Randy Jurado Ertll2013-05-24T16:33:38-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.voces.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=randy-juradoCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Randy Jurado ErtllGood old fashioned elbow grease.Coca-Cola, nuestra salud y el medio ambientetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15853772012-06-10T21:42:09-04:002012-08-10T05:12:07-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/ Inside Coca-Cola: A CEO's Life Story of Building the World's Most Popular Brand (Dentro de Coca-Cola: biografía de un director ejecutivo sobre el desarrollo de la marca más popular del mundo), escrito por Neville Isdell con David Beasle se lee rápidamente.
El libro plantea algunas ideas sobre la dirección de una corporación multinacional y de cómo Coca-Cola aumentó su participación en el mercado en países como Sudáfrica, Filipinas, Alemania y otros países. En última instancia, explica, se convirtió en una de las marcas más dominantes y reconocidas en el mundo.
Pero el libro omite mencionar cómo las corporaciones multinacionales como Coca-Cola en realidad tienen un impacto negativo en la disponibilidad de recursos naturales, especialmente el agua potable, en países en desarrollo, y cómo se han violado los derechos humanos en países como Colombia.
Coca-Cola tiene una historia formidable y un increíble reconocimiento de su nombre, sin importar el país o el idioma. Gracias a que muchos de nosotros nos hemos acostumbrado a tomar una con las comidas, se ha convertido en parte de nuestras vidas cotidianas.
La mayoría de los consumidores no se dan cuenta de que el marketing de Coca-Cola es tan eficaz que hemos dejado de prestar atención a las violaciones ambientales y de derechos humanos de las personas pobres en los países en desarrollo. Tambien el mercadeo es intenso en areas demograficas donde viven minorias de bajos recursos en Estados Unidos.
Isdell promueve la Coca-Cola presentando los aspectos positivos: es su trabajo en la corporación. Le gusta hacer énfasis en que comenzó su carrera en Coca-Cola como conductor de camiones, donde observó y aprendió de empleados de Coca-Cola con experiencia. Por ejemplo, describió a un empleado en particular "Cork condujo el camión durante tres días, inspeccionando las tiendas locales. Era un juego. Los clientes hacían comentarios a Hutch sobre Cork, y Cork recibía información de los clientes y del mercado". Isdell se convirtió en un experto en relaciones humanas y en desarrollar sólidas amistades en todos los niveles.
Isdell aprendió que necesitaba tener un contacto directo con la comunidad y que la meta clave de Coca-Cola era satisfacer a los clientes, lograr buenas utilidades para los accionistas y mantener contentos a los miembros del directorio.
Describe su ascenso en Coca-Cola y cómo le dieron la oportunidad de dirigir Coca-Cola en Filipinas. Se siente orgulloso de que Coca-Cola se convirtiera en la bebida número uno en Filipinas bajo su dirección.
Sin embargo, Isdell tiende a idealizar y hacer que Coca-Cola parezca una gran corporación que se preocupa por los países en desarrollo y sus habitantes. Menciona brevemente cómo ciertos escándalos fueron solucionados legalmente, pero evita profundizar.
Isdell tuvo que admitir en el libro que se llegó a un acuerdo por una demanda judicial en la que se acusaba a Coca-Cola de apoyar y financiar escuadrones de la muerte en Colombia, que asesinaron a activistas de protección del medio ambiente. Es además uno de los motivos por los que Patrick renunció a Coca-Cola.
En realidad es básicamente una bebida llena de azúcar y un estudio reciente realizado por el Centro para la Ciencia en favor del Interés Público señaló que los aditivos del colorante caramelo han contribuido a provocar cáncer en ratones de laboratorio.
Al libro le faltan detalles sobre temas conflictivos relacionados con la disponibilidad y el uso del agua. Isdell lo utilizó como una herramienta promocional de sí mismo y para engrandecer su papel en Coca-Cola, y por lo tanto debemos ser consumidores con conciencia social.
