...With the rising popularity of shared capitalism in the United States, it is worthwhile to analyze the effects this trend and the workplace theories that correspond to it. The purpose of the paper is to show not only how forms of shared capitalism in the workplace can increase overall employee compensation, but how several labor theories relate and support the outcomes of shared capitalism. More specifically, three theories will be extrapolated and the outcomes of shared capitalism will follow each theory. First, expectancy theory will be explained and followed by its correlation to motivation and increased compensation. Second, equity theory will be explained and followed by the results of ESOPs. Finally, an explanation of efficiency wage theory will be provided and followed by the outcome of pay on shirking. Expectancy theory hypothesizes that a person decides to act in a certain way due to their motivation to choose a certain behavior rather than another behavior because of what they expect the outcome of their chosen behavior will be. Hence, an individual will choose the behavior with the most desirable result. Expectancy theory is a type of pay-for-performance theory that focuses on the needs for institutions to reward employees based off of their performance and to ensure that those rewards are desired by the employees. The motivational force of the employee is theorized to be a function that is multiple of three factors: expectancy (the perceived link between effort...
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...origination of the social system Capitalism, there are new ruthless forms of exploitation that has resulted in millions suffering. In a capitalistic society such as Canada, exploitation in the workplace occurs daily. Exploitation can be defined as the utilization of another person for selfish purposes (William Morris, 2000). Since the rise of the social structure Capitalism, there has been a distinctive split between two classes of people – the bourgeoisie and proletarian (Karl Marx, 1848). To some, capitalism is the ‘end-all be-all ‘ social system, but these people are more than likely one of the fortunate few who have benefitted from it. By the fortunate few I mean the bourgeoisie class - the owners of the means of production. They own the capital and the resources (factories, farms, stores) to grow their wealth further, but they need labor to do so. Then there is the proletariat class - the labor. I reference them as the labor because in order to feed their families, they need money, and they have no means to make money other then to sell their labor. It is between these two classes that exploitation occurs. The bourgeoisies offer the lowest wages that the proletariats are willing accept, that way the bourgeoisie consume all the available profit for themselves. This exploitation is prevalent in the Canadian workplace. In this essay, I will investigate how the Canadian capitalistic structure exploits its workers today. The reality of this structure capitalism is there will always be...
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...disregard for clock time, with focus on the work of Synge; who in his account of the Aran islands states a classic example of this indifference ‘and when I tell them what o’clock it is by my watch they are not satisfied, and ask how long is left them before twilight.’ This suggests during this pre-industrial period, workers were oblivious towards the clock time; rather the time of the day and its proximity to sunset would have a more significant effect in determining their working hours. Although Thompson’s example is of workers in Scotland, the disregard for clock time was not limited to that region. This irrelevance of clock time also occurred in Britain as well as other parts of the world; alongside the spread and rise of industrial capitalism. The movement of the clock emerged as a new form of labour to organise work. Thompson (1967, p.59) describe the notion of time as being task...
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...This paper is going to explain about the important shift to market society by explaining the material and ideological conditions that help integrate the society to transform into the market society. Firstly, this paper is going to explain the material conditions by showing what characterizes a market society and this also show how the market society differs from the structures of the previous social organization, and also the changes that take place in the workplace due to the shift to market society. Secondly, this paper will also be discussing the ideological conditions by looking at the early “protestant work ethic” and the “spirit of capitalism” and how those two is important to the emergence of the market society. Lastly, this paper will be concluded by explaining why the shift to market society is a necessary transformation. Market society is characterized by the self-regulation market system, the shift in relations between economy and social relations, and the commodification of everything. The self-regulation market system refers to as “a system capable of organizing the whole economic life without outside help or interference” (Polanyi, p. 43). This means that everything is controlled by the market itself including the goods that are produced and distributed. In other words, “it is an economy directed by market prices and nothing but market prices” (Polanyi, p. 43). This is a significant characteristic of the market society as it differs to some previous societies that...
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...Women’s social status has been steadily increasing within the last fifty years. Due to capitalism, education opportunities, and what Kristof and WuDunn call the “girl effect,” women’s positions in society have been elevating. In short, the “girl effect” allows women to have the same opportunities in education, jobs, and other aspects. Women are given opportunities to work more help benefit the family and community, but most importantly, it benefits women themselves. Because women are able to work outside the home, women’s gender roles are changing financially, and giving more independence. However, the unequal treatment between men and women still exists: women who work in the same position as the men may not earn as much. In “From the Frying Pan into the Fire,” Hochschild argues that the work requirements under capitalism change people’s thought and behaviors. Due to capitalism, women are jumping in the working field, and there exists a continuing competition between the home and the workplace. “The Girl Effect” shows how capitalism changes women’s gender roles,...
