Category: Labor

As natural rights-life, liberty, and property that was created by john Locke. This idea made the humans always have rights and made them fight for it. Another idea is separation of powers or separating the powers among the government so nobody could take total rule that was created by Montesquieu. We can see that in modern day government Montesquieu ideas influenced For many hundreds of years’ people lived the same they were primitive but from 16th till 19th century humanity discovered a lot of things and became more advanced. Our life changed so much So I am going to discuss the contributing factors that led to this modern technology.

Scientific revolution

The scientific revolution was a huge change in the view of the scientific world in the 16th and 17th century. Before the scientific revolution the scientists whom has said something against the church they would be dead or life sentenced people were learning as the church wanted them to learn. One reason of the scientific revolution was humanism. Scientists in the renaissance focused on the nature and the studied it. And also the scientists discovering new ideas that are against the church for example The catholic church stated that the sun is the center of the universe and always has been since the creation it was called the geocentric theory. Nicholas Copernicus stated that the universe was heliocentric, the sun is the center of the universe. The Danish astronomer supported his theory. Johannes Kepler used Brahe’s data to see if he his right after calculating he also supported the heliocentric theory. In Italy Galileo built a telescope and observed that Jupiter moon rotated around it as Copernicus said the earth rotated around the sun. Galileo’s observations caused other astronomers and churches very angry because his observations were against ancient believing. A new information has been discovered and made the scientists think if they were right if Copernicus is right. Scientists then used a system that uses reason to explain their logical hypothesis, this idea was called the scientific method. Two of the most well-known people in using the scientific method were Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes. Bacon stressed experimentation and observation. Descartes used reasoning. Also a lot of changes happened to science. English chemist Robert Boyle that matter is composed of particles that behave in certain ways. In math Isaac newton used math to show there is a power or force that keeps the earth rotates around the sun. he called this force gravity. He developed or made a new branch of math called calculus. English doctor William Harvey pronounced that the heart is the main pump for the blood based on dissections he made. The scientific revolution made the people think differently and some people used only logic in their lives so that everything has its explanation. It affected the teaching of the new gene ration that discovered a lot after the scientific revolution.

Ideas of the enlightenment

The enlightenment was after the scientific revolution and it wanted to know the natural laws that governed the universe and the human society. In the enlightenment they wanted to solve a lot of the world’s problem by questioning and relaying on human reason or rationalism. There were a lot of issues that were addressed by the enlightenment thinkers like political representations, the ideas of natural rights of man, the ideas how to find a ruler and limits should be put on the ruler, what religion is. Denis Diderot edited an encyclopedia saying he wants that we put all of human knowledge in an encyclopedia and everybody can understand it. Diderot’s idea is if u make all this information you can access this info for free then you can question a lot of things that are written. The most influential person who worked on the enlightenment is Isaac newton said that the earth operates in mathematical operations perfectly for example by a mathematical equation he knew gravity. There are major ideas about the enlightenment such all of modern governments. Freedom of thought and religious freedom was another major idea by Voltaire. Freedom of thought was a one of the reasons that U.S rights bill created and French declaration of rights of a man and citizen. Religious freedom is now seen in many countries. Abolishment of torture said by Cesare Beccaria. The torture then was outlawed or reduced in many countries. Women’s equality was one of the most important ideas [image: ]because it talked about women not getting their freedom their freedom. The thinker of this was Mary Wollstonecraft. All of this resulted in a lot of things. First political there were some governments that tried a little bit of enlightened ideas for example the ruler had all power this is called enlightened absolutism. In united states the impact of enlightenment was seen in 2 documents declaration of independence and U.S bill of rights. It affected todays united states greatly in most of their laws.

The industrial revolution

[image: ]The industrial revolution was a change in factories from labor powered to powered by coal and steam. Industrial revolution was a change in countries transforming their economy from only agricultural into a lot of different industries in 1760 in England. The industrial revolution was one of the biggest revolution in human history in my thought. The industrial revolution began in England in the 17th century people lived in primary lives that stayed the same for a long time. They lived relaying on agriculture for many years. There were few things that made Britain the center of the industrial revolution. Britain had a lot of raw materials so it was easy for them to manufacture for example cotton is a raw material so they manufacture it and make dresses or clothes. They had rivers which wasn’t only for transportation but for powering these factories. The agricultural revolution made people have a large quantities of food that caused increase in the population. A lot of people moved to the cities because they were not needed in the country sides because a lot of people were farming and they setup the factories in the towns. Britain had a lot of cash all the classes had enough money. The government setup a system of banking and credit that allowed them to invest into large projects. There were people who were ready to invest a lot of money in factories. If any raw material was needed Britain at that time had large colonial empire so they get from their colonies. Britain’s government supported most of the business. All of the other countries saw what Britain did so they tried their best for making the same. The industrial revolution changed the whole world on thinking about power and transportation. The results of the industrial revolution were on factory system and mass production. For example, in the cloth industry one dress could take 1 day after the industrial revolution the machine could take 1 hour to finish a [image: ]dress. Another effect was laissez-faire by Adam smith economics which say that government has a little or no influence in business. Another result was new growing class or there was a new class that was created. The people in that class were very rich because they had large investments in industries. Urbanization is a result of the industrial revolution. cities became very populous. This made people crowded in buildings they lived in bad conditions. Improved transformation is a result because they wanted transport all the products that were made another location. A problem that industrial revolution has made is working of the underage. Children were working in a lot of factories. They worked 12 and more hours to get paid.

Romanticism and realism romanticism painting

Romanticism was an artistic, musical, and literary move that happened in the 18th century. In the romanticism artists showed their feelings in their art, they loved the nature and they showed a lot of imagination in their work. The artists at that time believed in the uniqueness of each person. The artists in the romanticism loved the medieval style of architect so they started building new buildings in a style called new gothic. Eugene Delacroix was one of the most famous artists in the romantic era. In his work he reflected his feelings. In music romanticism was there. Beethoven was a composer hi work was not classified from the romantic era until his 3rd symphony where he reflected his thoughts and he showed the elements of romanticism in his music. In literature they did new work. for example, the novel of Frankenstein and edger Allen Poe stories brought a lot of interest to the people because it was new to them to [image: ]have a horror story so that’s what let the gothic literature rise. In poetry they viewed it as the perfect way to express their feelings and they did that. They also expressed their love about nature through poetry. Romanticism changed the science for sure. in biology scientist louis Pasteur proposed the germ theory. In chemistry the Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleyev classified all the material elements that they knew at that time according to their weight. In physics Michael Faraday made the first primitive generator which contributed to the knowledge of the usage of the electric current.in the 19th century many people chosen secularization or rejection of religious beliefs because of the scientific revolution and the knowledge they had they choose this.

In 1859 Charles Darwin published a book called “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” in this book Charles talked about the humans were apes in the first then they evolved after time and he says this not only about humans evolving but about all animals in the world and he called this theory organic revolution. Realism was also an intellectual movement that rejected romanticism. The writers of realism wanted to write about ordinary people unlike romanticism. They also preferred not to use emotional language. In art realism became major after 1850. They also wanted to show everyday life objects and ordinary people. The French became very good in this style of painting. One of the most famous realest painters is Gustave Courbet he loved the scenes from everyday lives.

How did all of this affect modern society?

How did all of this affect modern society? All of these events led to our societies now the scientific revolution led the learning available for everybody because before that learning was limited for a few people only. The scientific revolution changed the mind sets. Without the scientific revolution we wouldn’t know how to find cures for diseases. The ideas of the enlightenment affected the people by letting them abolish slavery and gave the woman the rights they deserved. The industrial revolution made the transportation that easy and created mass production. Everything that was in this revolution affected our lives today. Romanticism made a new style of painting. In the literature there were new kinds of literature that was written like romantic or horror. Our life’s would not be like this if we all these events did not happen. In the last 2 decades’ human became very advanced all of that because people started learning. I hope we always work more and more to find new things.

Resources

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w70BkCqgyyI&list=WL&index=27&t=701s
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY-a1pk_wc0&list=WL&index=28&t=0s
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nly9r_xYyPA&list=WL&index=29&t=0s
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wEjNRfC7u8&list=WL&index=30&t=0s
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c0I62h-5g4&list=WL&index=31&t=427s
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRWBI0JTYQ&list=WL&index=32&t=69s
7. https://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/ssh/book.lesson.do?bookId=D3T7OXOMZOS8V95QLYM5YKQJ9Q&nodeId=GKJB4RCYLY21RMRT51OWTPBDG8

INTRODUCTION

In Latin America, women face discrimination at all levels of employment and management. Some studies have concluded that Latin Americans, as compared to Europeans and North Americans, are more likely to put up with the fact that power is unequally distributed within companies. This creates an environment that encourages the acceptance of labor inequality between genders (Vergara, 2011). This research project attempts to understand women and their inclusion in the workplace, as well as the ways they are limited within the labor market. Understanding and characterizing the limiting factors of women and analyzing their behavior in the labor market can help to identify appropriate actions that will lead to greater equity for women.

The problem of the gender gap, which has been debated in many circles, is the result of cultural traditions and ideologies. Women have often not been allowed to develop the necessary skills to advance in life or to preserve their liberties and opportunities as people, and are not offered the same opportunities as men to take part in economic and political spheres (Vázques-Parra, 2016).

“The presence of socioeconomic and cultural factors that limit the competitive development of women has been well studied. Several of these limitations are related to the reproductive role of the female sex, the lack of access to educational preparation, and the lack of economic rights, among others” (Vázquez Parra, Arrendondo Trapero, & de la Garza, 2016, translated from Spanish). This leads to an understanding that, in general, is already accepted, but that has not been given adequate attention or analysis. As Charlo Molina and Núñez Torrado (2012) argue, it is society that gives value to both male and female roles—this has brought about a discriminatory socioeconomic position against women, just as it has brought power and respect to men.

The term diversity refers to the interaction of different individuals with different cultures, ages, genders, education levels, development, life experiences, abilities, talents, functional and organizational differences, etc. In other words, according to the European Institute for the Management of Diversity, “diversity is understood as profiles that differentiate people and have an impact on group behavior” (Abay Analistas Económicos y Sociales, 2012, translated from Spanish). “Organization is defined as the interaction of multiple actors and processes that respond to the pressures of the environment in which they operate, from which a high capacity for self-organization emerges and develops” (Lowendahl and Revang, cited by Torres and Mejía, 2006, pp. 125, translated from Spanish).

THEORETICAL APPROACH

According to existing information in Colombia, the national government supports the participation of women from a normative framework through laws and policies established by different entities. For example, the National Public Policy on Gender Equality recognizes that: “Women, as social subjects, contribute to the development of the country in all arenas; however, there remain various forms of discrimination that affect and impede women’s exercise of rights and the expansion of their capacities” (Alta consejería Presidencia para la Equidad de la Mujer, 2012, translated from Spanish). Likewise, the “Principal Instruments and International and National Norms” are also stated (Programa Presidencial para la formulación de Acciones y Estrátegias para el Desarrollo Integral de los Pueblos Indígenas, 2013, translated from Spanish), which emphasizes the importance of achieving maximum participation of women in equal conditions as men by providing training and employment opportunities. Furthermore, it focuses on the elimination of traditional gender roles, with an emphasis on equal labor opportunities.

