Occupation
Questions 41-50
Feel free to browse the following questions, some of which may
still await answers. You can then post an answer or counter an answer
that has already been posted. Please read the
guidelines for answering
questions before making a posting.
Previous 10 this topic area
Next 10 this topic
area
THE
QUESTION:
O48: I work in an area of health care management that tracks
workload data. Our finished products help doctors and staff justify
their positions and equipment, and help fight for new jobs. Why then,
do doctors refuse to do the paperwork that provides the numbers we
use to help them? Weekly, I have providers call me a "damn bean
counter," blow off sending us important numbers and complain at
meetings about having to fill out reports. Then when they can't get
the personnel they need for patient care, they rant and rave that all
their work is ignored. I know brillant doctors sometimes have odd
personalities, but, c'mon folks, where's the common sense?
POSTED APRIL 8, 1999
Alma, federal employee and white lesbian
<pridewks@seacove.net>,
Kempner, TX
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O47: I have quite a few health problems and visit doctors'
offices frequently, and I am finding less and less personal attention
from the doctors. I suffered with a painful distended abdomen for
three months while doctors simply told me the pain was in my head
instead of listening to my symptoms. Why does it take visiting
numerous offices and dishing out mega bucks to find a doctor who will
listen to you as a patient and person?
(Director's note: Y? would be interested in hearing responses from
doctors.)
POSTED MARCH 29, 1999
27-year-old female suffering from Crohn's Disease, Erie, PA
ANSWER 1:
Some doctors are better than others - and so are their
staff --so if you find a good one, stick with them! Unfortunately,
the overhead of running an office and hiring staff makes many doctors
see patients for no longer than five minutes at a time so they can
see 40 or more people a day. Many offices need one or two staff
members who do nothing but sit on the phone fighting with HMOs all
day. To pay for that extra person's salary, more patients have to be
seen - but the care is more rushed. It's a vicious cycle. We need to
change what's going on.
POSTED APRIL 5, 1999
An RN, West Palm Beach, FL
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O46: I work as a cashier in a grocery store. Why do customers
toss their money at me, put it on the counter, drop it on the
conveyor belt (where it gets eaten) ... everywhere except in my
outstretched hand, then hold their hands out for their change? And
why do they make derogatory comments about the customer I am waiting
on (their speed, what they buy, etc.) and then look at me as if I
should laugh with them? I could go on, but the list is endless.
POSTED MARCH 26, 1999
S., female
<sen24@yahoo.com>, Oak
Park, MI
ANSWER 1:
Some people may figure that the whole checkout area is an
extension of your personal space. Perhaps placing the money on the
countertop seems the same as putting it in your palm. Many shops have
a small tray for placing money. However, it is still normal to have
change counted back to you in your hand. The customer wouldn't be
about to receive it back any other way! As for the small talk and
chatting, some people may be trying to be nice, i.e. not ignore you
as if you were a machine. Perhaps they can't think of anything
mutually relevant other than the customer who just left. I used to
work on checkouts and was bugged by rude people, too. It's best to
just think "loser" and be happy they're not you!
POSTED MARCH 30, 1999
Lucy, 30, female, Tokyo, Japan
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O45: Why do we as customers continue to support establishments
that provide poor service while paying their employees such meager
wages? Do any of us feel guilty about ordering that Big Mac?
POSTED MARCH 18, 1999
Christopher D., male
<alphamontego@yahoo.com>,
Arlington, TX
ANSWER 1:
I don't feel guilty about fast food joints. I feel guilty
about some foreign products: Pakistani soccer balls (supposedly made
with child labor under crippling conditions), wicker baskets from
China retailing here for $1.50, Nike anything (favorite target of
Doonesbury). I think it's a quantum leap from U.S. burger flippers to
10-year-old Pakistanis with gnarled fingers.
