Corporate America and Modern Society Essay -- essays research papers

Corporate America and Modern Society Large corporations affect most of society today, and these affects have split the U.S. workers into two factions. People are becoming frustrated over companies having huge lay-offs, firing thousands of employees, shutting down businesses, and moving to countries like Mexico to make a bigger profit. What happens to those people who have families to take care of? Where are they going to find money to pay for their children’s medical bills, education, food, and clothing? How are they going to tell their spouses that they now have to work two jobs to take care of costs for their family? Top executives of large corporations often earn millions of dollars a year in salaries, bonuses, and benefits while the vast majority of people who work for them earn moderate wages, sometimes no more than the minimum hourly amount required by law. Some people believe that this type of a system for hourly working is wrong. Others argue that no change is possible without stifling human initiative. H ow might the economic system be changed? Should it be changed? History of Large Corporations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The industrial revolution in America during the early part of the 20th century brought many new changes to society with the introduction of factories, construction, and businesses. As time progressed through the years, small businesses soon started looking to increase their market nationally. As small businesses soon turned into large corporations, they began to spread across the country giving people quality products anywhere in the United States. The economy was booming. Competition between businesses was moving at an incredible rate, producing many products and improving the Gross National Product. America was becoming the most powerful nation in the world. There were plenty of jobs for families to find work. As businesses grew, bureaucratic systems were set up within them to ensure better management. One man could no longer run his business alone. He needed supervisors to reach every employee. Hierarchies were introduced and so businesses were now ran by a select few individuals who were most likely the founders of the company, and they got all the profit. Capitalism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people say that today’s minimum wage is not a livable wage. That it doesn’t make up for the cost of living in today’s society... ...ple want a change, there will be a change. Works Cited Cody, David. â€Å"Child Labor†. 1987. http://65.107.211.206/victorian/history/hist8.html (1 May 2002). New York Times. â€Å"Executive Paywatch 2002†. 2002.. http://www.aflcio.org/paywatch/index.htm (24 April 2002). Moore, Michael. The Big One. 1996. Reich, Robert B. Goleman, Daniel. â€Å"Point, counter point†. Training & Development, April 1999. Vol. 53 Issue 4 p26. Eisenscher, Michael. â€Å"Sweatshop Abuses Continue†. Nov. 30, 1997. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/40/041.html (1 May 2002). Kronemer, Alexander. â€Å"Narrowing the Wage Gap†. Monthly Labor Review. Nov99, Vol. 122 Issue 11, p79. Blau, Francine D. Kahn M. Lawrence. â€Å"Wage Inequality: International Comparisons of Its Sources†. 1996. http://www.aei.org/cs/cs6931.htm. (22 April 2002) Kazis, Richard and Miller, Marc S. â€Å"Low Wage Workers in the New Economy†. 2002 http://www.urban.org/pubs/low_wage/index.html (24 April 2002) McCarthy, Jim. â€Å"Salary Gap Continues to Widen† Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, Mar 2002, Vol. 75 Issue 3, p8. Robertson, Michael. â€Å" The Minimum Wage: Some New Evidence†. Journal of Labor Research, Winter 2002, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1.