Collins: Qualifications TOO High for Some?

After discussing the connection and need for education and skills in the work place in his piece "Functional and Conflict Theories of Educational Stratification", Randall Collins talks about how that, a lot of times, these demands are not possible for some people in society so therefore, leaving these people struggling to get ahead. He calls this the functional approach to stratification. “A fundamental assumption is that there is a generally fixed set of positions, whose various requirements the labor force must satisfy”. It is because of these guidelines that companies have for who they want to hire or promote in their work place that is making it more and more difficult to move up anywhere. As stated in my previous entry, if you don’t have the education or background, people will look at you like you have five heads! In order to move up and forward, that piece of paper really goes a long way! Because of this high demand, it creates a shift in society. As things become more modern and technology becomes more advanced, it forces individuals to scramble to keep up with the constantly changing work place and society as a whole.

Collins then goes on to state the obvious….people get the education and the skills for the profit, money and rewards that come along with advancing and working hard for a company or work force. Years ago, people went to school to learn, people learned to expand their knowledge and minds. Today though…it’s unfortunately all about the Benjamin’s. Money affects how people act and feel about their jobs. I feel like most people don’t even LIKE their jobs which is so sad!!! And what’s worse is that, depending where you stand on the “power level” of a company, you’re expected
to just “satisfy” the needs of the company, as Collins puts it. “that is, setting average levels of performance as satisfactory, and making changes in procedures only when performance falls noticeably below minimum standards”. I think we see this in our jobs today. I hear the sayings constantly at my own work place “well its not my job” “why should I do that” or “just leave it for so and so when they come in on Monday”. It just seems that people work so hard to get to a certain level or position but when it comes time to step it up, people don’t.

As stated before, a lot of people simply just don’t have the resources or money to gain the skills and education that are needed. Many people cannot afford to send their children to good colleges so therefore, the child is stuck with a minimum wage job. I personally have witnessed young Hispanic girls barely graduate high school then go straight to working at the same fast food place with her mother. That girl will grow up not being able to get ahead because she wasn’t given the opportunity to grow and prosper in society and in the work place. Randall Collins states “Cross-sectional studies, based on both biographical and survey data, show that approximately 60 to 70% of the American business elite come from upper-class and upper-middle-class families, and fewer than 15% from working class families”. It’s not about companies being racist and discriminating against minorities, but so many minorities can not even apply for certain jobs because of the high demand for certain skills to even qualify. And although many schools offer financial aid and programs for families and people that do not have the money to provide, these lower class minorities do not know how to go about it! And most likely they will not hear about the opportunities that are offered to them. These goals and expectations to even qualify for certain jobs might make these individuals feel like they don’t even stand a chance; it stops them from getting ahead.

Of course, Collins can not discuss the issue of minorities without bringing up women in the work place. Randall Collins makes many very good points saying that legally women have the same exact rights as a man when it comes to getting a job. However that unfortunately is not always the case. Collins argues that many companies abide by the rules to hire and promote women only to make sure the company does not get a bad name! Many big companies are controlled by men and the last thing they need is a bad wrap about how they did not hire a woman.

So yes, society is growing and changing with the advancing technologies, but not everyone is able to keep up with the changes. A lot of people get left behind unfortunately.