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Minimum Wage
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Professor’s name
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Minimum Wage and the Distribution of Income
Description of the Issue
The debate regarding whether or not to increase the minimum wage has been in existence for a long time. Currently, the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour, and this has been the case for over a decade. Americans have always been advocates of the American dream. They believe that as long as one works hard, one should earn just enough money to get by. Millions of Americans today continue to work for little pay and reduced benefits in arduous jobs. The people affected by the low minimum wage work in the service sector where they serve food, deliver pizza, clean officers, stock shelves and care for the elderly and young. They work the same jobs year in and year out while still caring for their families, paying bills and saving for college, which is not easy when earning the minimum wage. Despite their best efforts, these essential low-wage workers continue to fall further behind.
Opposing sides of the Minimum Wage Debate
There are two sides to the argument where on the one hand, some people support the decision to raise the minimum wage while others oppose increasing the minimum wage. In his article Real Family Values: Raising the Federal Minimum Wage, Jack Jenkins posits that increasing the minimum wage is imperative as it would lift millions of workers from poverty and grant them an opportunity to contribute robustly to the national economy. Jenkins points out that the current minimum wage is impacting the family institutions by denying them an opportunity to spend quality time as a family. Americans value family time and minimum wage makes it impossible for them to do this. People who earn minimum wage are forced to take up two or three jobs and work even during their off days to make ends meet (Jenkins, 02). This means they earn less than $13, 000 a year, which is below the federal threshold of $19, 530 for a family that comprises three individuals. Because they cannot afford a car, they have to spend hours communing to subway locations in the city which takes away from the time they should be spending with their family at home. Jenkins also notes that increasing the minimum wage would provide an equal opportunity to contribute to the economy. This is because with the increased income they can access benefits and afford essentials like food and rent meaning that they do not have to depend on government services to make ends meet. On the other hand, the Employment Policies Institute article The Impact of a $9.80 Federal Minimum Wage opposes the decision to increase the federal minimum wage. The authors of the text posit that the series of the proposal that intends to raise minimum wage by 35% from 7.25 dollars to 9.80 dollars opines that they would poorly target the low-income families that they are meant to help (“Can Raising The Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty And Hardship? – Employment Policies Institute”, 03). According to the text, the minimum wage is a weak way of reducing poverty. The strategy limits employment opportunities for the least skilled people. Moreover, the text posits that the beneficiaries of the minimum wage would only be the young population who are 25years old or below.
Analysis of Evidence
As regards evidence, both articles employ various strategies to support their notion. Jenkins references statistics and a personal narrative from Aarin Foster, who is a single father of two daughters surviving on minimum wage in Chicago. Foster narrates how he struggles to make ends meet and provide for his daughter with a low salary. He says that he has to work 30 hours a week and work during his off days to supplement his income. As a result, he always gets home late and only spends about five minutes per day with his daughters. On the other hand, the Employees Policies Institute uses a series of proposals, including the Rebuild America Act, Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, and the Catching Up to 1968 Act of 2012, to conclude that increasing the minimum wage does not reduce poverty.
Evaluation of Qualification of Authors
While some authors depict bias in their texts, others are credible. Jack Jenkin’s article is plausible because he is a professional with vast experience in publishing. He was the former Senior Reporter for Religion for ThinkProgress and currently serves as a national reporter for the Religion News Service. On the other hand, the Employment Policies Institute shows signs of bias in the text. The Institute has been known to be largely fiscally conservative, which explains its position that minimum wage should not be reduced.
My Standpoint
From my standpoint, Jenkins position on increasing the minimum wage is more viable than the position presented by the Employment Policies Institute. I agree with Jenkins that the minimum wage should be raised as it would give workers a chance to pull themselves out of poverty. As long as a person is working hard, they should be able to enjoy a decent lifestyle, and they should have ample time to spend with their families and friends.
Works Cited
“Can Raising The Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty And Hardship? – Employment Policies Institute”. Employment Policies Institute, 2021, https://www.epionline.org/studies/can-raising-the-minimum-wage-reduce-poverty-and-hardship/.
Jenkins, Jack. “Real Family Values: Raising The Federal Minimum Wage”. Americanprogress.Org, 2013, https://americanprogress.org/article/real-family-values-raising-the-federal-minimum-wage/
Management is a complex and wide concept that needs to be illustrated in an in-depth manner
Quality Management
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Student’s Affiliation
Quality Management
Introduction
Management is a complex and wide concept that needs to be illustrated in an in-depth manner. What’s more, the dynamic business environment results into changes within management. There are new concepts adopted by management that need to be understood in order for institutions and organizations to engage in efficient and effective provision of goods and services. Quality management is one of the contemporary management concepts that managers need to be familiar with. Organizations irrespective of their size, industry, or culture must employ managerial services to ensure a balanced proportion between the various forms of resources to improve performance. Quality management, therefore, refers to the systematic process that involves measures meant to ensure that the product or service provided within an organization meets the demands of the consumers. It involves planning and implementation of the continuous organizational improvement in the provision of goods or services. Many organizations have decided to embrace quality management within the overall management system. This paper, thus, emphasizes that dynamism in the business environment calls for different institutions and organizations to ensure that there is increased quality management.
