Develop a 300-word blog post about the movie. What did you think of his unique skill? Name as least three skills that he used to benefit the employee. How would you have handled yourself in the same position as the lead character? How would you have responded as the employee being let go?
I think is unique skill is just that a unique skill. He used the ability to twist words and tell the recently unemployed person exactly what they wanted to hear. He was capable of thinking and speaking to the person without a script. Given he had been doing this for many years, he was still able to answer with a very good response and not have too much of a situation on his hands.
If I was in the same position as George Clooney, I don’t think I would have been able to handle every situation in such a calm and composed way. He was very inspiring as a professional and yet did it in such a reasonable and professional manner.
If I was the employee being let go I think I would have been very calm, until I got out of course. It is a very traumatic experience and you run through the how’s? How am I going to pay my bills, how am I going to provide for my family and myself. But the movie does make a point, this is just the beginning, now you need to go out and do what makes you happy. Follow your dreams. Make something of yourself. Now would be the beginning of the rest of your life, being happy. That I would take into consideration, I would make this an educational experience and go do what I had always wanted to.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Week 10: BOC - Getting Fired
Develop a 300 word blog post about a time you were fired or had to fire someone. How did it happen, why and how did it make you feel. This should be in the first person. If you have not had this experience, you may write about someone you know personally who did experience this.
In 2006, I worked for a corporate drug store in Canada. I was in high school and had two other jobs. I asked to be put on call and possibly have one day a week. My boss didn’t really like me, but all the employees and supervisors did. After a 2 weeks of being scheduled one day and being on call. The boss had removed my name from the schedule, without being notified. I was fired without just cause or even given a reason. If fact she avoided me when I came into the store, and ignored my phone calls.
When my supervisor confronted her about it, she had threatened her job. I feel, as I my boss was unprofessional in the whole situation. She felt her authority should just be enough to do whatever she wanted. Which shouldn’t have been allowed. I had poke to the owner on many occasions and she told me “Brenda is the best and longest employee, she must have had a reasonable reason to fire you.” Not once did she ever talk to Brenda nor did she get back to me on why I was fired.
A few months after I was fired, I was asked why I hadn’t gone to the labor board. As I could have, since I was fired without cause. I hadn’t even thought about it. At that point, it was too far after the incident to do anything about it. Looking back on the situation, it sucks that I worked there for so long and cannot use it as a reference, but I have been able to use most of my previous supervisors from there. It was a situation I can use as a learning resource. I now know what I can do if it ever wee to happen again.
In 2006, I worked for a corporate drug store in Canada. I was in high school and had two other jobs. I asked to be put on call and possibly have one day a week. My boss didn’t really like me, but all the employees and supervisors did. After a 2 weeks of being scheduled one day and being on call. The boss had removed my name from the schedule, without being notified. I was fired without just cause or even given a reason. If fact she avoided me when I came into the store, and ignored my phone calls.
When my supervisor confronted her about it, she had threatened her job. I feel, as I my boss was unprofessional in the whole situation. She felt her authority should just be enough to do whatever she wanted. Which shouldn’t have been allowed. I had poke to the owner on many occasions and she told me “Brenda is the best and longest employee, she must have had a reasonable reason to fire you.” Not once did she ever talk to Brenda nor did she get back to me on why I was fired.
A few months after I was fired, I was asked why I hadn’t gone to the labor board. As I could have, since I was fired without cause. I hadn’t even thought about it. At that point, it was too far after the incident to do anything about it. Looking back on the situation, it sucks that I worked there for so long and cannot use it as a reference, but I have been able to use most of my previous supervisors from there. It was a situation I can use as a learning resource. I now know what I can do if it ever wee to happen again.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Week 9: EOC – Personal Freedom vs. Union Membership
Week 9 – EOC – Personal Freedom vs. Union Membership
1. What would you do if you wanted to work for a company and you had to join the union to get the job?
If I had to join the union in order to get a job with a specific company, I would go through all of the pros and cons. If I was really ok with working for this company then I would have to come up with many more pros then cons.
