In his article, Stephen Marche discusses important social problems that profoundly influence the United States. In particular, the author pays much attention to the growing inequalities in the country (Marche 255). This trend can take various forms. In many cases, the social status of individuals is not determined by their talent, productivity, motivation or any other factors over which they have some control. Very often, the income level of parents is the most significant variable that impacts the outcomes of a person.
In turn, it is often difficult for individuals to move to the upper classes of the society. One should keep in mind that for a long time, American cinematographers have tried to highlight the idea that the United States can offer people a chance for success, regardless of their social, ethnic, or racial background (Marche 256). However, this description is not based on evidence.
Additionally, Stephen Marche emphasizes the idea that the American society has the emerging aristocracy or people who are more likely to achieve affluence (257). These individuals are firmly convinced that their status is the result of diligence, talent, or at least luck. Nevertheless, they do not admit that such outcomes can be attributed to the social standing of their parents or relatives. It is also vital to remember about such trends as the increasing unemployment among young people.
Additionally, they do not always have access to high-quality education. As a result, inequalities cannot be eliminated. This discussion presented by the writer indicates that many of the existing social policies are flawed. Overall, these issues should be considered by legislators, public administrators, and policy-makers.
They should find mechanisms that can enable people to break free from poverty. Provided that these challenges are not addressed, the tensions in the American society will only intensify. It is one of the dangers that should not be disregarded.
The comparison of the concepts, keywords, and ideas
It is possible to compare the articles by Stephen Marche, Jeffrey Zaslow, and Lee Rainie. At first, it is important to mention that these authors examine different topics. Lee Rainie and Jeffrey Zaslow discuss the problems encountered by employers who need to adjust to new demographic trends such as the inflow of younger workers.
In particular, Lee Rainie explores different attitudes towards the use of technologies in the workplace. So, it is necessary to create HR mechanisms that can help young individuals to integrate into the companies that are operated by people who have a different set of values (Rainie 232). Overall, this scholar shows that there are significant generational differences that can lead to misunderstanding and conflicts.
However, at the same time, businesses can benefit from this diversity because it enables managers to enrich the skills of the workforce. In turn, Jeffrey Zaslow focuses on the psychological peculiarities of younger people who are more accustomed to praise. This outcome can be explained by the practices of parents and educators. They often become narcissistic, and it is difficult to motivate them. This issue results in significant difficulties for employers (Zaslow 220).
In contrast, Stephen Marche examines a more complex problem. In particular, he discusses the reasons why many people are not able to raise their social status. Admittedly, these researchers discuss the topics that are not closely related to one another. Nevertheless, each of the writers focuses on the way in which young people adjust to existing social norms. Some of these rules can be set by employers while others are determined by the functioning of the existing social institutions.
It is important to remember that the writers use different terms and keywords helping them examine various questions. For instance, Stephen Marche applies such a concept as inequality that can be defined as the disproportional or even unfair distribution of resources and opportunities that are available to the community. Additionally, the writer often applies such a term as class (Marche 255). This notion can be defined as the group of people who have certain common characteristics such as the annual income or educational level.
In addition to that, this scholar uses such a notion as aristocracy or certain privileged individuals who have access to many opportunities, even though they have no qualities that can distinguish them (Marche 257). Among such characteristics, one can distinguish giftedness, motivation, or ambitiousness. In contrast, Jeffrey Zaslow applies various notions related to different disciplines. For instance, he mentions self-esteem, narcissism, praise inflation, and intergenerational communication.
These terms are helpful for explaining the behavior of people who have often been praised by their parents or educators. For instance, one can mention praise inflation or the declining value of rewards given to people. Finally, Lee Rainie employs the notions that are useful for describing the behavior and attitudes of young people who are skilled in the use of computers as well as the Internet.
For instance, it is possible consider such a concept as “digital natives” that applies to people who have been able to use information technologies from a very early age (Rainie, 226).
Apart from that, the article written by this author includes the terms that are necessary for depicting people’s activities in the workplace. For instance, it is possible to consider multi-tasking that can be defined as the ability to perform several tasks almost simultaneously. This comparison can be helpful for discussing the rhetoric of the authors and their arguments.
Overall, this discussion shows that these writers apply terms that originate from different fields of knowledge. For instance, Jeffry Zaslow employs the notions derived from psychology. In turn, Lee Rainie uses the concepts, related to various areas such as HR, psychology, cultural studies, and other scientific disciplines that are useful for analyzing the behavior of younger people in the workplace.
Finally, Stephen Marche relies on the terms derived from sociology because this science incorporates many tools that can help a person describe or analyze the trends influencing the entire community. This analysis indicates that these writers want to address different audiences.
For example, Lee Rainie and Jeffry Zaslow try to help business administrators and HR managers. In turn, Stephen Marche attempts to reach various stakeholders. For instance, one can mention social activists, legislators, and educators. It is one of the details that should not be overlooked.
The categorization of terms and keywords
The notions applied by these authors can be divided into several categories. Much attention should be paid to the following groups:
1) Sociological concepts: aristocracy, class, inequality, sexism, social mobility, racism, intergenerational communication, digital natives, generation, technological literacy, racism, and homophobia.
2) Psychological terms: narcissism, motivation, rewards, the deflation of praise, self-centeredness, positive feedback, and learning styles.
3) The notions that are related to management and human resources: employee retention, multitasking, information management, and workplace discipline.
These terms have been singled out because they help researchers advance their primary arguments. They are needed to depict the behavior of individuals, their attitudes, or typical qualities. In this case, the criterion for the categorization is the scientific discipline from which a concept has been derived. As it has been said before, these notions represent different fields of knowledge such as sociology, psychology, business administration, and HR management.
Admittedly, one can classify these notions according to the themes discussed by the writers. Nevertheless, these topics are not closely related. Therefore, this approach is not entirely suitable. To some degree, this classification presented in this paper suggests that Stephen Marche relies on the sociological perspective to explain his viewpoints. In contrast, Lee Rainie and Jeffry Zaslow adopt a multidisciplinary approach to the key themes that they want to explore.
Conclusion
This discussion shows that while analyzing different sources, a person should pay attention to the central concepts that are applied by the writers. This task is essential for identifying the type of readers who the author wants to reach. Furthermore, it is critical to determine the main messages that the scholar intends to convey.
Overall, one can say that Stephen Marche discusses a problem that has a very broad scope. Moreover, this issue can influence various stakeholders. In contrast, Jeffrey Zaslow, and Lee Rainie examine topics that can be of interest for certain types of audiences such as business administrators and HR professionals. These differences should be considered by the readers of these texts.
Works Cited
Marche, Stephen. “We Are Not All Created Equal: The truth about the American class system.” Identity: A Reader for Writers. Ed. John Scenters-Zapico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 255-258. Print.
Rainie, Lee. “Digital Natives Invade the Workplace.” Identity: A Reader for Writers.
Ed. John Scenters-Zapico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 226-232. Print.
Zaslow, Jeffrey. “The Most Praised Generation Goes to Work.” Identity: A Reader for Writers. Ed. John Scenters-Zapico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 220-226. Print.