Eva Smiths Diary Essay Example for Free

Eva Smiths Diary Essay Only a few days left to go, and my holidays will be over. Its wonderful having all this time to myself, to do as I please. But I have so little money left. No work, and no pay. God, how I hate those machines. The noise keeps ringing in my head, and when they break down, I cant earn any money, because Im not working! I wish with all my heart I could afford to stay home forever. But things are so expensive, prices go up all the time. Its all right if you own the grubby factory, but if youre like me, you can end up working yourself to death just to make ends meet. Its not fair. Those greedy fat men in their luxurious offices with their ugly wives and spoilt brats! The girls on the machines are the ones who are making all the money for them, while they just sit on their big backsides. We should have a pay rise, by rights. Now that would make history! Back to work today. My stomach kept rumbling because I couldnt afford much breakfast. Moneys tight. The other girls were saying how its the same for most of them. Most of us hadnt eaten since the day before so we were all slow to begin with. We were glad to be back for the money.  I asked Mr Birling if I could have my money early. He let me, and wasnt that surprised, probably because most of the girls asked for the same thing.  When I got home, I bought some food, paid my bills, and all the usual things. I only had eight bob left out of twenty-two and six. This has been one of the worst days of my life. Things have been getting worse. Everyone at work thinks so. We work long hours, and get so little for it. None of us can manage on such low wages. Birlings make a good profit, they can afford to pay us more. We all got together and agreed to ask for a pay rise nothing less than twenty five shillings a week. So we did. I ended up doing most of the talking. Mr. Birling wasnt having it, and told us to go and work somewhere else if we didnt like it. That man must have never opened his eyes when he walks on the streets, how can he not understand why we need the money, he cant honestly say he cant afford it and we dont deserve it. So we carried on for a while, but people were angry. We decided that the only thing for it was to go on strike. What else could we do? By the end of the day, everyone agreed. All for one and one for all! We were all in the same boat but as the days went by with no wages coming in at all it just got harder, especially for the girls with kiddies at home. After two weeks Birling locked us out and said hed replace us with new workers, or we could go back straightaway on the old wages. Well, you could understand why some of the girls wanted to go back. Their children needed food. It was humiliating. I went up to the door but Birling stood there and said Not you, Miss Smith, you must have heard me say that I would not permit the ringleaders back on the premises. I saw red, and told him exactly what I thought of him and his premises. Men like him treat people like slaves, what choice does a woman with a sick baby have but to meekly obey a tyrant like him? He threatened to have me arrested, if I didnt leave his property forthwith I left. When I got home I gathered my things, settled up, and moved out. For the time being I am living in digs until I can find another job, which wont be easy now Ive been sacked. Ive lost a lot of friends through this business, too. I havent got much money left from my job at Birlings, but hopefully it will just about see me through till I can find work again. Im so tired now. What was it all for? Good news at last! Ive managed to get a position at Milwards, the most exclusive shop in town. Now Im a Milwards Assistant. This has come just in time. I am nearly out of money, but today could be the start of a new life for me. I been working now for two days, and I am getting on well. The people seem very nice. The pay is better than the workshop; at least operators and filthy machinery do not surround me. Its so much nicer to be working in an elegant shop with all those beautiful clothes I can only dream of wearing. The customers are so grand, some of them, the aristocracy. Others are just mutton dressed up as lamb (like the Birlings!) Ive lost my job at Milwards.  A spoilt, ugly girl, related to the Birlings! She was trying on some clothes that only made her look even less attractive than she already was, my friend, who was helping her choose something suitable knew this, even her own mother knew it. But the young miss was just being stubborn and really sulky about it. When she tried on this dress that made her look absolutely ridiculous, my friend turned around and silently snorted her nose as if she was being a pig. The Birling girl must have seen me smile behind her from the mirror or something. She was so furious. Then I got fired.

