A Multicultural Workplace

A Multicultural Workplace A multicultural workplace refers to a group of individuals who represent all types of human difference gathered to achieve a common goal, which is the organization or company’s mission. For some, a multicultural organization may refer to their workplace as such, due to the variation of individuals’ age, sex, ethnicity, physical abilities, and even sexual orientation. Additionally, the diversity among this workforce is likely to be considered such based on its employees racial, social and ability characteristics.The scope of diversity within an organization should go beyond the personal characterizes listed here. The scope of diversity within an organization should include the way an organization responds to their multicultural workforce. The times of suppressing cultural differences, which forced individuals to sacrifice parts of their heritage in order to obtain gainful employment, is becoming outdated. Today, conforming to the majority cultur e of this western society is becoming less and less of an issue, and thankfully so.Originally, multicultural initiatives, beginning in the late 1960’s, where associated with race and gender. Today, all differences are encompassed in organization based multicultural or diversity programs with the expectation that all employees become cultural competent and embrace cultural awareness. That is if an organization has created such programs. At Milwaukee Center for Independence (MCFI), multicultural and diversity programs do exist. The organization has created a climate of cultural inclusion, incorporating genuine value for diversity within the workplace and among employees.The organizations diversity initiatives are strengthened by annual culture training, communication, a Diversity Team, and mentoring programs for both internal clients and staff and throughout the community. Cultural training courses are conducted annually for each department within the organization. In addition, MCFI conducts a â€Å"Cultures Week† event each year in celebration of culture and diversity reaching out to all employees and the community. The vision of the MCFI Diversity Team and the agency as a whole is to â€Å"be the benchmark of diversity and inclusion among nonprofit agencies in Southeastern Wisconsin.MCFI will be the organization from which clients want to receive services, for which funders want to provide support, where vendors want to do business and employees see diverse opportunities† (MCFI, 2012). The team’s goals include a commitment to understanding what diversity is and its impact on the workplace and the community (MCFI, 2012). The Diversity Team also works to increase appreciation for richness, which is brought by different attitudes, skills sets, abilities, approaches, and perspectives, as well as promoting cooperation and an understanding of and among individuals of diverse backgrounds.Communication tools have also been created for great er understanding and knowledge of diversity through innovative and creative management. MCFI and the Diversity Team collaborate with other community agencies and businesses throughout the Milwaukee area to spread an understanding of diversity and the vision of MCFI (MCFI, 2012). The managerial principles behind the Milwaukee Center for Independence Diversity Team include members that represent a cross-section of the organization, which is structured to reflect the agency wide culture.In addition, the Diversity Team and its Director, Al Hill, have developed tracking systems to watch and ensure the progress of the agency and team mission, vision, and goals, such as the community outreach programs. Further, the team stays linked with key agency internal and external functions, such as within Human Resources, communication, and training and development team’s agency wide. MCFI was recognized for its achievements in the area of diversity within the workforce. MCFI won the 2009 Awa rd of Excellence from the Wisconsin Association of Equal Opportunity.In addition, MCFI was honored with the 2010 Wisconsin State Society for Human Resource Management’s Workplace Diversity Award. MCFI goes far beyond mere diversity training, expanding to the creation of an inclusive work environment. MCFI’s dedication to diversity in the workplace encourages creative thinking. The agencies clients and employees represent a full spectrum of ages, disabilities, education levels, ethnicities, religions, experiences, sexual orientation, gender, opinions, beliefs, and races.MCFI considers diversity as not just a moral obligation, but visions it as imperative to the success of the organization, which is reaching as many individuals and families with special needs as possible. The MCFI Diversity Team includes internal employees as well as individuals from its affiliates and community agencies. The main objective of MCFI and the Diversity Team is to be the main point of refere nce for inclusion and diversity among non-profit agencies throughout the immediate and outlying communities.Additional visions of MCFI are to be the premier agency for client, vender, and employee choice in regards to services, business affiliation, and employment opportunity. I am confident in saying that MCFI is an excellent place to feel welcome, allowing myself and others to express their individuality. MCFI also allows each employee and client to learn about what makes others different, yet similar, and supporting the acceptance of all human difference. One of the positive impacts of MCFI diversity initiatives is the opportunity given to everyone to see things from different perspectives.Their voice and perspectives are heard in a safe, nonjudgmental, and bias free environment. Working with others with different attitudes, beliefs, and values provide an outstanding opportunity to expand individual knowledge, which only assists to better service the clients of the agency. Along with increased diversity comes an increase in different perspectives providing unique viewpoints for problem solving as well as co-worker and