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So far, most of this thread has focused on the sales/Marketing aspect of "corporate culture" and the bland, and submissive uniformity it imposes upon the marketplace. But let's look at it from another angle -- the complete subjugation of the individual employee.
But let me begin by stipulating that I don't see labor unions, or collective action in any form as a remedy. Unions work only when the company organized either has a monopoly (these days, that usually means public employes) or operates in a very capital-intensive (has a large amount of money invested per worker; e.g: oil, chemicals, utilities, railroads) industry. That situation, and the greater potential for huge liability in case of an incident, calls for extreme safety-consciousness, with which the union will gladly co-operate in return for higher pay.
But your average Wal-Mart or Home Depot warehouse/distribution center is often located in a right-to-work state, or can be moved to one within a relativly short time. And it's no secret that most foreign-owned firms pay attention to this when locating here.
And I haven't even touched upon the subtle-but-constant pressures exerted upon the work force in the service and retail industries, and smaller shops everywhere. No self-respecting male, it seems, has the guts to come to work without that totally symbolic and unnecessary foible called a necktie -- which sends the signal to Gramps and Gran that here is somebody who will bend over backwards to not appear assertive.
The over-senstitized and micro-managed workplace is, perhaps, the ultimate, and most unrealistic and oversold product of the emancipation of women which, in turn, is the single most potent social megatrend of our time. It's both unstoppable and, overall, a positive thing. But it has contributed heavily to the over-homogenization and over-sensitization of American society.
I don't want a union card; I don't want an "advocacy"; All I want is a clearly-defined point at which I can, as an individual with basic rights, stand up on my hind legs and say "Enough is enough".
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 08-20-2012 at 08:39 AM..
I disagree...I love cities, I love self-checkout machines, I love the efficiency of modern day life. I don't want to have to talk to the owner of a store every time I shop, I want to get in and out so that I can actually spend more time with friends/family. I don't want to have to visit seven small shops - I want to get everything in one store in one trip so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy.
I get the value of time point. However what ever time you might save shopping the super store is lost dealing with traffic. I have never been in a city that didn't have traffic issues. Add to this the absolute stench of the air. The noise of horns honking and thousands of idling car engines. You cant cross a street with out feeling like you are in the middle of a swarm of people. bumping and touching. Personal space is for when you get home and throw your 4 dead bolts and lock yourself in.
Or
Life where I live. 0 traffic issues. Fresh clean air. Peace and quiet. I have gone on vacation and not locked my doors.
I know what I prefer.
I get the value of time point. However what ever time you might save shopping the super store is lost dealing with traffic. I have never been in a city that didn't have traffic issues. Add to this the absolute stench of the air. The noise of horns honking and thousands of idling car engines. You cant cross a street with out feeling like you are in the middle of a swarm of people. bumping and touching. Personal space is for when you get home and throw your 4 dead bolts and lock yourself in.
Or
Life where I live. 0 traffic issues. Fresh clean air. Peace and quiet. I have gone on vacation and not locked my doors.
I know what I prefer.
I really don't mind crowds/people. I couldn't ever live in the country. I like the business, the life, all of the options of things to do. To each his own, but your way of living sounds unbelievably boring to me. I am not saying it IS boring, I am just saying I personally could never stand to live that way.
What you have to understand is that the corporations don't care about the communities or your life at all. They have already bought completely into globalization. There will be no going back short of a military revolution and then if we would win and change our government we would be a 3rd world poverty center as the rest of the "industrialized" world would freeze us out.
And the corporations choose our presidential candidates and pretty much everything else in your life.
Your entire post is dead on. It has come to the point that I look around and wonder what country am I in.
Why are people not mad sick that we don't have our own culture anymore? Look at places Like Charleston, SOuth Carolina. These people are the friendliest and most happy people int he country. They have beautiful unique scenery and culture. Most of us have had wal-marts, mcdonalds, burgers kings, targets/etc that make up our horrible scenery.
I was looking at old historic photos of the 19th century in my state and was wondering what could have happened if industrialization didn't kick in and if we, like the people in various parts of the original 13 colonies were left to our own devices. There were signs of a unique culture forming.. ah, what could have been.