El libro nos ofrece la oportunidad de cuestionar cómo las corporaciones multinacionales afectan negativamente el ambiente y los recursos naturales de los países en desarrollo y cómo los derechos humanos y los derechos laborales muchas veces son ignorados en los países pobres en desarrollo. La mayoría de los consumidores no son conscientes de lo que realmente sucede en las corporaciones multinacionales en relación con los derechos ambientales, los derechos humanos y los derechos laborales.
Algunos países en desarrollo están tan desesperados por obtener inversiones extranjeras que sus gobiernos están dispuestos a hacer la vista gorda a los abusos en cuanto a derechos ambientales, laborales y humanos. Muchas veces, también obtienen ganancias gracias a las alianzas comerciales.
Coca-Cola no debería buscar enormes ganancias a costa de dañar la salud de las personas e ignorar sus derechos humanos y ambientales.
La próxima vez que tomemos una Coca-Cola o veamos un comercial, recordemos a las personas que sufren debido a la avaricia corporativa que no valora ni protege la vida humana en los países en desarrollo.
Randy Jurado Ertll, es el autor del libro Esperanza en Tiempos de Oscuridad: La Experiencia de un Salvadoreno Americano. Web-site: WWW.RANDYJURADOERTLL.COM]]>El movimiento de ocupación debe ser más diversotag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.14421872012-04-20T21:54:53-04:002012-06-20T05:12:02-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/
Exigen un cambio en la forma en que las corporaciones llevan a cabo sus negocios, distribuyen sus exorbitantes ganancias, y también buscan reducir la brecha que existe entre los ricos y las demás personas, entre otros temas.
Los miembros del movimiento señalan que los puestos de trabajo ofrecidos a nivel local cada vez son menos y desean que el gobierno y las corporaciones de EE.UU. generen empleos para la clase pobre y media. Están cansados de que las corporaciones se trasladen a países en vías de desarrollo para aprovechar la mano de obra barata y así obtener más ganancias.
Los manifestantes del movimiento de ocupación han sido descritos como hippies, socialistas, personas enfurecidas, perezosas, drogadictas y desequilibradas.
El hecho es que esas descripciones no son ciertas y por lo contrario, el movimiento capta la atención pública porque sus protestas invitan a analizar la disparidad cada vez mayor en la distribución de la riqueza, que ahora afecta directamente a la población de clase media dominante.
Lo que solía ser la clase media hoy forma parte de la nueva clase de bajos ingresos de EEUU, y vale la pena prestar atención a esto ya que nos encontramos retrocediendo económicamente.
En su publicación del 5 de agosto de 2011 The Economist señala que el "Centro Pew indica que entre 2005 y 2009 el promedio de riqueza en los hogares hispanos (ajustado según la inflación) bajó un 66% - considerablemente peor que el descenso del 53% registrado durante el mismo período en los hogares de afro-americanos, y mucho peor que el descenso, que de todas formas se considera importante, del 16% en los hogares blancos".
Lo que los latinos han sentido durante tantas décadas en los Estados Unidos, se ha expandido a la cultura dominante, la clase media blanca. Muchas veces los latinos han sido dejados de lado, ignorados, golpeados y encarcelados por llevar a cabo manifestaciones en zonas rurales y en grandes ciudades. Algunos ejemplos son las golpizas de los Trabajadores Agrícolas Unidos (UFW en inglés) liderados por Cesar Chávez y La Moratoria Chicana de 1970, donde el conocido periodista Rubén Salazar fue asesinado por un agente del departamento del sheriff.
Hoy día experimentamos una nueva dinámica: la clase media se está convirtiendo en el sector más visible del Movimiento de ocupación. Están denunciando que las clases pobre y media son las que pagan más impuestos, mientras que los ricos obtienen beneficios y no pagan lo que les corresponde. Hemos visto imágenes de los miembros del Movimiento Ocupar mientras son golpeados y arrestados, especialmente el veterano de guerra de Irak, Kayvan Sabehgi, que fue golpeado por la policía de Oakland.
Las imágenes de la televisión también muestran que el movimiento Occupy no está compuesto principalmente de latinos o afro-americanos. Vemos las imágenes de los manifestantes y son predominantemente blancos.