As a client or customer of SunHealth Corporation, a healthcare organization; it is important to note that quality management has enabled healthcare organizations to provide quality services to the patients through the various described processes. Through quality service provision patients have been able to obtain the required treatment at the right time in the right manner. Mortality rates have reduced due to the enhancement of quality healthcare services to patients both in-patient and out-patients (Moores, 2008). Since quality management process gives an opportunity for open decision making, healthcare organizations have taken up this advantage thereby involving the patients in making of decision through their contributions. This makes patients feel part and parcel of the organizations hence resulting into increased patient loyalty. The effect of this has been increased provision of services hence increased profitability (Miller et al, 2009).
When constructing a House of Quality within the quality management process; there should be a provision for the identification of problems affecting an organization. In that regard, Healthcare organizations have been able to identify various problems affecting them hence taking the necessary measures. This has led to effective and efficient management practices in the running of the organizations.
SunHealth Corporation should apply the concepts of quality management in order to ensure that all the patients obtain the best Medicare and Medicaid services affordable to all the stakeholders. Through quality management, healthcare facilities should embark on creating Home-based care. Through partnership with the National Institutes of Health through the establishment of the telehealth care services especially to those who cannot make it to the hospitals. They transport system has well-furnished ambulances that will assist the organization in delivering the best of healthcare services within the region (Kaluzny, McLaughlin & Simposn, 1999).
When developing a SPC checklist for each dimension of the product that you believe would be subject to statistical control, many organizations fail to employ the best approach. The below chart helps understand the process of developing a one of the best SPC checklist to help the client and the firm make the right decisions when buying or offering services. It demonstrates an order entry process serving both clients and firms.
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According to Kaizen’s philosophy that emphasizes on changing and making better explores the meaning of continuous improvement. Kaizen’s philosophy emphasizes the following five steps:
Planning of Activities
The five steps begin with planning one’s activities, which is an essential step towards quality management. Planning activities helps in managing time, thus, it is vital to plan daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. The initial step in personal Kaizen in our daily lives, reminds us to set aside few minutes to plan for our activities tomorrow.
Setting Apart Things that one does Regularly
To enter the Kaizen’s personal cycle, getting all the activities is a major step in the process of continuous improvement. The activities that appear regularly in one’s schedule will become one persona Kaizen. These activities must be set apart to ensure that one focuses on doing such activities effectively to improve the quality.
Creating a Way of making everything Better
This step focuses on improving life processes regularly based of Kaizen’s philosophy. This is the step where one improves the performance by doing the things done regularly in different manner. This is achievable though setting targets that must be accomplished.
Standardize
Continuous improvement with regard to quality management demands that the entire cycle should be part and parcel of the standardization process. Standardization also helps improve the present better state, and one is challenged to further improve in a progressive manner. Without this step, one may feel satisfied, thus, performing below the standard.
Evaluation and back again to the first step
Evaluation process is of ultimate importance in the cycle of quality management or improvement. This step is a precursor to the first step. It helps one know whether he/she has done the right or the wrong thing.
Finally in the benchmarking process, one must involve the customers and all the other stakeholders in making decisions. For example, provision of healthcare services that consumers have praised before and would to continue enjoying is essential. Both risk and quality management within SunHealth Corporation are involved in the tracking and management of incidents and either environmental factors for risk management or quality issues and outcomes for all stakeholders in quality management (Moores, 2008). They are involved in the identification of the processes and activities required for improvement to prevent future losses hence reducing the risks of financial loss as well as legal liability for organizations. In addition, both risk and quality management within ensures confidentiality of data and support a very inclusive framework of reporting and benchmarking. Through all these activities, the two aspects of management result into performance overview of an organization.
References
Kaluzny, A., McLaughlin, C. & Simposn, K. (1999).Applying total quality management concepts to public health organizations. Public Health Reports. 107, (3); 257-264
Miller, W. et al. (2009). Assessment of quality management practices within the healthcare industry. American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 1 (2).105-113.