client interaction. At times, there may be barriers in effectively creating a diverse workplace.It is essential to incorporate diversity programs into the company or organizations strategic plan. Further, diversity training should also be tied into a company’ vision, goals, and objectives. In order to execute diversity training and awareness successfully, an organization or company must clearly communicate the main objectives of diversity training; establish a means of reinforcement and metrics to measure the effectiveness. In addition, a company or organization must include both minority and majority groups in strategic planning and implementation of a diversity program.I have seen and read much information on diversity and cultural training within the organization I am employed. The organization keeps its employees engaged in diversit y training throughout the year. Monthly conferences are available on site to all internal staff and community guests. Conferences include topics such as the understanding of specific types of behavioral health issues and disabilities. Additionally, guest speakers come throughout Hispanic, African American, and Hmong Culture Awareness months. The opportunities to engage in and open up to awareness of different cultures at MCFI are endless.Issues and problems within the diverse workplace of MCFI are handled with an understanding that individuals are different. Employees of the organization are single mothers and fathers, individuals with disabilities, student’s health issues, and all from different religious, ethnic, cultural, and racial backgrounds and heritage. I have personal experience issues that I needed to address with management. As a full time student and a full time employee, who believe in the importance of family and work/life balance, the organization listened to m y need for time off and alternate schedules to accommodate my life.Flexibility in the work place also allows for such things as difference cultural rituals and holiday celebrations that are outside the norm of western culture. I believe it is crucial for companies and organizations to consider an individual’s differences to allow for some flexibility concerning individual culture differences and life changes. With that, employees remain happy in the work place and continue to work toward the company's mission and continue to be a productive team member. References MCFI. (2012). Diversity mission and vision. Retrieved from http://www. mcfi. net/MCFI-Diversity/Mission-Vision. htm

Experience of working within a social work organization Essay

Introduction Organization is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals .All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigned roles, responsibility and authority to carry out different task (Sorenson, 1999, p. 76). Initially I will give a brief back ground about organisation of my placement, the Primary task, Authority and issues of diversity and inter-professional working. Interpersonal skills of a mental health professional are essential for an effective multidisciplinary team member, interpersonal skills, characteristics and attitudes are key to team working. Individuals on a team should be encouraged, through reflective practice and appropriate support, to examine their own characteristics and how they might adapt to a team environment. It is also important to recognize that while mental health professionals may have well-developed skills within their own area of expertise, it should not be assumed that they have all of the skills needed to collaborate effectively with others as part of a team. There is the primary task (also referred to as functional task or work task), this corresponds with the mission of an organization. Most organizations face multiple tasks all vying to be expressed in the service of the primary task. This is the point where authority, becomes central, i.e. the person who decides what task has priority. It is the authority boundary in conjunction with the task boundary that helps the task become clear and for the work of the group to be taken on successfully. (Hayden and Molenkamp, 2002, p. 7). Absent clarity at the authority boundary, destructive chaos is likely to result and the survival of the group is in peril. While in some instances such a collapse is desirable for the new to arise and for the task to be met. Yet from the perspective of the group that dies, the loss continues to live well after the time boundary passes. The primary task of my group in the organization, include case management, analysis of social welfare policies, and Care management’ was considered to be fundamental element of the community care reforms in the 1990 Act. In 2003 one in ten of local authority social workers were employed as care managers but it is difficult to know what this meant in terms of their roles and function. In theory the core tasks included: case finding and referral; assessment and selection; care planning and service packaging; monitoring and re-assessment; and case closure. (Knapp et al, 2005: 40). Functions that team the play for society was our objectives as a team was to create a society in the next two decades in which no child lives in poverty and where all children have opportunities to realize their potential. Improving opportunities for disadvantaged children is at the heart of our strategy.   (HM Treasury 1999, p. 39). As with older people, the consistent message that disabled people have given about the services they receive is that they do not adequately meet their needs. Research by Jenny Morris in the early 1990s found that statutory services were inflexible; were only available for the most basic personal care tasks; tended to `fit the client to the service’ rather than the service to the client; were provided in a way that reduced independence; and were only available to people in their own home so they could not be helped to go out, either to social activities or to work. Authority boundaries and facilitating structures, the role of authority boundaries and structures is to provide a space or object for the anxiety and worry work to be displaced among social workers, so that the group can attend to the task realistically and appropriately. The term leader acts out as the organization’s ambivalence and splitting. Interpreting this situation through Hirschhorn’s model suggests problematic consequences. The issue groups volunteers to take up the organizational tasks and attendant risks offered and accepted authority and, using Colin’s facilitating structures, did important work; they thus entered the virtuous cycle. This process, however, reduced the authority and increased the anxiety in the top team; they were likely to be heading for a vicious cycle of anxiety, leading to social defences, and therefore dysfunctional process and inhibiting structure. Thus, there were two competing processes: one facilitating change and the other undermining it. All organizations have socially constructed defences against the anxiety which is aroused through carrying out the primary task of the organization ( Isabel Menzies 1970 p.496) These social defences may be evident in the organization structure, in its procedures, information systems, roles, in its culture, and in the gap between what the organizations says it is doing and what it is actually doing. Social defences are â€Å"created† unconsciously by members of the organization through their interactions in carrying out the primary task. Social defaces helps the top team rarely to operate in the â€Å"work group† mode; basic assumption behavior is more prevalent. The term leader, in his leadership, yet an analysis of the top team’s dynamics suggests a high degree of basic assumption dependence. Additionally, lack human diversity within any given organization if the workplace is within, to coin (Hirschhorn’s, 1988 pp.39) term, then the learning organization must account for the variety of images that obtrude from the personal histories of each member. The work of (Kets de Vries and Miller 1985, pp.239) illustrates clearly the consequences of the neurotic qualities of managers permeating the working relations within an organization. Additionally, an element of diversity is a person’s age and life stage (pp.246) .On a different front writers such as (Gilligan 1982 pp.23) and (Schachtel , 1989 pp.214)   have argued in their own ways that gender influences strongly the way in which men and women engage with their world. The learning disabilities which Senge sees connected to structural manifestations of hierarchy and segmentation may be understood more deeply as evidence of patriarchal, phallocentric modes of engagement. Yet a reading of Senge shows no consideration of neurosis, age or gender, let alone libido, in the dynamics of the learning process. Furthermore, he does not consider how any one of these affects a person’s readiness to learn, which differs substantially between people at different times. He asserts that the learning organization is one which will end the war between home and work when managers realize that effective parenting is the model for leadership. Knowlden (1998) suggested that experience impact on a social worker ability to be caring; as a student social worker I was often overwhelmed by the working environment. This could imply that it is not the amount of experience which is important, but the length of time it takes for a social work to acclimatize. Support mechanisms such as preceptorship and clinical supervision may, therefore, have a role in facilitating compassionate care. (Pearcey’s 2007 p.29) study offers some support for Wright’s views. As a social work I observed that qualified social workers mainly cared for patients’ medical needs, with the core element delegated to junior practitioners. Many years ago a ‘task-centred’ approach to organizing care was proposed as a possible defence mechanism against the anxiety that a more interpersonal style of working creates (Menzies, 1970 p.258). This may offer some insight into the behaviour of social workers who seek refuge in form filling and other activities not directly related to care. Social worker students from different health disciplines often have little idea of what each other’s roles entail. Inter-professional learning increase this knowledge, as well as giving students an understanding of the interpersonal skills needed for liaison and communication. Every professional has its own roles, skills and responsibilities making for efficient practices in curing, managing or treating particular ailments, but has this always created cohesive team working in day-to-day working life. In my social worker practice fitting in the organization hierarchy was a problem, and I was not able to question, share knowledge and learn together without professional and defensive boundaries. Often, an institutional hierarchy may obstruct the flow of communication and prevent a person from contributing and feeling valued, which ultimately can negatively affect patient care (Reynolds, 2005 p.19). More longitudinal studies are needed that follow through and beyond my undergraduate studies, along with critical observation of the learning process. Standardizing in the curricula of all health professionals can improve key skills and prepare students for their careers by driving up standards of professionalism and best practice. Sometimes, in the hierarchy of the hospital, it is hard to know what one place is as a student social worker student. When one is it the bottom of the totem pole.   No one in this hospital is lower than me. I think most of us have probably gotten that vibe at some point, even if it hasn’t been explicitly articulated.   There’s the simple fact that, in some ways, we are occasionally more of a burden to the hospital than a benefit.   It’s a constant between trying to be useful, trying to learn something and really make the most of rotation, and simply not getting in the way. For example â€Å"one of social worker will help you,† the term leader said.   Maybe he was joking?   I couldn’t tell his intonation could have gone either way. Then, the leader handed me a folder.