Sin embargo, esto no significa que los latinos y demás minorías no deban unirse a esta causa. Es una gran oportunidad para los miembros más jóvenes de una generación con educación universitaria para participar en un movimiento de justicia social no violento.
Aunque la pregunta es: ¿El movimiento Occupy recibirá y tomará más medidas para reclutar a miembros de minorías? ¿O reflejará las divisiones/la segregación que ha existido entre los estadounidenses blancos y las comunidades de minorías, las que han sido relegadas a vivir en entornos urbanos y suburbanos con altos índices de pobreza?
Los líderes y activistas de la comunidad latina han señalado durante décadas cómo los fenómenos como la discriminación, la disparidad económica y la falta de oportunidades educativas y laborales han creado una subclase en los Estados Unidos.
La mayor parte de la comunidad latina y afroamericana cuenta con un bajo índice de graduados universitarios y pocos se desempeñan en cargos corporativos de poder como para ayudar a generar puestos de trabajo o contratar latinos y afro-americanos para cargos de influencia. Durante generaciones, la balanza de la igualdad no ha mantenido el equilibrio para las minorías, especialmente en lo que respecta a latinos y afroamericanos.
El Movimiento Occupy resulta atractivo pero no refleja la realidad en que los latinos han estado viviendo durante décadas. Los temas que surgen y son cuestionados por este movimiento de clase media blanca forman parte de la realidad cotidiana de los latinos de clase obrera.
Sobrevivir y poder dejar atrás las zonas pobres ha sido un desafío para la mayoría de los latinos nacidos en EE.UU., especialmente dado que muchos inmigrantes se vieron obligados a abandonar sus países de origen debido a las dificultades económicas y políticas. Los inmigrantes latinoamericanos pobres han sido usados y explotados como mano de obra barata, y muchas veces han sido caracterizados como infrahumanos por algunos políticos irresponsables.
Resulta interesante que el Movimiento Occupy haya sustituido de alguna forma la atención que el Movimiento en Defensa de los Derechos de los Inmigrantes recibió hace una década. En la actualidad, algunas de las organizaciones en defensa de los derechos de los inmigrantes latinos y sindicatos laborales decidieron apoyar al Movimiento Occupy.
Pero más de 50 millones de latinos en Estados Unidos no parecen sentirse lo suficientemente atraídos o involucrados con el Movimiento Occupy; quizás no se les está ofreciendo cargos de liderazgo o no se los está invitando a ser parte de dicho movimiento. Además, el Movimiento Occupy no ha convertido la Reforma Inmigratoria en una prioridad o al menos en uno de sus temas principales.
Prestemos atención a la diversidad de los participantes del Movimiento Ocupar, especialmente a los miembros que marcharán al final del Desfile de Rosas de Pasadena el 2 de enero de 2012. El mundo estará observando y verá cuál es su diversidad étnica, ¿será esa la realidad que está surgiendo en EE.UU.?]]>Improve Policies on Police's Use of Lethal Forcetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9975182011-10-07T07:18:12-04:002011-12-07T05:12:01-05:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/
The semiannual report conducted with special counsel Merrick J. Bobb notes that "61% of suspects in state of mind shootings turn out to be unarmed. What troubles us is that African American or Latino youth is more likely to be the subject of a mistaken perception of dangerousness than is a white or Asian person."
The report goes further. "Latinos appear to be significantly overrepresented in shooting incidents in comparison to their overall arrest rates, while white suspects are underrepresented."
Regardless of race or ethnicity, police-related beatings and shootings need to be investigated and monitored more closely. On the heels of the brutal and fatal beating of Kelly Thomas, who was homeless and suffered from schizophrenia, by Fullerton police officers Jay Cicinelli and Manuel Ramos, cities around the country should grapple with this issue. The two officers have been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The case will now go to trial, and the jury will have to decide whether the officers are guilty or not. Let us not forget that it is taxpayer money that pays police officers "to protect and to serve."
