The Fast Food Industry

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the workplace issues at fast food restaurants. The paper portrays the realities of low wages and poor motivation of the employees who work at these places. The paper also notes that one of the reasons that workers at fast food restaurants have poor morale is that workplace conditions are typically dirty and poor and too often the emphasis is on speed rather than the safety and quality of the product. The paper also discusses a study where researchers monitored the "frequency of fast food restaurant use" (FFFRU) amongst adolescents and found that FFFRU was directly linked to fat intake.

Outline:
Introduction
Motivational Problems in the Fast Food Industry
Motivational Problems Due to Poor Working Conditions
Low Wages in the Fast Food Industry
What About Those Who Eat at Fast Food Restaurants?

From the Paper:

"Americans spent more in 2001 on fast food than on "books, CDs, newspapers, magazines, and videos combined - about $110 billion," writes Julie Finnin Day in The Christian Science Monitor (Day 2001). "What's more," Day continued in her review of Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, "the golden arches are more universally recognized than the Christian cross." Moreover, Day summarizes Schlosser's focus on how the labor force in the meat processing industry has changed, from skilled, unionized workers a generation ago to today's workforce in fast food restaurants, which is "mostly recent immigrants, many of whom are illiterate and non-unionized." The plight of those who work in the industry that provides chicken, beef, pork and other meats to the fast food industry "has met with public indifference and industry secrecy - largely, Schlosser argues, because of their dark skin color.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Lowest paying occupations in May 2004." U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2006 from http://www.bls.gov.
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Since Last Minimum Wage Increase, Congress Has Reduced Estate Tax Burdens Eight Times." (2006): Retrieved 3 Nov. 2006 fromhttp://www.cbpp.org.
• Day, Julie Finnin. "A salty look at the industry that asks, 'Would you like fries with that?'"The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2006 from http://csmonitor.com.
• Economic Policy Institute. "Facts at a Glance: Minimum Wage." (2006): Retrieved 3 Nov.2006 from http://www.epinet.org/.
• French, S.A., Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Fulkerson, J.A., & Hannan, P. "Fast food Restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices, and Behavioral and psychosocial variables.' International Journal of Obesity 25 (2001): 1823-1833.

More papers on The Fast Food Industry:

• Persuasive Essay # 144456 : "The Impact of the Fast Food Industry"
• Analytical Essay # 144235 : "The Rise and Growth of the Fast Food Industry"
• Persuasive Essay # 148174 : "The Perils of the Fast Food Industry"
• Research Paper # 102866 : "The Fast Food Industry in the US and Beyond"

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