Nearly all of the above applies to a study done in Popayán, which concluded that the cost of working for women along with raising and caring for children, without recognition, limits effective establishment in the labor market. Personal and family barriers such as maternity, age, and marital status also have an effect.

Using direct precedents from studies done in Mexico, Spain, and Chile by the Monterrey Institute of Technology; the University of Sevilla; and Fuentes, Palma, and Montero, respectively, one can conclude that the difference in the economic participation of women is statistically significant, and that women receive a lower wage than men, despite having equal characteristics in terms of human capital.

Women’s participation in the labor market is only just beginning to improve significantly thanks to factors that positively influence organizational development: recent studies maintain that gender diversity and the educational level of employees are both positive influences in this area. Thus concluded a study from an administration journal in Spain, which reported important growth thanks the contributions of women in the workplace.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY GENDER

Of the total national population from the period of February-April of 2018, 50.7% were women and 49.3% were men. The population that was economically active was composed 57.1% by men and 42.9% by women. Men represented 58.5% of those employed, and women 41.5%. Of those unemployed, 44.4% were men and 55.6% were women (See Figure 1).

LABOR MARKET PARTICIPATION BY GENDER

Men

The national unemployment rate for men over the period from February-April of 2018 was 7.7%; from February-April of 2017 the rate was 7.3%. Overall labor force participation rates for men from February-April of 2018 was 74.3%, and employment rates were 68.5%. For the period of February-April 2017, these statistics were 74.4% and 69.0% respectively.

The sectors that employed the highest shares of men for the period February-April of 2018 were: Agriculture, livestock, hunting, foresting, and fishing (22.9%) and Businesses, hotels, and restaurants (22.6%). For the period of February-April of 2017, these sectors were 22.8% and 22.2% respectively. During the same period in 2018, the occupation with the highest participation of men was self-employed with 45.2%. For same period in 2017 this proportion was 44.8%.

Women

At the national level, the unemployment rate for women for the period of February-April 2018 was 12.8%, accompanied by a labor force participation rate of 53.5% and an employment rate of 46.6%. From February-April of 2017, these numbers were 12.8%, 54.4%, and 47.4%, respectively. The sectors employing the highest proportion of women for February-April of 2018 were: Businesses, hotels, and restaurants (33.2%) and Community, social, and personal services (31.0%). For February-April 2017 these proportions were 34.0% and 30.5% respectively. The occupation with the greatest participation of women for the period February-April 2018 was self-employed with 40.9%. This rate was 40.1% in for the same period in 2017.

LENGTH OF JOB SEARCH

When considering educational levels, at the national level women require longer to find employment, with the exception of women with university and graduate school training, who require on average 2.4 weeks less than men with the same education.

In general, women take five months to secure employment (one month more than men). This is significant for women, as during that average of 30 days, men have already earned their first month’s pay.

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION

In 2017, Caldas had an overall participation rate of 56.0%, an employment rate of 50.9%, and an unemployment rate of 9.2% (See Figure 2).

The objective underemployment rate for Caldas was 5.0%, and the subjective underemployment rate was 21.1% (See Figure 3).

LABOR MARKET INDICATORS BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

The national employment rate for women with completed levels of higher education was 79.3%, 6.3 percentage points lower than the rate for men (85.6%). The gap between men and women tends to be lower among those with higher levels of education.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for women with secondary education was 18.5%, which is 7.7 percentage points greater than men with the same educational level. Similar behavior was recorded across 13 regional areas (see Figure 8 and 9).

Hours worked

The national average for hours worked by men is greater than hours worked by women by 9 hours. Across the 13 areas, the difference is 8 hours (See Figure 10).

Workload

In the national total, women have an average workload of 67 hours, greater than that of men by 10 hours. However, disaggregating this by paid and unpaid hours, men have more paid work time than women. These variables show similar behavior across the country’s principal business cities and the 13 areas.

Demographics of Manizales

According to the figures published by the Center for Information and Statistics (Centro de Información y Estadística) for the year 2016, the population of Manizales is 397,466 inhabitants.

Of those, 111,290 (or 28%) are under 20 years of age, while 16% (63,595 people) are over age 60. This indicates that 56% of the population (222,581 people) are between ages 21 and 59.

Men make up 48% of the population, and women the remaining 52%—that is to say, 206,682 women and 190,784 men.

The range of working age women in Colombia

Calculations from recruitment firms indicate that the age in which women can most easily enter the Colombian labor market is between 25 and 45 years of age. “For women age 50, options are more limited—not because of their age, but because their profiles are more suited to management positions and the demand is greater in middle management,” says a report by Michael Page (translated from Spanish).

Business Survey in Manizales

The business survey in the city of Manizales began in 2004 as an initiative prompted and led by the Manizales City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce of Manizales for Caldas.

The first results provided by the census was the commercial characterization of the city and its 11,225 registered businesses.

The survey found that 9,232 business establishments, or 82%, belonged to individuals, while 18% (1,993 businesses) pertained to a legal entity, which is to say, a company.

Regarding the individual entities, it can be inferred that 53% are male (4,852 people), and 47% (4,350) are female (See Figure 12).

RESULTS

The findings of this study, as they relate to the economic participation of women, may be seen as an obstacle. However, it is also necessary to recall that these findings also serve to emphasize areas of opportunity. The inclusion of women in the job market is a key factor for competitiveness, and Manizales has been facing these challenges for many years.

The results of the descriptive analysis offer important points to consider: for example, in spite of the fact that there is a greater population of working-aged women in the city, men have greater rates of labor force participation. This is compounded by the average duration of unemployment, which is higher for women in the city, who are affected by this 1.1 months of extended unemployment. Unemployment factors are related to the search for an adequate schedule and commute distances that also allow for the completion of household tasks and responsibilities.

The theoretical review reveals that women have been segregated in similar ways internationally, nationally, and locally. In Manizales, although the government has been taking actions in favor of inclusion, the numbers have not increased proportionally.

While equal opportunity in access to employment has been increasing over the years Manizales, the process is long overdue, as gender exclusion in the 21st century is a well-known phenomenon. Women continue to dedicate more hours to unpaid domestic work and caring for relatives, which is time that, if spent in a formal job, could improve economic participation and contribute to gender equality.

We conclude, in preliminary terms, that businesses in the city of Manizales to not achieve the necessary inclusion established by law and policies to defend the rights of women and to close the gender gap.

It is therefore necessary to promote local commitment dedicated to gender equity in the economic sphere; thus, I insist that such research continue with continued analyses of these indicators until more equitable results are achieved.

REFERENCES

1. Abay Analistas Económicos y Sociales. (2012). Presencia de mujeres en puestos de responsabilidad y competitividad empresarial.
2. Alta consejería Presidencia para la Equidad de la Mujer. (2012). Lineamientos de la Política Pública Nacional de Equidad de Género para las Mujeres. Colombia.
3. Caldas, C. d. (2014). Censo empresarial Manizales 2014. . Manizales: Informe Técnico.
4. Charlo Molina, M. J., & Núñez Torrado, M. (2012). La mujer directiva en la gran empresa española: perfil, competencias y estilos de dirección.
5. Fuentes, J., Palma, A., & Montero, R. (2005). Discriminación Salarial por Género en Chile: Una mirada global. Chile.
6. Programa Presidencial para la formulación de Acciones y Estrátegias para el Desarrollo Integral de los Pueblos Indígenas. (2013). Legislación y Pueblos Índigenas de Colombia. Colombia.
7. Vázquez Parra, J., Arredondo Trapero, F., & de la Garza , J. (2016). Brecha de género en los países mienbros de la Alizanza del Pacífico. Estudios Gerenciales.
8. Vázquez-Parra, J. A.-T. (2016). Brecha de género en los países miembro de la Alianza del Pacífico.
9. Vergara, M. L.-B. (2011). Factores que influyen en la participación de la mujer en cargos directivos y órganos de gobierno de la empresa colombiana. Cuadernos de Administración.

Throughout history and as history has been studied, women’s labor is constantly overlooked. Whether it be European Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, or any other variation of person, it seems that men’s labor is always more appreciated and always given more attention when being studied. Whether or not a majority of people have learned about it, women’s history was an influential part of history, and it has been analyzed to an extent. Three major groups of women, the European American women, the Native American women, and the African American women, are studied in depth. The gender division of labor was both similar and different for these three studied groups of women in the colonial period. There are also differences in the socioeconomic groups, upper class, middle class, and lower class, of women in the colonial period. To first compare these three groups of women their individual structures must be analyzed.

The lives of Native American women were centered around a very spiritual upbringing and a lot of their labor duties included mostly field work and childcare. In an excerpt from Samuel de Champlain’s observations of Native American people, he mainly describes the manual labor that they did outside of the home. One of the main jobs that he talks about involves corn. Mainly the planting, harvesting, storing, and preparation of the corn. Champlain also describes other outdoor tasks performed by women, “for they till the ground…lay up the wood for the winter, beat the hemp and spin it, making fishing-nets from the thread, catch fish, and do other necessary things.” (The Voyages and Explorations of Samuel de Champlain, 2). Another source describes the primary work a Native American woman will perform in the household. Englishman John Lawson was appointed to survey the Native American lands and he took an account of the labors of the Native American women. Most of what Lawson describes is a lot of domestic work. For example, he says that the women, “cook the Victuals for the whole Family, and to make Mats, Baskets, Girdles of Possum-Hair, and such-like.” (Carolina Women Observed, 39). What he is describing is domestic work. Cooking the food for their family, making different necessities for the house all fall under domestic labor.

European American women performed duties primarily in the household, mainly because the house was associated with women’s labor and agricultural work was associated with men. In the essay “Women’s Work in Colonial Philadelphia” by Karin Wulf, she talks about the main tasks that women would be accountable for in the colonial period. Wulf talks about how in the colonial period much of the labor done was “gender-segregated.” What this means is that the men did jobs that involved more physical strength, and the women did more domestic work, or housework. The labors that domestic work includes is, “Cleaning houses; growing, butchering, preserving, and cooking food; making, repairing, and laundering clothes; caring for children…” (Women’s Work in Colonial Philadelphia, 69). In the primary source, “The Diary of Mary Cooper”, it not only shows the rigorous labor that women had to do, it also shows the effect that is has on the women. In her diary Mary Cooper talks about how she had to cook for large amounts of people and that this task makes her “very unwell…” (The Diary of Mary Cooper, 62) and “tiered almost to death.” (The Diary of Mary Cooper, 62). Cooper was also tasked with cleaning the clothes, cleaning the house, she bakes, she makes necessities for the house, and she does even more. The main tasks of European women in the colonial period was domestic work. African American women did somewhat similar work.

