Woody Guthrie still musically relevant

Woody Guthrie

Carol Forsloff -  An Indie film called "Hobo with a Shotgun," shows an angry man with a shotgun as its message, but the contemporary hobo is neither a romantic hero nor sadistic bum but likely your neighbor's son or the street person of Guthrie's "Hobo's Lullaby." Woody Guthrie, music troubadour of the Great Depression remains musically relevant.

Even as the economic downturn that took the country down from 2008 to a slow recovery, it left thousands of ordinary young men without work.  Many still struggle to find full-time jobs.  The recovery has been long and lasting even longer for certain people whose work has either been down-sized or diminished as technology has replaced many jobs.

Young adults still live with their parents, as many did in the Depression years.  During that time young men rode the rails in search of work or just to find a place to call home.  Woody Guthrie identified with these stresses and wrote about them as he too rode the rails, writing and singing and continuing to express the feelings of his generation.

But this generation might also find themselves in the words and music of a man whose own personal miseries might be seen as reflecting those of others who still sit around campfires, but these on the outside of cities, as some hold signs looking for work.  

Still with commercial travel and train routes reduced but with ridership increased, the opportunities for catching a ride on the rails is not like it was in those days the Great Depression depicts as part of the lifestyle.  These days young people are more apt to find their ways to that somewhere better by car, hitchhiking along the road or finding a willing trucker to take them along for the ride.

But the modern hobo has a language and culture, in many ways different than the past.  At the same time the notion of banding in a brotherhood of sorts still remains.  Gizmodo tells us there is even a hobo code, with symbols  sent by electronic means about places to use wireless communication or find free fuel for cars.  The Modern Hobo Code  is said to have been put together by Rob Cockerham.

The Modern Hobo Code is defined by its creators as "a system of symbols drawn to aid one's fellow vagabonds and make life on the streets a bit more comfortable. The only trouble is that it didn't really take modern technologies into consideration much—until now.

The new "e-way" of communication allows young hobos to learn where jobs are, places to stay, and what areas to avoid, as opposed to the old methods of networks by rumors and stories that advanced the life as desirable with all its adventures and fun.  The life of the hobo of history meant having a trade to get by, a talent to sell, and a network of people who could provide work in exchange for some money or food.  According to hobo history,  many of the 500 or so a day hobos prior to World War II entered the service, got the G.I. bill and became settled in towns and cities across the country.  They were often aided by rural folk, many of whom had family members who took to survival by riding the rails.

The life was harsh, the independence, however, part of the narrative too:

"I be Hobo, I be FREE

So the love of freedom and the wonder or wanderlust of the Hobo as led them to explore the places the rest of the world did not go and often did not want to go, but also help them to understand real freedom.

"I did no justice to the Hobo, and I am just a traveler without a home. I appreciate their free spirit, but also understand the loneliness, and possibly the life of a Hobo with no future. There are lot of Hoboes in the world that neither can return to their homes, do not remember how to return home, and when they do return, find they must leave for the road calls, and they only feel complete when they are traveling."

Today's hobo is a different sort, a young person who gets caught up in drugs, human trafficking and living in cities where police and the populace move the street folks along, in some areas violently.  The average homeless person is now a child with an average age of nine, many of whom grow up without stability and get lost on the streets.  Others take to the streets because there is nothing else, according to a Stanford study in 2003, and get involved in drugs or become victims of human trafficking schemes.

The present-day hobo is not the same as great grandfather was years ago, but likely a lost and lonely young man and woman with simply nowhere else to go but the roads and the streets of our cities.  He or she, or the child you see, is the hobo of Arlo Guthrie's lullaby.  Arlo Guthrie is the son of Woody Guthrie, whose music painted a picture of America's plight, as Arlo Guthrie's song "Hobo's Lullaby" captures it still, a reflection of his father's musical relevance.

Toxic workplaces delay economic recovery

 

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Carol Forsloff - Lack of accountability and a toxic workplace can take its toll not only on a given company but can create an environment where system wide there are problems, as toxic workplaces can become contagious, infect other companies and impede economic recovery.

What people in mediation and arbitration say is that people in organizations are rarely oblivious to the undercurrents present in

their workplace. In other words, they know what’s going on and in the same way
that children sense what is happening in families even when parents believe
that they have managed to hide the tensions, employees are very adept at
reading the energy and atmosphere in their workplaces. And they recognize
toxicity, dysfunction and lack of credibility within organizations and their
leadership.


Human beings have a very well developed sense of what is right and wrong, and
while there may be times when they choose to ignore this, a situation where
blame is deflected and unhealthy behaviors of gossip and intimidation are
rampant can cause problems not just for the particular company involved but the
organizational culture as a whole, experts in mediation tell us.

