...Minimum Sense By HANS-WERNER SINN April 30, 2007 While the German economy is finally booming again and employment rising rapidly, the situation of the low-skilled and long-term unemployed remains difficult. Their wages, if they can find a job at all, have come under increased pressure in recent years due to the extensive outsourcing and offshoring activities of German firms. They are the obvious victims of globalization. As the ex-Communist countries and India, accounting together for no less than 45% of mankind, decided to participate in the market game, equilibrium wages for ordinary labor in the industrialized world, including Germany, have fallen. Berlin is considering introducing minimum wages to fix this problem. This is at least what the Social Democratic Party and its labor minister, Franz Müntefering, demand. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party, the coalition leader, is still reluctant to endorse this proposal. But its opposition is eroding in view of the public support minimum wages enjoy. Left-wing politicians and journalists dominate the debate. Minimum wages, they say, are necessary to maintain the living standards of the poor. They argue that minimum wages pose no problem for the economy: After all, most other European countries have them already. They fail to acknowledge, however, the negative experience these countries had with minimum wages. The vast majority of empirical studies show they tend to cost jobs. In France, for example, a 1%...
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...Overview of the Federal Minimum Wage The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law that guarantees employees and youth a fair minimum wage and overtime pay. It is regulated by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); it mandates employers to pay all nonexempt employees a federal minimum wage no less than the determine amount set by the government (U.S. DOL, 2011). Unfortunately, the federal minimum wage still sits at $7.25 per hour and has remained the same since George W. Bush signed a law to change it on July 24, 2009 (Risher, 2013; U.S. DOL, 2011). So, why did so many government officials decline the increase of the federal minimum wage and why do they fear the positive impact that the increase will have on America? This paper intends to briefly discuss six laws, all pertaining to federal minimum wage introduced to the House of Representatives within a year and highlight one member of the senate who disapproved the law for passing. In addition, this paper will briefly point out statements made about why some Senators chose to decline the bill; and finally, this paper intends to briefly explain any legal issues preventing the wage increase and implications for management. Start of Hope: Minimum Wage Fairness United States senators and representatives have introduced numerous federal minimum wage bills to the House of Representatives in order to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during their term. These bills were designed to either...
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...arguments for and against raising the minimum wage are almost unavoidable in the labor market, with each side having individually strong points. Advocates say that anyone who works 40 hours a week or more deserves to earn a decent living wage and get out of poverty, while opponents argue that high wages cost jobs. Most of the arguments for increasing the minimum wage are more emotional pleas and theories with very little evidence for achieving the desired outcome. The truth is that raising the minimum wage does not lead people to get out of poverty, but what it does is make it more difficult for younger workers to find entry-level jobs to build their skills. By raising the minimum wage, experts argue that it will make it more difficult for younger workers entering the workforce to get a job. Employers will be hiring workers with more experience and skills, since they can attract these workers with higher wages. Therefore, raising the minimum wage may be causing more harm to a younger workforce looking to find their first job to gain relevant work experience. Our country needs to focus on the inconvenient truths about the real impact around raising the minimum wage. Some of these inconvenient truths are highlighted by the research that clearly shows how raising the minimum wage may cause more harm than good, and have significant consequences to the younger and entry-level workers vs. the emotional theories that state increasing the minimum wage will get more people out of poverty...
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...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...