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Here, fan her with this,† she said.   Again joking?   Not sure.   Ã‚  And naturally, being a social worker student, my mind immediately leapt to the assumption that they would think I wasn’t a team player if I didn’t agree to fan her. So really, what else could I do?   When the staff physician walked in, I tried to be nonchalant about the fact that I was standing by the patient’s head and fanning her with a purple confidentiality. Being at the bottom of the hierarchy within a multidisciplinary asking question is also a careful balance. A friend a year ahead of me gave me some pretty phenomenal advice:   If it’s a question related to patient care or unique to a particular situation, or about management of your patient’s condition ask away.   Of course, there’s a time and a place for everything. From the view of the individual I have sketched, the important questions about groups are those devoted to the conditions that take away the factors in social environment that ordinarily keep his self-system in its normal integration. (Bion, 1961: 145-6) Bion stated that the basic assumptions are states of mind the individuals in the group get into. The awareness of the group remains in its regressed form because the group is there and so restrains further disintegration which would be tantamount to psychotic states, an eventuality that the early structuring of the self also resists desperately. The problems of group dynamics thus become those of how the normal affirmations of the self system are removed. The situations of groups in this respect are of almost infinite variety. Thus when Bion said that certain illnesses might originate as diseases of the group, he thought specific illnesses might prove to be linked to specific states of the group. Here the most prominent stem from the task. Although there may have been some nominal description such as â€Å"to study group processes,† none of the members has any clear notion of what that task involves this affected my group as I was working with. There is therefore immediately a considerable loss for the self of its ego anchorage in reality. Important also is the realization that the task, in whatever form it emerges, will involve members in some exposure of their private and even hidden self. This factor I believe to be important in the group dynamics group, although much more so in the therapeutic one. Since the origin of the secret self was its unacceptability, there is a great deal of anxious suspicion among members is that which he expresses some of his feelings about the situation. In conclusion, from my experience, I have learnt that it is important for both the student and the organization placement staff to be aware of who is going where before the placement starts. A good social worker student will contact the organization team in advance of the placement in order to check what time to turn up, and whether there is any uniform policy or other protocols they should be aware of. Likewise a good ward team and mentor will encourage the student to come on a preliminary visit just to be given the above information and to say hello. It can help enormously to reduce anxiety on a first day if the student already knows one or two faces. On a pre-placement visit the student can be introduced to their mentor and have a quick chat and any placement reading can be handed out together with the placement information pack, outlining learning opportunities and ward information, shift pattern, dress code etc. Off duty rotas can be planned together and a pre-placement visit can also be the forum for any negotiation over study days and child care needs etc., so that the anxiety over these can be managed prior to the placement. A good welcoming pre-placement visit can begin the process of socialization into the team and its culture and can give the student an early sense of belonging.    References Bion, W.R., (1961) Experiences in groups and other papers. London: Tavistock Publications [Reprinted London: Routledge, 1989; London: Brunner-Routledge, 2001.] Corbin, J. (2008) Is caring a lost art in nursing? International Journal of Nursing Studies; 45, 163-165. Gilligan, C. (1982), In a Different Voice, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, . Hayden, C. & Molenkamp, R. J. (2002). â€Å"Tavistock primer II.† Jupiter, FL: The A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems. Hirschhorn, L. (1988), The Workplace Within: Psychodynamics of Organizational Life, MIT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Press, Cambridge, MA, . HM Treasury (1999) Opportunity for All London. The Stationary Kets de Vries, M., Miller, D. (1985), The Neurotic Organization, Jossey Bass, London, . Knowlden, V. (1998) The Communication of Caring in Nursing. Indianapolis: Center Nursing Press. Menzies, I.E.P. (1970) The Functioning of Social Systems as a Defence Against Anxiety: Report on a Study of the Nursing Service of aGeneral Hospital. London: Tavistock Institute of Marital Studies. Pearcey, P. (2007) Tasks and routines in 21st century nursing: student nurses’ perceptions. British Journal of Nursing; 16: 5, 296-300. Reynolds F (2005) Communication and Clinical Effectiveness in Rehabilitation. Edinburgh: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Schachtel, Z. (1989), â€Å"Men, women, and work†, in Changing Group Relations. The Proceedings of the Ninth Scientific Meeting of the A.K. Rice Institute (Eds),New York, NY, . Senge, P.M., Roberts, C., Ross, R.B., Smith, B.J., Kleiner, A. (1994), The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London, . Senge, P.M. (1990), â€Å"The leader’s new work: building learning organizations†, Sloan Management Review, Fall Reprint 3211, Sorenson, G. (1999). Taking the robes off: when leaders step down. In B. Kellerman and L. Matusak(Eds.), Cutting Edge: Leadership 2000. College Park, MD: Academy of Leadership Press, 1999. Tweddell, L. (2007) Compassion on the curriculum. Nursing Times; 103: 38, 18-19.   

