Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner Essay Example For Students

Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner Essay Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner Lars Eighners short essay, Dumpster Diving, reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, can scroungers, Dumpster divers, and scavengers. (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighners blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery. We will write a custom essay on Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Although Eighner reveals that his chosen lifestyle was to live on anothers refuge, he kept in accordance with his acts of superiority and snobbishness by excluding himself from the term Dumpster Diving. Instead, he preferred to be called a scavenger because of its frankness in the term. (Eighner, 1993). Furthermore, Eighner, explains that there are rules to abide by when successfully scavenging through dumpsters, using the senses†¦knowing the dumpsters of a given area†¦. and Why was this discarded? It is the explanation of the three guidelines Eighner asserts to be superior to can scroungers (Homeless people who rummage through the dumpsters for money). The author further elaborates his snobbishness by revealing that he has tried the heinous lifestyle of can scroungers, and deduced that only a few dollars could be obtained. Moreover, Eighner states, one can extract the necessities of life from the dumpsters directly with far less effort than would be required to accumulate the equivalent of cans. (Eighner, 1993). The author stereoty. .ghner, 1993). It is the authors belief that consumers are aware of their consumption, as well as realize how wasteful they are with food in general For the students who do not fit into Eighners wasteful category, he presents a grouping of frugal consumers who, carefully wrap up even the smallest leftovers and shove it into the back of the refrigerator for six months or so before discarding it (Eighner, 1993). Through the essay, Dumpster Diving, Eighner impresses his superiority by illustrating disinterested people and their lack to complete certain tasks the author is skillful at. His disdain and impudence of students†¦ Eighners autobiographical essay not only shows the degradation homeless people indure, but his personal snobbery of those around him Works Cited Eighner, Lars. Dumpster Diving. http://www1.broward.edu/~nplakcy/docs/dumpster_diving. htm

Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO

Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO The main issue presented within the memo involves the current salary of the present CEO (James) and whether it is in line with standard salaries for CEOs within companies of the same size and within the same market as PDQ.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The author of the memo contends that based on the performance of the company, the current average salary rate for CEOs within the industry which is $300,000 and the supposed fact that workers at the company dislike James that replacing the current CEO is a matter of great urgency given that his lackluster performance and high salary are detrimental towards the growth and performance of the company. Reasons given The CEO’s salary is too high During his tenure the company has experience significant drops in performance Workers at the company supposedly do not like him He is rich, thus he would not feel the need to work hard He has a low level of performance In order to make the company better a new CEO would be needed Ambiguous Phrases There are several ambiguous phrases that piqued my interest within the memo. The first emphasized the current wealth of the CEO as detrimental towards his performance. The second emphasized on the need to replace him despite the lack of sufficient evidence and third involved an argument involving incentivized performance and compensation which was highly ambiguous given that various studies state otherwise. Descriptive Assumptions The memo explains that it is usually the case that the average salary for a CEO within a company of PDQs size is $300,000 and that due to the financial crisis most companies have actually frozen or cut back on CEO salaries due to lower profits. While this particular aspect of the memo is valid, the memo takes a strange turn stating that James must be fired on the basis of his supposedly lackluster perfo rmance (which the memo does not present sufficient evidence on), the fact that he is wealthy and would supposedly not work for the best interests of the company (similarly has no basis), the fact that the workers at the company supposedly dislike him (has not been confirmed with verifiable facts from the union) and on the fact that he has a high salary which is not commensurate with industry standards (considering the fact that it was based on a contract it should not be an issue). Fallacies in Reasoning While the memo was quite extensive in its use of a variety of statistics in order to properly frame its arguments, it made several assumptions that lacked sufficient evidence to actually prove to be accurate. First off, towards the end of the memo the author makes the following assumption regarding salaries and compensation: everyone in the Human Resources field knows that â€Å"pay for performance† is the most effective compensation method. The creation of this particular st atement is versed in such a way so as to connote a certain degree of factual appropriateness to what was stated. This means that it was created to make people assume that pay for performance is the most effective method by stating that it was a well known practice within the field of human resources.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In reality studies such as those by Goh Gupta (2010) have shown that pay for performance is actually one of the least effective methods of compensation (Goh Gupta, 2010). This finding has been backed up by several other studies and shows that the author of the memo was presenting an assumption as a fact. Examining the Evidence The author of the memo connects the failing performance of the company with the supposedly lackluster performance of the CEO. This particular argument in light of the circumstance is rather strange given the fact that the drop in company performance coincides with the 2008 financial crisis which resulted in considerable performance drops for nearly all corporations within the U.S. The memo fails to show any solid proof of corporate mismanagement by the CEO and merely presents an assumption based on data which has been proven to be outside of the control of the CEO. Not only that, it was stated early on that the increase in the CEOs salary was based on a pre-negotiated contract which should void any arguments regarding subsequent salary increases. While there was sufficient evidence to justify the lowering of the CEOs salary given the financial crisis, there is insufficient evidence to justify firing him. Based on an evaluation of the presented evidence, it can be seen that it is severely lacking in terms of actually showing that the current CEO of the company should be fired and is indicative of a lack of sufficient foresight and research into the performance of the CEO and largely consists of pure speculation and assumptions. Rival Causes The memo in certain sections elaborates on the need to replace the CEO with someone that is more hardworking and willing to do what is necessary. This creates the idea that the present CEO is not hardworking and is in fact lazy. This is rather ambiguous given the fact that the author of the memo fails to show any solid evidence regarding this particular fact and is evidence of a certain dislike by the author for the CEO given that he continually emphasizes firing James. Deceptive Statistics The statistics are definitely deceptive since the CEO had pre-negotiated salary increases that were not dependent on company performance. Not only that, the drop in company performance was not due to mismanagement but was a direct result of the financial crisis. The CEO should actually be commended for ensuring that the companys performance loss was kept to a minimum. Information that has been omitted The most obvious information that has been om itted is whether or not the CEO has been doing a good job despite the adverse circumstances that the company finds itself in as a result of the financial crisis.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is no information whatsoever indicating factors relevant to what initiatives he has successfully employed, what cost savings measures were carried out during his tenure, how has he helped to reduce the losses of the company and how has he responded to the adverse market situation. All of this information is relevant given the arguments being presented by the author but it is in fact missing which creates a certain degree of ambiguity regarding the fairness of the way in which the CEO is being portrayed. Reasonable Conclusion that can be Derived Based on the way in which the memo was created which emphasized on the supposedly lackluster perform ance of the CEO without sufficient evidence and the way in which the arguments were formulated to emphasize several negative qualities about the CEO and the need to fire him despite the fact that this was not the original intent of memo shows that the Senior HR manager has negative feelings about James and is actively attempting to have him removed despite the insufficient evidence proving the CEO’s inadequacy. Reference List Goh, L., Gupta, A. (2010). Executive Compensation, Compensation Consultants, and Shopping for Opinion: Evidence from the United Kingdom. Journal Of  Accounting, Auditing Finance, 25(4), 607-643.