African American women did a lot of field work, but they also did a lot of domestic work for their own family and their master’s family. In an account from an escaped slave, James Curry, he talks about his life and his mother’s life. He writes about different jobs his mom did, but one of the main tasks she performed was attending to her masters. She primarily did work for the master’s wife, she is referred to as mistress, and Curry says that mistress would punish her by “keeping her spinning in the house until twelve or one o’clock at night.” His mother would cook for her masters, look after her master’s children and still somehow have to find time to do the same for her family. Another job that a lot of African American women would be tasked with was working in the field. Whether they were producing rice, cotton, tobacco, or anything else it was a job that was very common among African American women. These working conditions were not ideal for these women. In “Narratives of Escaped Slaves”, which is a collection of essays from slaves who made it out slavery, it tells of how bad these field conditions were. An escaped slave, Mrs. John Little, describes her experience by saying, “I was employed in hoeing cotton, a new employment: my hands were badly blistered.” (Narratives of Escaped Slaves, 255).

All three of these racial groups had differences and similarities regarding the labor they did in the colonial period. A common theme that has been found in the labor of these three groups is that domestic labor is one of the main sources of women’s work. Native American women, European American women, and African American women all had to cook for their families, take care of the children, and perform other duties such as washing and cleaning. A noticeable difference, however, is that African American women had to do all these tasks not only for their own families, but also for their master’s families. Native American women and African American women share similarities because they both have labor responsibilities involving agriculture. Native American women were responsible for producing corn and other produces, and African American women were responsible for mainly gathering the produces in plantations. European American women are different because they cannot be associated with agricultural work, their only responsibilities were in the household.

Differences exist not only in racial groups, but also in the socioeconomic groups. The three main socioeconomic groups are upper class, middle class, and lower class. In her analytical essay, “Three Inventories, Three Households”, Laurel Thatcher Ulrichi describes the different home lives of European women who live in each of these different economic groups. The family who was considered upper class lived in a sizeable home and space. The wife’s main jobs were to milk the cows, bake, cook each meal, and tending to the fires. When it came to cooking the food, because they had a decent amount of money, they were able to have expensive food and different specialties. The middle class family had a decent sized home, but on a smaller plot of land than the family who was richer than them. This family had to perform more agricultural duties than the upper class family, and they also did not have as many resources. The author says that they had, “brewing vessels, but no malt; sieves and meal trough, but no grain; and a cow, but no cheese.” (Three Inventories, Three Households, 47). To summarize, they had to work just a little harder to get by than the family who was part of the upper class. The woman who lived in the lower class family had to work even harder. She and her family lived in a small home with almost no resources. Some of the jobs she had to perform was, “Chopping and hauling for a local timber merchant…” (Three Inventories, Three Households, 50) Similar to the other two women, however, the poorer family would also be tasked with cleaning, cooking, and all kinds of domestic work.

Native American women, European women, and African American women were all tasked with responsibilities that were both similar and different from each other. Native Americans and African Americans could be found doing the agricultural work and, like European American women, they could be found in their homes doing domestic work. Differences in labor also arose between women who are of wealthy, middle class, and poor background, these differences mainly being formed because of social status. Women in the colonial period worked hard for their families, they even suffered through horrible working conditions. This is something that should be studied by everyone of all age groups, because their hard work is an important part of America’s history.

When reaching out to the Medical field for any type of health issues the patient expects the unsurpassed quality of care possible, but how is that possible in today’s society if we have a labor and skill shortage within our healthcare systems? The shortage of labor and skills are a compliance issue that are frequently happening. These shortages range from anything in between certified nursing assistants to doctors. The labor and skill shortage within the hospital systems across the nation oppose a threat to the patients. The patients can be put into safety hazards which then can worsen their care causing the hospital more money, one of the reasons for hospitals not hiring more staff to have safer nurse to patient ratios is because hospitals would have to pay more staff. If having patients fall out of bed due to not having adequate staff is costing hospitals more money, why wouldn’t they rather spend the extra money to hire more staff instead of eating the cost of patients falling. It would be a win-win situation, less patient falls and nurses working in more suitable working conditions. The shortage puts the staff in safety risk also due to their work conditions not being up to the safest factors. While working in the hospital patient safety was something that was always preached, but how do you keep patients safe and tend to all of their needs while having 8-10 patients to tend to a day? Having 8-10 patients a day allows for staff to get the job done, just getting the job doesn’t always mean that it’s done right putting patients at risk for injury. People will continue to need hospitals for their health needs, so if the labor and skill shortage is not corrected patient care within hospital systems will keep declining.

The history with labor and skill shortage dates to as early as 1915 (Zurn, Poz, Stillwell, Adams, 2004). That was when the first nursing shortages were reported in hospitals in the United States and continues to be a concern to this day. According to (Zurn, Poz, Stillwell, Adams, 2004) a skill imbalance occurs when the quantity of a given skill supplied by the workforce and the quantity demanded by employers diverge at the existing market conditions. The labor market supplies and demands for occupations, which continues to fluctuate continuously. It is clear these issues will not be resolved anytime soon since they still oppose a threat to our hospital systems. I believe within todays day in age it is possible to fix this shortage, but it will take time to learn how to fix it. I also believe that by lowering nurse to patient ratio the turning over rate for staffing in a hospital will be much lower due to working conditions being much less stressful. That staff in hospitals are overworked due to shortage of nurses and certified nursing assistants causing staff to be burnt out on their work. This is also causing a decline in patient care throughout our healthcare system. You could argue that this hasn’t been a problem that has been talked about a lot until recently when laws started taking place in California, which could make you wonder if this is the reason other states are starting to talk about the shortage. Another reason the healthcare system is starting to talk about labor shortage and patient care is due to the number of nurses who are leaving their jobs because they are unhappy and burnt out. The people who are monitoring patient care are most likely trying to plan ahead in different states besides California for the shortage coming.

This compliance has been somewhat successful in parts of the United States. In California they have laws to help with the shortage of nursing staff, but it is currently the only state with these sort of laws (Zurn, Poz, Stillwell, Adams, 2004). According to (Zurn, Poz, Stillwell, Adams, 2004) there has been short-term and long-term solutions for these shortages. A short-term solution would be filling immediate vacancies including increasing salaries, using temporary staff, or offering sign on bonuses. Long term solutions are creating more sustained growing in the nurse workforce include providing financial support for nursing education and changing nurses work environments. Experts in (Zurn, Poz, Stillwell, Adams, 2004) stated that typical short-term solutions will likely not solve the long-term shortage. These solutions are advertised by a large majority of any health care setting seeking employees, but it is clear they are not keeping the employees they are attracting. The focus should primarily be on the long-term solutions if they want to this fix to be permanent. The nursing shortage is predicted to keep growing higher as the years go on. According to (Grant 2016) By 2025, the shortfall is expected to be “more than twice as large as any nurse shortage experienced since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s. By 2025 the patient population will be much larger and will be more in need of nursing care in facilities. The patient population is also living a lot longer, but that doesn’t mean that they are healthy. “As the population ages, demand for health-care services will soar. About 80 percent of older adults have at least one chronic condition, and 68 percent have at least two, according to the National Council on Aging. A USA Today analysis of Medicare data revealed that two-thirds of traditional Medicare beneficiaries older than 65 have multiple chronic conditions, a number that will only continue to climb.” (Grant 2016)

To understand this shortage the reason behind it happening needs to be known. According to (Public Health Industry, 2018) some of the factors contributing the shortage is the aging population generating a greater need for care, an aging health care workforce retiring many workers, increases in chronic disease, and limited capacity of education programs. A press release by AAMCNEWS in 2017 states that the population of Americans aged 65 and older will have increased 55 percent by 2030. The same press release stated approximately one million registered nurses are over the age of 50. Most of those nurses entered the workforce prior to the 1970s meaning that about a third of the nursing workforce will retire in the next 10 to 15 years. With that many nurses retiring, it leads a huge shortage for the new nurses that continue to graduate from nursing programs, but even those new nurses are outnumbered with patients due to the limited capacity of education programs. Just in 2012 nearly 80,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools because of limited capacity. This is an issue because how are we to fix this shortage if we are turning away that many applicants due to limited capacity. Another reason for the nursing shortage could be from nursing burnout. According (Haddad, Toney-Butler, 2019) the national average for turnover rates for registers nurses is 8.8% to 37.0% depending on geographic location and nursing specialty. The reason for these nursing burnouts is the fact that nursing graduates start working right after graduation only to find out the profession is not what they thought it would be. This could be from being understaffed, the work environment, or even bad management. These are just few of the reasons for these shortages, but with the right long-term goals these shortages can be resolved. Many could argue that nurses should know what they are getting into because of the fact that they do clinicals in nursing homes and hospitals, they should be prepared right? That isn’t the case most of the time, many times when you are clinicals you are limited on what you can do and what you experience at the time due to only being there for a short amount of time. Most nurses work twelve-hour shifts and most clinicals are only an eight-hour day with you rotating to different floors throughout the week. I don’t believe that nursing students get enough time on one floor to get familiar with what actually goes on day to day in a hospital or nursing home.

Another reason that America is experiencing labor shortage in hospitals is due to toxic nurse managers. I’m sure everyone has experienced a boss who blamed staff for mistakes that were happening, took credit for all accomplishments on the floor, and never listened to new ideas. During my time working at a hospital I had the pleasure of working with a nurse manager who was selfish and took credit for all of the nurse’s accomplishments and was never open to new ideas that could help with patient satisfaction. That’s our main goal when working in a hospital is to have great patient satisfaction numbers, so why wasn’t he open to new ideas? Having a nurse manager who is open to new ideas and gives their staff credit for their accomplishments is crucial patient care and keeping your nursing staff around. “Effective hospital leadership at the executive level as well as at the unit level is crucial in today’s unstable economic environment. Studies have identified a significant relationship between effective leadership and job satisfaction (Laschinger, & Finnegan, 2005; Upenieks, 2003; Wilson, 2005), commitment (McGuire, & Kennerly, 2006) and intent to stay (Force, 2005; Johnson, & Rea, 2009). Each of these outcomes contributes to a healthy and productive work environment according to the RN nurse journal. If your nurse manager is so bad, then why don’t you just ignore it and just try to do your work the best you can? By being around negative people, it can change your attitude towards your patients, and you can start to slack due to not caring, because your manager doesn’t acknowledge your accomplishments.