2. What if they called a strike over an issue you did not agree with?
If the company called a strike over an issue I did not agree with I wouldn’t have much of a choice other than to get out of the union, or walk the picketing line, because if you didn’t walk the line then you would lose your job, and your position in the union.
3. What other issue might concern you if you HAD to belong to get a paycheck?
The fact that you can lose your job at any given time, while in a union, for any given reason, puts me on edge. I want a job that has to fire within reason, not be part of a union, that can at anytime revoke your status.
1. What would you do if you wanted to work for a company and you had to join the union to get the job?
If I had to join the union in order to get a job with a specific company, I would go through all of the pros and cons. If I was really ok with working for this company then I would have to come up with many more pros then cons.
2. What if they called a strike over an issue you did not agree with?
If the company called a strike over an issue I did not agree with I wouldn’t have much of a choice other than to get out of the union, or walk the picketing line, because if you didn’t walk the line then you would lose your job, and your position in the union.
3. What other issue might concern you if you HAD to belong to get a paycheck?
The fact that you can lose your job at any given time, while in a union, for any given reason, puts me on edge. I want a job that has to fire within reason, not be part of a union, that can at anytime revoke your status.
Week 9: BOC – Histories of Labor Unions in the United States
Labor unions have a long and colorful history in the United States. To some people, they conjure up thoughts of organized crime and gangsters like Jimmy Hoffa. To others, labor unions represent solidarity among the working classes, bringing people together across many professions to lobby for better rights, wages and benefits. As of 2006, 15.4 million people were union members, and although union membership peaked in 1945 when 35 percent of the nonagricultural workforce were union members, unions are still a powerful influence in the United States (and even more powerful in many other countries). They are also an important and fundamental part of the history of United States commerce and the country’s growth into an economic powerhouse.
“The employed fought to raise their wages and improve their working conditions”
In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution produced a rapid expansion in factories and manufacturing capabilities. As workers moved away from agricultural work to factories, mines and other hard labor, many faced terrible working conditions: long hours, low pay and health risks. Many children worked in factories, and women and children generally received lower pay than men. The government did little to limit these injustices, and in the United States, along with much of the industrialized world, labor movements developed that lobbied for better rights and safer conditions.
“In the 1800's, the lives of this class started to improve. It eventually became no longer illegal to form trade unions.”
A common method of protest used by workers in the 19th century was the strike. A strike is when a group of workers stops working in protest to labor conditions or as a bargaining tool during negotiations between labor and management. While strikes today are generally peaceful events, back then they were quite the opposite. A list of the 19th century’s notable strikes shows numerous strikes that were “broken” by hired militias, police or U.S. government troops, frequently resulting in the deaths of workers. Employers often hired private companies like the infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency to intimidate striking workers or to escort strike breakers -- workers replacing striking employees -- across picket lines.
“The employed fought to raise their wages and improve their working conditions”
In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution produced a rapid expansion in factories and manufacturing capabilities. As workers moved away from agricultural work to factories, mines and other hard labor, many faced terrible working conditions: long hours, low pay and health risks. Many children worked in factories, and women and children generally received lower pay than men. The government did little to limit these injustices, and in the United States, along with much of the industrialized world, labor movements developed that lobbied for better rights and safer conditions.
“In the 1800's, the lives of this class started to improve. It eventually became no longer illegal to form trade unions.”
A common method of protest used by workers in the 19th century was the strike. A strike is when a group of workers stops working in protest to labor conditions or as a bargaining tool during negotiations between labor and management. While strikes today are generally peaceful events, back then they were quite the opposite. A list of the 19th century’s notable strikes shows numerous strikes that were “broken” by hired militias, police or U.S. government troops, frequently resulting in the deaths of workers. Employers often hired private companies like the infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency to intimidate striking workers or to escort strike breakers -- workers replacing striking employees -- across picket lines.
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