There is much talk these days about the need to create
‘healthy workplaces’. And certainly research supports the fact that employees
are more productive when they are happy and feel safe.


Ruth Sirman of CanMediate.com tells us, that in spite of the talk about healthy
workplaces, “ as human beings we seem to have an amazing capacity to create
negative and dysfunctional working environments; and often leaders seem
oblivious to the ripple effect and impact their choices have throughout their
organizations.”


What is that ripple effect?

Sirman says, “In any organization whenever someone is ‘let
go’ in a questionable way or where employees sense a level of cover-up or lack
of fairness, it can trigger a chain reaction of feelings such as “if it could
happen once (to them), then it could happen again - to me!” and “if this is
going on what else is going on?” ultimately leaving employees with a sense that
this is not a ‘safe’ place to work – and the guard goes up.


If I as an employee perceive that this is not a safe place to be and in
particular not a safe place to make mistakes (or fail), then I will take steps
to protect myself. Consequently a culture of wariness and risk aversion
typically sets in and pervades the atmosphere of the workplace leading to
people literally or at least figuratively looking over their shoulder and
making choices that are perceived to be safer and less likely to bring me to
the notice of the decision makers.


What does that mean for the organization?


“When the organizational culture becomes wary, risk averse and self-protective,
the impact on the organizations ability to thrive is huge,” explains
Sirman.  “ The most successful
organizations out there who can thrive in continually changing economic and
political climates are those which are flexible, robust and dynamic. They have
organizational cultures that are built on creativity, accountability (NOT
blame) and solid relationships that support the ability to adapt through solid,
dynamic, creative responses to the challenges confronting them.


When the culture if perceived to be based on blame-storming (ie finger-pointing
and scape-goating) the first things that get lost are openness and creativity.
If I feel the need to protect myself, I will choose carefully what ideas I put
out to the group, what decisions I make and what level of responsibility I am
willing to assume. Protection becomes more important than contribution, and the
organization suffers.”


The biggest problems have to do with blame and accountability and not knowing
the impact of these issues on the interaction of the workers and the workers to
service and products. Sirman tells us, “Blame is me telling you that you made a
mistake. Accountability is when I step up and take responsibility for my
actions and acknowledge that I made a mistake. There is a huge difference
between the two. Both typically have consequences: in blame they are generally
punitive in nature. In accountability they are more typically fair and
reasonable.


However accountability will not happen without a perceived level of safety and
fairness – and that must include any consequences that happen as a result of
someone being accountable. As young children we learned that if we are ‘to
blame’ for something the punishment that follows is likely going to hurt in
some way. So typically we stopped owning up to what we did… and learned to lie,
deflect, deny, and avoid whenever possible.


Denial, deflection and finger-pointing continue when a toxic and dysfunctional
organizational culture is allowed to flourish according to Sirman.

“ Can it be changed? Absolutely - but as Albert Einstein
said "You can't solve a problem with the same mindset that created
it". There would need to be a willingness on the part of leadership in to
find a better way, “Sirman reminds us, as she outlines how difficult it is for
people at the top to want to find that better way.

It is the willingness to take that first step that can make
a difference in ending toxicity in government and industry, which is
detrimental to economic recovery on every level.  An unhealthy workplace can be contagious and
create problems system wide so that blame is not only within an organization
but outside it as well.  As Sirman
explains, one company making a change at the top, with the recognition that it
is not only the company but the system itself that can be helped with

accountability.

Nielsen survey finds a world of difference in economic recovery

 

NEW YORK - WWN - Carol Forsloff --Citizens around the world are looking at the economic recovery somewhat differently, with Latin America having reasonable consumer confidence levels and North America stumbling.

Global consumer confidence cautiously edged up one index point to 93 in the second quarter as confidence increases in booming Asian markets were offset by European consumers’ growing concerns of an escalating debt crisis, which battered confidence levels in Spain, Italy and France, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index. 

In the United States Consumer confidence rose two points in the U.S. in Q2 to 87, where the world’s largest economy continued on course for a slow, but steady climb out of the recession. Consumer Confidence Index levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.  So what does this mean?

“While the global economy is in better shape than it was nine months ago, ( 7 index points compared to Q3 2009), the ongoing European debt crisis is a major setback to the global economic recovery anticipated this year,” said Dr. Venkatesh Bala, Chief Economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of The Nielsen Company. 