In my own opinion I believe these shortages continue to be a problem. I have experienced these firsthand as I am certified nursing assistant (CNA). I worked in all types of healthcare settings, but the worst experience I had was in short term facilities such as a hospital and a rehabilitation to home facility. These types of healthcare settings patients demand more as they are just freshly out of procedures or just experiencing pain and not knowing how to manage it. People now of days are used to everything being at the tip of their fingers and that’s not the case in healthcare. It can be one nurse to 8 to 10 patients, and with that ratio it makes it hard for those patients to get what they want on demand as they wish to have. If you aren’t in the healthcare field you may not think that 8 to 10 patients are a lot, but when you are doing everything for those 8 to 10 patients it can be a lot to handle. From doing med passes on time to getting people to the bathroom in a timely manner depends on the number of patients you have. Not doing these things in a timely matter means patient care numbers will go down. Hospitals and facilities depend on these numbers to stay high because they want to be able to make money. I have also felt the nursing burnout feeling, I felt over worked for such little pay. I even stepped away from nursing for about six months to realize if I wanted to continue down that career path. I have decided to stay within the health care field to help patients and hope one day we won’t be overworked and underpaid. “A 2014 survey of more than 3,300 nurses found that they were stressed, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized. Of those nurses surveyed by the Vickie Milazzo Institute in Houston, 64 percent said they rarely get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Another 31 percent said they get enough sleep just two to three nights a week.” (Fischer 2016). My goal is help in the process of ending the shortage of the health care employees and make sure that nurses are able to live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

The labor and skills shortage within the United States has clearly been an issue for quite some time. These shortages are even happening to our higher ups such as doctors due to the limited capacity within programs that schools offer. This issue is not just putting the patients in harm’s way, but also the staff that provides the care. If the shortage is not fixed the care will only go down will for the patients and we will continue to lose great nurses due to being overworked and getting burnt out on their job. I believe in today’s day of age it is possible to come up with an end to this shortage. Healthcare shouldn’t just be about money like it is today, it should be about giving out the great care that we would want to receive if we were in our patient’s situation.

There is a consistent pattern that if you have more flexible terms of work, then you are less secure. And this is the problem in nowadays world. Employers want to attract employees with such new types of “flexible contracts”, and employees agree because they can work almost as they like, but they all forget about social security. As for now, we need to find a way how to find that perfect balance between flexible work forms and employee’s security.

Flexible work forms can promote better work/life balance for employees but there should not be a misapplication or overuse of them. It is important to balance employee’s autonomy with access to social security benefits.

The flexible labor market does not mean that governments need to make new work contacts that are very flexible as today’s world requires it, and at the same time make them less secure. People fear that they will not be able to find decent work due to globalization and other reasons, so they agree to as they think flexible work contracts but without proper social security.

The term flexicurity tries to optimize both labor flexibility and job security. This scheme is hard to implement worldwide, as it requires the government to be extremely helpful to its citizens. The social security system should be well established and streamlined. As an example, we can take Denmark, where the employer can almost “easily” hire/fire an employee, but employees in return are well-secured by the government through social welfare. Employees are not afraid of being fired, as they can find other work, they are socially secure and they have an opportunity to get their work skills developed, and this creates a possibility for creating new working places. Thus we have a relatively flexible labor market, where there is no too strict legislation with excessive protection, that excludes the possibility of job creation.

This concept seems great to employers, as well as to employees. But as for now, it is relatively hard to reach the balance between flexible work and employee’s security in most countries, as this concept requires extensive state support, budgetary costs, implementation of training for unemployed people, and change of people’s minds, etc.

The realization of the flexicurity concept foresees the complex process of its adaptation considering national, socio-economic, and cultural peculiarities. It seems that this concept is not suitable for countries with high unemployment level and budgetary difficulties.

Impact of International Labor Standards to national labor law

International labor standards were evolving together with economical and society demands. The International Labor Organization has been developing International Labor Standards, together with governments, employees, and workers, due to the tripartite system, for 100 years. Huge amount of Conventions and Recommendations that were created and implemented to member states national legal systems helps to somehow unify the worldwide system of labor standards.

Due to the implementation of these international labor standards into national labor laws of different nations, the system of labor standards in these 187 member states of ILO is quite similar and differs in accordance with national economic situation and etc.

International labor standards are tools by which governments can develop their national legal systems in relation to the world’s fast globalization. These standards shape national law, and ILO recommendations provide guidance for policy changings. Countries use International Labor Standards to bring national legislation to the level of international standards. They help countries to match to world’s economical and social improvements. Also, compliance with standards often goes along with improvements in national legal systems, productivity, and economic performance.

ILO standards tend to be fair, flexible, universal, and transparent. They play a crucial role in providing minimum floor of rights to workers throughout the whole world.

Despite the fact that a lot of member states have not implemented/ratified a huge amount of ILO convention, there is ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), that does not need ratification, as it is binding to all ILO member states. This Declaration provides core principles and rights at work such as freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. They surpass the worldwide spread of lowering labor standards. The main global goal of these standards is to ensure decent work conditions throughout the world.

ILO standards are constantly changing and developing, as nowadays our society is totally different than 100 years ago when ILO only started their work and issued its very first Convention. ILO standards ensure the basic minimum social standards agreed by governments, workers, and employers. They reflect the problems that arise in the majority of countries. Regarding its tripartite system, ILO’s policy is practical and effective. As these standards only provide the minimum level of protection, they are an ascending point for governments from which whey should start improving their national labor standards.

Self-employment and employment: the most problematic issues

There are plenty of pros and cons of self-employment, as well as employment. For example, people tend to believe that self-employment is better as you can be more flexible, you can work remotely, you are not dependent on the big boss/your employer, and are able to shorten or completely avoid your commute, focus on things that matter to you. But there are a lot of problematic issues like less security when you are self-employed.

The main problems of self-employment are less social security, instability in payment and in the whole, financial insecurity, higher risk of unemployment, poverty in the old age, etc. After all, self-employment has a very risky nature.

Talking about flexibility in working hours, self-employed are more flexible in arranging their time, but usually, they work longer than employed people and they dedicate all their time to work, there are no strict work hours from 9 till 6 and particular rest time, in self-employment all this have mixed and all personal time becomes working time.

Regarding dependency, it is true that self-employed are not dependent on the employer, but they are always dependent on the economic situation in their country or in the other countries to which their work is related.

The main problem is low social security. When you are employed, then you are mostly secured; health insurance, paid maternity/paternity leave, paid leave, pension, and other social security benefits. The problem arises when you are self-employed, you are left almost by yourself.

Self-employed are vulnerable because they are financially insecure in case of illness; they are economically dependent, so it is more difficult for them to change their financial situation.

In many countries, self-employment has been used to reduce labor costs for salaried employees, to avoid social security contributions, and entrap labor law legislation. These type of workers are convenient for employers, as they can save a lot of money to their businesses

Self-employed generally have less effective access to social protection than employees and many European countries like Italy, Austria, and others have implemented into their labor law the concept of self-employment and they provide some kind of social-security to such people. For example the right to parental leave, pension and unemployment schemes, health insurance and so on.

In conclusion, the main problem of self-employed people is their financial vulnerability and lack of social security. Nowadays policymakers need to implement legal norms to somehow protect self-employed people; create separate insurance and unemployment schemes. National social protection systems need to adapt to the changing world of work and ensure comprehensive social protection not only for employed persons but also for other groups as self-employed.

Abstract

The labor market is the market in which workers are assigned to jobs and employment decisions are organized. For about 150 million employees in the United States and about 8 million employers, thousands of career choices, recruiting, firing, benefits, and innovation decisions have to be made and planned every day. This paper offers a description of what the labor market is doing and how it operates. After seeing how labor market procurement and sales sides are structured at a level of overall.

Introduction

The labor market is the position where supply and job demand intersect, with jobs and employees providing the services that employers require. In short, this is where employees can find work that matches their skills and qualifications provided by employers, and where both decide on pay, benefits. Each market has buyers and sellers, and there is no exception to the labor market: buyers are employers, and sellers are employees. To a certain degree, all the specific labor markets we may describe on the basis of sector, profession, geography, transaction rules and work character.

There are exceptions in some particular cases. Many labor markets, particularly those where labor sellers are represented by a union, operate under a very specific set of rules which regulate buyer-seller transactions in part. The markets for government jobs and workers with large nonunion employees often tend to operate under laws that limit the management authority and ensure that employees are treated equally.

The Labor Force and Unemployment

The term labor force refers to all those over 16 years people with jobs are employed, people who are jobless, looking for a job, and available for work are unemployed. The labor force is made up of the employed and the unemployed. People who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force.

There are four major flows between labor market states:

1. Employed workers become unemployed by quitting voluntarily or being laid off (being involuntarily separated from the firm, either temporarily or permanently).
2. Unemployed workers obtain employment by being newly hired or being recalled to a job from which they were temporarily laid off.
3. Those in the workforce, whether they are working or unemployed, may leave the workforce by withdrawing or otherwise deciding not to take or seek work.

Those who have never worked or found a job, by entering it, increase the labor force, while those who have fallen out by re-entering the labor force.

Industries and Occupations: Adapting to Change

The system by which workers and employers are balanced is the labor market. The number of certain types of jobs has increased over the past half-century and the number of others has been declining. In response to labor market signals, both workers and employers had to respond to these changes. The labor market is influenced by just about everything that happens in the economy. Economic changes may have the most significant impact on the labor market as a whole. Rapid economic growth due to rising demand for goods and services could generate a multitude of new job opportunities for employees.

The Earnings of Labor

From the point of view of the workers, earnings are significant and provide a measure of the rate and pattern of their purchasing power and an estimation of their living standards, while labor costs provide an indicator of employers ‘ spending on their workforce jobs.

Nominal and Real Wages

Wage rate is the rate of pay based on per unit of production or per period of worktime on the job. The nominal wage is what workers get paid per hour in current dollars; nominal wages are most useful in comparing the pay of various workers at a given time. Real wages, nominal wages divided by some measure of prices, suggest how much can be purchased with workers’ nominal wages.

The economic condition of a worker depends on the amount of goods and services he/she can purchase with nominal wages. In case, the prices of goods and services are doubled, the worker would need the double amount of his/her nominal wages what he/she is getting at present to purchase goods and services.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most frequently used indicator to compare costs consumers face over several years. This index is usually extracted from the determination of what a fixed package of consumer goods and services each year. There are several alternative ways to calculate real wages. The

Wages, Earnings, Compensation, and Income

Both wages and earnings are normally defined and measured in terms of direct monetary payments to employees. Total compensation, on the other hand, consists of earnings plus employee benefits—benefits that are either payments in kind or deferred. Examples of payments in kind are employer-provided health care and health insurance, where the employee receives a service or an insurance policy rather than money. Paid vacation time is also in this category, since employees are given days off instead of cash.

Deferred payments can take the form of employer-financed retirement benefits, including Social Security taxes, for which employers set aside money now that enables their employees to receive pensions later.

Income the total command over resources of a person or family during some time period (usually a year) includes earnings, benefits, and unearned income, which includes dividends or interest received on investments and transfer payments received from the government in the form of food stamps, welfare payments, unemployment compensation, and the like.

How the Labor Market Works

The labor market is where people and employers come together to bargain for labor and wages or other forms of compensation. The number of people willing to work is based upon the level of pay that employers are offering.

The Markets in Which Firms Must Operate

Labor market is one of three markets in which firms must successfully operate if they are to survive; the other two are the capital market and the product market. The labor market research begins and ends with an evaluation of labor demand and supply. On the demand side of the labor market, there are employers whose employment decisions are influenced by conditions in all three markets. On the supply side of the labor market are workers and potential workers, whose decisions about where (and whether) to work must take into account their other options for how to spend time.