Piracy

Piracy and Copyright Infringement are major issues that have developed through the use of the Internet and file transfer servers. Developments and advances in these areas over past two decades have my generation within a mouse click of their destination. However, these opened doors have been overrun with a large exchange of pirated material. The present issue involves the nations excessive illegal downloading of unlicensed products.The trend of previous litigations involving piracy and copyright cases in federal courts has ruled against the consumer, and has involved the rewriting of many laws, yet it becomes harder to pinpoint copyright violators as decryption advancement mimics closely the timeline of security encryption. I feel that it is imperative for all software products to receive a restrictive license tag, enabling software companies and music artists to maintain a living and economic interests. I disagree with the form/process in which these files are distributed, allowing for piracy of files, rerecording and redistribution.The use of patents began in the early 19th century, and would ultimately lead to the current system of licensing and copyright of products that can be reproduced. These initial patents were intended to allow artists to make a living and survive off their pieces of artwork. The year 1880 marked an important year for the patent in the case Diamond versus Chark Barty who were disputing the patent of a single-cell bacterium used in breaking down crude oil. The Supreme Court ruled that patents could be granted for this purpose.The main purpose of a patent is to promote and encourage investors in society to make new ways to assist society and economy and provide the inventor with royalties. Patenting is a system that involves product branding or other signs of ownership to provide the public with reliability in new forms of intellectual property, while still protecting the owner/ inventor. Copyrights give authors complete ownership and r ights to their creations during extended period of time, and in most cases fall the under the rights of a solo beneficiary. Today the act of sharing files promotes global exchange between users.This global networking between countries provides business solutions that not only reduces prices on sales and purchases, but also allows large companies to make more accurate marketing decisions with documented transactions. For the home user programs like Kazaa and Limewire, implement these large ‘peer to peer’ networks that are hosted on FTP servers, and share files. In developing cases where music files and software are being illegally copied, there are always disagreements on what exactly is protected and what is an original work.For example, the website Priceline. com has attempted to make patents on their ideas that would seem to be common belief and not unique, such as trying to patent an auction site with auctions that have reserve prices. Therefore, one of the more prec edent matters is the issue regarding what exactly is ‘intellectual property’, and how does music fall under that stance of copyright. Intellectual property can be defined as any creation of human intelligence that is new, unique, and has market value. Copyright places limits on use of speech, print, and performance.This idea of intellectual property is not common knowledge to most people who compile large networks. It is evident that not all people realize the implications of stealing files and copying music. Many defend piracy as a form of promotion of software, which would have otherwise been ignored by certain consumers that never buy certain software in the first place. Most software copies are shared because their users don’t think of lending software or lending music as a crime, or at least not one taken seriously. Of course the elimination of digital songs/sources would not hold up.On a business level online trade, exchange, and purchase lowers transaction costs significantly, and for the music business actually makes up a big part of their remaining buyers. One of the main differences between piracy of music and software is the fact that newly available technology today is more advanced and friendly to forms of copying, which allow top quality music between each copy and user. In the past, qualities of copied cassettes were not as good or of equal quality and didn’t involve the Internet, whereas online and digitized songs are more readily available and easier to simply copy, and then e-mail to a friend. Copying music from a CD to a cassette or to your computer is legal and accepted only because you own the original copy of the CD and the music files are not being used for commercial purposes†. The first attempt by a person who uploaded an album of songs online was not at first a major problem as it was easier to trace/locate the source since early networks were primitive and did not involve as many users. In 1999, a 19- year-old, Shawn Fanning, invented a program called Napster, which users could download and exchange musical recordings for free over the Internet.This program was considered a gateway to loss government control and launched multiple similar uncontrolled networks. There have been many steps taken in response to Internet piracy, however, it seems as though most have been lackluster and are not sufficient to produce visible and significant results. The music industry has turned to making formatting music files that can only be copied or reproduced in certain prescribed circumstances like . m4p. This defensive technology sometimes takes away from a user’s number of legitimate uses and transfers, however it seems to be on the road to improving safe transfers.Unfortunately, with each announcement of new protective software, a counter program almost instantly is created, matched, and supported through counter hacking technology that makes files available to these large copying netwo rks. Any person with knowledgeable code in computers is capable of decoding these files. This desire to ‘liberate’ files by many hackers is only a sign to show that the industry should be developing ways to work with the technology and not against it. The Recording Industry Association of America recently