Blog #14

Bakan's book, The Corporation, is a very interesting book explaining how a Corporation works and its influence on America. According to Bakan, a Corporation is a legal "person", who is immortal and endowed with certain rights. This legal institution has become a being with immense power.

Bakan's rhetoric style enhanced the effectiveness of his book. He argues that the Corporation is a psychopath which needs to be stopped. How are the people of America going to stop the Corporate world when it has so much power over political issues and the overall economy?

Blog # 13

The video about money in the American political system was quite disturbing to me. It is very scary to find out just how much power corporations wield over America's political structure. I think corporate America is gaining so much power, through their money, that they are able to influence certain political issues in a way they see fit. This is not a democracy. It seems that America is losing the it's democratic identity to the power of corporations.

I think that their should be a cap to the amount lobbyists can "donate" or fund. It is not fair that corporations can twist the fate of an issue in their favor with money. The power of the people is fading, the power of corporations are increasing. This is not democracy, the power of the people is the definition of democracy, not the power of businesses or corporations.

Blog #12

Corporations can be nasty to work for. In Natasha Werther's memoir she informs us that she is a Kinko's worker and begins to explain her job to the reader. She says there are cameras everywhere following her and she needs to hide from them just to eat or drink a cup of coffee. She also says that at her Kinkos, they don't recycle. This is an example of how a corporation can be nasty.

Some advantages to working for a Corporation is some, Like Natasha's Kinkos, attempt to unify all the workers to make them feel like "family". She says Kinko's believes that you are less likely to rip them off if you feel like family. This sense of unity can really improve the workplace.

Blog #11

According to Bakan a corporation is a "Legal insitution" and a "Legal person". Bakan explains to the reader that corporations have the all the legal rights a individual has. The corporation is a person. Corporations have become so strong and powerful because of these rights.

Justice Louis called corporations "Frankenstein Monsters" because corporations are like a corrupt monsters brought to life with no morals. Capitalists have found a way to create an ultimate institution to bring about evil. Justice Louis said that coporations were "Frankenstein monsters, capable of doing evil".

I always thought of Corporations in a positive sense. I had always believed they stabalized the economy and brought jobs to the people. As I read more about the corporation and it's history, I'm begining to think Corporations are positive at all.

Blog #10

For writing project #2 I have decided to write about Cyberslacking. Cyberslacking refers to the personal use of the internet while at work. This is becoming quite a common issue in companies around the world. I will adress the negative and positive effects that cyberslacking is having on workers.

I will go into more detail explaining the negative effects of Cyberslacking. These effects are that they tend to alienate workers from their job, show a lack of commitment of workers, and lose certain important social interactions.

I worry that I may not get enough information pertaining to these subjects. I will have to go in to a great amount of detail on each aspect of Cyberslacking. Can Cyberslacking acutally allow workers to become more productive? Perhaps a mental break from work is just wat a lot of stressed workers need to continue doing their job effeciently

Blog #9

I think outsourcing is the cause of lack of jobs in the US. All the companies are being very greedy and do not care about what the effect of outsourcing is doing to the jobs in the US. All they care about is their on company's success. They will look for anyway to cut wages in order to insure their company's prosperity.

This is quite scary to read about. I wonder about my future and my ability to find and keep a job. I wonder if I'm choosing the right career path. Should I be focusing on what jobs will keep me employed longest or should I be focusing on what jobs are going to make me happy? Something should be done to stop outsourcing and keep the jobs in America, where they belong. Capatlism is taking it's toll on the American workers and needs to be controlled

Blog #8

I do not necessarily think that individual companies are to blame for the increased anxiety and stress that we are now seeing in the workforce. I think the competition that we are seeing in the corporate world is forcing all companies to up productivity without thinking about the stress that is being laid upon the individual worker. We should look at Japan and see what their high tech stress is doing to their workers and strive to find alternative solutions to increased productivity.

In the gig memoir, the worker seemed a lot happier with his work in Bosnia compared to his work in the US. He had a lot more freedom and a lot more choices when it came to work. He was able to take breaks and have conversations with his fellow employees, unlike his job in the US.

I do not avoid stress at work and school. I constantly, day in and day out, feel very stressed with work and school. There is always some assignment I need to be doing. Some work schedule with long hours. I wonder to myself, "When does it end". I have came to the conclusion that this stress will never really go away until I retire. But when I retire I know I will feel useless just like so many retirees feel today because all they have known for the majority of their life is to be productive in the workforce.