Any labor market outcome is always affected, to one degree or another, by the forces of both demand and supply.

The Demand for Labor

The demand for labor is an economics principle derived from the demand for a firm’s output. That is, if demand for a firm’s output increases, the firm will demand more labor, thus hiring more staff. Businesses demanding labor from workers will pay for their time and skills.

Wage Changes

First, higher wages mean higher costs and usually higher prices of goods. Since consumers respond by purchasing less to higher prices, companies tend to lower their production and employment levels (other things being equal). The reduction in employment is called an effect of scale — the effect of a larger scale of production on desired employment.

Second, as wages rise (assuming, at least initially, the price of capital does not change), companies have opportunities to cut costs by implementing a system that relies more on capital than on labor. Due to a shift to a more capital-intensive mode of production, desired jobs will decline. The second effect is called an effect of substitution.

Changes in Other Forces Affecting Demand

Labor demand when one of the forces other than the wage rate changes. First, suppose that demand for the product of a particular industry were to increase, so that at any output price, more of the goods or services in question could be sold. Suppose in this case that technology and the conditions under which capital and labor are made available to the industry do not change. Output levels would clearly rise as firms in the industry sought to maximize profits, and this scale (or output) effect would increase the demand for labor at any given wage rate.

Since the technology available and the conditions under which capital and labor are supplied have remained constant, this change in product demand would increase the labor desired at any wage level that might prevail. In other words, the entire labor demand curve shifts to the right.

The second effect of a fall in capital prices would be a substitution effect. With less labor being desired at each wage rate and output level, the labor demand curve tends to shift to the left. A fall in capital prices, then, generates two opposite effects on the demand for labor. The scale effect will push the labor demand curve rightward, while the substitution effect will push it to the left.

Market, Industry, and Firm Demand

Labor demand can be measured at three levels:

1. To assess a particular company’s demand for labor, they would investigate how, say, a rise in machine workers ‘ salaries would impact a specific aircraft manufacturer’s employment.
2. The market demand curve would be used to evaluate the impact of this wage increase on the jobs of machinists in the aircraft industry as a whole.
3. Finally, to see how the wage increase would affect the entire labor market for machinists in all industries in which they are used, we would use a market demand curve.

Long Run versus Short Run

We can also distinguish between the curves of demand for long-run and short-run labor. Employers find it difficult to replace capital with labor over very short periods of time (or vice versa), and customers may not very much change their product demand in response to a price increase. Reactions to increases in wages or other factors influencing labor demand are, of course, greater and more comprehensive over longer periods of time.

The Supply of Labor

The labor supply is the total hours (adjusted for intensity of effort) that workers wish to work at a given real wage rate. It is frequently represented graphically by a labor supply curve, which shows hypothetical wage rates plotted vertically and the amount of labor that an individual or group of individuals is willing to supply at that wage rate plotted horizontally.

Market Supply

The supply of labor to a given market is positively related to the prevailing wage rate in that country, holding other wages stable. As with curves of demand, each curve of supply is drawn keeping constant certain prices and wages. If one or more of these other prices or wages were to change, the supply curve would change.

If insurance agents ‘ salaries are kept constant and paralegal pay increase, more people will want to become paralegals due to the relative change in compensation.

Supply to Firms

Any business that is unwise enough to try to pay a salary below what others do will find that it cannot retain any workers. On the other hand, no organization would be greedy enough to charge more than the current wage, because it would pay more than it would have to pay to retain an acceptable number of employees and performance.

At the going wage, a firm could get all the paralegals it needs. If the paralegal wage paid by others in the market is W0, then the firm’s labor supply curve is S0; if the wage falls to W1, the firm’s labor supply curve becomes S1.

If a company lowered its pay rates below those of other firms, it would lose all of its applicants. Therefore, the horizontal supply curve represents supply decisions made between alternatives that are ideal alternatives to each other.

The Determination of the Wage

Labor supply and demand strongly influence the wage which prevails in a specific labor market, irrespective of whether the market includes a labor union or other non-market forces.

The Market-Clearing Wage

The curve of market demand demonstrates how many companies would want to keep asset costs and consumer demand stable at each wage rate.

Suppose the market wage were set at W1. At this low wage, indicates that demand exceeds supply. Employers will be competing for the few workers in the market, and a shortage of workers would exist. If wages were to rise to W2, supply would exceed demand. Employers would desire fewer workers than the number available, and not all those desiring employments would be able to find jobs, resulting in a surplus of workers. The wage rate at which demand equals supply is the market-clearing wage.

The curve of market demand demonstrates how many companies would want to keep asset costs and consumer demand stable at each wage rate.

The market-clearing wage, is thus the wage that particular employers and employees have to pay. In other words, the market determines wage rates and the individual market participants are ‘announced.’

Disturbing the Equilibrium

Changes could result from shifts in either the demand or the supply curve to change the market clearing wage once it has been reached.

The greater demand would be represented as a rightward shift of the labor demand curve. If We were to persist, there would be a labor shortage in the paralegal market (because demand would exceed supply). This shortage would induce employers to improve their wage offers. Eventually, the paralegal wage would be driven up to We*.

The equilibrium level of employment will also rise. The market wage can also increase if the labor supply curve shifts to the left. Such a shift creates a labor shortage at the old equilibrium wage of We, and as employers scramble to fill their job openings, the market wage is bid up to We ‘. In the case of a leftward-shifting labor supply curve, however, the increased market wage is accompanied by a decrease in the equilibrium level of employment.

Applications of the Theory

Above-Market Wages

First, employers are paying more than necessary to produce their output (they pay WH instead of We); they could cut wages and still find enough qualified workers for their job openings. In fact, if they did cut wages, they could expand output and make their product cheaper and more accessible to consumers. Second, more workers want jobs than can find them (Y workers want jobs, but only V openings are available). If wages were reduced a little, more of these disappointed workers could find work. A wage above market thus causes consumer prices to be higher and output to be smaller than is possible, and it creates a situation in which not all workers who want the jobs in question can get them.

Below-Market Wages

Employees can be defined as underpaid if their wage is below market-clearing levels. At below-market wages, employers have difficulty finding workers to meet the demands of consumers, and a labor shortage thus exists. They also have trouble keeping the workers they do find. If wages were increased, output would rise and more workers would be attracted to the market. Thus, an increase would benefit the people in society in both their consumer and their worker roles. Figure below shows how a wage increases from WL to We would increase employment from V to X (at the same time wages were rising).

Economic Rents

The concepts of underpayment and overpayment have to do with the social issue of producing desired goods and services in the least-costly way; therefore, we compared wages paid with the market-clearing wage. At the level of individuals, however, it is often useful to compare the wage received in a job with one’s reservation wage, the wage below which the worker would refuse (or quit) the job in question. The amount by which one’s wage exceeds one’s reservation wage in a particular job is the amount of his or her economic rent.

Consider the labor supply curve to, say, the military. As shown in the figure if the military is to hire L1 people, it must pay W1 in wages. These relatively low wages will attract to the military those who most enjoy the military culture and are least averse to the risks of combat. If the military is to be somewhat larger and to employ L2 people, then it must pay a wage of W2. This higher wage is required to attract those who would have found a military career unattractive at the lower wage. if W2 turns out to be the wage that equates supply and demand, and if the military pays that wage, everyone who would have joined up for less would be receiving an economic rent.

Conclusion

The labor market, also known as the job market, refers to the supply and demand for labor in which employees provide the supply and employers the demand. It is a major component of any economy and is intricately tied in with markets for capital, goods and services. It’s a vast subject matter with a lot of factor playing important roles to determine the supply & demands of the market.

Reference

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On a news article published on the CTV News Vancouver, John Horgan, who is the British Colombian’s Premier, said that he wouldn’t allow Transit operators’ union to continue causing more disruptions on service (CTV News, 2019). While talking in a gathering in Vancouver Island, Horgan said that the union, together with the Metro management, should engage in collective bargaining to solve the matter (CTV News, 2019). The union advised its members to down their tool until they get a better offer from their employer, and this has resulted in delays in several bus routes. Besides, it forced the management to cancel another 16 scheduled SeaBus runs that were to operate between North Shore and Vancouver.

Employees consider the right to strike as an integral part of the collective bargaining process. One of the reasons why strikes are considered essential is that they are always readily available for labor unions when they seek attention and recognition from the employer (Cameron, 2013). Although many employees and labor unions consider strike as one of the most publicized and recognized elements of a workplace dispute, this method is also one of the most misunderstood and confusing. Some employers and employees think that for a strike to be considered successful, people must be on the street while carrying placards and demanding for their rights (Cameron 2013). Although this is one method of striking, a strike can also involve employees withholding labor to improve their working conditions or wages.

Reasons Why Employees may Go on Strike

Several reasons may drive employees to go on strike, and one of them is low wages (Abiwu, 2016). Low pay is one of the primary reasons why employees decide to strike, and an excellent example is the case of the Transit workers. According to the Transit workers union, its members are underpaid as compared to other transit workers in other cities like Toronto (Boynton & little, 2019). McGarrigle said that drivers in Toronto are paid around three dollars more per hour as compared to drivers in Vancouver (Boynton & little, 2019). Many employees also believe that, by going on strike, they have very little to lose since they are not taking home very much money anyway.

Poor working conditions are another reason why employees may engage in job action (Cameron, 2013). For example, according to the Transit workers union, many of its members complained that their employer is not giving them enough time to recover (Boynton & little, 2019). The union leaders also said that their members are being stretched at work, and CMBC leadership does also not guarantee them minimum break times. Some of the employees also complain of being given little time to go to the bathroom, or even eat (Boynton & Little, 2019). This shows that poor working conditions can drive workers into job action.

Poor communication with the employer is also another factor that may drive employees to go on strike (Cameron, 2016). Trade unions are more likely to call for job action when there are high levels of mistrust between them and the employer (Cameron, 2013). Numerous strikes have taken place because the employer says that the organization is undergoing tough financial times during negotiations, but employees see otherwise in financial books of the firm (Cameron, 2016). Workers cannot trust an employer who refuses to increases wages while claiming financial difficulties, and at the same time, the firm continues to report profits (Cameron, 2013). Once trade unions think that the employer is lying to them, they are likely to push their members to go on strike. To prevent this from happening, organizations should always make sure that, before they begin any wage negotiation, the rest of the business should be synchronized with the human resource department.

Awarding senior management wage increments and bonuses while ignoring other employees may also result in strikes (Gerdeman, 2018). Trade unions, together with employees, may not take seriously any employer who argues that wages need to be limited during negotiations, but at the same time, the organization’s board of directors has approved special payments to top management (Cameron, 2013). Many employees acknowledge that senior management makes a lot of money as compared to lower-level employees, but they are likely to be unhappy if they perceive this high pay as unfair (Gerdeman, 2018). According to Ethan Rouen, who is an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, “many work decisions that are made by people not only depend on what they are being paid but also depend on what the people around them are being paid” (Rouen, 2016). Rouen also says that if an individual above an employee is making more than an employee, and the worker feels that the wage is unfair, he or she is more likely to demand pay rise or reduce productivity (Rouen, 2016).

