Use And Abuse

Business these days seems to be clueless from what I see happening all around me with so many I know.  Its the number one principle in business to earn mega dollars.  The principle that is practiced states the following:  Use And Abuse Your Employees!

Use and abuse your employees for when they have no more left to give, you will expect them to give more while shaming them into not giving enough.

Yes, folks - its the use and abuse your employee principle.  They use their people acting as if they are nothing more than a pen or piece of paper from the supply closet.  When its used, you just get another.

Oh yes, I know that the same businesses will tell their employees how much they value and respect them.  That's what I continually hear from my friends as they complain about burnout to me.  Yet, you know, actions speak louder than words.

I get it and I try to explain to my friends that businesses are only in existence to make money.  People are a commodity.  When the commodity is consumed, they go shopping for a new one.  Of course, if I share that with them, their eyes roll as if daggers are being directed at me.  Hey, I'm just the messenger.  Don't kill the messenger.

Some days I dream of a day when business will treat their employees as something of value to respect, honor, and put their money where there mouth is.  Of course, that's when I'm startled out of my utopian dream.

I think we could improve the world if we just didn't use and abuse employees.  If we cared about them with actions, not mere words and slogans.  You can't burn a person at both ends and expect them to make it in the business forever.

What do I know?  I'm just one that hears all of my friends talking about how the business they work in treats them.  I feel for these people and the greed that the businesses put above all else.  All hail to the Corporations, for they are people too.

Corporations Lack Of Respect

Call me naive, but I believe we are in this world together and we need to begin acting like it.  Whether it is people killing each other or learning to hate one group over another, we're all the same on this thing we call planet earth.  Corporations are no different.

Corporations often show a lack of respect towards the very customers they try to woo into their bottom line.  If corporations are people as the political pundits suggest, then maybe they should start acting human.  I realize that these days, its all about profits and anything to do to bring a dollar into the establishment is what matters, even if the corporations suggest otherwise.

Take for instance, the U2 album on Apple that was pushed on to every device.  Some are angry because this happened and some can't understand those that are angry. Each group is free to feel whatever way they need to, but I think the news media is sensationalizing this issue with hyperbolic words.  While it may be brilliant marketing, it was not thought out well.  Apple treated the iPhone devices as if it was their property that they could do whatever they wanted.  Just imagine if they would have put out a tweet that for a limited time, you could download the U2 album.  Imagine what would have happened.

NO High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

If High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is so healthy, beneficial and good for us as the "corn sweetener industry" would have us believe, why is this ketchup product being sold in the way it is. On the label (see picture with this blog post), it clearly states that there is NO High Fructose Corn Syrup.

If this was such a healthy product for us to consume, wouldn't you think the manufacturer would be highlighting that point? They would not go to all the trouble of making a special label on a specific product that everyone uses to say, "hey our product does not have HFCS in it!"

I applaud Hunts for making a Ketchup product that has no high fructose corn syrup. Maybe by them doing this, it will push the other manufacturers to follow its lead and do the same thing.

We all know that the food industry makes claims of fact when it is nothing but organized branding and marketing campaigns. You can say all you want to about how great HFCS is but in the end, you're only fooling yourself. You can discount all the wisdom out there while pushing your claims of how it isn't really bad for you like you see in the commercials on TV. In the end, you're only fooling yourself.

I get appalled when I go grocery shopping and see just how many products have this sweetener in them when it is a product that should not have sweetener of any type in it. We wonder why diabetes and obesity are problems in this country? Do I need to say more?

In fact, it is difficult to find products these days without all the High Fructose Corn Syrup in them. When we go shopping we read the labels and if possible, we buy products without it. If you begin to read the labels of all the products you buy, you'll quickly see just what some of these corporate manufacturers put in the food we consume.

I hope that consumers in this country wake up to what is pushed upon us by corporations who are just out to make another dollar. Most of these corporations talk a good talk but they don't walk the walk.

It is up to each one of us to open our eyes and become aware of what we consume. Only then can we make the choices that are best for us. Don't just follow what the Corn Sweetener Industry or advertisements try to get you to believe. Be smarter than that and do your own homework.

For more information on this subject, check out a blog post I wrote in June 2010 called, "Agave Nectar, The High Fructose Health Food Fraud".

Become informed because the more you know, the better off you are!



Blog Post & Images (c) 12/13/10 Don Shetterly - use by permission only