I WANT culture. It makes life so much more interesting. Anyone else feel the same way? I can't stand so mny things about the US today. And I think most of the core problems come down to corporations dominating our lives.
You know, there is a term for this. . . these people who insist on looking backwards for "how good it was".
1) Wal-Mart exist in places like Charleston (just as most states)
2) Culture, by definition, exists everywhere. Wal-Mart is an aspect of a local populations culture just as much as a qaint downtown.
3) My God yes - what I want is pre-industralized US. A little bit of slavery. A touch of ignorance. Burn a few witches. Die by the time I'm 30 because we don't know what bacteria is. And shut-up wife, who told you you could speak. Thats the "culture" i would love (*sigh)
Why are people not mad sick that we don't have our own culture anymore? Look at places Like Charleston, SOuth Carolina. These people are the friendliest and most happy people int he country. They have beautiful unique scenery and culture. Most of us have had wal-marts, mcdonalds, burgers kings, targets/etc that make up our horrible scenery.
I was looking at old historic photos of the 19th century in my state and was wondering what could have happened if industrialization didn't kick in and if we, like the people in various parts of the original 13 colonies were left to our own devices. There were signs of a unique culture forming.. ah, what could have been.
I WANT culture. It makes life so much more interesting. Anyone else feel the same way? I can't stand so mny things about the US today. And I think most of the core problems come down to corporations dominating our lives.
Corporate culture is what makes America the most successful country in the world. Maybe socalist france is a better country for you.
It's not corporate culture that you describe, that's called overdevelopment based on fast food, big box store chains.
All that needs to be done is stop shopping there, they will go away.
Those places employ millions of workers if you stop shopping at those places have fun shopping at your local indie super market with the same stuff but at double the cost.
Unless you happen to be black, of course. They take a special pride in publicly berating their negroes down there. It's fascinating to behold; like taking a trip back in time to a simpler era, when a man could beat the help and everyone knew it was because little Faubus had screwed up your drink order.
What the f**k are you taking about? I visit Charleston yearly and I've never seen ANYTHING like what you've described.
So far, most of this thread has focused on the sales/Marketing aspect of "corporate culture" and the bland, and submissive uniformity it imposes upon the marketplace. But let's look at it from another angle -- the complete subjugation of the individual employee.
But let me begin by stipulating that I don't see labor unions, or collective action in any form as a remedy. Unions work only when the company organized either has a monopoly (these days, that usually means public employes) or operates in a very capital-intensive (has a large amount of money invested per worker; e.g: oil, chemicals, utilities, railroads) industry. That situation, and the greater potential for huge liability in case of an incident, calls for extreme safety-consciousness, with which the union will gladly co-operate in return for higher pay.
But your average Wal-Mart or Home Depot warehouse/distribution center is often located in a right-to-work state, or can be moved to one within a relativly short time. And it's no secret that most foreign-owned firms pay attention to this when locating here.
And I haven't even touched upon the subtle-but-constant pressures exerted upon the work force in the service and retail industries, and smaller shops everywhere. No self-respecting male, it seems, has the guts to come to work without that totally symbolic and unnecessary foible called a necktie -- which sends the signal to Gramps and Gran that here is somebody who will bend over backwards to not appear assertive.
The over-senstitized and micro-managed workplace is, perhaps, the ultimate, and most unrealistic and oversold product of the emancipation of women which, in turn, is the single most potent social megatrend of our time. It's both unstoppable and, overall, a positive thing. But it has contributed heavily to the over-homogenization and over-sensitization of American society.
I don't want a union card; I don't want an "advocacy"; All I want is a clearly-defined point at which I can, as an individual with basic rights, stand up on my hind legs and say "Enough is enough".
I'll add to your last statement. I firmly believe that a business owner can run their business the way they see fit. However; that should not include trampling on my rights as an individual by prodding into my personal life with certain "tests" or things of that nature. Or snooping on my Facebook account (in which I don't even go on anymore).
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Revisionist