Employees also go on strike because it is their constitutional right, according to article 27(1) of the Inter-American Charter of Social Guarantees (Waas, 2012). This article was adopted in 1948, and it says that employees have the right to strike, but the law has the authority of regulating the exercise and conditions of that right (Waas, 2012). Besides, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, signed in 1993, also says that the right of employees to strike should be protected (Waas, 2012). This agreement says that this right should be protected so as to defend workers’ collective interests. This agreement was signed between three nations, the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.

Consequences of Strike

Strikes have economic effects on both the employer and the employees. According to a study conducted by Wellington and Winter, industrial actions have fewer benefits in the public sector as compared to the private sector (Wellington & Winter, 1969). One of the reasons that were highlighted by the two for this include, the issue of employer monopsony is less serious in the public sectors. Another reason why Wellington and Winter believed that striking is less beneficial in the public sector is that any action by the employer, that may result in certain groups, for example, teachers benefiting, may result in strikes in other industries (Wellington & Winter, 1969). For instance, when teachers decide to go on strike, and as a result, the government agrees to grant them pay rise, doctors may also choose to go on strike so as get a pay rise because teachers got it.

For employers, one of the consequences of strikes is the loss of production and customers. The case of transit workers is an excellent example to illustrate how employers can lose production and customers due to strikes. Michael McDaniel, who is the president of both TransLink and CMBC, said that the transit workers’ job action might result in up to14 SeaBus sailings being canceled by the first week of the strike (Boynton & little, 2019). He also said that SeaBus might also cancel 30 further sailings if the job action continues. Since the union also banned its employees from working overtime, TransLink said that some of its buses wouldn’t be able to be repaired (Boynton & little, 2019). According to Jill Drews, who is the spokesperson for TransLink, the piling up of maintenance work will result in TransLink’s fleet to shrink (Boynton & little, 2019). This is a clear indication that strikes are more likely to reduce the production of an organization, as well as result in a firm losing customers.

On the other, one of the consequences of strikes on employees is that they may lose their remuneration. This is because, many organizations, both in public and private sectors, have adopted “the no work, no pay principle” (Abiwu, 2016). Besides, workers may also lose their source of income in situations where the employer, especially in the private sector, decides to dismiss all the striking employees. According to studies conducted by Venter and Levy in 2014, it was determined that industrial action is one of the major factors that result in employee dismissal around the world (Venter & Levy, 2014). Many workers get dismissed because they participate in unprotected strikes. Even though employees have the right to strike, according to the ILO convention or even the labor agreement signed between Canada, the USA and Mexico, employers have the authority to dismiss employees if they participate in unprotected industrial actions.

Once the strike is over, although the employer may not have fired the employees, an unhealthy employment relationship may be created. This is supported by the studies carried out by Abiwu in 2016. According to Abiwu, strikes negatively affect the relationship and trust employees have between them and their employers (Abiwu, 2016). This leads to the employer and employees to have a bitter working relationship (Abiwu, 2016). Although the law may prohibit the employer from dismissing employees due to strike, the employer may start to look for other reasons, which may be perceived as genuine, to fire the employees who went on strike.

Furthermore, there can be a division between employees who went on strike and those who decided to stay and work. Due to this, these two parties may view each other as enemies, and this is likely to have negative implications on both the working conditions and employment relations (Abiwu, 2016). Employers are also more likely to favor employees who stayed behind when their collages went on strike.

In conclusion, industrial action is one of the methods employees can use to solve workplace issues. Trade unions, as well as employees, consider strikes as an integral part of the collective bargaining process. There are several reasons why employees go on strike, and they include low wages. An excellent example to illustrate how low wages can drive employees to strike is the case of Metro Transit workers. According to their trade union, one of the reasons why they were engaging in industrial action is that drivers in Vancouver are being paid lower as compared to drivers in other cities such as Toronto.

Other reasons why employees may engage in strikes include unfair wage disparity between top management and lower-level employees, mistrust between the employer and employees, as well as poor working conditions. Although workers may gain through industrial actions, such activities also come with their consequences and one of them is that the employer may lose in terms of reduced production and lost customers. On the other hand, workers may also be negatively affected by the unhealthy employment relations that may be created with job actions. In different situations, employers may also dismiss workers who engage in unprotected strikes, and this may result in employees losing their source of income.

References

1. Abiwu, L. (2016). Impact of employee strike action on employment relations in selected Accra, Ghana, public universities (Doctoral dissertation).
2. Boynton, Sean, and Simon Little. (2019). Metro Vancouver Bus, Seabus Job Action Starts Today. Here’S What You Need To Know.’ Global News. N.p. 1 Nov. https://globalnews.ca/news/6111544/vancouver-bus-strike-begins/
3. Burton, J. F., & Krider, C. (1970). The role and consequences of strikes by public employees. The Yale Law Journal, 79(3), 418-440.
4. Cameron, J. (2013). Reasons your employees will go on strike – expert – BizNews.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019, from https://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2013/12/03/six-reasons-employees-will-go-strike-expert
5. CTV News. (2019). Won’t happen on my watch’: Horgan puts transit operators’ union, management on notice. Retrieved 12 November 2019, from https://bc.ctvnews.ca/won-t-happen-on-my-watch-horgan-puts-transit-operators-union-management-on-notice-1.4676383
6. Gerdeman, D. (2018). If The CEO’s High Salary Isn’t Justified To Employees, Firm Performance May Suffer. Retrieved 12 November 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2018/01/22/if-the-ceos-high-salary-isnt-justified-to-employees-firm-performance-may-suffer/#72f01d54433d
7. Venter, R., & Levey A. (2014). Labourrelations in South Africa. 5theditions. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
8. Waas, B. (2012). Strike as a fundamental right of the workers and its risks of conflicting with other fundamental rights of the citizens. In XX World Congress, Santiago de Chile.
9. Rouen, E. (2016). Rethinking measurement of pay disparity and its relation to firm performance. The Accounting Review.
10. Wellington, H. H., & Winter, R. K. (1969). The limits of collective bargaining in public employment. The Yale Law Journal, 78(7), 1107-1127.

The division of labour can be understood as the division of different roles in the society where each individual is equipped with a particular set of skills that complements other’s sets of skills to create interdependence. While mostly understood in an economic context, in his book, The Division of Labour in Society, Durkheim asserts that rather than just being limited to the economic realm, division of labour helps build social solidarity, by establishing social and moral order in the society. Durkheim argues the division of labour helps to establish social solidarity by saying ‘…the economic services that it can render are insignificant compared with the moral effect that it produces, and its true function is to create between two or more people a feeling of solidarity.” (Durkheim, 17). He sees social solidarity as a driving force that is central to the functioning of a society as it pertains to a particular social and moral order. In the division of labour there “exists a certain allocation of rights and duties that is established by usage and that ends up by becoming obligatory” which makes one adhere to their role in the division of labour (Durkheim, 302).

Durkheim locates the formation of the division of labour outside of the people’s conscious will by arguing that “the division of labour cannot be carried out save between the members of a society already constituted.” (Durkheim, 217). Different modern processes such as urbanization, population growth, and industrialization increase the population density of a place which in turn proportionately increases moral density. As these different developmental processes start to evolve, jobs become more specialized thus, resulting in a more advanced form of division of labour. The shift from ascribed status to achieved status also gives rise to the division of labour as social mobility becomes a possibility.

While establishing the division of labour as a source of social solidarity, Durkheim also acknowledges that the forms of social solidarity are changing as society changes over time. As a positivist sociologist, Durkheim was a proponent of a perspective that believed that societies are based on scientific principles and law. In this sense, Durkheim believes that social changes happened like evolutionary changes. Underlying this social change was the change in the type of solidarity that formed the basis of the society, whereby “the shift from mechanical to organic solidarity might profitably be compared to the changes that appeared on the evolutionary scale.” (Durkheim, xvi).

Mechanical solidarity, calling it “solidarity by similarities”, Durkheim postulates is characterized by a collective conscience that is homogenous whereby people share the same set of core beliefs, for example, people from the agrarian society are more likely to resemble each other in terms of their lifestyle and value system. It is based on traditional values. Using the example of crime, However, as societies become more advanced and complex, individuals in society become more distinguished from one another. The emphasis on individualism develops as there is more social complexity and diversity which Dukhiem views as a central characteristic of the formation of organic solidarity, even calling it “ solidarity arising from the division of labour”. Organic solidarity is characterized by a collective conscience that is more abstract as compared to mechanical solidarity. The shift to organic solidarity from mechanical solidarity is the consequence of the division of labour.

The division of labour has created more specialization and has at the same time given rise to laws that aid this specialization. For Durkheim, the laws of society are the “social facts” that make social solidarity visible. Different laws apply to different circumstances and individual rights become more important. Durkheim argues that mechanical solidarity is based on a repressive law that tends to punish the crime such that it shows the society the harsh consequences of deviating from the norm. When the harsh consequences of deviating from the existing social and moral order are made apparent people are more likely to conform, thus reinforcing social solidarity. There was a decline in the repressive law as the law becomes more specialized and focused on the rights of individuals. In organic societies “ relationships are therefore very different from those regulated by repressive law, for the latter join directly, without any intermediary, the individual consciousness to that of society, that is, the individual himself to society.” (Durkheim, 71) Thus, organic solidarity is shaped by restitutive law whereby the law tries to reinstate social order in a rational-legal manner as compared to the repressive law that shaped mechanical solidarity.

The shift in society from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity is due to different modern projects such as industrialization and the development of a capitalist society. These modern projects bring about an advanced form of division of labor. While Marx argued that the division of labour based which was class would become two polarized groups causing disintegration in society, Durkheim argues that it makes people much more interdependent on each other. As one person only has very specialized skill, that person has to inevitably depend on someone else’s sets of skills in order to function in society. He argues that organic solidarity has a “characteristic feature is that it consists of a co-operation that is automatically produced by the fact that each person follows his own interest.”(Durkheim, 149). But he also argues that self-interest is fleeting and the need for dependence is created by the sense of morality which is stronger in organic society.

A major disagreement between Marx and Weber would stem from their ways of looking at how society functions. While Marx argues that conflict is what shapes and drives society, Durkheim is a strong proponent for social order as the driver of society. While Marx’s conception of social change, particularly the shift from feudal to agrarian social relations and then to capitalist and industrial modes of production also takes urbanization and population growth as important factors, however, Marx would most likely not agree with Durkheim. The role of capital and economy is very much central to Marx’s notion of social change whereas Durkheim focuses on other social reasons as well. If for Durkheim, “organic solidarity” marks the rationalization of an individual’s position within society under industrial capitalism, for Marx, this rationalization is the reinforcement of class-based social relationships which furthers the cash-based labour relations between the Bourgeoise and the Proletariat. For Marx, the reduction of workers as a class into individual workers would mean the denial of class-based solidarity among them. In other words, Durkheim’s division of labour would be for Marx, the labour segmentation. This would turn the working class into a heterogeneous mass instead of a “species-being” and would not allow the workers to recognize their oppression.