We must remind law enforcement to provide suitable services to create safety and trust, not just in affluent areas, but also in poor and middle-class areas. It is a tragedy and an injustice what occurred in Fullerton, a city in Orange County where we would expect that police officers would be more respectful of its citizen civil rights since a majority of police abuse occurs in poor, neglected neighborhoods.
The Fullerton Mayor, City Council, and the chief of police have an obligation to establish an independent citizen's commission that will oversee future police misconduct and to monitor how the Fullerton Police Department treats its citizens.
Kelly Thomas' case may have been ignored if he were not the son of Ron Thomas, a retired Orange County sheriff's deputy. Ron Thomas has led a citywide effort to bring justice to his murdered son. He is persistent and not afraid, especially because he has countless supporters and he knows how our legal system favors the more affluent.
Wealthy individuals and powerful bureaucracies can hire high caliber criminal defense attorneys while the poor usually get sentenced since they cannot afford seasoned, well-known, expensive attorneys. Police officers in departments around the country have used lethal force in many questionable circumstances.
Here are some of the most notorious in the last couple of decades - the ones, at least, that the public is aware of. Many cases go unnoticed or unreported since the families of the victims are afraid to speak up or do not know how to access media attention and political support.
On Jan. 1, 2009, a white transit officer in Oakland shot and killed Oscar Grant, a black man, while he was being subdued on the ground.
Back in 1991, a Salvadoran immigrant was shot by an African-American police officer and rioting occurred for two days in the Mount Pleasant area in Washington, D.C. Lack of bilingual police officers and cultural insensitivity had built up into distrust and antagonism between the community and the police department.
Of course, we cannot forget the savage beating of Rodney King by four white police officers. These officers were acquitted on April 29, 1992, and the community was so outraged that rioting lasted for three days resulting in many deaths and more than $1billion in property damages.
City councils and police oversight commissions must devise clearer and more stringent policies for the use of lethal force.
Let's just hope and pray that these types of shootings can be prevented in the future through the implementation of better tactics to subdue or disarm individuals who pose a clear and present danger to civilians and police officers. Also, police officers should also be trained in how to better communicate and treat individuals who have mental and physical challenges.
The Police Assessment Resource Center says that "the problems we describe can be resolved or substantially ameliorated by further training, strict accountability, and focused attention."
Otherwise, the distrust and disrespect towards police officers will only continue to rise, not just in poor communities, but also in middle-class areas too.
That's the last thing we need.
Randy Jurado Ertll is the executive director of El Centro de Accion Social in Pasadena and the author of the book "Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience" His website is www.randyjuradoertll.com
]]>We Cannot Afford to Continue to Ignore the Issue of Homelessnesstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9601752011-09-15T07:23:03-04:002011-11-15T05:12:01-05:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/
Homeless rates continue to rise in the United States now more than ever due to our severe economic crisis.
In 2009, President Obama was asked about the problem at a press conference. To his credit, he gave a compassionate response.
"Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country," the president said, "is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours."
But today families make up 34 percent of the homeless population, and one in every 50 children is homeless in America, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness.
The homeless are disproportionately black and brown, 43 percent black and 15 percent Hispanic, according to the center. And the faces of the homeless are getting younger, especially among the Latino community.
Many of the Latino parents who end up being homeless do not speak English and sometimes they do not know where to seek aid. Also, some organizations that work on homeless issues do not know how to reach out to them.
For all children, homelessness is especially tragic.
They worry about where they're going to sleep at night.
They worry about their own safety -- and that of their parents.
They often feel ashamed and keep it a secret from their teachers or school administrators. Many have difficulty concentrating on their academics and cannot do their homework under a bridge or in the cramped, smelly, cheap motel rooms where illicit activities are rampant. They move from school district to school district sometimes several times a year, which makes it even harder for them to make the grade.
As taxpayers, we must demand that our government help alleviate this problem.
Instead of just bailing out and saving countless financial, automobile, mortgage, and insurance institutions, our government should also help the homeless children in our midst. Investing in these children would cost a mere fraction of what it's costing us to bail out corporate America. And we have a moral imperative to do so.
Insufficient funding to help homeless children must not be tolerated any longer.
Let's not ignore the homeless issue.