filed lawsuits against four college students, running ftp servers on campus networks.A federal judge in California settled the case quickly, and despite the fact that the students never actually accepted responsibility, they settled to pay $12,000 to $17,500 in fines. A case that ended without a clearly defined verdict proves that it is difficult to have a true scapegoat for responsibility of piracy violations and copyright infringement. â€Å"The internet is like one gigantic copying machine,† says David Nimmer, a lawyer who spends most of his time with disputes in Intellectual property. â€Å"Once on the internet, copying becomes effortless, costless, widespr ead, and immediate. Nimmer is an experienced lawyer who is well aware of the easy access to the copied files and has trouble himself challenging illegality in certain situations. Copyright law does not make a distinction between public use and private use, such as buying a book from a store like Borders, versus borrowing it from a library and copying. More recently the United States congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which updated copyright laws to include these widespread international servers and allow the set up of a system to control the Internet. Unfortunately, only 22 countries are on oard for the ratification process and make it increasingly difficult for any visible change. Many countries consider these laws would impede on the freedom of the Internet in its original creation, if forced under a universal control involving the U. S. However, at this point copyright-based industries generate more revenues internationally than any other U. S. industry, more t han the aircraft, agriculture, and automobile industries. Without global support, a server can be created in any country to house large FTP sites, like Kazaa which is has a large base in Singapore.For an artist, the main purpose of a copyright is to protect. A majority of artists feel that the free song-sharing epidemic is affecting their careers and profits as artists. Many artists and songwriters who write original music and have only the music to directly profit from. Downloading off these sites affects them negatively; specifically songwriters, record labels, producers, managers, and any others involved in production of music, who cannot rely on performance profits. Artists can sell and profit off merchandise, whereas songwriters lack that ability.Generally the belief is that the pirating music solely affects the artists, when in reality it affects the industry as a whole, including all the people who have jobs connected to these artists. The process in which a record company ga ins complete control of a band has shortened the length of an artist’s career, again ultimately hurting economy. Music industry should try and not dishearten online music consumers that promote artists, but rather develop new ways to work with the evolving technology.Software companies make money through businesses, because instead of copying a CD, a business must register each computer or client separately so that each has its own separate license. It is suggested that despite counter acting efforts, 90% of all computer software is counterfeit similar to most music. There are many solutions to existing problems involving copyright infringement and illegal piracy of music. Despite these problems I do not support the copyright laws full intention and I feel that there is a need for reform of distribution.Interesting enough, it is assumed that the issue is clear and obvious to all people who steal music. While the music industry does see music sharing as piracy, the youth major ity does not see this topic on quite the same black and white level. The record company’s actual costs are low, and yet a CD’s cost to a consumer is not. The reasoning of the average teenager is that why would they want to spend $20 on a CD with one good song on it, $200 dollars on software that they must have for academic requirement, when they can upload it for free.Lack of communication in a time where everyone is connected seems like a waste and stunt to new advancing technology. Piracy is not right, and a corrective measure can only come from recognizing that the problem originates from not recognizing more than just the new ease of file transfer. Piracy is of course a wide addressing issue, including a rapidly increasing amount of people from a conglomeration of age groups. There needs to be a redistribution of wealth within in the music industry and software industries. Once issues like these are addressed, a solution can be found.

Karl Marx & Max Weber on Social Stratification

We cannot deny the existence of social structures or system by which people are categorized or ranked in a hierarchy. This people categorization is otherwise known as social stratification. It is a universal characteristic of society that persists over generations.   It is a social structure by which social issues and organizational problems arise.In a society, groups of people share a similar social status, and this is known as social class. Over the years, the importance and definition of membership in any social class evolve and change between societies. Societies have become all the more dynamic because of technological advances, industrialization, and now, globalization.Contemporary societies stratify into a hierarchical system based on economic status, income or wealth, and this is known as socioeconomic class.   In the past, societies have an upper class and a lower class. Those in the upper class are deemed to be the very wealthy and powerful, while those from the lower c lass are the poor and the weak.Considering social changes and developments in the twentieth century, new groups called the middle class and working class in urban societies emerged.   