POSTED MARCH 24, 1999
B. Hale
<halehart@aol.com>,
Hartford , CT
FURTHER NOTICE:
You always have the option of not buying products or
services from companies that pay their employees low wages, but this
might mean you pay more in the end. Imagine that one day McDonalds
doubled all the hourly wages and salaries of their employees, and
then started a program to improve their service. You might not feel
guilty about going to the establishment and buying a Big Mac, but
when you get there, you find out those "two all beef patties" now
cost you $10.50 for each sandwich. Would you continue to pay this
much for fast food? The bottom line is lower expenses help keep
profit margins higher, and lowering the labor expense is the easiest
way to cut total costs.
Lowering expenses also allows the company to offer its products to
the public at a lower price, thereby driving updemand for the
product. As the company's business increases, it can spend more on
salaries. But when total expenses rise, prices for the consumer
increase. As prices increase, demand drops, and cost-cutting must
take place. And where do they cut costs first? Labor. It's the
business cycle, and it's basic economics. And you are a player in the
game, whether you like it or not, simply because you are the
consumer. This is a long way of saying that those
minimum-wage-earning employees are there to ensure lunch at McDonalds
won't put too much of a strain on your wallet.
POSTED MARCH 26, 1999
Stephen S., 31, former minimum wage earner, San Antonio , TX
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O44: To employers and hiring managers only: Tell me, honestly,
whether you weigh the sex of a possible employee when making a hiring
decision. If so, why? Also, what is it that men in general possess
that, to me, appears to give them the edge?
POSTED FEB. 16, 1999
Tigress, 22, female
<tigress1975@hotmail.com>,
Temecula, CA
ANSWER 1:
I work as a manager in the software industry, and about 90
percent of the resumes that reach my desk are from males. However, I
don't believe men have an edge. In my way of thinking, an edge would
indicate that someone is naturally more gifted, and I don't think
that's what you're asking. Yet, I do think that men are
systematically and institutionally given preferences during their
career development. I believe the best workplace is a diverse one. I
try to assemble multi-ethnic and gender teams because I've found that
such differences bring life to a group. If everyone had the same
outlook, the team would stagnate. And while I'll never reject a good
applicant, I do make a point to look for diversity (e.g. at career
fairs).
POSTED FEB. 17, 1999
D.N., 34, male, Seattle , WA
FURTHER NOTICE:
I worked as a supervisor for a state agency for 10 years.
I do not believe we ever weighed whether the applicant was male or
female. Basically, it was who was most qualified. This agency was of
the "social service" type, but we got about an equal number of
applicants of both sexes. My office was, in fact, made up mostly of
women.
POSTED FEB. 23, 1999
Male
<y8d2k8wl@coastalnet.com>,
NC
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O43: To farmers: Why are most barns painted red?
POSTED FEB. 15, 1999
E.J.R., 25
<FIFarmngtn@aol.com>,
Farmington Hills, MI
ANSWER 1:
I'm not a farmer, but I've read the the custom started
because originally most people had to make their own paint (which
weather-proofed and helped preserve the wood as well as was
attractive). Red - made with iron - was one of the easier and cheaper
colors to make.
POSTED MARCH 1, 1999
Catherine H., female
<tylik@eskimo.com>,
Woodinville , WA
FURTHER NOTICE:
The only reason I've heard about barns being red is from
my grandmother. She said that when she was younger, farmers made
their own paint. They would mix iron oxide (rust) in with it, and
therefore the red color.
POSTED MARCH 1, 1999
P.M.B., farmer, 46, Appleton , MN
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O42: I've often encountered adults who have graduated high
school yet cannot read. To teachers: How is it that a person can go
through 12 years of schooling, yet not be capable of performing the
most basic math or reading skills? I understand many people have
genuine learning disabilities, but there are such a large number of
people who are functionally illiterate that this can't be the only
explanation. Why aren't the basics of reading (and math) taught
throughout a childs' school life? With so many hours spent in school,
don't teachers feel this is the major failing of our school sytem?