Let's not pretend that homeless children do not exist.
They do. And we're to blame.
Randy Jurado Ertll is the author of the book Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience published by the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. Please visit his web site at WWW.RANDYJURADOERTLL.COM or e-mail him at randyertll@yahoo.com]]>Why African Americans And Latinos Must Get Alongtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9538412011-09-09T07:22:10-04:002011-11-09T05:12:02-05:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/
Both communities face high unemployment rates, high dropout rates, systemic poverty, gang violence, a disproportionate number of prison inmates and continual discrimination.
Some issues that continue to create controversy between the two communities are immigration, job competition, bilingual education and political representation. These are tough issues that we need to address in a respectful and thoughtful manner.
Some African American and Latino leaders have tried to form alliances. But this has proven more difficult than you might think.
Take the big immigrant rights marches over the past decade, for example. The pro-immigrant Latino leadership did not do enough outreach to include a wide representation of African-American leaders and organizations. And few African American leaders and community members participated in this movement. Also, many Latino community members are beginning to resent President Barack Obama since he has not signed into law a comprehensive immigration reform that would benefit nearly 12 million immigrants in the United States.
However, we need to do more to accentuate the history of alliances between African Americans and Latinos. We should stress that Mexicans played an important role in the underground railroad during slavery. Creating a southern route, it is believed that Mexicans enabled an estimated 10,000 escaped slaves to arrive in freedom south of the border. And we should also recall that Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr. were kindred spirits who fought for the civil rights of all disenfranchised communities.
There are negatives, too, that we must examine and cannot afford to ignore. Earl Ofari Hutchinson wrote a book titled The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation Between African-Americans and Hispanics. Hutchinson points out that anti-immigrant rhetoric has, in fact, been part of the African American experience since the 1800s. He also notes how immigrants have been used as scapegoats.
And we all should be sensitive about the words we choose and the claims we make. During the massive pro-immigrant rights marches, some Latino leaders began to say that the immigrant rights movement was the new civil rights movement. This infuriated many African Americans who asked where all the Latinos were during the civil rights struggle and who pointed out that Latinos have benefited from that struggle. It is important to also cite Ernesto Galarza's book titled Barrio Boy where it states that "while the Civil Rights era was - and still is - perceived as an effort for equal opportunity for blacks, a fundamental role was also played by Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos" (Galarza, p. xxi).
The negative bickering must come to an end. Both communities have suffered tremendously, and neither side can deny that fact. We should come together to demand that gang violence be curtailed, dropout rates be reduced, jobs be created for both communities and hate crimes be wiped out.
African Americans and Latinos alike simply want to achieve the American dream: to have a decent education, to have a stable job with benefits, to have the ability to buy a house, a car, and to be able to provide food, shelter and clothing to their children.
We should help each other achieve this dream first by studying and respecting each other's history and culture and then by working together in common cause.
But we cannot continue to blame each other, much less prey on each other. And we should not compete for the title of the country's most victimized minority group. That is a losing game.
Randy Jurado Ertll is the author of "Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience." Please visit his web site at www.randyjuradoertll.com or contact via e-mail at randyertll@yahoo.com]]>Obama Needs to Create Jobs and Reform the Criminal Justice Systemtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9440222011-09-01T08:28:48-04:002011-11-01T05:12:01-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/
Let's not forget that he campaigned on a pledge of change. And a couple of profound changes he could help bring about is reforming our criminal justice system and creating real jobs for our disillusioned and frustrated young adults.
Today, we are warehousing 2.1 million people in jail or prison, more than any other country in the world.
Many are in prison because of the so-called war on drugs, which has been a huge failure and is bankrupting state budgets. "Drug offenders in prison and jails have increased 1,100 percent since 1980," according to the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit prison reform group based in Washington, D.C.
Our criminal justice system is discriminatory, "African-Americans comprise 14 percent of regular drug users, but are 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 56 percent of persons in state prison for drug offenses," according to the Sentencing Project.
"More than 60 percent of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities," the group notes. "For black males in their 20s, one in every eight is in prison or jail on any given day."