Leadership and Discrimination in Croft Foods Essay -- Business Managem

Leadership and Discrimination in Croft Foods From my understanding Croft Foods have certainly demonstrated clear leadership in rather abstract terms. They have tried to reduce their production costs to an absolute minimum whilst attempting to produce and market as many products as possible. Klaus made effective communications with the employees and established the need to purchase new machinery which may have allowed the factory to work more efficiently and generate more profit. Leadership here was demonstrated by upper management conversing, with the factory floor directly, and making relevant employees aware of future developments, for example the fact that â€Å"further machinery is due to be installed later this year†. By recognizing a need with-in the market to remain competitive, and also delivery through spent time with employees. â€Å"Effective purchasing management and professional buying works better when a good strategic framework exists. Commonly, relationships between suppliers and customers are driven by personalities, or the needs of the moment, whereas relationships and purchasing strategy should ideally be based on a combination of factors reflecting the nature of each purchasing area, including: risk, complexity, value, the market and basic matters of supply and demand† 1 This theory suggests there is a vast array of issues which need to addressed whilst purchasing. There was obviously a need to work more efficiently, create more gross income, and allow employees to work to their optimum. In addition to satisfying the above, employees also felt listened too. Also by remaining distanced at suitable times from the factory floor at times they have been able to concentrate and free up time for other issues that may arise such as possible redundancies. Although the basic concept of these decisions may have necessary; it has all the hall marks of a ‘knee jerk reaction’. The decision to install new machinery without additional training was inevitably going to cause a skills gap and evidently cause a low working morale to sink further. Advice from the machinery supplier could have been sought after to perhaps provide guidance on the new machinery and thus offer advice on employee training. This would have leaded to a more structured and organised approach to productivity as well as improve factory morale... ... and Limitations All employees can expect a fair performance related pay which works on the basis of company loyalty and productivity. Performance related pay will reflect the level of success or decline, which ever is relevant. Employees are expected to speak to the nominated 'team leader' regarding any problems which it would like to be addressed to management in connection with ideas. Management whom are responsible to Managerial Director; must remain diligent to the concerns and welfare of fellow employees never abusing their positions. Stakeholder shares in Croft foods will be awarded on performance and loyalty basis. Senior Management will have their company shares capped. Training Training for all employees will be mandatory. Review These policies will be reviewed on a regular basis in keeping with the interests of every employee at Croft Foods. Bibliography Management and Organizational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, Seventh Edition 2005 by Laurie J. Mullins2 www.businessballs.com/buyingtechniques.htm1 www.womenandequalqualityunit.gov.uk/legislation/equal_pay_act.htm3 www.bized.ac.uk/compfact/mcdonalds/mc15.htm4 www.mcdonalds.com5