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...Surviving the $15 Minimum Wage: McDonald’s Struggle to Remain Competitive Rasel Ahammed Dario Colon Gonzalez Gregory A. Delts Valerie Demas Keller Graduate School of Management Professor Vera Daniels MGMT 530: Managerial Decision Making November 27, 2015 Table of Contents Page 3: Executive Summary Page 4: Introduction-Overview of Decision Problem Page 4: Problem Statement Page 5: Objectives Page 6: Summary of Key Objectives Page 6: Alternatives Page : Description of Alternatives Page : Selection Page : Consequence Table with Original Values Page : Ranking Alternatives Page : Scoring Model: Title Page : Weighted Scoring Model: Title Page : Consequences Page : Risk Profile: Title Page : Implementation, Monitoring, and Control Page : Timeline Page : Summary Page : Works Cited Executive Summary McDonald’s restaurant chain, long considered an industry and community leader, has begun to experience a reversal of its corporate fortunes. They have seen a steady decline in total profits, sales, and a weakening of their corporate image. To add to their troubles, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, and a growing number countrywide are in the process of approving a bill almost doubling the minimum wage for fast food workers from $8.75 to $15. The problem is, knowing that there will be a dramatic increase in salary expenses in the next few years, how can McDonald’s alter its business practices...
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...Increasing the Minimum Wage Jacqueline S. Nock May 19, 2014 Abstract The issue of minimum wage increases has been controversial since the inception of the minimum- wage law in 1938. The minimum-wage law, which includes child labor laws, was put into place to protect American workers from exploitation and poverty during tough economic times (Schuldt, Robert; Woodall, Davis; Block, Walter E., (2012), par.4). Although the law accomplished what it was intended to at the time, increases in the minimum wage over the years have produced higher unemployment rates and higher poverty levels. As the minimum wage increases, employers are forced to eliminate employees who are not working up to the current minimum wage level and hire better-skilled people who are worth the wages they are paid. Increasing the minimum wage causes an increase in unemployment among certain populations for this very reason. Completely eliminating the minimum-wage law is not the solution to the problem, but if the minimum wage remains at its current level for a few more years, it might motivate minimum wage earners to do more to protect their own financial future. The History of Minimum-Wage Law President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the federal minimum-wage law into effect in 1938. It was part of a larger bill called the Fair Labor Standards Act. The minimum-wage law was created to protect workers from not being paid a fair wage for the work they perform. It guaranteed workers a fair wage, ensured safe working...
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...Minimum wage has always been a controversial topic ever since the Fair Labor Standards Act took effect back in 1938. The goal Congress was trying to impose with the Fair Labor Law was to keep families out of poverty and to protect non-unionized workers in unskilled jobs. This law has failed us, being that the cost of living (rent, food, gas, taxes, utilities, healthcare, and transportation) continues to rise and the minimum wage stays at a plateau, resulting in parents not being able to provide all the necessities for their families. The United States should increase the minimum wage because the low wages are the cause for deteriorating health in American society; and the current minimum wage has more than 45 million people living below the poverty line. Raising the minimum wage would not only lift families out of poverty, but can also improve health outcome by increasing financial access to resources and opportunities. Americans living on minimum wage are more likely to experience adverse health outcomes, including higher rates of chronic illness and disability and lower life expectancies, because wages affect a person’s ability to access healthy foods. Low-wage workers are less likely to get decent health care because they cannot afford it. Low wages can cause stress because they may not know how they will pay rent...
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...Paper Coy, Peter. “How Much Am I Worth? - The Case for a $10.10 Minimum Wage.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Feb 2014: 10-13. Print. The Cost-Of-Living in Hawaii and New York are among the highest. Yet, in both states the minimum wage is set at $7.25. In his January 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama requested to raise a new federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour. This movement has progressed within the past couple of weeks since its publication in February 2014. In the following pages, I will attempt to update and fill in the gaps where the article has left off. How would you like a 40% increase in your payroll? I bet that sounds like a great idea! How about if you and your fellow coworker’s all received a 40% raise? Even better right? Now, what if that 40% increase went through with the entire nation? Although raising the minimum wage would not increase everyone’s wage, this is where the controversy starts. Set in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, is the fundamental compensation law in the United States. It is the federal law that establishes a minimum wage and limits the number of hours that may be worked in a standard week. It defines two categories of employees, the exempt employees and the non-exempt employees. The exempt employees are not allowed over-time pay, and non-exempt employees who are allowed overtime. The non-exempt employees are highly effected through this issue of raising minimum wage. Non-exempt employees are given the benefit of overtime...
