The American Dream The Myth Of The American Dream

The Myth of The American Dream Over the years immigrants have come to America in hopes of achieving their dreams and finding success. But is America really what it’s thought to be? Can their American dream become a reality? Everyone in America has the dream of achieving success and wealth through their own hard work and determination. But due to the vicious cycle of poverty most are unable to achieve their American Dream. The cycle of poverty in America is affected by many factors including racism, high cost of living, education, and mental disability/illness. Inequality in America, has existed since the creation of this nation. We have seen examples of inequality in great literary works like John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and†¦show more content†¦The unemployment statistic for African Americans during the same period was 8.4% significantly higher than caucasians (Bureau). The high cost of living in the United States contributes to why the poor in America canà ¢â‚¬â„¢t ever seem to escape their financial predicament. The United States government has compiled statistics that reveal that the average family of four in the United States need a minimum of $65,000 a year to pay their bills and â€Å"make ends meet†. This is difficult to obtain for many people especially those who make minimum wage and earn only about $20,000 a year. The high cost of living is compounded by where people live. People who live in major cities like Washington D.C. where the average family of four needs $106,000 a year to stay above the poverty line (Imbert). Even with two parents working minimum wage jobs most working poor can not escape the vicious cycle of poverty as each year the cost of living increases faster than do their wages. The vicious cycle of poverty has been an ongoing struggle but this struggle seems to affect minorities in the United States even more. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce over 67 million people in the United States receive government assistance. That statistic means that over 22% of the U.S population is being assisted in some way to â€Å"make ends meet†. In 2016 the Commerce Department states that 16.8% of those on public assistance where white, while 39.6% ofShow MoreRelatedThe Myth of the American Dream1269 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry in the period following the Second World War. It is divided into three acts and explores the circumstances of the Younger family, a colored family living in the ghettos of southern Chicago. In particular, the play deals with the efforts of Walter Lee, the scion of the family to bring his family out of poverty and into riches by entering into a business venture. The play highlights the psychological and societalRead MoreThe Myth of the American Dream Essay2137 Words   |  9 Pagesto experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. At the root of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that with hard work anyone can succeed based solely on his or her merits. While definitions of success vary, the American Dream defines it as the ability to become a self-made man, thereby rising to a more-than-comfortable state of living. The American Dream is believed to be blind to race, sex, or socio-economic sta tus and at a first glance, seems to be almost UtopianRead MoreIs The American Dream Only A Myth? Essay1254 Words   |  6 PagesIs the American Dream Only a Myth? America is known as a country full of opportunity and freedom, where anybody can come and have a fair chance at achieving the desired goal commonly referred to as â€Å"The American Dream.† James Truslow Adams describes The American Dream as a â€Å"Dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement† (Adams 214-215). Certain people, however, more easily achieve this Dream than othersRead MoreIs The American Dream Just A Myth? Essay2210 Words   |  9 Pages2016 Is the American Dream Just a Myth? Over the years this belief has changed its meaning to describe the United States as a land of equal opportunities. Through the American Dream, all men are equal to pursue their dreams and opportunities through hard work by being presented with an equal opportunity. This belief, therefore, means that if Americans work hard to achieve what they want, then they can get it. However, in the past few decades, the American Dream has grown to become a myth since AmericanRead MoreTortilla Curtain: the Myth of the American Dream1253 Words   |  6 Pagesimages of well off middle-class families, shown alongside multiple cars and a large house that is filled with shining appliances and cupboards full of food. For hopeful immigrants to the United States, these images conjure the widespread myth of the American Dream. Immigrants believe that upon entry into the States, they will obtain prosperity through hard work and determination. The expression was first used in the beginning of the twentieth century when America was in an economic peak. MillionsRead MoreThe American Dream Myth : Anastasia And Anastasia1422 Words   |  6 Pagesinheritance, wealth, and assets. The power associated with social class affects how one operates in life when it comes to making decisions and motives for committing actions. A childhood motion picture that depicts this idea is Anastasia. Anastasia is an American produced, fictional musical loosely based off of the Russian Empire Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. Anastasia follows the orphaned Grand Duchess Anya, who suffers from retrograde amnesia, on her quest to find her family. She is joinedRead MoreThe Myth of the American Dream Exposed in Death of a Salesman1218 Words   |  5 Pagestotalitarianism and the American Dream. Throughout the piece, Miller uses his voice of conscience and passion for the purpose of exposing the truth about the concepts. Using the perspective of Willy, a fictional, working class citizen, Miller picks apart the myth of the American Dream, exploring topics such as abandonment, betrayal, family dynamics, and using interesting symbolism along the way. With reckless abandon, Willy believes in the idea of the American Dream. In fact, thats a bitRead More Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman828 Words   |  4 PagesMyths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman    Willy Loman, the lead character of Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, believes in the myths of the capitalistic society(DiYanni 412). This essay will examine the impact of the capitalistic myths on Willy Lowman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in the myth that popularity and physical appearance are the keys that unlock the door to the â€Å"American Dream†. We are first introduced to the importance of popularity and physicalRead MoreThe Myth of Individualism1209 Words   |  5 PagesThe Myth of Individualism America is famous for the reputation of being the land of opportunity, and for generations immigrants have fled to the United States to experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. The fundamental of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each by hard working regardless of social class or circumstances of birth(by James Truslow Adams). The American DreamRead MoreThe Idea of the â€Å"American Dream†1101 Words   |  5 PagesThe American Dream Final Exam By: Uday Govindswamy Period 2 The idea of the â€Å"American Dream† was first used in the book The Epic of America, written by James Truslow Adams, in 1931. Adams stated that the American Dream is, â€Å"the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†¦(31) â€Å". The key elements of the American Dream include: access to a college education, owning a home, enjoying political