Many of these youth were not given the proper opportunities to obtain a quality education and many come from abusive households that have high rates of alcohol and drug use. The great majority of these youth live in poverty, where violence and incarceration is common. Also, they do not have the networking professional opportunities that upper middle class and upper class young adults have. Many also do not have the proper household arrangements where can they concentrate and focus on studying.
Don't get me wrong. I am not defending or justifying criminal acts or making excuses. Individuals who commit crimes need to be held responsible. The concept of personal responsibility must be taught and shared among our youth. We must teach our youth that negative actions will most likely result in negative results. But we, as a society, need to get at the root of solving socio-economic disparities that lead to violence. Our justice system needs to be reexamined and adjusted to meet the current needs of our society.
Obama should prioritize gang prevention and intervention programs that include youth-education and job-creation elements. Such programs can counteract the hopelessness that afflicts so many of our young people of color. We must change the defeatist mentality that says, "I don't give a damn -- I'm going to end up in prison anyway or I'm going to die soon."
Many of these youth have lost motivation and we must restore equitable opportunities for the needs our fellow citizens. Also, our youth must take responsibility in demanding a quality education from their public schools and advocate for equitable distribution of resources from their local city government representatives. Our young adults must be taught key skills such as preparing a resume, understanding student loans, learning how to properly interview, and be willing to seek entry level jobs.
It is essential for President Obama and his administration to build grounds that will truly help create real jobs at the grassroots level. The government funded agencies that supposedly help provide training to obtain jobs is not enough - qualified individuals must be referred to places where they will have a shot of actually getting a job and not just promises. We know the cliché "we will keep your resume on file" and we know that it will most likely get ignored, deleted, or thrown in the trash can.
Obama ran his campaign on change and hope. We know that he promised positive change for our youth and that he is under delivering for the working class families of America. But he still has a long way to accomplish his promises. Our youth deserves to be given the opportunity to grow and be productive members of our society. We cannot stop inspiring and motivating our youth, whether they live in the urban ghettos or suburbs.
To do so effectively, he needs to root out the bias in our criminal justice system and support effective gang and violence prevention programs. And establishing and implementing a plan that truly creates jobs for our youth. Otherwise, the frustrations and hopelessness will continue to grow.
Let us not forget that it is the responsibility of both major political parties, Democrats and Republicans, to create real jobs. A generation of low income young people deserves real opportunities and jobs.
Democrats and Republicans, please stop the blame game, and start creating jobs. America's future depends on it.
Randy Jurado Ertll, author of the book "Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience" (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group). Please visit: www.randyjuradoertll.com
e-mail: randyertll@yahoo.com
]]>Bullying and Incivility Have Become an Epidemictag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9326712011-08-21T22:14:47-04:002011-10-21T05:12:01-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/ Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen L. Carter is a thought provoking book that focuses on why we have lost good manners and respect towards others, and what we need to do to recapture "civility" in our society.
Carter focuses on historical examples and real life scenarios that help illustrate how the United States has evolved from being a young democracy to one that has fallen into utter disregard for respect towards each other. Within the book, the author provides ideas how we can recapture civility, by focusing on our personal actions and treating others with dignity and respect. The key is to stop the vicious cycle of incivility and bullying by not condoning or participating in these types of negative activities.
Stephen L. Carter chose to write about the issue of civility since he has personally witnessed how respectful treatment of others has drastically decreased in our U.S. society. The author is trying to make a point that we have loss civility through real life, historical, and personal examples.
The book's fundamental points are to be civil and respectful towards others, even when they are rude to us. Of course, it is easier said than done. But we must continually strive to be the opposite of negative, disrespectful, and uncivil role models or bosses. Of course, at times, we all fall short in practicing civility.
This book offers some guidance towards analyzing why incivility has become so common in our everyday life. Carter's ultimate goal is for us to put into practice his message of respect and tolerance. The greater message is for us to begin to grasp what civility means and to begin to put it into practice, in our daily lives.