Issuanc of sukuk and bonds in Malasiay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Issuanc of sukuk and bonds in Malasiay - Essay Example The following discourse delves into Sukuk issuance with specific focus being on the Malaysian economy. According to Ayub (2009), Sukuk may be defined as certificates of equal value that represent an undivided interest in the ownership of an asset or investment. It should be noted that Sukuk have the benefit of being backed by assets hence they offer better protection to the investors as compared to the conventional bonds. Investors who require fixed investment return with low risk find Sukuk to be an ideal choice (Kuran, 2004). One of the forms of Sukuk is known as the Ijarah Sukuk. This kind of Sukuk is based on letting of property rights for a given property on an agreed price. Sovereign issuers have an inclination towards issuing Ijarah Sukuk on a sale and leaseback agreement for a given piece of real estate. The other type of Sukuk is known as Mudharabah Sukuk. This is essentially an agreement between the investors and managers of capital. These are investment Sukuk that represen t ownership of units with an equal value in equity. The holders of such Sukuks own shares and are entitled to the returns based upon the percentage of ownership. The key characteristic of Mudhabarah Sukuk is that the holder of the shares is not given a guarantee by the issuer on the capital and fixed profit but rather, the profit is based on a percentage of the given capital (Muhammad, 2009). Musyarakah Sukuk involves the contribution of capital by two parties to incorporate a common motivation. The issuer contributes a given amount of money to obtain a subscription of a given number of shares whilst the originator may contribute either capital or in kind. The profit is shared in a certain ratio and the losses are shared according to capital contribution. Sukuks known as Istisna’s are used to finance the purchase of a project item. The holder of the Sukuk offers finance for a given project and in turn obtains a title to the asset. The title can be returned to the developer at an agreed repayment methodology. It should be noted that Istisna’s Sukuk cannot be traded in the secondary market. Government bonds are issued by the government in order to finance the projects that they require. One of the key characteristic of government bonds is that they have a set maturity date. This implies that the issuer guarantees to give back the principal amount invested the bond after a certain period regardless of how the investment performs. Government bonds also have interest payments. The interest payment can be on a fixed rate whereby a fixed interest is paid periodically for the life of the bond or floating interest whereby the interest rate is determined periodically. The principal investment repayment is also a key characteristic of government bonds. According to Sharma (2007), â€Å"it is an obligation of the issuer to repay the principal amount in lump sum upon the maturity of the bond.†`p. 234. Some bonds also have a call feature whereby the iss uer has the liberty to return the bond before its maturity date and be paid a percentage of its principal amount. Once the callable bond is paid, the government stops paying interest on the bond. Government bonds are subject to a given minimum investment and have credit ratings. Bonds are income investment because the issuer pays a certain rate of interest for a given period of time until the bond

Social Media in E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Media in E-commerce - Essay Example It can be done by posting meaningful photos of the company daily activities together with posting discussion questions and participating in discussions with fans. Another way that the social network can be used to promote business is by giving the social media followers a value proposition. This could be for example through giving a company page fans and followers discounts on products. This would give the clients reasons to follow the business on ecommerce. In order for the social media to be effective n should know which media is mostly preferred by the kind of market the organization targets (Rana & Noman 2009). For instance, if it targets professionals, they are more likely to be found on LinkedIn rather than Facebook. The company should also ensure that the content they provide on their social media pages is valuable and build the trust of the users and hence the company brand. The company should ensure that it respond to clients queries and comments in the most amicable way. It is also important to ensure that the social media are linked to the company website by providing links to the website. This is an inexpensive way of increasing t he number of visitors to the website and this again increases the company rating in search engines (Funk 2012). Social media should be used together with YouTube which can be used to showcase the company products in