Starbucks Going Global Free Essays

â€Å"Starbucks – Going Global Fast. † I. Saturation of Home market and existence of Foreign Untapped markets Starbucks is a well respected brand of coffee that is known globally. We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Going Global or any similar topic only for you Order Now As they dominate the market in United States, they have realized the potential growth in overseas markets and open its doors to going global. However, competing internationally is not easy for every company that’s why Starbucks has encountered certain challenges and issues as it enters foreign markets and grows globally. II. Problems Major Problems: Employee Discontent Employee discontent is very far from the image that Starbucks obtains or would like to uphold. Dissatisfied employees could greatly affect the service that they provide to the customers. The company is focused on enthusiastic, happy baristas and friendly service. If employee morale dropped it could have an extremely negative effect on Starbucks’ image and sales as well. As stated in the case, 470 California stores sued Starbucks for refusing to pay legally mandated overtime pay. This is due to overworked and underappreciated workers. The salary Starbucks provide doesn’t match the workload that is required by the company. The employees, especially the store managers feel exhausted and employee morale goes down. The employees are feeling less connected with the company mission and it affects the quality of service and products that they provide. Local challenges in Foreign Market Entry The influence of economic and political environment to its entry and operation in foreign countries is one of the challenges it faces. As Starbucks continue to open up stores in foreign markets, it also faces different challenges as local imitators try to steal market share. In Japan, they expect loss for the full year. Aside from local competitors offering products with the same price, the economic depression in Japan affected the customer’s income and buying behaviour. As a result the company is losing rather than gaining profit due to coffee pricing. In addition to political environment, Starbucks need to adapt into France’s regulations and generous labour benefits which is legal and compulsory for them to enter the market. Another problem is the entry to foreign markets that has strong local coffee culture. The company is still in its stage of assessing the right strategy to enter markets like Italy. Since it is struggling on its food and non food items, the competition in this market will be difficult due to the existence of anti-globalization movement and strong national responsiveness of local consumers to its own products. Minor Problems: Specified Target Audience Starbucks used the â€Å"Youth appeal† as a strategy to enter foreign markets and gained success, but in the home market attracting the next generation of customers seems to be an issue. The result of the market study made the company aware about the image that it has with its target customers. Younger coffee drinkers can’t afford to buy coffee at Starbucks or the reason they go there is not mainly because of coffee or its products but their peers working. The value associated with brand at some point doesn’t convince the young people in embracing the brand itself. It depicts a pretentious environment for social climbers or yuppies. Aside from trying to reach a specific target market, the company eventually ended up in different markets as it grows rapidly. Venture to Food and Non food items To keep up with competition and increase sales, Starbucks should not solely rely on coffee as its main product but other products they can take advantage of as well. As Starbucks wants to continually increase sales, it started offering food and other non food items to sell inside their stores during the late 90’s but it seems to be a challenge because it still struggles in this area. The company started offering sandwiches and desserts, CD’s and packaged coffees but growth rate doesn’t seem to rise. The company still has to work on the right approach as it continues to improve in this area. III. Solutions: A. Employee Discontent Employees are very important in the success of any company. They are considered as the first customer in every business. Satisfying employee needs is essential so that the company can achieve its goals and deliver proper service. Starbucks needs to be sensitive to their employee needs. They must equally match the compensation to the workload of the employees. Since the company is also going global, there are challenges in human resource that they need to focus on. They have to be aware of the employees’ local culture and needs to satisfy them. They should also conduct a survey internally to be aware about the employees’ needs, wants and feelings towards the company. This will help them properly design employee compensation and benefits. There will be adaptation towards the company’s approach in managing employees in overseas branches. They should take into consideration the legal environment of each local branch so that they can address specific needs and concerns as they manage the business across different cultures. Happy and satisfied employees will result to quality in service and products. B. Local Challenges in Foreign Market Entry Starbucks should conduct marketing research and environmental scanning as it enters foreign markets. They have to take into account the importance of economic and political environment and how it can greatly influence the operation of its business. They should be aware of the economic situation of the market and assess how it can affect the purchasing power of the market. They must be aware of the legal factors that would affect the way it operates its business overseas. They should also conduct a different marketing strategy for different markets since one strategy in one market will not guarantee the success in another. There will be adaptation in marketing approach and local operations to cope up with the foreign market’s needs and external environment. C. Specific Target Audience Since the company intended to reach a