“U.S. consumers closely watched unemployment numbers, while Europeans witnessed the government implement new and in some cases, severe fiscal austerity measures amid stagnant job markets and a weakening Euro. Consumers in Western developed economies realized that the road to full economic recovery is going to take a bit longer than expected. In the ongoing weak-to-moderate growth environment, there is some risk for businesses of deflationary pressure, requiring close attention to improving pricing power through more effective deployment of media, innovation and channel marketing efforts.”

“In the U.S., consumers are still focused on repairing their household balance sheets with 45 percent allotting any remaining income (once they have covered their essential living expenses) to savings and paying off debt (37 percent),” said James Russo, Vice President, Global Consumer Insights at The Nielsen Company. “Until the labor market shows continuous improvement, consumer spending will not be sustainable.”

Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Index tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among approximately 27,000 Internet users in 48 countries. In the latest surveys that took place between May 10 and May 26, 2010, consumer confidence fell in nine out of 24 European markets.  The only other markets with this response were Australia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Brazil and Egypt.

What Nielsen also found was a widening disparity between developing and emerging markets with India scoring relatively high while Spain plummeted to its lowest level on record.

“In Asia, major economies are experiencing growth headwinds in the form of higher inflation and asset price declines. While overall growth in China, India and elsewhere in Asia will still be strong, some slowdown can be expected as governments and central banks tighten monetary and fiscal policy. Businesses therefore need to exercise more prudence in their resource allocation within Asia,” said Dr. Bala.

Globally, 58 percent of people—the same number as in the previous quarter—said they are still in recession with a disparity in recovery sentiment widening between developed and emerging markets. 

The breakdown of perception included thirty-nine percent of Asia Pacific consumers and 51 percent of Latin Americans said they are still in recession compared to 84 percent of North Americans and 76 percent of Europeans. Among those in recession, one in five (21 percent) global consumers thinks the recession will last another year. However, this number increases among North Americans where nearly one in four (24 percent) believes the recession will linger for more than 12 months.

“For most of 2010, the U.S. has seen improvement in the job and housing markets supporting the increases in U.S. consumer confidence, but consumers are still very much focused on value and they continue to reduce their overall shopping trips,” said Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer & Shopper Insights, The Nielsen Company. 

He went on to explain why this is: “Retailers and manufacturers have responded with heightened promotional support and lower prices providing consumers with great deals. However, even with enhanced prices, consumer-packaged goods dollar and unit sales have declined in the latest three consecutive 4-week periods versus year ago.”

Regionally, consumer confidence steadily climbed three index points in Latin America, two index points in Asia Pacific and North America and one index point in Europe. Latin America topped regional consumer confidence levels at 102 index points, followed by Asia Pacific (101 index points), and Middle East, Africa, Pakistan (MEAP) with 89 index points.

 In North America, consumer confidence reached 88 index points, while Europe lagged behind as the least confident region at 79 index points.

The debt crisis in Europe is underlined as the reason for the uncertainty reversing in most European markets. 

Despite what is going on in the rest of Europe, however, Germany, the region’s largest economy, posted a welcomed rebound with an increase of seven index points up to 81 from 74 index points in Q1, the highest increase in the region. In the second quarter, newly confident Germans began to open their wallets again and were among the world’s top 10 discretionary spenders on clothes and out-of-home entertainment. In fact, the German job market showed a rather robust upward trend and possible sign that consumers now believe that the worst has passed. 

The ten most optimistic nations in this past quarter came from Asia and all these markets posted consumer confidence increases quarter-on-quarter. 

“The enormous rise in optimism seen in the latest survey has taken ‘cautious’ out of Vietnam’s previous footing of ‘cautious optimism’,” said Darin Williams, Managing Director, Nielsen Vietnam “Vietnamese consumers are ready to spend, with new technology being the focus for many after they have paid for essential living expenses.”

Forty-seven percent of respondents in Vietnam stated they would spend excess cash on new technology, which was the highest percentage in Asia.  The statistics also showed strong interest in spending in other areas of the economy. 

“Financial product awareness and intent to use is also rising dramatically as banks and insurance companies have increased their advertising and Vietnamese have more spare cash on their hands,” Williams added. 

“While positive shopping basket trends in Mexico and Colombia show a slow reactivation in consumption, the population is still concerned about economic and job prospects,” said Felipe Urdaneta, Managing Director, Nielsen Colombia.

Denmark ( 5), Switzerland ( 5), South Africa ( 4) and the Netherlands ( 3) also posted consumer confidence increases. For Denmark, the rise is a welcomed change for a country that has shown a steady decline, although the Danish market continues to be volatile and vulnerable.

Canada continues to best the United States in consumer confidence.

The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey provides insights into current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and the major concerns of consumers across the globe.  These results show public confidence in the economy is highly related to what is going on in a specific region, despite the interrelationships that seemed to bring financial woes originally.