Chapter Three While seeking greater efficiency in a company is typically not a harmful objective, there are some lines which should not be crossed in regards to that goal. It is important to take into account the physical and mental aptitude of the workers which are hired in the fast food industry, especially if the company’s way to better productivity is to make the employees increasingly interchangeable. An astounding majority of the nation’s fast food workers are teenagers, immigrants, and handicapped individuals (70). This is because the jobs don’t require much skill to perform, and the people are often willing to work minimum wage jobs (70); while this is ideal for the company, it can become more and more harmful for the employees as …show more content…
If they are forced to perform even more vigorously in the workplace, it can place an enormous strain on their psychological well-being, and stress could possibly lead to health complications later in life. Although many individual franchisees genuinely care for the well-being of their workers (71), it is difficult for them to manage the health of all of their employees, especially with the alarming speed at which they have to work. For immigrants and handicapped persons, the situation isn’t much different. Their job in the fast food industry is usually all that they have to support themselves and their family; since the work requires no specialized skill, if they were to suddenly lose their job, it would be very, very difficult to earn a spot in a workplace that requires higher skill and pays higher wages. Also, these individuals all earn minimum wage or close to it; if they are asked to do more and harder work, they aren’t getting paid any higher, even if they work overtime. If they are to support their family and themselves with their job, it only makes sense to allow their pay to increase with the rising standards and hours worked. Take into account that your employees are living, breathing human …show more content…
It is clear that Hank’s process of raising and feeding his cattle is done with care and caution; by following the grazing patterns of elk and buffalo herds (134), he was making sure that the land would stay lush, fertile, and undamaged as the livestock feasted upon them. This is a rarity, since most ranchers’ disregard for the land forces it to become barren and dry. Hank understands the importance of keeping the environment around him alive and flourishing. The same cannot be said, however, for the city’s land developers. Due to the rapid urbanization of Colorado Springs without much prior planning or proper investment in drainage projects (135), the land has been horribly damaged. Erosion ate away at the banks (134), and the runoff from urban areas actually led to nearby ranchers, including Hank, to lose part of their ranch every year. The impact that Hank had on the land versus the city’s impact could not have been more clear-cut. This is not the sole reason why urbanization remains an “unsettling omen” – it also costs farmers and ranchers their jobs. “Over the last twenty years, about half a million ranchers sold off their cattle and quit the business” (136). After the Reagan Administration allowed the four largest meatpackers in the nation to combine, things kept going downhill for local ranchers. They have no idea how much their cattle is actually worth, due to