The Art of Procrastination Essay Example for Free

The Art of Procrastination Essay Have ever experienced that moment when you should do something, whether it is e-mailing back your great grand aunt from some lost country, cleaning up your room because you can’t even find your bed in that unbelievable mess, taking your obnoxious dog on a walk in the freezing cold weather, or just simply finishing your more than annoying homework in a class you can’t even stand, but instead you’re totally doing something else to hold up the fatal deadline? Don’t lie to me, I know you have. Our generation is victim of a particular disease that slows millions of people down against their weak wills : procrastination. Procrastination is the art of putting things off until tomorrow, and there is no need to tell you how good I am at that. Even the idea of this topic came up after long hours spending doing nothing.  «Nothing  » isn’t really the exact word, because the procrastinator always find something more appealing and stupid in most cases than what he or she should actually do. Access to entertainment has became amazingly easy in the last few decades and there are now thousands of ways to have fun exist nowadays. What normal person would honestly like better calculating the derivation of Pi instead of watching a funny movie under her or his warm blanket while eating rich, unhealthy and incredibly good food ? Every human behavior occurs for a reason, and procrastination is the witness of a society ruled by irksome people ignoring the pleasures of life. Facebook is another example of a procrastinator’s occupation. This website is the devil and poses as a huge ocean where Net surfers get lost needlessly. Nothing exceptional ever happens but people are ready to stay on it, stalking random strangers they will never meet for hours instead of undertaking something smart. Mark Zuckerberg succeeded in diverting millions of good people from the right path by putting his finger on a universel human trait : our weakness. Replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority doesn’t always mean that those lower priorities activities are pointless. While thinking about a topic for this column, I felt the sudden need to clean up my room. Let me tell you that I don’t often enjoy doing it, but in this case it seemed more distracting than scratching my head looking for something you might like to read. I also took the opportunity to paint my nails, to e-mail back some members of my family worried about my survival in Fat-Land a.k.a America, to count my pairs of shoes, to look everywhere for the forever missing sock undeniably eaten by the washing machine, and to prepare my upcoming trip to Barcelona by learning some dirty words in Spanish. You know you procrastinate when you discover the enormous entertainment potential of a paperclip, when you spend more time calculating the time you would have left if you start working right now than actually working and when you are reading this column instead of doing what you’re supposed to do.

Is Anyone Out There? Essay -- Astronomy

Earth is small. Many people find it hard to believe, but when one thinks of earth in its context, amongst billions of galaxies, stars, planets, and an infinite universe, earth is a mere grain of sand on the beach that is space. With this in mind, one may, quite understandably, find it hard to believe that earth is the only planet that sustains life. With today’s advanced technology and science, extensive evidence has been found suggesting a great likelihood of life on other planets. The discovery of life on other planets has huge implications for humankind, as it would likely give a more thorough understanding of what human life is, how it came to be, and possibly even insight into why humans exist. Oftentimes, people ignore rhetoric regarding the possibility of life on other planets. This may be for religious reasons or because many people see it as more science fiction than scientific, but there is a substantial difference between Hollywood’s perception of aliens and what is likely to be the first extraterrestrial life discovered (Borenstein). In all reality, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and a few other basic elements are all it takes to create the miracle of life, and these chemicals could exist in countless places other than earth (Bryson 2). Some life may not even require that, like the microbe found in a lake in California, which was able to survive on arsenic and phosphorus alone (Borenstein). According to Borenstein, the â€Å"life† that scientists are looking for is more accurately described as a life form or microbial slime, much like the microbes that became humans via evolution. Approximately 140 billion galaxies inhabit the universe, with somewhere between one hundred billion and four hundred billion stars in Earth... ...rawstory.com/rs/ 2010/12/08/evidence-mounting-daily-proven/> Bryson, Bill. A Short History of Nearly Everything. New York: Broadway Books, 2003. Print. Cohen, Daniel. The Ancient Visitors: Have Creatures from Other Planets Ever Lived On Earth? Garden City, NY: Double & Comp., Inc., 1976. Print. Kaufman, Marc. â€Å"Reaching for the Stars: It’s Alive Out There! Scientists Seek Out the Evidence.† McClathy-Tribute News Service. 17 June 2011: n.p. Web. 15 Mar 2012. Spotts, Pete. â€Å"In Search of Life, More Planet ‘Candidates’ Are Found. Are Any Just Right?† Christian Science Monitor. 12 Sep 2011:n.p. Web. 15 Mar 2012. "Story of the Universe." European Space Agency, 2011. Web. 15 Apr 2012.

