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The Distribution of Wealth
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The Distribution of Wealth |
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GOlDsparklESS Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428central nj |
Hey there. I wrote this for english last week. The assignment was to write about an unfair situation. I initially wrote about how much working at Kmart sucked, but then I realized that what I experienced was part of a larger paradigm. The paper is somewhat creatively conformed, due to the standards necessary for a school paper, but I think the subject matter is worth some merit. I got an F because she said I was off topic. ( the topic was an unfair situation that happened to us, and the choices we had to make ) However, I will get a chance to rewrite it for a new grade. God Bless the english department at Mercer County Community College. Manisha Narang English 101 The Distribution of Wealth-An Unfair Paradigm A common place of unfair occurrences is the work place. Working is not always an enjoyable experience, especially when you don't have the skills for the career you desire. I wanted to have money, and chose my position at Kmart to sustain my disposable income. In doing this, I learned that certain respects are due to the merely striving, ever consistent, and brave work ethics of the underpaid cashier. Although Kmart was unfair; it opened my perception to the world of lower class workers. This work experience often includes meager respect and menial gains. There's a class of workers in this society that span the entirety of the nation. They are in our fast food places and shopping centers; anywhere that requires a human to perform a job that is mechanical, mindless, and complacent. These jobs are necessary in our highly materialistic, voraciously consuming society. However, they are looked down upon and disregarded as insignificant, and awarded the minimum salary required for surviving. This path is the only choice for many, from teenaged mothers working at McDonald's to the middle-aged waitress, who have don’t have the means and money to rise above. Their occupations are for necessities, not opulence. Unfortunately, the lifestyle is subservient and perpetuating; people barely earn enough to live, leaving no money and time to pursue college and success. It's an existence of survival alone. My experience involved thoughts of discontentment, boring complacency, and occasional miseries. Many unfair situations occurred when I worked at Kmart. As a cashier, my duties were operating a cash register, bagging groceries, and dealing with obnoxious, demanding customers. As a part time employee, I had to work a minimum of 15 hours. I was often scheduled to work 25. I told the human resources manager that I would like 20 hours, but the average number for a week was 23. This included weekends. I spoke to the manager about how I felt, but she would give me an attitude and claim that this is what I had to do. Companies are required to give each employee a specific number of hours to fill a quota. The primary agenda of the managers was this corporate profit, so my preferences were ignored. It was bearable, but often inconvenient. I didn’t have a car, so my dad had to drop me off. This was an annoyance at least, and a strain at worst. The treatment I received working there was similarly unfair. Understandably, bosses are required to assert some authority to increase productivity. However, my managers were often unnecessarily uncompassionate in their expectations of me. For example, when there were no customers at my register, I had to straighten the areas around the registers, or pretend being busy, if it was straight. Pretending was usually the case. Apparently, usefulness is measured by constant movement. My attempts to relax were rewarded with stern eyes, signaling that I wasn't "doing my job". This was for seven dollars an hour, tax deductions not included. An unfair situation I’ve encountered numerously was staying later than scheduled. I would be scheduled until 10:00 pm on weeknights, and I would frequently have to stay past that, usually ten or so minutes after. My dad would always pick me up, even though he was tired. I couldn’t remedy the situation by leaving earlier, because the store closed at ten. Because I was a cashier, I had to stay until it closed. It was a tiring charade. Kmart was the most indifferent, tiring, boring, and unfair work situation I’ve encountered over an extended period of time. In virtually every aspect, I was slightly degraded; through the indifferent scheduling, lousy managers, and inconvenient, delayed days. I feel compassion in my heart for every soul that must endure this as a necessity for survival. The lower class worker is brave, indeed. Although my experience was mild in comparison to the atrocities and mindlessness people must go through to make money; I have gotten a taste of a different kind of life. Eventually, after two months, I quit. Looking back, I would have made the choice to leave much sooner. [This message has been edited by GOlDsparklESS (09-27-2002 03:52 PM).] |
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| © Copyright 2002 Manisha Narang - All Rights Reserved | |||
