Work reform, as interpreted by the employer, is a modern concept that has at its core increases in efficiency and effectiveness and a content and stable workforce. Work reforms are a means to an end; the end being increases in efficiency, production, and profits in a volatile global market. Depending on which method is used, the goals are to motivate their workers to gain their compliance. By paying more attention to a workers values, attitudes, and psychological needs, etc. a company can set the foundation for a more militant workforce and perhaps circumvent unionization. A company can try to create a “corporate family”, for example, via a corporate culture to try to facilitate this type of reform. The implementation of a corporate culture is an attempt to get workers to “buy in” to the firm’s overall goals (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 244-248). Key themes include workers as human beings, organizational cultures, constant adaptation, co-operation, creativity, flexibility, work teams, doing more with less, continuous learning, flatter organizational structures, customer-service, and participative management, etc. The goals and motivations for work reform as it pertains to a workforce differ from those of firms. Workers see changes such as enhanced on the job decision-making, increased autonomy, a decrease in monotonous and arduous tasks, and more input into large company decisions(that will ultimately affect them) as positive. Other changes that workers would embrace are pay increases and the addition of family friendly work policies such as more free time, and on-site daycare. Since a number of large manufacturing and service firms are unionized, a motivation and goal for work reform, in this respect, would be for a co... ... middle of paper ... ...enough research on it. Some drawbacks are less employment security, a loss of pay due to the profit-sharing model, and there is evidence of some firms engaging in downsizing and layoffs who have adopted HPW. There is also evidence that implementation of HPW systems in lower-tier service jobs results in negligible differences in any of the above categories. Only in the upper-tier services can more of the benefits of this model be had, which unfortunately leads to potentially greater market segmentation (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2011 p. 267-268). Works Cited Krahn, Lowe, Hughes (2008) Work, Industry, & Canadian Society. (5th ed.) Toronto, ON: Nelson Education Ltd. Critoph, U (2010) Sociology 321 Study Guide. (Revised edition). Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University Athabasca University (2010) Sociology 321 Reading File. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University
As companies look to expand operations and hire new employees, many economic and environmental factors are taken into consideration. The cost of labor is one of the primary concerns as labor generally constitutes a large part of company budgets. The organization of labor by unions further increases this concern. The wages of unionized workers are significantly higher than the wages of nonunion workers in almost every industry (Fossum, 2012). Higher wages generally result in reduced company profits, lower share prices, and reduced shareholder returns (Fossum, 2012). Unionization also reduces the employer’s flexibility with regards to hiring, transferring, or promoting employees (Fossum, 2012). Productivity may be negatively impacted by unionization because merit is often eliminated as a criterion for wage increases or promotions (Fossum, 2012). As a result of these negative impacts, employers are motivated to oppose unionization.
History professor 's Ken Coates and Bill Morrison, in their article, ' 'The uses and abuses of university, ' ' emphasize the mismatch between what students are learning in university, and what the economy truly needs. Coates and Morrison 's purpose is to impress upon readers the idea that post secondary graduates are often bombarded with unexpected difficulties such as struggling to find paid employment, and accepting unskilled, low paying jobs. They adopt a candid approach in order to convey to their readers the idea that our education is not parallel with our ever changing Canadian economy. The article is concluded with an engaging statement addressing the extreme disconnect between what universities are producing, and what the students need in order to bridge the unemployment gap, and that if universities are unable to accept the truth behind why people attend universities, the graduates and the economy will continue to suffer. Through their use of a strong personal story, statistics, and then and now comparisons, they are able to effectively defend their bold thesis.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
Canadian workplaces today seem to be a fairly diverse place, with a blend of many religions, ethnicities, and genders present. However, although people preach affirmative action and melting pots in current times, many inequality and power issues still abound. One strikingly noticeable example is gender discrimination. Women in the workforce face many challenges like smaller wages, harassment, male privilege in hiring or promotions, and lack of support when pregnant or raising children. One half of the planet is women, and it can be assumed the same for Canada, but they still face judgment at work because they lack the authority to dispute against big corporations or even their male supervisor. It cannot be argued that Canadian women’s status has worsened over the past hundred years, of course, thanks to feminism and activism. However, their status is not as high as it could be. Women as a group first started fighting for workplace equality during the second wave of feminism, from the 1960s to the 1990s. Legislation was approved during the second wave to try to bring gender equality to the workplace. Feminists both collided and collaborated with unions and employers to ensure women received fair treatment in an occupation. Quebec had the same issues, only the province approached the conflict differently than English Canada with its own unique viewpoint. It became clear that women were entering the workplace and did not plan on leaving. Second-wave feminism in Canada shifted power from the government and businesses to women in order to try to bring equality, although the discrimination never completely disappeared.
I wasn’t born in Atlantic Canada but Atlantic Canadian business certainly has had an impact on my life. My father has worked for McCain Foods for over 25 years and is currently employed as the Retail Area Sales Manager, Atlantic Canada for McCain Foods so it’s no coincidence that I was born in Kitchener Waterloo just forty minutes from Sobeys Ontario’s head office which was located in Brantford Ontario and my sister in St. John’s N.L. just two years later. I guess we moved a lot in those early years, if you call six moves in 14 years a lot, but McCain was growing and McCain always promoted from within wherever possible. In this paper I will discuss some of the reasons I feel Atlantic Canadians play such an important role in Canadian business and what motivates them. I’ll draw on some of my own personal observations as well as others from reference materials.