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

If the porters can organize their industry, hold their ranks, prove their fighting ability in the interest of the working class, it will have a profound effect on the attitude of white organized labor. And it will have a profound effect upon the organizable capacity of Negro workers in other industries. These men who punch our pillows and shine our shoes and stow our bags under the seats bear in their hands no little of the responsibility for the industrial future of their race (The Nation, June 9, 1926).Most observers would have thought it quite unlikely during the early 1920s that the sleeping car porters, those seemingly obsequious men, always bowing and scraping in the presence of whites with their hands held out for a tip, would ever have been able to start a union. Even more preposterous was the thought that they not only would start a union, but that their organization would become a nationally recognized symbol of the New Negro, a leader in the struggle of black people to att ain their rightful Place as part of the American working-class.Not only were porters servile and easily frightened men, people would say, but the vast majority of them worked for the Pullman Company, a giant among American capitalist enterprises. The company was the largest single employer of blacks in the country, and most black spokesmen believed that black people owed the Chicago-based corporation a debt of gratitude. Moreover, the Pullman Company was notoriously anti-union. Should porters attempt anything so foolish as forming a union, the company would crush the incipient movement before it ever began (Perata 45-47).However, by the end of World War II, Randolph and the brotherhood were major forces within American labor and society. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), was the first African American labor organization to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP, founded by the labor leader Asa Philip Randolph in 1925, organized black Pullman ca r porters. Far more than a labor union, the BSCP was also a pivotal organization in the twentieth-century civil rights movement. Randolph was president of the BSCP from 1925 to 1968.Although he also held general organizer credentials, his role within the BSCP was largely that of public spokesperson and agitator, with practical matters being left in the hands of men like the BSCP organizers Milton Webster, Ashley Totten, and C. L. Dellums. The labor movement had done more for advancement of blacks than any other institution in America. Between 1928 and the 1935 convention, the laws governing labor-management relations bad changed dramatically. In July 1935, President Franklin D.Roosevelt signed into law the Wagner-Connery Act, which guaranteed workers the right to organize. But more important to the BSCP, Congress had passed the Amended Railway Labor Act of 1934 which guaranteed railroad workers that right. Moreover, that act required corporations to negotiate with unions that could prove that they represented the majority of a particular class of workers, and created the National Mediation Board to protect workers' interests. The emancipation of slaves following the Civil War did little to resolve their precarious social and economic status.As late as 1910, 83. 3 percent of African Americans resided in the South. The vast majority were engaged in agricultural work, with black artisanship suffering erosion when Reconstruction ended and Jim Crow systems became dominant. One of the few corporations to employ large numbers of African Americans was the Pullman Company, the maker and supplier of luxury cars for railroads. Founder George Pullman hired ex-slaves as servants for his cars as early as 1870, and by the turn of the century, Pullman was the single largest employer of black labor.Of the 12,000 porters employed by Pullman in 1925, all were black except for about 400 Mexicans and a handful of Asians. What emerged was a complex relationship between black employ ees, the Pullman Corporation, and rail passengers. From its origin the BSCP had three goals. First, of course, union leaders wanted to gain recognition from the Pullman Company as the official representative of porters and maids so as to improve their wages and working conditions.Second, and of equal importance, at least to Randolph, the BSCP was the means by which black workers would break down barriers to equal membership in organized labor. Thus, Randolph and his colleagues set their sights on an international charter from the AFL. The union's third goal stemmed from the first two. A union under black leadership strong enough to gain recognition from the Pullman Company and to wrest a charter from the AFL would serve as an example to other working-class blacks of the possibilities for improving their lives. Many of the black men (including J.Finley Wilson, president of the Improved and Benevolent Order of Elks of the World; Perry Howard, perennial Republican national committeeman from Mississippi; and Benjamin E. Mays, who became president of Morehouse College and of the Atlanta school board) who went on to make names for themselves worked for Pullman at one time. The harsh irony is that such men accepted jobs at Pullman largely because the company offered the best opportunities available for black men. Indeed, a porter's annual pay of $810 plus tips in 1925 far exceeded that of a black school teacher.In addition, porters were considered cosmopolites, men of the