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...Running head: A NEW WORK ETHIC 1 A New Work Ethic? Strayer University Business Ethics – BUS 309 October 25, 2010 A NEW WORK ETHIC 2 1. Describe how typical the attitudes that Sheehy reports appear to be in work environments you have experienced. With the new generation of workers, in particular recent college graduates the attitudes of the Sheehy reports are neither unusual nor unprecedented. This generation unlike those of the past, are not exposed nor in some instances, taught the meaning of hard work, dedication, sacrifice and how success can evolve from those types of attitudes. Unfortunately through influences of the media such as television, and in some instances glorified unethical business practices of corporate CEO’s, this new generation of workers with a new work ethic, succumb to believe that hard work does not matter and that treating co-workers and external customers indifferently will get you what you want no matter what the consequences may be. As I have worked and currently work in a prominent, nationally recognized entity, and have hired both college and non-college graduates, there seems to be an attitude of entitlement with the new work ethic and workforce. There are expectations of promotions, and high salaries without proven ability of performance. There is a lack of understanding and true reality of where they fit within the organization and how they meet the performance standards. These attitudes are far different...
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...Running head: A NEW WORK ETHIC 1 A New Work Ethic? Strayer University Business Ethics – BUS 309 October 25, 2010 A NEW WORK ETHIC 2 1. Describe how typical the attitudes that Sheehy reports appear to be in work environments you have experienced. With the new generation of workers, in particular recent college graduates the attitudes of the Sheehy reports are neither unusual nor unprecedented. This generation unlike those of the past, are not exposed nor in some instances, taught the meaning of hard work, dedication, sacrifice and how success can evolve from those types of attitudes. Unfortunately through influences of the media such as television, and in some instances glorified unethical business practices of corporate CEO’s, this new generation of workers with a new work ethic, succumb to believe that hard work does not matter and that treating co-workers and external customers indifferently will get you what you want no matter what the consequences may be. As I have worked and currently work in a prominent, nationally recognized entity, and have hired both college and non-college graduates, there seems to be an attitude of entitlement with the new work ethic and workforce. There are expectations of promotions, and high salaries without proven ability of performance. There is a lack of understanding and true reality of where they fit within the organization and how they meet the performance standards. These attitudes are far different...
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...constitute a social ideology where they are systems of belief that inform conduct in everyday life. And what is Enlightenment itself? From the explanation of Kant, “Enlightenment is the liberation of man from his self-caused state of minority. Minority is incapacity of using one understands without the direction of another. This state of minority is self-caused when its source lies not in a lack of understanding but in a lack of determination and courage to use it without the assistance of another. Dare to use your own understanding.” From the Christian dialectic, human Enlightenment decline. It is characterized by the existence of a war against the accumulation of wealth, which is considered as an obstacle to the development of capitalism. In catholic paternalism, it is seen the pressure internally and externally. Internally, there was hypocrisy of economic in the body of the Church, where they prohibit lending practices and interest rates, but the Church itself there is excess wealth. Externally, the secularization of Church function in the form of God monarchy or God monopoly, faced with land acquisition monarchy that led to growing speculation, rents, and rising land prices. In Addition, the English revolution in the form of agricultural technology push declining Catholic morality. The exploitation of export trade wool from England and cost inflation at home led to the seizure of land for profitable redeployment to new forms of industry. Public Fields and forest previously...
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...Capitalism, as an economy driven by hyper-consumption, is based on commodities. The role of the commodity in the labor force has been thoroughly discussed throughout various eras, and in recent years, the general account of the commodity itself has had to adapt to the constantly changing and developing digital media industry and digital economy. Karl Marx wrote in The Fetishism of the Commodity that commodities are seen as objects with intrinsic value and cloud the labor-exploiting mechanisms that produced them. Tiziana Terranova, a more current thinker, draws on early Marxist thought in Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy, but also accounts for the changes the digital media industry produced on the labor force, the very concept of a commodity, and capitalism as a whole. Marx is the first to state that capitalism is based on the accumulation and hyper-consumption of commodities. As such, commodities are meaningful both because of their monetary/exchange value and because they reflect the social relations of production that went into making them. In The Fetishism of the Commodity, Marx says that the inherent problem with the capitalist structure is that society tends to focus only on the monetary and exchange value of the commodity. Marx uses the word “fetish” to describe commodities and show how they cause society to fixate on their monetary and exchange values, while ignoring the exploitative nature of the market that produced them. To illustrate his point...
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...inequality. Functionalists: * Different, not unequal * Men and women serve different social roles in society, fam & workplace. * Parsons: women = expressive. Men = instrumental (breadwinner). Differences are innate and prescribed at birth. Warm bath 4 husband * Murdock: One of roles of fam = to socialise children into gender roles to fit instrumental & expressive roles for society * Human Capital Theory: many women choose to prioritise role as homemaker, fitting with expressive instincts, therefore choosing their own position * Marxist feminists would argue that gender differences = used to exploit women through capitalism at work and in home. * Ansley: Women used to benefit economy, absorbing frustration & anger of husbands who are also exploited at work. ‘Women are the takers of shit’. * Benston: focused on economic aspects of gender inequality. Women = a reserve army of labour. Contribution of domestic labour to capitalism. Marxists: * More critical viewpoint of inequality * Women = useful to a capitalist society – easy to hire and fire * Engels: saw monogamy as giving men greater control over women – up until late 19th century, women = a man’s property. ROLE OF FAMILY IS TO MAINTAIN AND REPRODUCE LABOUR FORCE TO SUPPORT CAPITALISM * Zaretsky: women = a safty valve – women benefit capitalism through unpaid labour of raising...
