Teenagers Should Not Work Part Time Early

Teenagers are easy to find jobs in fast food restaurants because fast food restaurants like hiring teenagers, they know that teenagers are easier to control, and they can accept any wage, even the minimum pay, so more teenagers get a part time job in fast food restaurants. They like working in fast food restaurants, the reason is not they like working, it is that they enjoy making money to pay for everything they want by themselves. Because they are easier to get jobs without a lot skills, they don’t think that they need to be educated any more, the result is more teenagers try to get away from schools. Also because of they can find jobs easily, they become to quit their job frequently, and they keeping changing their jobs.

In Schlosser’s article “Behind the Counter” which is in page 79, he states that “As more and more kids work to get their own wheels, fewer participate in after-school sports and activities. They stay at their jobs late into the night, neglect their homework, and come to school exhausted.” Even though some teenager work to help their families, most of them are working for their own lives. Also they spend more time on their jobs, so they can’t focus on their education after long time working because they are “exhausted”. Those teenagers are too young to handle two things well at the same time because it is over their ability, so they have to drop one of them, either their jobs or their education. Most teenagers choose to get out of schools and continue to work because their jobs don’t require them to be skilled.

“Those teens who do work while attending high school often put in long hours; a third or more work at least 20 hours per week. All that work helps pay for gas, trendy shoes and lots of CDs. But can kids do justice to their education while working so much? On one hand, working part time can teach kids valuable general skills -- how to show up on time, follow orders and smile at customers. It can also foster specific skills and employment contacts that lead eventually to full-time jobs. But if work distracts students from their studies, it can undercut the value of their education, potentially costing them more in the long run.” Most students who work part time over time cannot pay more attention on their studies, and the worst result is that they get out of schools over early. “The most sophisticated attempt to sort out these tricky causal issues is being led by Joseph Hotz, and economist at the University of Chicago. His tentative conclusion: The value of education is so great in today’s job market that working during school can hurt students’ future economic prospects by getting in the way of their studies” Recently, these teenagers may enjoy earning money, but they never think about their life in the future. They can be easier to get jobs when they are young, but what about twenty or thirty years later. They will lose job easily within their lower education. On the other hand, teenagers only face low wages within few skills and little experience. Therefore, teenagers should not work part time early because it will lose a lot of things whatever now and then.

Jonathan Marshall, “Value of Teens Working Debated Part-time jobs yield paycheck but maybe no lasting skills.” The San Francisco Chronicle, MONDAY, MAY 19, 1997, FINAL EDITION.

Why Teenagers Only Get Minimum Wage at Fast Food Industry?

Fast-food industry employ a large number of low-wage workers, and pay minimum wage to their workers. Most fast-food workers are teenagers because they don't have any work experience and enough time to get a full time job, and most full time jobs require their workers to be skilled, but most fast-food industry does not require because they are working rely on machines. Therefore, the fast-food restaurants become their only choice which they have to work for. Not only teenagers, the fast-food industry also hire some immigrants without speaking good English, and they only pay the very low wage for these people because they don't have any other choice if they want to get jobs.
According to Eric Schlosser's "Behind the Counter", he explains why dose fast food industry like to hire teenagers, "not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control." Fast food restaurants like to hire teenagers because they are easier to manage than adults, and they can also accept the minimum wage. It is an exactly truth in our society, teenagers always be treated unequally only because of their age and work experience. On the other hand, teenagers accept minimum wage is also because they don't have any stress of their life. Therefore, they never try to resist their empolyers because the fast food industry will be easier to find other people to replace them.

Teenagers are more difficult to get a part time job in China. I had a work experience in a fast food restaurant when I was 17 years old during the summer vacation. I found that so hard to get a part job at that age because most companies did not accept part time jobs except some fast food restaurants, so it is became the only choice I had to work at, but they only pay the minimum wage for the part time jobs. They know that teenagers are difficult to get part time jobs, so we have to accept any wage. These fast food restaurants like hiring teenagers because we are young and have more energy, and we can do more work whatever they require us. Most other co-workers are part-time like me, we had to work more than ten hours per day, and they only paid us for nine hours because the hour without paying was lunch time, but actually we never break for that long time. Everyday we had to arrive there earlier because we had to get everything done before the restaurant opened. I felt very tired everyday, and I did not have any other energy to do other things, so I quit that job after 30 days. I had to finish my homework because the summer vacation was almost finish. This was the first work experience.

McDonald's marketing strategies

The word brand is "a type of product made by a particular, some companies owe their success to brand image," and that makes the tendency of customers to continue buying the same brand which is called brand loyalty, but not a lot of companies can have really done that successfully.

McDonald is one of the biggest companies, and it is also one of the most successful brands in the world. They have their own-brand and really high brand loyalty. There are thousands McDonalds around the world, almost every city of each country has at least one McDonald. Everyone knows the goldern arches represents the McDonald, even the kids. They used their productions to attract people, especially the kids. Almost every child likes McDonald, whatever their food or other related production. According to Schlosser's "Your Trusted Friend", he discusses marketing strategies aimed at children. Marketing to children has become an art-aimed at urging children to persuade their guardians in specific ways to develop their loyal customers. This marketing extends well beyond television ad campaigns and includes playplace, toys, and other promotions. McDonald's wants to become a "Trusted Friend" to all their customers

McDonald's sells everything with their logo to extend their brand. Not only McDonald's, but also every well-known brands use any kinds of measures to extend their brands all over the world. Some brands even combine their brands to enhance their power and influence. McDonald combine the Disney to produce their toys which to be the free gifts with their meals to attract the children. They have their "synergy" to create a more powerful effect than either all by itself. Schlosser states that many of the similarities between the McDonald’s corporation and the Walt Disney Company, and it also reflects the similar paths of the two men who founded these corporate giants. Therefore, these two companies’ "synergy" will be become more powerful.

When I go to the McDonalds, I often see the kids asking their parents to buy the kids meals because the meals come with free toys. They make they toys either for boys or girls, but they don’t sell them, so if kids want to get the toys, they have to buy their meals. Most parents agree to buy the meals to their children because that is not a lot of money to pay for the meals. Kids like there not just because of the food, it is also because of they can make a lot of fun in the McDonald’s. Not a lot of people go there alone, and just a few older people go there to buy food. McDonald’s is the most favorite brand for the small kids. They provide some activities for the kids like birthday party, and they provide the playplace for small children to play, and they can make a lot of fun there. “ Indeed, market has found that children often recognize a brand logo before they can recognize their own name.” That a exact truth for a lot children, such as my little cousin, he can recognize golden arches as McDonald when he just three years old, and he even doesn’t know any words at that age. I don’t even know how he knows that.

I don't like fast food, but I like McDonald's because they also make me happy and comfortable. In McDonal's they have painting walls and ceiling, and everything is colorful, so it is fancy and interesting for most people, especially kids. The companies “brand image” and their marketing strategies have extremely influence to their business. The logo represents their company, and the golden arches represent McDonald's which is the fast-food pioneer of the world.