specific target market, it ended up catering to different markets as it grows rapidly. As they continually use the â€Å"Youth Appeal† because it gained success as they enter foreign markets, it cannot still be considered as a global strategy to enter the market to other countries. Starbucks should make a study about coffee culture before it enters the market and formulate a strategy that would simply meet the demands of the potential market. They should carefully position the brand in accordance to what they want the market to perceive. As with the case of Starbucks to its home market, the brand was associated with being pretentious. They should associate positive and sophisticated value with the brand. D. Venture to Food and Non Food Items Limitation to product choices restricted the business growth of Starbucks and there is a tendency that customers might get bored and switch to other others. As Starbucks is going abroad they should not focus only to their core products but also find ways on how to improve the quality of their coffee, the services and their environment. This will be very helpful especially if they want to capture the market in France and Italy. They can also venture into bringing some new products especially food and non food items to its menu that would help fulfil the current and local demand of the market. IV. Recommendations A. Employee Discontent * Employee Survey Starbucks needs to conduct an internal employee survey to know the needs of their employees and what makes them content. They should also initiate personality test to all employees especially with their branches abroad. This may be costly but if the results will be interpreted in the right way then the company could address the needs of the employees. This will also help them manage human resource despite the difference in culture and will help them appropriately design compensation and benefits to the employees. * Corporate Communication of Company Vision and Mission Since the employees feel less connected with company mission, Starbucks should promote awareness within the employees about the company’s Vision and Mission. This will make the value the corporate values set by the company. The importance of achieving the company Vision as it delivers quality service and product. This will make them brand hearted and will have this sense of connection with the mission of the company. B. Local challenges to Foreign Market Entry * In-depth Marketing Research and Environmental Scanning The company should be knowledgeable to all the factors in Macro and Micro Environment that could affect, influence and help them in their business operations. The company should always be updated with the data so that they could be prepared with the changes that may happen. Domestically designed Marketing Mix To avoid the errors to Ethnocentrism, the company should adapt to local cultures and needs of their foreign market. They should be able to use the approach as they communicate with their customers while implementing their market strategies. As for the case in France and Italy, the company should also create products that would suite the local taste of the market and recognize the market’s own unique culture. C. Specified Target Audience * Marketing Research Starbucks should be able to properly address the demands of the local market they have in various countries. The company should not only focus one approach as it enters foreign markets. In some countries, â€Å"Youth appeal† worked, but in other countries the target market of Starbucks are adults. They have to sensitive with the target market that they serve in every country because for some Starbucks is unaffordable and pretentious. They should know more about what attracts the local market, purchasing power, buying behaviour. In other countries, pricing is not a barrier but they are more on value, ambience and status. Others are more on practicality and benefits. D. Venture to Food and Non Food Items * Adaptation to local culture, demands and tastes Starbucks should introduce new products either food or non food items that would cater to the local demands of the market. They should blend with the local taste of the market. They could also recognize the culture of the market and include it on its menu. One example is in Italy, they could launch one product like a local espresso as part of the menu so that local customers would feel that it’s not just an American coffee, Starbucks are also sensitive to their local taste. How to cite Starbucks Going Global, Essay examples

Analyses Significance of Legislation †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Analyses Significance of Legislation. Answer: Introduction: Through the Wages Protection Act, 1983, the manner in which wages have to be paid is provided and this legislation also safeguards from any kind of unlawful deductions from the wages. This discussion analyses the significance of this legislation for HR managers. For the HR managers, it is crucial that they pay proper attention and give proper consideration to this legislation. This is because this act provides the deductions which can be made by the employers from the pay. For instance, the employers can make deductions when these are specifically required by the law, in terms of child support, student loan repayment and for PAYE tax. Where the employer takes money from the pay of employee without getting their written consent, given in a free manner, the employee has the option of taking action in Employment Relations Agency for getting their money back. There is a limitation period on this, which is of six years (Employment New Zealand, 2018a). This act also provides provisions for the recovery of overpayments by employers, recovery of wages by employees, wages payable in money, agreements regarding payments of wages, and provision in collective agreements amongst the other things (Employment New Zealand, 2018b). The HR managers have to take specific note of these provisions in order to steer clear from chances of breaching the provisions of this act. This legislation makes it a tough task for the employers to deduct the wages of employees (Sharman, 2013). Thus, due to the detailed provisions covered under the Wages Protection Act, there is a need for the HR managers to strictly comply with this legislation, so that they can avoid any wrongful deductions from wages of employees, which could prove costly for them. References Employment New Zealand. (2018a). Deductions. Retrieved from: https://www.employment.govt.nz/hours-and-wages/pay/deductions/ Employment New Zealand. (2018b). Wages Protection Act 1983. Retrieved from: https://www.employmentrelations.co.nz/Our+Expertise/Employment+Law1/Wages+Protection.html Sharman, J. (2013). Can you deduct from an employees wage? Its not as easy as you may think. Retrieved from: https://www.heskethhenry.co.nz/Articles/x_post/can-you-deduct-from-an-employees-wage-its-not-as-easy-as-you-may-think-00007.html