Durkheim’s theory for Marx would appear as a model that would justify the class-based relationships in industrial capitalism, fostering division among the working class. The institutions of industrial society that for Durkheim form the basis for organic solidarily such as the school, professional organizations, family, the church would be for Marx the institutions of capitalist domination, they would be the superstructural or the ideological apparatus of the capitalist system. Thus, while for both Marx and Durkheim, while specialization and division of labour is the outcome of modernization and rationalization in an industrial capitalist system, it is also the marker of an oppressive and unequal social relationship. The workers in such a system are alienated.

The concept of anomie that Durkheim coined sounds like Marx’s concept of alienation. Alienation arises out of the worker’s separation from the products of their labour and from the separation of the larger community of workers. His emphasis is on the fact that alienation arises when the worker fails to place him/herself within the larger web of social relations of production. Whereas, for Durkheim, anomie or a sense of normlessness arises out of the inability of an individual to find meaning in the given social structures. It is the period of crisis whereby individuals do not have a particular set of beliefs to refer to. If alienation is the outcome of constraints generated on the worker by the individualist nature of industrial capitalism, for Durkheim anomie is the result of the loss of constraints and the weakening of the institutions that are the source of the social order. While Durkheim would think of the division of labour as a desirable outcome of industrialization, Marx would believe that it would be people conceding to the false consciousness propagated by different social institutions to uphold the capitalist economy. If for Durkheim the “organic solidarity” of a modern industrial society is the ultimate realization of the potential of human social relationships, for Marx the ultimate realization of ideal social relationships would happen with the gaining of class consciousness, revolution against the bourgeoisie, the rise of socialism and eventually the ownership of the means of production and the state apparatus by the proletariat.

While Marx and Durkheim both have interesting insights into the processes of modernization and rationalization in modern industrial societies, I find neither compelling because their theories present us with models of ideal societies. These models follow a linear trajectory of development which do not accurately reflect the way development occurs or even has occurred historically. While to some extent they draw on the history of modern European countries to develop these models, I am ambivalent about whether these models entirely capture the process of modernization in industrializing Europe of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the major question is the extent to which these models apply to the socially, culturally and economically diverse societies of the world. Both Marx and Durkheim present modern Western societies and their trajectories as universal and ideal. There are many countries across the world that have not followed the trajectory of modern Europe. We cannot force these models on those societies. Furthermore, such sociological theories based on Western European models that present us with a theory of progress purport the idea that all societies across the world must go through the same stages of development or evolution. Such theory has historically created conditions for colonial and then imperialist intervention in the name of civilization, modernization, and development. I think critical sociological theory in a post-colonial and post-imperial globalized world must respond to the historical and social diversity of various societies across the world.

The Olympics are leading global events that involve summer and winter games, where many athletes and spectators from all over the world take part in various competitions in a bid to attain the glory of taking home a medal. They are highly anticipated events that attract a lot of media and expert scrutiny who analyze them as they take place. According to Peres (2016), the first Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Greece in Athens. Over time, these games have grown in capacity and have even accommodated women to undertake part in them unlike in the past. The games instill heroism and national pride to the countries involved as well as invoking national unity, elite athleticism and most importantly peace among various nations.

These winter and summer Olympic Games are held every four years during winter and summer seasons, respectively. A case in study is the London 2012 Summer Olympics, which was held in London starting from 27 July and concluded on 12 August 2012. Development of transport, infrastructure, and mass media made the games accessible to people around the world, making them more famous as the greatest events in sports competition

The role played by these games in enhancing unity at the local and international level cannot be underestimated. Unity is a vital aspect of knitting the public together within communities in different countries. Individuals come into small groups and their own identities in support of the ongoing events. This can be illustrated where people attend a common sports bar on a regular basis to spectate or learn about an ongoing sport like Football or Marathon and thus develop an identity out of it. They may certainly not know each other’s name, but with time, they gain an identity due to the passion for the sport, which may go along into enhancing their social and economic interactions, thereby bringing forth peace and significant developments into their lives.

The London 2012 games have a profound social, economic, and cultural impact on the host city communities implicated. The games are an indispensable source of revenue through ticketing, hospitality, worldwide marketing, TV broadcasting sponsorships, and other businesses Based on Gold (2015), by London hosting these competitions, temporary jobs were created. About 46,000 people worked on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village during the event. New hotel rooms to accommodate tourists, were created that employed many individuals. These games lay a platform for a smaller city to make a name for them, thereby drawing the eye of big business leaders to the city. Determining an Olympic games’ success or failure trickles down to its “legacy,” a concept developed by a body of academics that deals with the Olympics. Legacy entails the game’s long-term planned and unplanned, economic, political, social, cultural, infrastructural, and environmental impacts on the region. The overseen beneficial legacy outcomes in the London games included urban renewal, expanded tourism, and employment sector, enhanced city name and reputation as well as improved people’s welfare.

In Gratton (2017), the IOC (2013a) requires that for a city to host the Olympics, it must be substantially large enough to handle the multiple visitors and sporting facilities. The massive constructions such as stadiums, buildings, and businesses arose to support the influx of both local and international tourists and spectators. The International Olympic Committee necessitates a host city for the Summer Games to have a minimum of 40,000 hotel rooms at hand for spectators and an Olympic Village that can house 15,000 athletes and officials, Baade & Matheson (2016). This not only added to the list of income sources in the city but also meant that the recreated facilities made it easier to host more local and international sports in the future. The transport sector was highly renewed. This includes the creation of new bus transit schemes, existing underground lines, and stations as well as an upgrade to the trains and National Rail Services that were in use at the time. In fact, a report commissioned by the UK government showed that the construction schemes for London 2012 gave London £7.3 billion boosts.

However, despite the sunny side of this, there are drawbacks that come with it. For example, people may be forced to relocate their housing hence move their homes during land acquisition for such projects. This may also call for environmental to accommodate the new structures. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the mandated body where the cities involved submit bids to hold these games. This bidding in itself already costs a million dollars. As a result, the host communities end up falling in huge debts, which in turn compromises the economy of those cities. In addition to this, after the event, the low-income residents may greatly suffer an increased cost of goods and services. This majorly happens to balance the costs incurred in facilitating the games.

Whether or not the Olympic Games are beneficial or problematic to the host city communities remains a point of discussion. However, by a careful analyzation of the factors at hand, it has been deemed to be more problematic than beneficial for labor in the host city. Based on Henry (2016), the Olympic legacy has failed in the creation of jobs in London . Despite the government’s promise that 20,000 Olympics jobs would go to residents of the host city, only less than half actually did. That was around 9,700. This happened in a time where for the youths and middle age groups living in East London, the main concern remains jobs. It was believed that the 2012 employment legacy project, with cost amounting to £4.5m, would provide the jobless locals with jobs after the Games. However, the government’s failed economic strategy resulted in inadequate preparations to owe up to the legacy.

It is logical, therefore, to say that the Olympic Games could stimulate a depressed part of the host city. The IOC tends to favor the bidder city with an obvious lavish offer of gleaming infrastructures, stadiums, and airport improvements. The city that finally wins happens to be the one which overestimated the value of accommodating the Olympics the most, i.e. that which run further overboard in the bid. After the Olympics have been assigned, the host city spends billions of money on preparations for the main event, such as athletic facilities like swimming pools, stadiums, and getting ready for the required equipment. While investment in the hospitality and tourism sector normally has long term dividends even after the games are over, heaving spending to meet a 2 week peak demand period can be followed by a serious oversupply in the months or even year preceding the Olympic event.

The Olympic Games, as currently conducted, are not economically favorable for most cities. In fact, they have come to a tipping point where the many potential host nations and have come to the realization that hosting is more likely to result in draining rather than enhancing financial resources. This is the case mainly because of the heavy costs incurred on venues to host the events. In addition to this, the monopoly status quo that flows to the leading body, the International Olympic Committee, poor management of public funds, and the corruption that goes along with it all discourage the idea of hosting such events. This, in turn, results in an overall negative impact on the labor of communities of cities that host the games without first analyzing the likely outcomes.

Baade Matheson (2016) state that due to such instances, there emerged some agendas such as the Olympic Agenda 2020, which was unanimously delivered at the IOC’s 127th Session in Monaco in 2014, that outlined 40 recommendations for reform, majority of which encouraged increased economic sustainability for host cities. The recommendations provided a number of solutions to the menace standing in the way of economic viability regarding the Olympic Games. A number of them include: shape the bidding process as an invitation, evaluate bid cities by assessing key opportunities and risks first before assigning the Olympic Games, reduce the humongous cost of bidding by a considerable amount, include sustainability in all aspects of the Olympic Games and reduce the cost and reinforce the flexibility of Olympic Games management.

The problem of the unique sports facilities costs can be solved by choosing one or a few permanent regions for hosting the Olympic Games. The original home of the Olympics in Greece is commonly suggested. Another way to this could be, the IOC could designate, at list four Summer Olympic and two Winter Olympic venues in the world that would rotate the staging duties. Another alternative would be for IOC to award two successive Games to the same host so that the created facilities could at least be used twice, thus reducing the heavy cost that could be incurred if a new city or nation were to host. By doing this, it would make the resultant effects of the Olympic Games being positive, which would then positively impact the labor of communities residing in these host cities.

However, the main impact that normally arises from the hosting of the Olympic Games is that after the events and ceremonies are over, there normally results in facilities and venues that do not have sufficient use anymore. By this, I mean that Host Cities normally have the problem of having derelict facilities that sometimes are too specialized to be converted into facilities that can serve multiple purposes. This leaves them of little to no use to the community that is supposed to benefit from these facilities. As a result, these facilities result to be facilities that use way too many resources or money for their upkeep with little to no revenue being generated as a result. This normally then leaves the government or local authorities with the dilemma of whether these facilities are even worth the money being spent on them for the upkeep. In most of the previous ghost cities, the government normally decides that it is not worth the hustle because the limited resources of money required are not enough to sufficiently cover these facilities, as well as meet the demands of other needs that local governments and authorities need to address.

In the case of the London Olympic Park in East London, there resulted in facilities that, in some sort of way, did not serve any purpose to the communities after the Olympic Games were over. The local Authorities were smart about this issue. What they did is, they converted some of these facilities into things that would better serve the community and address issues more specific to the needs of London as a city. The London Stadium was converted into a Premier League football Stadium for West Ham United. Some of the arenas have also been converted into Concert Hall Stadiums, where events take place.

The London Park, where the games and the Olympic Village were situated, has also been converted into a recreational park and residential area, respectively. Nowadays, it is common to see Londoners having their morning jog or run in this area. As for the Olympic village, it was built in such a way that it could easily be converted into a residential area after the games were over. This is what happened, and there are even plans to expand the residential units in that area, and this will go a long way in addressing the issue of housing problems especially in East London. In my own objective view, the city of London, at least, tried to fix the problem that normally arises with most host cities of having derelict useless facilities.