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...Scope of Topic: Is a $15 minimum wage in large American cities fair to the affected businesses? On Nov 2014, San Francisco has voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 over a course of the next three years. This article intends to analyze the impact of the decision on businesses. The ripple effects of the wage hike are felt not just businesses that employ blue-collar workforce but also by larger corporations and the US economy as a whole. The wage hike is primarily aimed at providing economic stimulus to blue-collar workforce, who must live off their hourly wage. The article will be segmented into two parts – Fair and Unfair. Reasons that highlight both standpoints will be listed out and discussed in each segment. Fair to US Businesses Reduces employment and training costs. Employee turnover, ranging from 50 to 200%, is a serious problem among many businesses that employ a major chunk of the blue-collar workforce. (For example, an employer with annual turnover of 100% means that the firm is employing two different people for one position). All this translates to roughly 30 to 150% of yearly pay . Increases consumer spending due to increase in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Research undertaken by the federal government and also research agencies, indicates that wage hike results in approx. $50 B in spending. This increased spending can be captured by businesses in general. GDP grows by $22B , which leads to better business. Research by EPI, a research group funded...
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...ENG 111 10 March 2014 The Reasons Why Federal Minimum Wage Is Raised U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on February 12, 2014 to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour starting next year and encouraged employers nationwide to increase wages for their workers. The president also announced during his State of the Union address last month that he intended to take executive action to raise wages for federal contract workers (Mason). Order to understand this issue, we are going to understand what the Federal Minimum Wage is and when started it in the U.S.A. According to the United States Department of Labor (USDL), early in the administration of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), it started to be apparent that the use of the legal minimum wage was prone to producing undesirable efforts upon the financial systems of Puerto Rico and also the Virgin Island if put on all their covered industries. As a result, on June 26, 1940, an amendment was passed prescribing the establishment of special industry committees to find out, and problem through wage orders, the minimum, wage levels relevant in Puerto Rico and also the Virgin islands. The rates established by industry committees might be under the legal rates relevant elsewhere within the United States. In 1949, the minimum wage was elevated from 40 cents an hour or so to 75 cent an hour so for those employees and minimum wage coverage was extended to incorporate employees in mid-air...
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...Solving Human Resource Problem of PT Maspion by Applying Motivation and Payment Theory Fitria Candra Dewi, Zamrida Ma’arifatul Lillah, Dhea Elvira Rossa, Dody Kurnia Lumban Gaol, Devina Kartika Sari Department of Business Management Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember 1. Introduction Motivation is the process which purpose to increase an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal specifically, an organizational goal. There are four early theories about motivation, they are: a. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Theory b. Mc Gregor’s Theory X and Theory Y c. Harzberg’s Two-factor Theory d. McClelland’s Theory of Needs These theories are still relevant but need to be more developed in order to fulfill the developing of industrial needs. So, the contemporary theories appear to accommodate the industrial needs. They are: a. Self determination Theory b. Goal setting Theory c. Equity Theory d. Expectancy Theory Payment is one of factors which can motivate the employees. Appropriate payment will avoid employees from the dissatisfaction but inappropriate payment will demotivate the employees. One of demotivation effect is decreasing productivity. The human resource department should maintain the payment according to employee’s needs and the laws. The human resource department can determine the salary based on employee’s position and job. But the payment must not be below the minimum wage. Beside the based salary, human resource department...