Four Key Attributes of Strategic Management

Strategic Management must firstly be directed towards a company’s goals and objectives. Typically the company will be organized with a mission and vision developed, stating a purpose and direction of the overall organization. The goals and objectives set by the manager’s act as stepping stones to maintain that vision. These goals need to be transparent throughout the organization to allow the key players to achieve buy-in as the team moves towards accomplishing these goals.Secondly, the strategic management of an organization must include multiple stakeholders in decision making . Typically stake holders have demands on different areas of the organization. Managers must consider the consequences of how certain decision will affect each stakeholder group. Stakeholders will include the owners, shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and the community . Decisions that may benefit the owners such as taking short cuts in safety may have drastic effects on the employee s or a local community’s environment.Decisions to cut costs in quality control and employee training may benefit the bottom line of a company for a short time, but eventually will lead to a poorer product being produced and a lack of consumer confidence or higher warranty claims of the end user. Third, strategic management requires incorporating both short-term and long-term perspectives. Managers must maintain a vision for the future as well as focus on the present needs.Managers can be put in a position to be â€Å"short sited† to reach production numbers or sales goals by making decisions that don’t coincide with those long term goals of growth. Salesmen with quotas may always look for the quick sale without respect for building a long term relationship with the customer. This can cause long term reputation issues and cause a company to develop a culture of poor service and trust. Strategic managers must fourthly recognize the trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency. This is described as â€Å"doing the right thing† or â€Å"doing things right†.Managers must make decisions that guide the organization towards its overarching goals and perform actions which create cost savings, best practice’s, and build a culture of a positive corporation. Sometimes doing the right thing may cost the company more money to stay on focus of the mission. Companies may make organizational decisions that inhibit the success of the organization. In a recent news story, a company in West Virginia made a decision not to report a chemical spill from its holding tanks into the Elk River .This spill has now contaminated the drinking water supply of over 300,000 residents and sent some of them to the hospital. Freedom Industries made the decision not to report the spill until after the state Department of Environmental Protection had already traced it to one of their leaking tanks. Through this act of neglect and failure to report the lea k, the company now creates a reputation of untrustworthiness and may face legal action which will significantly affect the stakeholders (both stockholders and local community).A local company in my business area has been known as a poor company to work for and has a reputation of a sour culture. This company has had safety issues and difficult times finding quality employees. The company deals in supplies to major automakers and has recently seen great growth due to the surge in automotive sales over the last several years. Now the company has a need for expansion of its building and added equipment to produce the needed volume of parts to match the growth.Because they have had a short term perspective of the economy due to the downturn in 2008, the management has made decisions to pay the employees lower wages and fail to train them adequately which eventually have led to a 40% turnover rate. The company has recently spent millions of dollars on the expansion and can’t find employees that are willing to work for them due to the reputation they have. Poor cultures within a company can have long term effect on its continual growth and take many years to turn around even with the best strategic managers.