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...(Polanyi 43). In order to make the market society function, people need to think and act in certain ways(Polanyi 68). For example, people in market society think that economic relations are much more important than interpersonal relations (Polanyi 44). Polanyi calls the emergence of market society “the great transformation”. My thesis statement is that the shift to market society is a fundamental transformation because market society is characterized by self-regulation, fictitious commodities, and an emphasis on individuals, which are significantly distinct from previous societies. Some of the changes that take place in workplace under the system of market society will also be presented. Moreover, the ideas that people have about the world in market society will be describing by pointing out the relationship between the “protestant work ethic” and the “spirit of capitalism”. Finally, the reasons why these ideological conditions are crucial to the emergence of market society will be provided. The first characteristic of market society that makes the shift to market society essential is that economy within it is self-regulating and it is called “market economy” (Polanyi 68). Self-regulation indicates that the system of market is able to organize Chen 2 the power in the economic sphere without external force (Polanyi 43). In other words, it is the market itself to be responsible for what are produced and how goods are...
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... Modernity is defined in the Collins English Dictionary as the quality or state of being modern. (Hanks 1979) This state of modernity, as described by M. Berman, is one that has positive and negative influences on both the private and public spheres. The modern world in which we live is one that is heavily influenced by the havoc of war and the ongoing process of capitalism. In order to understand the complexities of modernity, one must weigh its pros and cons. Ex-Cambridge Lecturer and sociologist T. Bilton pinpointed the origins of modernity to be during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. He discusses the slow industrialisation, new attitudes towards capitalism, and mass urbanisation. These attributes of modernity saw positive growth in wealth and the creation of bigger and more fluid markets. The trends that originated in 1780s England were to soon spread globally, with an increasing concentration of workers in larger workplaces, in tandem with deteriorating work conditions and an increase in the formation of unions. Thus, despite the periodic economic advantages of the modernisation in the workplace, there was a significant degradation of the social structure that supported the workforce as a whole. The growing distance between employee and employer, in addition to the sharpening gender and age difference, was a ‘disadvantageous’ consequence of a capitalist economy...
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...control the amount of money is on the market; price stability. Developed countries deregulated export/trade laws which allowed for them to utilize EPZ’s at higher rate. This innovation created economic relief for nations and encouraged global trade. A social condition that led to the rise of EPZ’s was the desire to produce by manufacturing in rural areas with the intention to reduce poverty and unemployment. Developing countries’ low standards for workplace regulations and labor laws made it easier for companies to facilitate trade networks with. Often these zones entitled companies to tax break incentives that would otherwise be lacking if the manufacturing were to occur in developed countries. The only boundaries capital hates are investment boundaries (Lecture #6). Companies are only focused on creating profits. EPZ’s support developed countries’ plight to economically cultivate at the cost of exploiting third world countries. Developed countries cannot utilize their home labor networks because tax policies, wage laws, and workplace regulations are enforced closely which cause labor restrictions and costlier manufacturing. Due to deregulation of global trade restrictions, outsourcing became a common practice. Spatial borders were crafted to intentional isolate areas of development. In those areas, a shift from rural to labor driven manufacturing zones came to fruition. This caused uneven development and certain dependency on EPZ’s for job creation and consumption. These zones...
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...the view that the education system serves to maintain a capitalist society. The education system can be seen to support the capitalist system. Education trains us for the workplace and it teaches us skills that make us employable which is part of the capitalist system. Also it teaches us to be punctual and to obey rules so we are compliant in the workforce. It teaches us to accept our status and authority figures in life and stick to the role we are in. The capitalist system shows that there are winners and losers, just like in education. Marxists see the state as Capitalist dominated. Althusser says the state consists of two elements which serve to keep the bourgeoisie and these are the repressive and ideological state apparatuses. The repressive state apparatuses include police and the army and when necessary use physical force to control the working class. The ideological state apparatuses are the bourgeoisie controlling the people’s ideas, beliefs and values. His theory ensures that working-class pupils will end up in working-class jobs and accept their roles. The capitalist society need people to do the low paid, hard labour, gritty jobs, they need students to fail, as high achieves would want to continue their education and aim for higher paid jobs . Bowles and Ginntis argue that capitalism requires a work force that has the right attitude and behaviour for that role and in their view the role of the education system in a capitalist society is too produce an obedient...
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...not need to use the repressive state apparatus, this includes the police, courts and army. The bourgeoisie does not need to use the RSAs because they are used to maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by force, therefore can manipulate the ways in which people think. Therefore the main function of the education system is to reproduce and legitimise social inequalities as in Althusser’s view education transmits class inequality from generation to generation and legitimates class inequalities by producing ideologies that disguise the truth. The education system develops a false consciousness in the working class, they are manipulated into thinking that capitalism is reasonable and fair in organising society. Marxists Bowles and Gintis suggest that the economy determines what happens in the education system. They argue that capitalism requires a workforce with particular attitudes and personality-types to suit their roles as exploited workers. Therefore the education system’s main function is to reproduce an obedient...
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