Members of the middle class are the educated, highly paid professionals like doctors, accountants, scientists, and lawyers. They nonetheless work for or render services for the upper class. Much like the working class, they receive their wages, only they earn above the minimum wage because of the market value of their professions and skills. Their market value increases as they increase their skills and competencies. They have the chance to increase their income and eventually move up the social ladder (Krieken, et al, 2001, p. 62).Meanwhile, those who belong to the working class are the trades people, factory laborers, drivers, and similar workers who has some skills training, which they use to earn a living. Although they may be considered financially stable due to regular income, they still belong to the lower class for the reason that they earn only slightly above the minimum wage.Other members of the lower class are the underemployed, unemployed, welfare beneficiaries, homeless, and everyone else who live below the poverty line. Due to lack of education and skills, their opportunities are simply limited (McGregor, 1997, p. 261).Social stratification is already an intrinsic structure of any society, and if it has its benefits and function in a society, which some scholars believe, that is reward and merit for productivity. People are rewarded for their productive efforts and skills. When we speak of reward, it does not only mean economic reward. Remember that people are also rewarded with (social) honor and this is known as social status.Karl Max and Max Weber were distinguished theorists whose works have become the basic but significant frameworks of sociology. Their concepts prove to be relevant until today. They have provided a rich reservoir of perspectives, which help contemporary social thinkers and learners, understand social stratification, classes and status groups. They both laid the groundwork for understanding social conflict and inequality in modern society such that whenever issues of social inequality arise, whether it is on the basis of social class, race, ethnicity, gender, and other dimensions, all these are explored and studied in the context of sociological traditions derived from their works.  Karl Marx’ Concept of Class Karl Marx defined class in terms of the extent to which a person or social group has the capacity to control the means of production. Those of the same social class have a common relationship to the means of production. Marx believed that the base of inequality among individuals in modern societies is economy (Sanghara).Marx believed that classes are constituted by the relationship of groupings of individuals to property ownership in the means of production. In this regard, a few own properties and capita l while others do not, many work while only a few live off the fruits of those workers. Class societies have been built around a line of demarcation between two antagonistic classes, one dominant and the other subordinate (Giddens, 1971, p. 37).Marx’ view of social stratification stemmed from his observations of early industrialization in Europe during the late part of the 19th century. He saw the existence of two major classes –the ruling class (capitalists) and the working class, or otherwise known as the bourgeois and proletariat. The capitalists were viewed as such because of their ownership of the means of production, as well as the power this creates – economically and even politically (Krieken, et al, 2001, p. 55).In a capitalist system, the ruling class, with their economic resources, lives from the productivity of the working class, and this is when social divisions and conflicts arise. Unlike in tribal, rural or simple societies where people live by hu nting (or gathering), people can not be categorized differently, because no one has more than others do.Marx believed that the conflict between the bourgeois (capitalists) who happen to control production, and the proletariat who actually produce the goods or render services in a society, on the basis of capitalism.In capitalism, control over production evokes control over the laborers, and this set-up is likely to result in exploitation of workers by the capitalists. With the craving of capitalists themselves to compete with fellow capitalists, and the greediness for more material gains, Marx predicted that in a society where the capitalist system prevails, financial resources of the few but wealthy capitalists would flourish. At the same time, the income disparity between the poor and the rich would continue. Meanwhile, as capitalists continue to exploit workers, the workers would remain victims of economic crises.The social classes that originated from the capitalist system that Marx knew during his time still holds true today, only, the bourgeois class has become fragmented over the last century due to the emergence of the so-called stockholders. Likewise, the proletariat has been changed significantly by the â€Å"white-collar revolution.† Decades ago, work involved mostly manual labor, or otherwise known as â€Å"blue-collar† occupations. â€Å"White-collar† occupations involve mostly mental or non-manual skills. However, the shared social structure of earning wages makes both proletariats during Marx’ time, and today’s educated but average office workers, a â€Å"working class.†Today, workers’ conditions have significantly improved through the efforts of labor organizations, and, because of expanded legal rights and protection of workers. While exploitation of workers still happen, and a small proportion of powerful people control the vast majority of wealth in our society, Marx’ perspectives will continue to prove valuable and significant in our understanding of social conflicts that arise from social stratification.Max Weber’s Social StratificationMax Weber expressed a two-fold classification of social stratification, with social class, status groups as distinct concepts. He believed that, the economic order was of great importance in determining the precise position of different communities, but nonetheless, he did not discount the important role of religion, ideas, status, and bureaucracy (Hadden, 1997, p. 126).Weber defined class as the disproportionate distribution of economic rewards, and the status group as the disproportionate distribution of social honor (Krieken, et al, 2001, p.58). Class position is determined by one’s market value. This market value is founded by education, talent, acquired skills and competencies. He had no notion of â€Å"surplus value,† unlike Marx. Social class is simply an aggregate of people with similar work or