Cause Of Poverty In America - 1303 Words

More than 3 billion people are living in poverty across the world, among those an estimated 43.1 million people in America are living in poverty. There are many causes of poverty, but mass incarceration is one of the most prominent ones. When people get out of prison or jail, they have a very low chance of getting a job and finding a home because they have the label of being a criminal. People tend to explain poverty especially poverty in America is that people are lazy and do not want to work, but that is not the reason at all. The government is ultimately responsible for distinguishing who is in poverty and what measures are going to be done to help those people get assistance. But because people do not particularly talk about this†¦show more content†¦Mass incarceration is defined as the drastic increase of people in prison and/or jail, and the high rates of racial disparities in prison. From slavery to the Jim Crow laws, now to mass incarceration. People identify how his tory seems to be repeating itself, but not being as straightforward as it was in the 1800s. Because of the â€Å"war on drugs† specifically people of color have been incarcerated for minor crimes. Most of these people cannot afford a decent lawyer so they have to plead out and do their time in prison. The problem with this is that when these people get out they cannot get a job or get housing because they have been labeled as a criminal. This affects the poverty percentage because when people are incarcerated they do not have an access for education or real world skills that they need when they get out. Therefore, when they are released from prison they resort to crime as a source of income because it is so hard for them to earn a job, or they even become homeless because they cannot live in government housing and have no place to go. Because of the stereotype that America has placed on blacks and hispanics, they become more targeted for police searches than white people, whi ch heavily influences whether they are arrested and processed. Society commonly refers to people in America who are living in poverty as people being lazy or saying that there are plenty of jobs and thatShow MoreRelatedCause Of Poverty In America787 Words   |  4 Pagesyou can see, there are more than the basics of poverty. These poor people struggle on a daily basis to provide the needs of themselves and their family. Poverty affects adults and their children in so many ways. I believe that poverty should be one of the main focuses of America. I have deep sorrow for these people doing whatever they can to make money. I think that poverty needs to be decreased in the United States. I don’t know how the people in poverty do it. They have a weight that they are carryingRead MoreWelfare Causes Poverty in America Essay811 Words   |  4 Pages There seems to be an increase in poverty in the United States and there are so many theories behind why this might be a problem. It seems as if Society as a whole wants to blame this social â€Å"condition† on Society itself. I believe that the problem of poverty lies within the actual individuals that are experiencing poverty. There are a few reasons why people experience poverty. They are as follows: One, the liberal welfare programs that were started in the 1960’s, two, individuals lack the characteristicRead MoreEssay on North America Causes Poverty in the Third World1428 Words   |  6 PagesAfter much deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that ‘we’ are all horribly selfish. Not intentionally of course. It just sort of happened you know, snuck into our lives when we weren’t looking. By ‘we,’ I mean much of the population in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, we’re gorgers, gluttons, plump little people living luxurious lives at the expense of those skinny folks in the Third World. â€Å"Luxurious!?† you cry in objection. â€Å"But of course,† I cry back comparing our living space to the niceRead MorePoverty in America840 Words   |  4 Pagesabout poverty’s history in America and its definition, the causes/reasons of poverty, the effects of poverty on America, and the salaries of people in poverty. Poverty is the state or condition of having little to no money or goods. In America, poverty started being a major issue in the late 1950s when it reached 22.4 percent of the American population. Throughout the 1960s, poverty steadily declined, and reached 11.1 percent in the year 1973. Over the next 10 years, poverty alternated between 11.1Read MorePoverty And Poverty854 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty is a problem that the world suffers from, in which case can cause an awareness. There’s people in a current area downtown who are going through poverty. Mark Gongloff states in â€Å" 45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line: Census† â€Å"More than 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, lived below the poverty†¦..But the level of poverty is still higher than 12.3 percent in 2006† (2014). There’s so many people, such as children suffer from poverty. Haiti suffers 37% more inRead MoreThe Poverty Cycle Of Poverty1096 Words   |  5 Pages Children are said to be the future of America, but what if their future is lined up for them already because they are stuck in a cycle of poverty? The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) collects information on the social and economic status of families and their offspring every year. The National Center for Children in Poverty used a PSID study that found â€Å"that individuals who grow up in poor families are much more likely to be poor in early adulthood. Moreover, the chances of being poor inRead MorePoverty in Places Such as Africa786 Words   |  3 PagesThere are many different forces that cause poverty in America as well as other places around the world. All countries and or territories have some type of poverty, No one can deny that. Different forces such as bad government policy, overpopulation, high standards of living, costs of living, environmental degradation, and lack of individual responsibility are some of the forces that contribute to poverty. The poor in devel oping countries are trapped. They lack education, good nutrition, and a safeRead MoreEssay on The Root Causes and Solutions to Poverty676 Words   |  3 Pagesstrongly in certain things, all of our ideas on poverty fall on the same path. Unfortunately, as reality points out, is that inside the walls of the White House, where it is commonly believed that actual progress is happening, ideas on poverty revolve around stock exchange, whose ideas only benefit those who get elected. Subsequently, these elected officials lead a group or campaign in a worthless round of unethical ideas that instead of helping poverty, increases U.S. debt. It is also commonly misinterpretedRead MoreCause Of Poverty Essay1527 Words   |  7 Pagesthe U.S are slipping below the middle class and into the grip of poverty. More than 45 million people are living in destitution in the U.S. That means more than 14% of the population is making less than $2,400.00 a month. The Many people believe that there seve ral factors that cause poverty. However, there are really only three main causes of poverty; a poor economy, a long history of drug use, and lack of education. The America that most people know is deteriorating, along with the backbone ofRead MoreWhat Is The Cause Of Poverty?959 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is the cause of Poverty? In this paper I will discuss the causes for those below the poverty line in America set by the census bureau and how we might begin fixing them and how they are already being fixed. I believe these issues are able to be helped but they need to be clarified and addressed properly. Currently in America there are 46.2 million people currently listed as impoverished according to the Census Bureau. As such first we need to look at the causes for poverty for nationally. In