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GOlDsparklESS Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428central nj |
This is the revised version of the essay I'm going to turn in.. Thanks Joe  ! The Distribution of Wealth – An Unfair Paradigm I was once a slave to the lower-class workplace, but I have since quit my job in pursuit of something of something better. Working is not always an enjoyable experience, especially when you don’t have the skills for the careers you desire. I wanted to have money, and chose my position at Kmart to sustain my bank account, not mention my disposable income. In doing this, I learned that certain respects are due to the merely striving, ever consistent, and brave work ethics of the underpaid cashier. After a while, I realized that an imminent choice had to be made. Should I continue this subservient, thankless existence, or explore new avenues of employment where my personal needs as a human being are satisfied? One could venture so far as to say that this way of life is “unfair”. My experience involved thoughts of discontentment, boring complacency, and occasional miseries; I felt very “unfairly” regarded. Many unfair situations occurred when I worked at Kmart. As a cashier, my duties were operating a cash register, bagging groceries, and dealing with obnoxious, demanding customers. As a part time employee, I had to work a minimum of 15 hours. I was often scheduled to work 25. I told the human resources manager that I would like 20 hours, but the average number for a week was 23. This included weekends. I spoke to the manager about how I felt, but she would give me an attitude and claim that fulfilling this average is what I had to do. Companies are required to give each employee a specific number of hours to fulfill a quota. The primary agenda of the managers was corporate profit, so my preferences were ignored. The options for me were to either endure their conditions, or relinquish my income. At this point it was bearable, but increasingly demeaning. I didn’t have a car, so my dad had to drop me off. This was an annoyance at least, and a strain at worst. In a word, it was “unfair.” Understandably, bosses are required to assert some authority to increase productivity. However, my managers were often unnecessarily uncompassionate in their expectations of me. For example, when there were no customers at my register, I had to straighten the areas around the registers, or pretend to be busy. Pretending was usually the case. Apparently, usefulness is measured by constant movement. My attempts to relax were rewarded with stern eyes, signaling that I wasn’t “doing my job”. This was for seven dollars an hour, tax deductions not included. An unfair situation I’ve encountered numerously was staying later than scheduled. I would be scheduled until 10:00pm on weeknights, and I would frequently have to stay past that due to the sickening volume of “late-bird” customers. I could not remedy the situation by leaving earlier, because the store closed at ten. Because I was a cashier, I was required to stay until it closed. It was a tiring charade. A human being can put up with only so much before he/she realizes that there are, indeed, impending choices waiting to be made. I had to get out of there. Once again, the question was: “Should I stay or should I go?” So, one fateful day, in a fit of anger, I approached my manager and told her I wasn’t coming anymore. Shocked, she said, “You can’t be serious. We need you here.” I saw how upset this made her and it made me glad. I told her I just couldn’t take it anymore, I was tired of being a slave. I walked out of Kmart that day smiling. Kmart was the most indifferent, tiring, boring, and unfair work situation I’ve encountered over an extended period of time. In virtually every respect, I was slightly degraded; through the indifferent scheduling, lousy managers, and inconvenient, delayed days. I feel compassion in my heart for every soul that must endure this as a necessity for survival. The lower class workers are brave, indeed. I could have made the choice to stay with it, but I didn’t want to end up like one of them. Although my experience was mild in comparison to the atrocities and mindlessness people must go through to make money; I have gotten a taste of that kind of life. I was glad I made the choice that I did. Looking back I would have made the choice to leave much sooner. The Kmart experience widened my perception to the world of lower class workers. This work experience often included meager respect and menial income. There is a class of workers in society that span the entirety of this nation. They are in our fast food places and shopping centers; anywhere that requires a human to perform a job that is mechanical, mindless, and complacent. These jobs are necessary in our highly materialistic, voraciously consuming society. However, they are looked down upon and disregarded as insignificant, and awarded the minimum salary required for surviving. This path is the only choice for many, from teenaged mothers working at McDonald’s to the middle-aged waitress, who don’t have the means and money to rise above. Their occupations are necessities, not opulence. Unfortunately, the lifestyle is subservient and perpetuating; people can barely earn enough to live,especially nowadays!, leaving no money and time to pursue college and success. It’s an existence of survival alone. Well, there it is. Joe ( EagleScorpion-incidently an amazing writer and poet ) offered support in reorganizing the essay. Also, my darling soul sister, Aikta, who's wit and intellect often exceeds my own comprehension. If you have any advice regarding revision, GO AHEAD. When I started writing this I wanted to focus more on the paradigm aspect of this. I'd appreciate it if anybody who's experienced THIS shares their story with me. Experience is the mother of all teachers! and... Hopefully, I'll be able to write a more purposeful essay. [This message has been edited by GOlDsparklESS (09-27-2002 09:44 PM).] |