Moores, B. (2008). Concepts of quality and quality management in industry and the service sector. Retrieved on July 14, 2014 from http://forge.fh-potsdam.de/~IFLA/INSPEL/94-2mobr.pdf
About the Common Core
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The Common Core Standards
About the Common Core
The Common Core contains academic standards in English and Mathematics considered to be of high quality. The set of standards contain goals that outline what students should be knowledgeable about by the end of each grade. The Common Core Was created to make sure all students graduate high school with the right knowledge to succeed in college, career, and consequently life regardless of where they are from (Common Core State Standards Initiative, n.d.). The Common Core ware created to respond to the need for consistent learning outcomes in the entire country.
The standards developmentally appropriate for students
Some people claim that the Common Core standards may not be developmentally appropriate with the problems concentrated in the early grades. Kindergarten children are not ready to read, though they are required to by the standards. What these people do not acknowledge is that experienced professionals from K-3 teachers to early childhood experts developed these standards. The standards are created to fit the requirements of the 21st Century labor market and the challenges of today’s higher education.
States incorporated these standards into their school systems because they set rigorous, measurable objectives for every child, ensuring that there will be more candidates for college and students on the path to careers. The Fordham Institute conducted an analysis of the Common Core Standards and reported a significant improvement over most states’ academic expectations. There was also greater comparability between states, and districts-all teachers have a tool on best practices and ways to track student growth.
The implementation process may not be doing the Common Core justice, but the States are still running through with them. They are continuing to run the program because it is setting clear, consistent expectations for students in terms of college and career preparations. Out of all the 45 states that adopted the standards, only Oklahoma has replaced them.
For those questioning the appropriateness of these standards in terms of development, they should first remember that there is no clear-cut information on when a child is ready to learn anything that is scientifically backed. Then again, a child’s cognition changes, and these standards are in line with the capacity of 21st Century children. Usually, by saying the Common Core Standards are developmentally inappropriate, what critics mean is, “this is too hard.”
There is no reason to perceive that the literary benchmarks set by the Common Core for kindergarten are too hard. The National Centre for Education Statistics reports that 2 in three children at the kindergarten level recognize letters from the alphabet both in lower and uppercase before they enter kindergarten. Knowledge of the alphabet is one of the “foundational skills” projected under these standards. No parent would want their children to graduate kindergarten without knowledge of the alphabet. Sixty-one percent of children come to kindergarten with more than two concepts of the common core, such as understanding that text is read from left to right.
Why is it called the common core?
It is called the common core because it is a singular academic standard for the entire nation (Trachta, 2018). This, however, does not ring true in practice because only 34 states and the District of Colombia are still fully committed to it. in other states, however, it has been a benchmark for custom state standards. Some states have repealed part of the Common Core, or others have developed their own version. Since every state uses it as a benchmark and is creating custom versions, its common status somehow still reigns.
What the Common Core means to me
The people raising controversy over these standards have not had the time to interact with them at the same level as teachers. Getting to know them reduces the anxiety about how these standards will affect classrooms and students. The Common Core, to me, is an opportunity for teachers to create curricula that can help struggling students catch up using materials that match the Common Core. By standardizing education outcomes, the Common Core is the answer to educational inequality. With proper teacher training, the challenge of adjusting a curriculum to the Common Core is reduced, and teachers can now be able to take advantage of it fully.
Why I support the Common Core
The first reason why I support the Common Core is that it is not an absolute requirement but rather a guide. Those people that disregard these standards do it based on rigidity, which is not correct. The Common Core is adopted by states in different ways, in ways that suit their needs and does not require teaching specific text. The Common Core is just but a recommendation that only works to satisfy certain standards despite the means. This is why it is so useful and practical. I support it because I understand that it is not a rigid set of rules but a dependable benchmark that will achieve great results in developing students that are ready and heading towards college and excellent careers.
I believe that the goals of the Common Core are very sensible, especially in those states that have been ranking below average or far below in these essential subjects. By using a standard that is used in almost every state, the whole nation educates its children and future leaders at the same level. The use of Common Core is an assurance that students will receive a high-quality education. I support this because it will change the statistics, which see 60 percent of students joining colleges needing remedial classes in Math and English, or only 34 percent of eighth-graders showing adequate knowledge of grade-level math and the 30 percent of high-school graduates failing Military entry exams (Riley, 2014).
References
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (n.d.). About the Standards. Home | Common Core State Standards Initiative. https://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/Riley, B. (2014, March 25). Why I Support Common Core Standards. National Review. https://www.nationalreview.com/2014/03/why-i-support-common-core-standards-bob-riley/Trachta, A. (2018, March 28). Don’t Be Afraid to Ask … What Exactly IS Common Core? Niche. https://www.niche.com/blog/what-is-common-core/