Precarious employment is work that is not secure, generally does not include any type of benefits, and is paid so lowly that it generally does not meet the living wage. This type of employment is unfortunately a growing trend in today’s societies due to many factors such as outsourcing, globalization, a saturated job market, shifts from manufacturing to the service sector and jobs also being replaced by computerized units. When speaking on precariousness these trends also affect European societies due to the fact that the outsourcing is generally to places where labour is extremely cheap in order to lower the costs of goods such as Asia and South America. This growing trend is also resulting in negative effects on the economy such as the bottoming out of the middle class and a large amount of citizens living below the poverty line and not able to earn a livable wage. Minimum Wage is on the incline, however, it is still not enough to live on practically and there are many other factors that make precarious work disadvantageous other than the wages such as job security and room for growth and promotion within the company. The negative changes to the job market brought on by the changes to it have resulted in higher expectations and demands from the employers which reduce the amount of people which are eligible for what are now known as “good jobs”. These good jobs generally entail a livable wage, benefits, more flexibility and better job security. Precarious work is categorized and gendered as women and immigrants make up the vast majority of employees in this type of work. Since precarious work affects citizens on a global scale, in this essay, there will be comparisons and contrasts drawn between precarious work in Canada ...
When we look at the history of women’s paid employment in Canada, we can see that society has come a long way. Previously, women’s work was in the home, in the private sphere. Her work consisted of taking care uniquely of the home and the children. Rarely, would we see women working for a wage expect for poor women; only because, their families needed the income. Mainly, the only jobs that were available for women were domestic service, a job that relates to the private sphere of the home. People believed that if a woman had paid employment, she was taking away a paycheck from a man, or she would become too manly.
Quinlan, Don, Doug Baldwin, Rick Mahoney, and Kevin Reed. The Canadian Challenge. N.p.: Oxford University Press, 2008.
In today’s world of employment, one can choose to work in a unionized or a non unionized workplace; both situations have positive and negative attributes. In a unionized situation, members experience benefits such as union representation, and aversions such as layoffs and strikes. In a non-union situation, workers experience benefits such as better treatment by management, and aversions such as decreased benefits and overall decreased wages. Although over the last few decades union membership and growth have decreased, organized labor is becoming popular.
Work is more than just a way of earning money to pay the bills; it is also a key feature of our culture and provides people with purpose and dignity. Many people define themselves by what they do. Thus, determining the future prospects for the job market in Canada is very important (Watson 2008). For the most part, Canada’s economy has done relatively well during the recent economic crisis, especially when compared to some other nations. However, the economic and technological trends that have driven changes in the workforce in recent years are likely to continue for the near future. These shifting trends will affect Canadian society and its workers in a number of areas, and it is vital that steps be taken to deal with any problems that result.
Goal: pacify and secure a stable and predictable work force for modern capitalist industry (today, workers are no longer needed, so need to regulate even more efficiently)
Firstly, according to Reskin (1993), the notion of occupational segregation is the understanding that men and women are guided into different professional jobs and responsibilities. This notion is based on society’s stereotypical viewpoints of what a man’s jobs are and what a female’s job is. In the occupational field, men are often holding superior roles than woman (Reskin, 1993). It is evident that occupational segregation is still existent in contemporary society; females are still tolerating occupational segregation in the workplace environment. This notion can be supported by Gazso (2004) according to his literature about workplace inequality, it is distinct that Canadian men still inhabit superior employment statuses and greater waged positions than women, men are
The current labor movement in human relations, business and industry has deep roots in the past and is continuing to evolve in the present. The struggle for survival and the drive to become successful in society, and the business world, fuel the current activities. Grassroots movements for fair wages and tolerable working conditions bring workers together to collectively affect change through the formalized organization of labor unions. Social theorists have over the past century, attempted to explain the complex processes that occur within labor movements. Mishel & Walters theorize that collective bargaining units have a positive impact upon human relations, and labor negotiations within business, industry and politics. While some of their views are supported by popular social theories, other theorists’ suggestions contrast sharply with their opinions.
Traditional literature in the field of labor relations has focused immensely on its benefit towards the employer and in the process equating it to working rules. This has been so despite the field being expected to cover the process of, labor management, union formation, and collective bargain; all which are anticipated to create a positive employer-employee relationship. This relationship is said to be positive if there exist a balance between employment functions and the rights of the laborer. Also important to note, is that this relation is equally important to the public sector as it is to the private one. Therefore, to ensure a mutually conducive labor environment exists, effective labor management process and inclusive negotiation program should be adopted (Mulve 2006; Walton, 2008).
In Today’s world, the composition and how work is done has massively changed and is still continuing to change. Work is now more complex, more team base, depends greatly on technological and social skills and lastly more mobile and does not depend on geography. Companies are also opting for ways to help their employees perform their duties effectively so that huge profits are realized in the long term .The changes in the workplaces include Reduction in the structure of the hierarchy ,breakdown in the organization boundaries , improved and better management tactics and perspectives and lastly better workplace condition and health to the employees. (Frank Ackerman, Neva R. Goodwin, Laurie Dougherty, Kevin Gallagher, 2001)