Where has the famed American initiative to be successful gone??

Question

I am a successful entrepeneur; most of the entrepeneurs I meet are first generation Americans who understand from their past struggles that life isn't easy and you have to work hard to get ahead. When I try to hire solid employees; the first questions we always get concern money, vacation and benefits. It seems as if our work ethic is disintegrating and everyone expects maximum pay for minimal work OR the government to support them if they don't work. C'mon people this isn't what our forefathers had in mind!!!

Continuing when I pay an employee to work I expect it to be done with quality the first time. Family first always but remember your pay makes their quality. If everyone understood simple economics like Return on Investment, Gross Profit, Net Profit, and Equitable Labor Value we wouldn't be in this predicament. And Yes I do agree that the Hippies teaching our kids are taking away their individualism AND the needed skills of competition, nurturing through success and enjoying victory. A nation without competition is a Communist nation.

Answer 1

Rare commodity anymore.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-pOypG0szd7Pv_X1rQxw_4qCWpA--?cq=1&p=182

Answer 2

I work for a large corporation have gotten several promotions
and received several awards from my company one for saving the company 250k on 1 project one year.
This company got caught cookin the books and the CEO who should be in jail for mismangement was fired. The stock and my 401K tanked I lost 90 cents on the dollar almost 200k. The CEO got a 10 or 15 mil buyout and company officers got bags full of money b4 they left. Meanwhile good talented people that did great work and worked 50 or 60 hrs a week were let go with nothing. good loyal employees who had helped build this company They slashed 75% of the workforce but still have the same number of execs, a new bunch of pigs at the trough

Answer 3

My dad has never missed a day of work at his refinery for 7 years. He is always been called in for overtime because people become 'suddenly sick' over popular holidays. This is despicable. You're job is one of your most important things(without it you can't do much) and people seem to take time off of it just because.

I'm a 5/6th generation American but I try my hardest to succeed in what I do even if it matters very little overall. Just like a first job...working in a grocery store isn't anything like working as an engineer the next year. But regardless, I would do the grocery store job at my fullest capablity although it may not be rather difficult.

Seems like Americans have become lazy and do not care about many things anymore.

Answer 4

If you are indeed a successful entrepreneur - and the questions you hear from your potential employees are about money, vacation and benefits - after a while, I would think that you would get the drift that these are the things that are important to a "solid employee."

I now work for myself as an independent contractor.
These are some of my personal experiences over the years as an employee:

I have worked in the electrical engineering department in the R&D section of a international company (company relocated overseas and closed its American operation) an electro-mechanical engineer (company sold and closed its local manufacturing facility) a mecanical technition and foreman (company sold out and later closed its operation).
I worked hard for for these outfits and now I work hard for myself.
My experiences have absolutely convinced me that, to most employers, employees are no longer assets - they are liabilities on their bottom line.
Any wonder that they are concerned about short term benefits? Hell, they sure can't count on any loyalty or committment from the company they work for.
Downsize, outsource, sublet, import, hostile takeover, combine, sell out, etc..etc...these are the terms that potential employees are hearing, and they're not very encouraging, are they?

Seems the very qualities you alude to in your question are missing, not only from employees, but from the employers, also.

Answer 5

I am sorry to hear U R incapable of exploiting your slaves to your specifications.

ONCE one's social economic position becomes determined by merit then U will see hard work but until then DO not expect hard work when U create a communistic environment were hard work ONLY benefits the master.

Answer 6

These concepts are taught in the home. You are absolutely correct. We need to teach our children how this great society works and encourage them to work for what they want out of life. I live in the country where the American dream is alive and well. These kids have jobs by the time they are 16 years old and go to school and work at home as well. I am darn proud of them.

Answer 7

Oh pulease! I work 40-50 hours a week and go to school fulltime. Vacation is definitely important to me, because I need time off for school from time to time. And the money is important, because I earn too much to qualify for grants. Our forefathers were all for keeping the poor people poor, and the rich wealthy. They didn't even want poor people to vote on our president...thus the electoral college.

I know, when I go home, that I have a stack of paperwork from work, and a pile of homework from school, pay me enough, I might do the paperwork first.

Answer 8

oh... poor business...

we see what business really wants... it wants to maximize profit at any costs... with no concern for the workers or product...

I've worked several places, and they don't even try to hide it anymore...

"I can move to china and pay 5 cents a day... WOHOO!"... and zip and gone... where is that "American pride" then?

it's work you as hard as they can as long as they can... and hope you don't find a better job... and when you do... oh well, you got lucky... don't let the door hit you on the way out...

maybe you're "special"... but this has been my experience several times over...

I'm getting paid decently well... but that's only because I'm working the system the way it works the workers... move on when I get a better offer...

what happened to businesses that cared about ANYTHING other than profit?

when businesses start to care about me or anyone really... I'll start to care about business...

and really that's what your asking... why doesn't anyone care about being a "proud worker for a business" anymore...

Answer 9

People must change the perception of money as the measure of success. Happiness and self-respect are supposed to be the main target of life and employment.

Answer 10

You should be ashamed, you greedy capitalist pig!

Of course I'm joking.

The truth is, there is a movement afoot, among the young, to reverse the American dream of individualism.

Rugged individualism is seen as greedy, racist, and self-serving.