Blog #7

I work at the Campus Recreation Center in the heart of the University of Cincinnati campus. As I was reading the essay about Taylorism and the Service Sector I began realizing just how manipulative my employers are in using certain techniques to make me a "better worker". My job is the same day in and day out. I stand at a desk (no sitting) and take member's rec cards and swipe them through the computer. Every member that approaches the desk, I am to say, "Hello, How are you?" I usually get no response and even in which case I still must say, "Thank you" or "Have a good work out". Why do I thank them? I have no clue...

I cannot say I recieve any abuse from the managers/superiors. I do recieve a lot of abuse and rude comments from the members of the rec center. If they come up "inactive" I am to explain to them they are not aloud in the rec center because they have not paid to be here. This never ends up good. The non-member usually gets angry or frusterated and begins to take their inelegibility out on me, when I really had nothing to do with why they are not aloud in the rec center. I want to tell them, "Don't shoot the messenger".

Since I have had this job, I am much more empathetic towards everyone and anyone having a job in the Service Sector, especially to those who are friendly to me. This repetitive, unsatisfying, and stressful job has caused me to dread going to work. I agree with the author of these essays in that I feel no sense of accomplishment after my shift at work. I did not complete anything and I will not complete anything on my next shift here. Just the same simple tasks shift in and shift out.

Blog #6

I believe Richard Florida's thesis about the formation of a new economic class to be very persuasive. The rise of the Creative Class seems to be very real. I think that these free thinkers are opening up the way to a new economic class.

I do disagree with what he said about the Creative Class creating the Service Class in which certain people are meant to work in service jobs. I think these people are working in service jobs simply because they chose this route, not because the Creative Class has created a service "boundary" in which they cannot break out of. I believe that all people are born with creativity, it is up to the person to unlock their creativity and chose their own way of life, their way of life is not chosen for them.

I think the media/artist workers in today's workforce are a distinct class. Like Florida said, they are creating, with their innovated thinking, a brand new class and a brand new way of life. No longer are people forced to live in such a capatilist society, rather they can chose to think freely and independently. No ceo, manager, or supervisor, telling you how to do your job or how to think while at work.

Blog #5

I think that most shows, especially those directed toward a younger audience, represent the upper class. Stations like MTV, VH1, Food channels, and even nickelodean all represent upper class. This constant advertisement of upper class conveys an idea of glory and luxury. These tv shows make the upper class look so damn amazing that of course anyone in the lower classes are going to envy those who belong to the upper class.

I can't name a single tv show that resembles/represents the lower classes. Why aren't these classes represented in television? Is it because capitalism has such a hold on society that the elitists who run the tv corporations won't allow them to be aired? or is it because the lower, middle, and upper class of society wouldn't find these shows to be entertaining? No matter what, I think it is wrong that lower class television shows are not being aired on network television.

Blog #4

I think that in most families today, the dream of "class jumping" has been taught to, by parents, their children. I know that my parents, who I know love me and want nothing but my hapiness, would like to see me jump to the upper class. This meant that college is necessary and if i were to fail out of college, they would be greatly dissapointed. I feel that I yearn to graduate college not necessarily for my own increase of pay but for the fear of dissapointing my parents.

I think that Polyestra's story shows how that in the dire attempts to jump up in class, one can lose everything. Her parents strived to apart of the upper class in such a way that in doing so they lost everything. Though they did eventually gain the wealth they had so long desired, they eventually lost everything because of this new gained wealth. Spending and buying everything without saving anything. The economy is too unstable for anyone to not save, thinking only of the present, losing sight of the future.

To many Americans, the American Dream is infact jumping ahead in class, in hopes of being like every rich star on TV. Having all the things one desires is not the American Dream to me, but i guess that is the beauty of the American Dream. The American Dream is whatever the individual wants it to be.

Blog #3

After reading about capitalism and the decline of morality, I found it very intereseting that the author thought that what we are seeing as Americans is not the the decline of morality rather the redifining of the word itself. I agree with his thoughts. I think that our understanding of morality is changing not necessarily because of capitalism or the economy but because times are changing. I dont believe that this change in the understanding of morality comes from anything but change in generation. A lot of things play into the changing of generation not just capatilism and the increase of technology, machinery, advertisment, and so forth.

The connection between spirituality and economics has no doubt been very evident in the past but we are slowly seeing economics pull away from religion. I think what we are seeing a slow decline in relegion as a whole not necessarily a decline of religion pertaining to economics. I believe the main reason behind this decline in religion is due to our growing knowledge in science.

I think it is ignorant to try and attach religion to economics or anything that is so important to the structure of society for that matter. Call me athiest, damn me to hell, but I refuse to let religion play such an important role in my life, why should society allow it to further burrow its way into such and important aspect of society; Economics.