Civility is a topic often forgotten, ignored, and misunderstood in our society. Therefore, even though Carter's book is now over a decade old, it is still relevant and valuable to read. The author's main arguments are true since he uses historical facts and examples to reiterate his thesis that we have loss civility in our interactions with each other.
What I do disagree with him is that he states that various religions have not created or exasperate incivility. In some cases, yes, opposing religious views have created tensions and even violence. He misses an opportunity to mention the European one hundred year war between Protestants and Catholics and the continual conflict between Palestine and Israel.
Overall, it is a good book but it does lack in some areas. This book sublimely, and not directly, talks about social inequities that have led us to become a nation of intolerance and mistreatment of each other. This book does not necessarily make the direct correlation with historical facts that would help explain how we have evolved to become an intolerant nation. However, the truth of the matter is that this nation was established with principles of intolerance, and the author slightly brushes on this topic. He could have gone more in depth to further explore the topic of social, political, and economic inequities that have led to more incivility.
Fortunately, Carter does talk about slavery and how the owners of slaves may have practiced "civility" in their political and economic interactions, but the truth is that in the late 1700s, the United States adopted unjust and inhumane attitudes that African Americans, Native Americans, and other minorities were inherently inferior. Yes, the U.S. Constitution afforded us many rights, which we continue to cherish and value. But it took a Civil War to end slavery, and centuries for women, African Americans, and other minorities to be treated with dignity and respect. The U.S. Constitution had to be amended to allow African Americans and women the right to vote.
What is convincing regarding the book is that our society continues to be rude to one another and Carter successfully uses examples of political debates, campaigns, and the role television plays in denigrating and destroying the reputation of opponents.
The author successfully points out that the Catholic church and other religious entities have tried to provide some moderation or suggestions to television networks - to help focus on civility within their programming contents and visuals. But we know that the television industry is driven by viewer ratings and paid advertising, therefore, they have chosen to not censor themselves and they continue to promote topics and images that perpetuate incivility - through the obsessive promotion of violence and sex in our movies.
This book has now taken on more literary merit since we are in a time of economic crisis and everyone is looking to blame others for our social ills. We have also seen a rise in violent shootings throughout the United States, especially with the recent senseless shooting of a Congressional member and other innocent victims in Arizona. We also continue to see how campaigns purposely choose to use dirty and uncivil tactics to destroy the character of political candidates.
The topic within the civility book must take greater importance in our daily dialogue with others, in order to continue promoting better communication and respect among all. Ultimately, bullying must not be tolerated in our households, school, or workplace.
And yes, the workplace and schools must adopt policies of zero tolerance towards incivility and bullying.
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By Randy Jurado Ertll, author of Hope in Times of Darkness: A Salvadoran American Experience (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group). Web-site: www.randyjuradoertll.com and e-mail, randyertll@yahoo.com]]>The Fall of Blockbuster Video Storestag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9210312011-08-10T23:02:15-04:002011-10-10T05:12:02-04:00Randy Jurado Ertllhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-jurado/Harvard Business Review article "Blockbuster's Former CEO on Sparring with an Activist Shareholder" by John Antioco describes his own, first hand, challenging journey of being Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Blockbuster Corporation.
Antioco resents the fact that Carl Icahn, well known investor, decided in 2005 to buy 10 million shares of stock in Blockbuster to gain control of the corporation. "Expectations of failure were hovering over the company even before I joined in 1997. Most outsiders were convinced that our bricks-and-mortar video retail business would be killed off by market shifts and technological advances," wrote Antioco (Harvard Business Review, p. 39). The primary hypothesis is that Icahn's personal investment interests and greed and selfishness led to the downfall of Blockbuster.
What made Antioco's life hell were Carl Icahn's aggressive and micromanaging tactics in controlling Blockbuster and his willingness to include two additional board members that would do his bidding and support his ideas, not Antioco. When Boards decide to take control of an institution and undermine the CEO, they will most likely fail.