profess ional opportunities, and their position would depend on the choices they made out of these opportunities.Unlike social class, status groups have similar qualities like groups. They are influenced by how social honor is shared among the members of the group. Lifestyle is shared by those of the same social circle. Belonging to a status group may depend on kinship, education, and at the most extreme, through a caste system, which happens to be related to one’s culture. In a caste system, status is determined not only by law and convention, but also by religious sanction (Gane, 2005, p. 211).Contrary to Marx’ perception, Weber believed that status is more influential than economic condition. He introduced the concept of status groups as an additional social category to define one’s consumption pattern or lifestyle. If Marx focused on one’s position in the production assembly, Weber believed that status groups are actually communities held together by common l ifestyles and social esteem. Status groups share the same professions, views, as well as lifestyles. They do not just enjoy economic rewards, but social honor as well. With their professional achievement, comes social honor.Weber was concerned with individuality and generality (Ritzer, p. 114). For instance, he   recognized the individuality of people – their talents, skills and competencies and, that people have a good chance to further their career and improve their standard of living by increasing their market value through education.Weber’s theory on social mobility (or movement in the class structures) is more promising. Unlike Marx’ idea of social class which imply that animosity between the bourgeois and proletariat will not end until the proletariat eventually overthrow the bourgeois.However, Weber’s concept of social mobility does not only mean an upward movement. The reverse may also happen and that is – moving down the social ladder. M oving up or down the social ladder will depend upon the life choices the person made, as well as opportunities he had. In this case, the middle class are the most predisposed as it is only an intermediary class. Just like how Marx argued, the middle class would be eventually absorbed into both the upper and lower class, as this is not sufficiently different for it to survive (as a social class) in the long run.ConclusionKarl Marx and Max Weber were two important personalities whose theories led to our understanding of social stratification, class and status groups. Marx provided an elaborate and very systematic concept of capitalism and capitalist development, and its effect in society.   While Weber held other factors were also relevant in determining the future of our society   such as religion, culture, ideas, values, meaning, social and personal action.Marx and Weber’s perspectives amazingly still hold true in today’s modern societies. In the â€Å"Communist M anifesto,† Marx and Engels remarked that â€Å"the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles† (Bottomore, 1983,   p. 75). In any historical era, social classes were real and today, pressing economic conditions make social stratification and other structures all the more complex.Despite the fact that many work even harder to achieve more economic reward, many cannot move up the social ladder. â€Å"The class in its turn achieves an independent existence over against the individuals, so that the latter find their conditions of existence predestined, and hence have their position in life and their personal development assigned to them by their class, become subsumed under it† (Giddens and Held, p. 20)To be in the middle of the ladder, and stay there is such a long tedious struggle. Opportunities come, but sometimes, these elude them. In most modern societies in the world, many still live below the poverty line. But those who are bo rn in a wealthy or powerful family, knows just where they stand in the hierarchy system – and that is similar to that of their parents. Looking at how wealth is proportioned in today’s society, and how richer populations possess and continue to increase their wealth, Marx was right. The trend of widening disparity in wealth and social class between the rich and the poor will continue, until we brace ourselves as a social group to make a conscious and consolidated effort of reducing this gap.Weber believed, we can accomplish things which we do not even rationally or scientifically   think we are capable of doing, â€Å"namely the subjective understanding of the action of the component individuals† (Weber, 1968, p. 15). In other words, man has innate capabilities and the power to make significant change in himself and in the society where he belongs.To illustrate his viewpoint and applying it in contemporary society – and it may already sound clichà ©, o ne way of reducing the gap between social classes is through education. Through education, we are able to set the social foundation for the next generations.   It is the long route, but nonetheless, its impact has more lasting value.References:Bottomore, T (ed), 1983, A Dictionary of Marxist Thought, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, p. 75.Krieken, R, et al, 2001, Sociology Themes and Perspectives, 2nd edition, Longman, Melbourne, pp. 54-62.McGregor, C, 1997, Class in Australia, Penguin Books, Victoria, pp. 261.Gane, N, 2005, â€Å"Max Weber as a Social Theorist,† European Journal of Social Theory, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 211-226 (2005)Giddens, A, 1971, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 17.Giddens, A and Held, D, 1982, Classes, Power, and Conflict: Classical and Contemporary Debates, Berkeley, University of California Press, p. 20.Hadden, R, 1997, Sociological Theory: An Introduction to the Classical Tradition, Peterborough, Ontario, Broadview Press, p. 126.Ritzer, G, 1992, Sociological Theory, 3rd edition, New York, McGraw-Hill, p. 114.Sanghara, S, The Concept of Social Inequality, 3 March 2008, http://wps.prenhall.com/ca_ph_macionis_sociology_5/23/6031/1544046.cw/index.htmlWeber, M, 1968, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, New York, Bedminster Press, p. 15.

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