Running Head: BUSINESS DISCUSSION 1
Business Discussion
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliations
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 2
Discussion Four
One of the biggest challenges in management is handling employees during economic
recessions. Particularly, employers have to make tough economic decisions to sustain an
organization's operational capabilities while maintaining employee satisfaction. While
employment termination is often the default option in times of economic hardships, reducing
wages of all employees achieves greater prospects. As an employer, the decision to retain all the
employees is in the company's best interest and the employees. In part, retaining employees helps
to contain the talent pool within the organization in readiness for the next economic boom.
Consequently, organizations achieve long term sustainability through reduced employee turnover
even in times of economic recessions (Cook, Mackenzie, and Forde, 2016). The decision to
maintain employees at reduced pay is important in affirming the commitment of the organization
towards the welfare of its employees. By expressing its desire to retain all employees, albeit, at
reduced pay, an organization cultivates a culture of loyalty and trust among its employees.
Besides, the choice of retaining employees amid an economic recession is significant in
sustaining the productivity of an organization. Indeed, servicing the employees ensures a
continuous supply of labor resources, thus safeguarding the productivity of the organization. In
contrast, laying off some of the employees would disrupt the normal operation of the
organization through the loss of necessary skills and competencies. In addition, the loss of
employees has the potential of crippling the sustainability of an organization due to increased
employee turnover and reduced motivation levels. According to Bansal, Jiang, and Jung (2015),
laying off employees exposes an organization to significantly higher costs in the future through
hiring processes and training. Indeed, the discontinuation of employees means that an
organization must hire new employees after the end of the recession, thereby incurring huge
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 3
costs. By retaining employees, therefore, organizations benefit from reduced costs of operation
in the long term.
The decision to retain employees at reduced pay is also essential in affirming the need for
fairness in an organization. This approach is vital in exuding confidence among all employees. In
contrast, laying off some of the employees portrays an image of inequality through the sacking of
a few individuals (Cook, MacKenzie and Forde, 2016). The decision to impose a lower pay
should thus be based on deliberations with staff to assure them of the fairness in the exercise.
The top management would also undergo pay cuts during the recession to help in winning the
support of the employees. The choice of option is also based on the need to maintain employee
relationships and collaborations in the exercise of their responsibilities. Part of an organization’s
duty to its employees is social development through positive relationships. Consequently,
maintaining employees guarantees their friendships and relationships and thereby uplifting their
motivation levels.
Discussion Five
The US political scene is often characterized by an increased uproar over the prospects of
immigrants taking up jobs that would have otherwise been absorbed by the locals. The
controversy is based on the assumption that immigrants flood the market, thereby contributing to
reduced wages for available opportunities. While it is true that immigrants flood the market,
there is little evidence regarding their role in lowering the market rates of available jobs
(Stapleford and Fassett, 2015). Indeed, the impacts of immigrants on the job market are often
insignificant, based on their lower skill levels and competencies. Most of the immigrants
entering the US job market are low-skilled and do not, therefore, pose inherent risks to the job
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 4
security of most American citizens. Moreover, a larger percentage of US citizens have higher
skills and competencies and can adequately outcompete immigrants without requiring
government protection. Even though immigrants affect the job market through flooding, only a
small percentage of US citizens are affected.
The proliferation of immigrants in the US job market affects low-wage workers through
declined wages. According to Neumark and Wascher (2017), the wages of low wage workers in
the US have declined by 5% over the last thirty-five years. While part of the decline in wages is
attributable to flooding from immigrants, other sectors have also experienced declines in wages
owing to different factors. Therefore, it is not exclusive that immigrants have solely contributed
to the 5% decline in wage payments for low wage jobs. Besides, the implications of immigrants
are solely rested on low wage workers with other segments of the job market experiencing
insignificant shocks from immigrants. Indeed, the high skilled market has not experienced dips
in terms of the wages offered to US citizens based on the proliferation of immigrants. Ideally,
only low skilled locals experience changes in the availability of jobs in the US market based on
the entry of immigrants.
Still, the current regulation has played an important role in safeguarding the wages low
wage workers through minimum wage requirements. Indeed, the US caps the minimum wage
offered to the lowest-earning employee, thereby guaranteeing affordable pay for work rendered
in the country. The emergence of immigrants does not, therefore, reduce the overall wage
structure for low-wage workers because of the implementation of the minimum wage regulations
(Stapleford and Fassett, 2015). In any case, no local citizen would be paid less amounts of wages
below the stipulated minimum wage requirement, even in the presence of immigrants. Besides,
the myth of immigrants flooding the market is based on the false assumption that there exists a
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 5
steady and constant supply of jobs. However, immigrants increase the demand for products and
eventually creating more employment opportunities for both locals and immigrants.
Discussion Six
The concept of payday loans is highly controversial because of the high-interest rates
associated with such products. Even though the loans play a significant role in offering credit to
poor people, they are based on unethical business models that exploit the poor through exorbitant
interest rates. According to Robinson and Robinson (2018), payday loans accrue interest rates of
upwards of 400% per annum, which is significantly higher compared to the average of 22.8% for
typical credit card loans. One of the reasons why payday loans are unethical is because of the
obligation to pay off the loans in the next paycheck, thereby putting borrowers in debt and in a
perpetual cycle of borrowing. The high interest rates on the loans mean that borrowers lose out a
significant percentage of their paychecks, forcing them to keep borrowing to sustain their lives.
