown at you, unless you win the lottery, which doesn't occur to just anyone. Another way to receive large sums of money relatively fast would be by talent. For example, if a very talented singer or football player were to be born in the lower class or middle class life, using their talents to become famous would be a complete turn-around for them. This would cause a class jump in their lives.
The American dream has many meanings, but for this particular exerpt, it was based on finances. The American dream to many families is the white-pickett fence, two car garage, and big backyard. It is unfortunate that even though many people have this vision, it will merely stay a dream, not reality. However, this was not the case for Polyestra's family. Her parents were influenced by their parents that every generation must increase financially. It was frustrating for them because their wishes weren't coming true no matter how hard they tried.
Finally, Polyestra's father pulled through for the family and landed a high paying real estate career. Because the extra money was new to them, they went out on a spending spree and did not stop until they have bought everything from new clothes to new cars. Also, their attitudes went from hopeful, to snobby. They ate outside at places just to show off the money that they have. Her dad ended up getting drunk, and yelling at random strangers. Obviously his money had advanced, but his attitude and behavior had not.
Polyestra's father had chosen to commit suicide. I feel there will always be a 'what if' question for that family. What if they had not received that sudden burst of money? Would they still have to be in that present situation? What does this say about what money can do to the American family? I believe that money can have just as many disadvantages as advantages. Clearly, this short story shows both of the ups and downs of the situation.