Antioco further writes that "when directors with preconceived notions are determined to serve as obstacles to management's plans, it's hard to find a formula for success. Three years after my departure as CEO, Blockbuster declared bankruptcy" (Harvard Business Review, p. 40). Antioco had extensive experience in turning around businesses that were failing and making them into success and profitable entities. He had management and leadership experience that he obtained in his 20 years of being a top manager at 7-Eleven, he was CEO at Circle K, and PepsiCo hired him as CEO of Taco Bell. Antioco proved to be an effective leader since he did listen to the senior managers and they implemented a new strategy that helped to make Taco Bell a powerhouse in the fast food industry.
Antioco shares a lesson with his readers that you do need to take into account the ideas of your staff and that you have to protect your staff when you are a CEO. Carl Icahn's role and experience in life was being an "activist shareholder" which means that he buys thousands of shares in different corporations and then pulls out his investment to make monumental profits. Icahn could care less if people were laid off or fired in order to save costs. What he really cared about was making money and this case study does illustrate that Antioco's leadership was undermined and questioned by Icahn, who ultimately wanted Antioco to resign, along with other Board members.
Also, changes in technology and the introduction of the DVD did not particularly help Blockbuster to remain competitive. Netflix was ahead of the curve by allowing customers to obtain movies by mail. Antioco was trying to keep Blockbuster financially stable by eliminating late fees of video rentals. "Those moves put Blockbuster back into growth mode" (Harvard Business Review, p. 41). This was a wonderful idea but Icahn and the majority of the Board of Directors did not agree with the elimination of late fees and they wanted them to be brought back. This created further tensions. Especially when Antioco wanted to "spend $200 million to launch Blockbuster Online and another $200 million to eliminate late fees" (Harvard Business Review, p. 42).
These two moves really angered Icahn and he began writing letters to the shareholders to make Antioco look bad and to obtain full control of the company.
"Carl Icahn and his two chosen directors were now on our board of eight. Even though he lacked a majority, sheer force of will gave him a lot of power. Since it could be a formidable task, after a while the other directors were disinclined to pick a fight with him. So within a few months he effectively controlled the board" (Harvard Business Review, p. 42).
Antioco describes how Icahn did not follow protocol in the Board meetings. He spoke his mind and interrupted anyone whenever he wanted. "Having contentious directors was a nightmare; as management, we spent much of our time justifying everything we did" (Harvard Business Review, p. 43). Since Icahn now fully controlled the Board, he would question everything and opposed a lot of the ideas from management, along with the Board members that he had recruited to back him up.
Antioco was also partially to blame since he already received a monumental salary in the tens of millions. Plus he wanted to obtain a lofty bonus through executive compensation. The Board refused. This was the issue that broke the camel's back. Antioco negotiated to leave the company and he stated "we finally agreed that I'd leave the company in July 2007 and would be paid a negotiated bonus plus an exit package. The board environment had become very frustrating and stressful, but instead of resigning and walking away with nothing, I had cut a deal giving me a major portion of the pay I was entitled to" (Harvard Business Review, p. 43).
The Board did choose a new CEO named Jim Keyes, to run Blockbuster. He had great retail experience but he did not have technology marketing experience to help Blockbuster survive the changing times. On September 23, 2010 Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy.
Eventually Antioco cashed out his stocks that he had in Blockbuster and invested in the competition, Netflix.
Many lessons can be deducted from this article review. Antioco was driven by greed and promoted hedge funds. He knew how to pressure to make corporations make profits, increasing the value of shares. The ultimate lesson here is that profits is what drives investors like Icahn and CEO's like Antioco are compensated heftily, while the employees make minimum wage and many times are kept as part timers, in order to avoid providing health care coverage to them.
It is a tragedy that Blockbuster stores are going out of business due to the mismanagement of people like Icahn. Now thousands of people are unemployed and we no longer can continue the tradition of going to Blockbuster videos to rent our favorite movies, to see by ourselves or with our families.
Boards of Directors can definitely make major mistakes and CEO's are ultimately the ones to blame. Antioco is definitely courageous by writing this article in the Harvard Business Review. I applaud his honesty and courage to tell us some of the truth of what led to Blockbuster's fall. Further research can be done to also support how other corporations have fallen due to the personal interests of Board of Directors in making profits for themselves.]]>