world who flitted back and forth across the country, visiting regularly places most blacks could never dream of seeing. Black women were instrumental in advancing the brotherhood from its earliest days. A small number of black women employed as maids by the Pullman Company took out memberships in the BSCP, but women were most active in auxiliaries. Wives and other female relatives of Pullman employees started to establish local auxiliaries in 1926, and that same year several auxiliaries combined to form the Colored Women's Economic Council.Women's auxiliaries were instrumental in raising money for the brotherhood in the days before an AFL charter boosted the organizational treasury. They also performed important community functions such as offering financial assistance to families left destitute when the Pullman Company dismissed black wage earners (Chateauvert 197). The BSCP took advantage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's election in 1932. New Deal legislation outlawed company unions and granted workers the right to bargain through their own elected units.In 1934, the Railway Labor Act was amended to include sleeping car employees. Women continued their feverish activity on behalf of the union, and women's auxiliaries became so numerous that a coordinated network of Ladies Auxiliaries of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters emerged in 1938. Increased political, legal, and organizational activity gave Randolph the necessary leverage to call for a union election. In June 1935, despite massive layoffs by Pullman, the BSCP won collective bargaining rights by a nearly eight-to-one margin.BSCP officials not only sought legitimacy for their own union but looked on the union as a vehicle for the advancement of all black workers. During the Great Depression the Brotherhood participated in various grass roots activities and workers' actions. The union joined in the numerous protests throughout the country over the plight of the Scottsboro Boys, nine young blacks convicted of rape in Alabama, and was a leader in the successful efforts of organized labor and civil rights organizations to prevent the confirmation of judge John J.Parker, whom President Herbert Hoover nominated for the Supreme Court in 1930 (Santino 34). The BSCP alone tied together Parker's racist and anti-union sentiments. And though they would not go so far as to support Communist activities, Randolph and other BSCP spokesmen encouraged black workers to form workers' councils so as to demand equitable relief funds from the U. S. government, especially after the origin of the New Deal. The BSCP was the very first African-American labor union to sign a collective bargaining agreement with a main U.S. corporation (Santino 67). All applicants were required to take the General Test the United States Employment Service. Each applicant was also given an intensive interview with an employment service counselor to determine whether he might have a substantial potential in the trade regardless of his ability to meet the minimum standards. Under the collective bargaining agreement, appointments as apprentices were to be made from among the highest scorers. Randolph's career is one of the most interesting in contemporary black history.As an opponent of participation in World War I and an angry critic of the Wilson administration, Randolph's writings earned The Messenger the title of ‘the most able and the most dangerous of all Negro publications' (Pfeffer 67). During the int er-war years he devoted himself to trade union organization and gained prominence as the leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Not only did he secure recognition of the union from the railroads, but in 1936 took it into the American Federation of Labor as an international union.This union's founding and struggle for recognition was a dramatic episode in the history of black workers (Harris 78). The black leaders of the period, including Du Bois and Randolph, who believed in programs of interracial cooperation also believed that such a policy of working with whites must be accompanied by a campaign of public enlightenment about black people. To win whites to the cause it was necessary to correct the black image in their minds. Beyond an appeal to the conscience of whites, or to their democratic ideals, it was necessary to remove the misconceptions they held about blacks.In the mid- 1930s the Brotherhood won two notable victories-the receipt of an international charter fr om the American Federation of Labor and recognition by the Pullman Company as the bargaining agent for the porters and maids. Strengthened by its international union status and by its victory over the Pullman Company, the Brotherhood had become a dominant force in Negro circles by the late 1930s. References Chateauvert, Melinda. (1997). Marching Together: Women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Harris, William. (1977).Keeping the Faith: A. Philip Randolph, Milton P. Webster, and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 1925-37. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Perata, David. (1996). Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant. New York: Twayne Publishers. Pfeffer, Paula F. A. (1990). Philip Randolph, Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Santino, Jack. (1991). Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle: Stories of Black Pullman Porters. Urbana: University o f Illinois Press. The Nation, June 9, 1926, p. 3.