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GOlDsparklESS Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428central nj |
here's the new version. Kmart-An exercise in the Unfair I was once a “slave” to this uncompromising corporation known as Kmart, but have since quit my job in pursuit of a respectable working environment. Having a job has not always been an enjoyable experience, especially since I do not have the skills for the career I desire. I just wanted to have money, and chose the position at Kmart to sustain my bank account, as well a disposable income. In doing this, I learned that certain respects are direly due to an underpaid and seldom respected cashier. I strove to please the managers, was consistently attendant, and even brave in the face of rude, occasionally cold-blooded customers; despite the menial income. Thus, I soon realized that an imminent choice should be made. Should I continue this subservient, thankless existence, or explore new avenues of employment where my personal needs as a human being are taken into consideration? Could I venture so far as to say that this situation is unfair? My experience with Kmart involved thoughts of discontentment, boring complacency, and occasional miseries; I certainly felt unfairly regarded. Many unfair situations occurred while employed at Kmart. As a part-time cashier, my duties consisted of operating a cash register, bagging groceries, and helping obnoxious, demanding customers. I was often scheduled to work in the vicinity of 25 hours per week. I initially told the human resources manager that I would prefer 20 hours, but the average number of hours remained the same. I spoke to the manager about how I felt overworked. Her response was flippant; she disregarded her responsibility to accommodate me by claiming that this average was "required" of me. The legitimacy of her claim was questionable. Companies are required to give part-time employees a specific number of hours to fulfill a quota. This number is 15, yet my preferences were ignored. The options for me were to either endure this condition and the seemingly vague rationality behind it, or relinquish my steady income. At this point, it was bearable but increasingly demeaning. My dad dutifully complied with my abhorrent schedule and proved transportation regularly. I know for him this was an annoyance at least and a strain at worst. In a word, it was “unfair”. Similarly, the managers were often uncompassionate and unrealistic in their expectations of me. For example, if there were no customers at my register, I was told to straighten the areas around the registers, or “pretend to be busy”. Pretending was usually the case. Apparently, usefulness is measured by constant movement. My attempts to relax were rewarded with stern eyes, signaling that I wasn’t “doing my job”. This was for seven dollars an hour, tax deductions not included. Another unfair situation I would encounter numerously would be staying later than scheduled. I would be scheduled until 10:00pm on weeknights, and I would frequently have to stay past that due to the sickening volume of “late-bird” customers. I could not remedy the situation by leaving earlier; the store closed at ten. Cashiers were required to stay until the store closed. It was a tiring charade. A logical human being can put up with only so much before she realizes that there are, indeed, impending choices waiting to be made. I had to get out of there. Once again, the question was: Should I stay or should I go? So, one fateful day, in a calm state of serenity, I approached the manager and told her I wasn’t coming anymore. Shocked out of her usually complacent mentality, she screeched, “You can’t be serious. We need you here!” I observed her indignant reaction and it gladdened me. I told her I just couldn’t take it anymore. I was tired of being a “slave”. I walked out of Kmart that day smiling cheerily. Kmart is the most indifferent, tiring, boring, and unfair work situation I have encountered. In virtually every aspect, I was slightly degraded; through the indifferent, usually lousy managers/consumers, and inconvenient hours. I could have made the choice to stay with it, but I didn’t want to compromise my integrity. I am proud I chose to leave! [This message has been edited by GOlDsparklESS (10-03-2002 10:25 PM).] |
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GOlDsparklESS Member
since 2001-12-13
Posts 428central nj |
hmmm, i guess nobody cares about my stupid english assignment! anyway, i got an A. WAHOOOOOOOOO |
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