Any child should at least be able to read the newspaper by the time
he or she graduates.
POSTED DEC. 27, 1998
C.J., 35, female, Cincinnati, OH
ANSWER 1:
I was a Project Read volunteer for a few years. We were
chartered with trying to increase literacy in our communities. My
students ranged in age from 15 to 70. The answer with the younger
students was simple: There were too many students in one classroom
for a teacher to notice when one student was not keeping up. When
they were finally noticed, the teachers would advise the parents to
get a tutor. The stories that came from the elderly students were
quite shocking. They had learned to beat the system by pretending
they could read. They memorized stories in school, they circled a
"pattern" of answers on multiple choice tests (a, b, c, then c, b,
a). The odds of getting a passing score were obviously in their
favor. They drove cars by memorizing street signs. They knew a red
octagonal sign meant "Stop." Some of them were even truck drivers.
They could find a particular address by matching freeway signs and
street signs to a map. They shopped for food by "reading" the
pictures on the packages. They held down jobs, functioned in society
and finally decided to learn to read when they had grandchildren who
wanted them to read bedtime stories to them. (You can't fool a kid
who knows the story!) It was really amazing and quite sad to learn
how easy it was to beat the system. I can only hope that our next
generation of teachers has the time and dedication to spot the shy
and/or dyslexic students who are too embarrassed to say "I don't
understand."
POSTED JAN. 4, 1999
Mimi, 38, female, Sunnyvale, CA
FURTHER NOTICE:
As a ninth-grade English teacher in a rural Vermont high
school, I have no students who cannot read. I do, however, have
students with reading levels ranging from third grade to post-high
school. Yes, my primary concern is that my students read and write
fluently, discovering both the power and joy in the written word.
With every student, the goal is to help him or her reach a higher
level than she or he comes in with. That varies considerably by
student. Factors that have the greatest impact include family support
and motivation. As with anything in life, practice is the key to
proficiency. A student reading at a third grade level in high school
who doesn't read anything voluntarily will probably regress once the
mandatory requirements are removed. I relinquish none of my
responsibility; I am doing all that I can, as are thousands of
educators.
POSTED JAN. 4, 1999
S. Locarno, 48, Hardwick, VT
FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I volunteer at an elementary school three days a week. I
work with first, second, and fifth graders in math and reading. There
is one major difference between children who learn and those who
don't - the ability to pay attention and concentrate. No one can
teach a child to read, even one-on-one, when their mind is somewhere
else. I think the smartest parents are those who keep their children
out of first grade until the child is mature enough to sit and engage
in an activity that takes concentration. Better to wait a year and be
the oldest one in the class than be a fifth grader or adult who
believes they can't read. (By fifth grade, the kids are embarrassed,
have learned coping skills or have written themselves off, and it's
hard to get them past those feelings/actions.)
POSTED JAN. 4, 1999
Colleen C., 38, female
<congdon@illuminet.net>
Quantico, VA
FURTHER NOTICE 3:
Illiteracy in America is not what it once was. Many (more
than ever before) Americans read, write and are able to articulate
their thoughts. With any large-scale operation, such as education,
you will always have some people who slip through the cracks. How
many more illiterate people would you know if you had been asking
this question 50 or 60 years ago?
POSTED JAN. 5, 1999
Arodman, 19
<ab0490@wayne.edu>, Troy
, MI
To respond
BACK TO TOP
THE QUESTION:
O41: I am a sales professional in my mid-40s who is having
difficulty finding work. Many of the sales positions are entry level,
and many companies want people to travel extensively (I have a family
and travelled for years at a past job, and it nearly ruined my
marriage). Despite the fact that I have a very successful
sales/training and management backround, am I seen as too old? Are
"seasoned" salespeople seen as too expensive to hire?
POSTED DEC. 16, 1998
M.E., 44, white
<mde3225@aol.com>,
Minneapolis, MN
To respond
BACK TO TOP