Inherently, payday loan interests exploit the borrower by making them work for the lenders.
Besides, the high interest rates on payday loans mean that they are fashioned as debt traps
for borrowers. Borrowers that do not successfully clear their loans are forced to take out new
loans to repay the old ones, thereby putting them in perpetual debt. Lenders of these products
exploit borrowers' naivety and desperation to charge them high fees and maintain their poverty
while guaranteeing profitability for the lenders. The desperation of poor people when taking up
payday loans means that they approach the loans from the point of unfairness (Payne and
Raiborn, 2013). Indeed, their desperation cannot help them in negotiating for interest rates and
instead leaves them exposed to the exploitation of the lenders. In this sense, therefore, lenders do
not serve the primary goal of helping the financial situation of the borrowers but instead worsen
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 6
it by charging exorbitantly high interest rates. Ultimately, payday loan interests serve to punish
poor people for not being able to access lending from conventional financial systems.
Christians should charge lower interest rates to poor people as a duty to God. As
currently framed, payday loans only contribute to an increase in poverty levels through predatory
and exploitative lending. In their desire to maximize profitability, payday lenders encourage
borrowers to keep pushing the loans to the next month to attain liquidity of cash. In the process,
borrowers may find themselves spaying only the interest rates every month for longer durations,
thus increasing the profitability of the lenders. Instead, Christians should endeavor to help the
poor by offering credit at minimal interest rates. The high rates of interest are an impediment to
the attainment of financial freedom by the poor and are therefore immoral and unethical. The
goal of these loans is to keep poor people in a perpetual cycle of borrowing that exploits them in
the end.
Discussion Seven
The video details a conversation between Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas and the
eventual end of their long-running feud. In particular, the video presents the need for forgiveness
and reconciliation in healing people and bringing them closer to God. One of the ideas that are
depicted in the video is the need to use the right words in fostering a culture of reconciliation.
Indeed, maintaining a language that is not offensive to the other person contributes to improved
prospects of forgiveness. In the video, each of the two characters uses their words well to make
sure that they do not offend the other person. Besides, the idea of forgiveness as duty-bound in
Christianity is also prevalent in the video. Indeed, the characters portray the need for forgiveness
as a duty to serving God and providing healing for inner troubles. Through forgiveness, the
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characters portray an inherent desire to live according to the will of God. Finally, the video also
affirms the idea of seeing things from the other person’s perspectives. Indeed, this value is
central to reconciliation as it provides an alternative view of the conflict and helps in
understanding the pain of the other person.
The video provides insights regarding the principle of forgiveness as commanded by God
and not an option. Indeed, God commands us to forgive those who trespass against us juts as we
hope God to forgive us for our transgressions. Also, the Lord’s Prayer acknowledges the
centrality of the commandment of forgiveness, even when the action is difficult. Accordingly,
human beings must offer forgiveness if they hold any hopes of being forgiven by God. Similarly,
the principle of forgiveness as a one-way street is also espoused in the video. Indeed, some of the
reasons why they were not reconciling are because they wanted the other person to initiate
forgiveness first. However, God commands that human beings should forgive their wrongdoers
even when they have not asked for forgiveness.
The video has greatly impacted my life through new insights on the value of forgiveness
and reconciliation. I have learned that misunderstandings and misconceptions built around the
failure to use the other person’s point of view often obscure our journey of forgiveness. In the
future, I hope to practice forgiveness by living according to God’s commandments of forgiving
others even when they have not asked for it. Through this video, I have learned the value of not
abiding by my ego and instead of offering forgiveness regardless of the magnitude of the
wrongdoings and transgressions done by other people. Ultimately, I have learned that the
decision to forgive is not mine but is a commandment from God.
BUSINESS DISCUSSION 8
References
Cook, H., MacKenzie, R., & Forde, C. (2016). HRM and performance: the vulnerability of soft
HRM practices during recession and retrenchment. Human Resource Management
Journal, 26(4), 557-571.
Cook, H., MacKenzie, R., & Forde, C. (2016). HRM and performance: the vulnerability of soft
HRM practices during recession and retrenchment. Human Resource Management
Journal, 26(4), 557-571.
Neumark, D., & Wascher, W. (2017). Minimum Wages and Low-Wage Workers: How Well
Does Reality Match the Rhetoric. Minn. L. Rev., 92, 1296.
Payne, D., & Raiborn, C. (2013). The ethics of payday loan practices. Ethics & Behavior, 23(2),
117-132.
Robinson, C., & Robinson, D. (2018). Ethical Issues Related to Payday Lending. In Payday
Lending in Canada in a Global Context (pp. 129-145). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Stapleford, J. E., & Fassett, D. (2015). Bulls, bears, and golden calves: Applying Christian ethics
in economics