Another scenario that can be looked at is that of the city of Beijing. In its approach to solve this issue , It constructed facilities that were soon brought down after the Olympic Games were over. This approach, however, is particularly wasteful especially from an Economics point of view. However, from the city of Beijing’s own perspective, it would be more wasteful for that land and facilities to remain idle, derelict and unused. Land and Space in the sprawling metropolis of Beijing are at a premium, and the opportunity cost associated with such land and facilities cannot allow for any space to remain idle.

There are some professionals and scholars of the opinion that the Olympic Games and events have their own advantage of bringing hype and attention to a city and showcasing it to viewers and people around the world. This, they say, normally results in tourists and investors flowing into the city even after the games are done thus increasing the investments from investors and even more investment opportunities. This effect will result in even jobs being created for the locals living in that area. Also, revenues from the tourism of the said city after the games are done also rises to a considerable level. However, the main issue that is normally brought up even with scholars and policymakers around the world is if these benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

In most of the cases, the answer to that question is normally no. The first reason this is the case is that it is way harder to actually calculate and quantify the foreign direct investments and tourism funds that arise from these advantages of previously being a host city. Also, some of these cities normally lose their allure and attractiveness after the games are done. So it would wrong to say that the city can bank on its previous reputation to be attractive to investors and tourists alike.

There is, however a correlation between cities that are able to turn things around after the games are done and the size and importance of a city. Cities like Beijing and London have been able to turn things around. One of the main reasons for this is that these cities were already established and had key roles to play even before the games had been held. As a result, even after the games were done, local officials and policymakers alike were able to steer the city in a direction inclined to its objectives in relation to the facilities left after the games were concluded. Also, in the planning of these events and facilities, the organizers planned for these games and in hindsight, were equally concerned about their use post-Olympic games. This was a key reason behind their success.

There is also a major correlation between cities like Rio and Athens and why they failed in the management of these facilities post the games. One of the main reasons why these cities failed was because, first and foremost, they did not plan what they were going to do with these facilities after the games were done and dusted. They were too concerned with the actual planning of the Olympic Games that they weren’t concerned with what was going to happen after the games were concluded. As a result, some of these facilities have been left in a completely derelict state. Some facilities in Rio have even been converted into a bus park. This just shows how bad the situation is. During and after the games, there were protests in Rio about the actual state of the city and how billions of dollars were being spent on games and facilities that weren’t impacting the locals directly.

It is spending millions, if not billions on these events, also raises the eyebrows of various people especially those who are residents and have a direct connection with the city. This is because, in most cases, cities normally have needs and solutions that normally need to be addressed and solved. Most of these problems normally affect the everyday life of a city resident. So in most cases, it normally seems senseless to be spending these vast amounts of money on projects such as the Olympics. Money is a scarce resource, and it should be spent appropriately, and to most city residents, it should be spent on things that will actually make their lives better.

There is, however some bright spots that come as a result of a city hosting an Olympic game. One of them is that the transport infrastructure in and around the city vastly improves even after the Olympic Games are concluded. This is an area that is bound to improve as a result of hosting the Olympic event. This is because the transport facilities normally need to be improved and upgraded so that they can be able to accommodate the huge number of people who flock the city in the duration of those games. It normally leads to better infrastructure that even helps the city residents even after the games are over.

[bookmark: _heading=h.gjdgxs] As I conclude, I would like to state that most of the cities that host these games are left with more burden to bear than the actual benefit that arises from the hosting of these games. It is hard to quantify the economic and financial benefits that arise, but the social, financial costs are normally a bit too high. Maybe it is up to the Olympic committee to find ways of making hosting these events to be more attractive even to the host cities. They can do this by financial incentives, spreading the hosting duties across several cities in different countries, and even increase the awareness of the sports being held in these games. Increased awareness would lead even to better financial outcomes from these events.

References

1. Peres, F. D. F., de Melo, V. A., & Knijnik, J. (2016). Olympics, media and politics: the first Olympic ideas in Brazilian society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 33(12), 1380-1394.
2. Gratton, C., & Ramchandani, G. (2017). 7 Economic legacy to cities of hosting major sports events. Legacies and Mega Events: Fact or Fairy Tales?.
3. Henry, I. (2016). The meta-evaluation of the sports participation impact and legacy of the London 2012 Games: Methodological implications. Journal of Global Sport Management, 1(1-2), 19-33.
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Cheap labor is a very economic and political problem across the world, mainly in the United States of America. The main concern when it comes to cheap labor in America are immigrants that come here to have a better life are having to work harder than normal Americans do and still get paid less due to being immigrants. When people come to America, it is like starting over, having to rebuild everything over again. Once a person mentions that they came over from a different country, typically the employer will take advantage of that person because have little to no knowledge about living the “American Dream”. The employer makes that person work all hours of the day but pay them very little. They must risk spending time with their family, let alone have time themselves to make sure they are paying bills, putting food on the table, clothing themselves due to not getting the average pay a normal person would normally receive.

Theory Foundations

Most immigrants migrate to New York due to it having many opportunities for them once they arrive in America. The price of cheap labor and how immigrants or illegal citizens must work in order to make money, specifically in New York. An example of cheap labor that happens in New York is that manicurist is required to pay a $100-$200 startup fee just to work and then after proving themselves, they may begin to receive wages/tips starting at $3 (Lowry 2015). With this, immigrants find themselves living in overcrowded apartments with others.

There is some economic growth going from the fact that many women go to nail salons and not knowing the true definition or cost of cheap labor (Lowry 2015). Many women and men walk in and out of nail salons daily and only get to see these workers from an outside view and not the real true working conditions. The tips people are giving their nail techs are not going to them. Workers in the nail salon are being withheld from their money (Lowry 2015). These workers are living in overcrowded apartments because they are not receiving the amount of money they really should be receiving (Lowry 2015). For that reason, they must sacrifice privacy and not being able to get good rest due to the apartment being overcrowded. No room for beds and if there is, they would let the children if any sleep on the beds while everybody else sleeps on the floors. Cheap labor is affecting these people mentally and physically.

Majority of the workers in sweatshops are undocumented Latinos and Koreans and their wages vary from $3 to $7 an hour for 10-hour days (Kitroeff and Kim 2017). On average, a worker will create 600-700 pieces a day equating to more than $40,000 for stores (Kitroeff and Kim 2017). With workers receiving the wages that they do, it’ll take them almost two years of saving to make that yet, stores are making it in one day consistently. Unfortunately, as Forever 21 and other retailers continue to profit from this system, this problem will continue. One lady, Norma Ulloa, works for Forever 21 and she spends about 12 hours a day just putting price tags on their products and make sure they are sellable products for a wage of $6 an hour, which is significantly under minimum wage (Kitroeff and Kim 2017). That is about $72 a day before taxes. Barely enough for a person to have extra money in their pocket because they must make sure all their priorities are handled first if they have enough to cover those expenses.

Government Foundations

The main members of the labor market and how the political economy of advanced democracies explains how immigrants work in poor brutal environments when working but getting paid little to no money (King 2008). Mostly, these jobs are quoted to be nonstandard cheap labor jobs that are temporary jobs and low cost, while most regular jobs are called “standard jobs”. Governments are promoting cheap labor only because it can save more money (King 2008). They strongly promote these jobs to immigrants due to assuming most immigrants have no knowledge and so on. Due to them assuming most have no knowledge the government only feels obligated to pay them less.

Illegal Status, More Skilled

Most immigrants are illegal but when it comes to cheap labor, they are the ones who are most educated when it comes to jobs because they are always categorized in nonstandard cheap labor and not having the opportunity to move up to a higher title. Their jobs are always temporary so they would just have to move onto the next job to keep providing for family and/or themselves. This problem provides a framework to give an idea about political economy of cheap labor (King 2008). Cheap labor plays a big role when it comes to the political economy of industrialized nations. The government tries to think about how they can save more money. People who already have a great job that pays well won’t really get affected greatly if the government were to cut wages back. The people who are categorized in “nonstandard cheap labor” will be affected greatly because they only have about a 20-50% in survival of this world, let alone living in America (King 2008).

Not only does cheap labor greatly affects the US but it affects major factoring countries such as China. China and how their prices to trade and partner with them aren’t as cheap as they used to be. The main reason for this is the Chinese economy is expanding at great rates. The wages are up 64% from 2011 to $3.60 which are way higher than the wages in India and South Africa (Yan 2017). A lot of trade partners are investing in robots to do the tasks and shopping with other countries or Sri Lanka where the wage is only $0.50 (Yan 2017). Unemployment remains a concern with the robots.

We can be so cheap that we will pass up good trade partners, for cheaper ones just for the cost. China has proven themselves as a great trading partner with the U.S. and they deserve the wages they are charging (Yan 2017). The issue of how cheap labor is no longer cheap for businesses anymore. Businesses have started finding loopholes to save more money because they are starting to realize the cost of labor (Yan 2017). They feel if they hire better people they will save money because they will already be skilled and won’t require much training. The problem comes when people begin to up and leave companies, forcing them to hire more people, thus spending more money on training and skills (Yan 2017). There are hard direct costs and soft costs that really hurt the company. This is beginning to cost the company’s profit and productivity.

Cheap Labor Outside of United States

The working conditions in America’s top profitable company is not what people would accept. Apple’s factory is in China which by trade name known as Foxconn. Back in 2009, it was reported that there were about 99 million factory workers since the first iPhone shipped in 2007 (Merchant 2017). The working conditions are not workable at any reason. Even though this factory is outside of America, it is not okay for those workers to work under the conditions they work in also not being paid on average.

Due to the working conditions, workers started to commit suicide and becoming depressed (Merchant 2017). They work hard and long hours to barely get regular pay. They are working for one of America’s biggest companies and yet are experiencing cheap labor and crucial work environments that are making workers end their life. They consider workers killing themselves a normal thing. Something should be done about this situation because at the end of the day these workers and factories are still working for America. They are building Apple products specifically the iPhone in China to send right back to the United States. They work long hours of the day and get paid so little for one of the top companies here in the United States and yet they are the ones committing suicide, ending their lives because they can pay for their expenses, being homeless and this factory job is the last hope that they have in their life.

Conclusion

Overall, cheap labor needs to end. 2020 is approaching and most immigrants here are getting paid very little to no money. Obviously, most immigrants are here on green cards or visas and some are here illegally but because they came to the United States from a different country, they get treated as if they do not have no knowledge or don’t know what is really going on. These are still humans and have a right. They have a right to be paid an average American is getting paid at that employer, especially in factories. Factories pay less but require the most work. These people still have a life. They still have responsibilities and a family that are depending on them but how can they do that if they are getting paid way below the average minimum wage and only make about $250 a week. Cheap labor will always continue to be a problem in the U.S., yet nothing has changed. We are entering the future and now companies are testing robot’s ability to do the workers’ jobs which will only make cheap labor even a bigger problem.