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...Nike must overturn problematic problems in order to establish a successful commerce in a foreign country. Some of the legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that confront Nike’s global business are child labor laws, wages, and outsourcings of manufacturing. Nike sweatshop labor case like those described in “Nike: The Sweatshop Debate” has agitated a large sum of controversy over business ethics. The first case illustrates how Nike has inadvertly managed to oversee that those companies they subcontract do not follow international labor laws, including those pertinent to the country the employees are working from. An example is the employee Lap, interviewed in the article. The employee is exploited, “Her basic wage, even as sewing team leader, still doesn’t amount to the minimum wage . . . . She’s down to 85 pounds. Like most of the young women who make shoes, she has little choice but to accept the low wages and long hours. Nike says that it requires all subcontractors to obey local laws; but Lap has already put in much more overtime than the annual legal limit: 200 hours.” Another evident situation that challenges business ethics is the cultural depreciation in the countries where Nike contracts with manufacturer subcontractors. Countries like China and Indonesia close to non-existent labor laws, “The majority of Nike shoes are made in Indonesia and China, countries with governments that prohibit independent unions and set the minimum wage at rock bottom. The Indonesian...
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...Smith, Advertising Department Supervisor From : Jason Vu, Advertising Associate Date : March 24, 2010 Re : New Approach for Extra Income As a consequence of the recent increase in minimum wages, there is an increase in the discretionary income of our current advertising base. People with more money tend to spend more. Our current advertising approach does not take this into consideration. This is a proposal to modify the approach in our advertising strategy so that we can take advantage of the coming shift in our advertising base and enhance our advertising revenue by expanding our potential client base. The rationale behind the proposal and its implementation will be elaborated in the following report. When people have achieved basic survival needs such as food, shelter, and relatively secured physical and financial safety, they seek to attain things that they haven’t yet possess, such as status symbols or a sense of belonging to an exclusive group. If we can encourage our existing advertisement consumers to spend their extra income, hence shift the demand of our current advertising base to consume more upscale products, then we stand to gain an expanded and more profitable set of ads buyers. This project is a market study in potential new products in which ads targeted for the new minimum wage consumers segment can be created. This project will determine the current advertising consumers’ income. The result of this project will be used in devising a strategy to create and...
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...Introduction Minimum wage refers to the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage an employee is legally entitled to when working. Minimum wage is in effect in a range of different jurisdictions with differences in the views on the advantages and disadvantages being disputed by people. Supporters claim minimum wage increases the standard of living for workers whilst reducing poverty. Opposite views are that if it is high enough to be effective then it increases unemployment, particularly among workers who are inexperienced or handicap, thus harming the lesser skilled workers to benefit the better skilled workers The effect on employment rates due to minimum wage rates is a highly contested policy within economics. The introduction of minimum wage into the market can lead to competitive employers cutting employment; this depends on the rate of the wage rises require to comply with the current minimum wage according to the “standard textbook model”. Other models have also been suggested in which a decline in the employment rate may not occur and in fact employment may increase. During my research I found a wide range of literature on minimum wages, particularly on the effects of a minimum wage policy in place. Though a lot of informative research was concluding I also found the argument between weather the effects and positive of negative on employment, both sides of the disagreement present a large amount of information supporting the theories. Research before the 1990’s mostly...
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...Thoughts on Economics Vol. 20, No. 03 Problems of Bangladesh Garments Sector and their Solution– An Islamic Perspective Sarwar Md. Saifullah Khaled( Abstract: The paper relates to the Bangladesh garments sector. Garments workers are badly exploited by the factory owners in collaboration with their foreign buyers resulting in a sub-human standard of life of workers. The occasional agitations for higher wages and better amenities for workers are alleged to be fanned up to violence by some interested quarters together with the privileged unorganized labour leaders and certain NGOs. The recent violence following the declaration of the Wage Structure 2010 is alleged to be backed by those interested in taking away this industry from Bangladesh. The paper highlights the major problems faced by the industry and suggests solution in the light of the teachings of Islam. I. Introduction After the decline and fall of the jute industry just after liberation – (recent media reports show a hopeful prospect of this industry) – the garments industry now plays a vital role in the economy, starting about a decade or so after the emergence of Bangladesh. Like the jute growers and the jute industrial workers that were once the driving force of the Bangladesh economy, the same role is being played today by the garments industry and its workers, and they are the single largest number of industrial workers in the country. With the toil, sweat and untiring effort of the garments workers, this industry...
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