Strengths and Weaknesses of the J-1 Program

Functionalism and Documented Workers Over the last several decades, the issue of immigration has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because of challenges about which policies are applied and the impact they are having on documented workers surrounding the J - 1 program. Under these guidelines, the United States will issue a certain amount of visas for work study and training. According the Southern Poverty Law Center; this program issues 130 thousand visas annually. However, those who arrive and work in the U.S.

are often relegated to minimum wage and unskilled positions. This means that they will spend most of their time working vs. learning about American culture. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) To make matters worse, many employers will see these individuals as nothing more than a cheap form of labor. The result is that they will circumvent various regulations in the number hours, working and housing conditions. This is problematic, as it ruins their quality of life and gives these individuals negative perceptions of the nation.

(Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Originally, Congress created the program in 1964 to build cultural understanding and ensure that employers have added options for experiencing their labor force. They did not anticipate that workers would be abused and taken advantage of by large multinational firms. Functionalism is good way of analyzing the system by looking at the underlying state based upon what something does vs. The regulations. This can be used to determine the effectiveness of the J - 1 program through comprehending how it impacts these individuals and their attitudes.

These factors offer a better explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of it on this demographic. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Functionalism and the issue of documented workers at the macro level Functionalism is providing unique insights about the impacts of key shifts in documented workers. This is occurring by carefully examining the long-term influences and the way it affects these individuals. Once this happens, is the point it will provide a better explanation of these shifts.

(Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) The J - 1 program is designed to provide students, trainees and workers from other countries with the ability to work inside the United States and gain experience. These skills can be applied in a domestic capacity or they can take them back to their home countries at some point. This occurs with these individuals utilizing their abilities to enhance production inside domestic firms via lower costs and skilled / unskilled labor.

During distribution, they can help to provide products and services which are geared towards specific demographics and the general public. At the same time, they are improving consumption on their own and meeting the demands of consumers. These areas are important, as they are showing how this kind of immigration is embracing manifest and latent perspectives. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) The basic norms are focusing on supporting key economic systems (i.e. capitalism).

This is when individuals are free to identify critical needs and address them through investing their time and resources. Their primary objectives are to realize a profit off of the products or services they are delivering. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) At the same time, free trade is having an influence on the mindset of documented workers. This is occurring with these individuals being allowed to travel to regions where they can make the most of their skills. In general, proponents will argue how globalization can provide a number of benefits.

This is because it will enable these economies to specialize in specific sectors and become dominate players inside the marketplace. Documented workers are employed in those industries which are most in demand in order to learn invaluable skills during the process. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) However, what they fail to talk about is the negative impacts it will have. In these situations, countries which are more developed will engage in practices that will damage industries that are vital to economic growth.

This is problematic, as these nations have more efficient practices and will often utilize technology to reduce their costs. These benefits enable them to sell their products and services cheaper. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) The result is that key industries are destroyed by increased amounts of trading from these products. This is because free trade agreements require developing countries to eliminate any kind of protective barriers and subsidies to support them. Inside these nations, they are forced to stop providing any kind of assistance to this sector.

Once this happens, is the point cheaper imports are sent to these areas. This will damage their economy, by destroying sectors which are vital to growth. While at the same time, it is forcing them to engage in economic enterprises which may not be beneficial to the country. This is illustrating how the current model for globalization is designed to protect developed countries. In most cases, large multinational corporations are behind these shifts and have pushed these kinds of policies for their own benefit.

For documented workers, this means that they have fewer opportunities in their home countries. The result is that they have to go overseas. Only to be exploited by multinational firms, who have manipulated the system to work in their favor. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) This is a reflection of the American system of values by allowing employers to have greater amounts of latitude. The impact is that these issues will become more pronounced with no one caring about what happens to documented workers.

When this happens, they will often have to work in menial positions from a lack of opportunities available. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) America was influenced by heavy amounts of immigration through its entire history. The result is that the U.S. has become a melting pot of different cultures and traditions. This is impacting the way everyone looks at themselves and who they affiliate with. In general, many groups will often form different sub-societies and communities.

These segments have their own cultural traditions and will often focus on specific areas which embrace select attributes. Moreover, in America there is an emphasis on the importance of the individual vs. that of the group. This means that it is expected for someone to be concerned about their own self-interest. In the case of documented workers, they may not understand these differences and the impacts it is having on them. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) This affects development by helping to address the needs of the country's economic system.

However, it fails to encourage the growth of the individual through forcing them into specific categories based upon negative stereotypes and perceptions. This stigmatizes documented workers by not learning the values, norms, protections and traditions of the U.S. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) The goal of the U.S. economic system is mainly focused on supporting the needs of employers. This means that they will allow in a certain percentage of individuals to work inside specific fields and industries.

As a result, specialization will take place on the individual and subsystem levels. This depends upon: the skills the person has available and their ability to apply them inside these areas. Once this occurs, is the point it will determine the position they have, salary and benefits. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) System Interrelationship Interrelationships are the differences between these systems are based upon the differences between individualism and collectivism. These ideas are illustrating that the American firms are more responsive to the person's needs.

This is because they are considered to be a part of the organization and need to ensure that these objectives are being met. However, when it comes to documented workers, they have negative stereotypes associated with them. Evidence of this can be seen with insights from the Southern Poverty Law Center which said, "Employers are using the program to fill labor needs, transforming a program designed to foster international goodwill into a source of cheap, exploitable labor. For the employers, the program offers a way to cut labor costs.

They do not have to pay payroll taxes for J-1 workers. The savings an employer can realize by not paying an employee's Medicare, Social Security or federal unemployment tax around 8% on its total payroll expenses. J-1 workers often discover the cultural experience they invested in does not exist. They are frequently placed in low-paying jobs with little or no opportunity for cultural exchange. Their experience is dominated by work without the opportunity to enjoy American culture.

This is true even after the State Department, which oversees the program, began requiring sponsors in 2012 to place J-1 students in jobs that ensure they have cultural exchange opportunities on and off the job. From students' experiences, it's clear this cultural exchange requirement too often exists only on paper. When these workers aren't on the job, they are often forced to live in overcrowded housing with other J-1 workers.

They are frequently paid less than the minimum wage after their employer makes excessive deductions for housing, uniforms, transportation and other expenses. Some J-1 workers discover they must work a second job just to survive." This is showing that the American social system is different from foreign countries by benefiting employers over everything else. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Integrative Functions The basic tools that encourage cooperation are the limited amounts of visas which are provided.

This is because foreigners will see the benefits of these programs and think they can apply specific skills later on in their lives. While at the same time, employers realize the cost benefits and ability to use loopholes to their own advantage. In this case, the combination of these interests are used to create a situation where both the individual and employer benefit. However, the reality is that this is not occurring, with these changes becoming more pronounced and negatively impacting the individual's experiences.

(Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Maintenance Functions The needs of the systems are those people who are students, skilled / unskilled workers and anyone who is a part of the J - 1 program. Employers are looking for people that meet these standards in order to reduce their costs and increase productivity. These conflicting interests create a situation where there are challenges in determining the long-term effects based upon the perspective. The result is that these issues will become more pronounced for one group at the expense of the other.

This is what is happening with the J -- 1 program. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Adaptation Functions The U.S. State Department has created new guidelines which are designed to ensure that the interests of workers and students are taken into consideration. However, there is a lack of regulation or enforcement. This is because employers and recruiters will use exemptions to avoid having to show that they are following the highest ethical practices. In this case, the U.S.

government is only concentrating on the needs of employers and special interests over program participants. (Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) Limitations of the theory's application The biggest limitations with functionalism include: the desire to make small changes, supporting the system at all costs and sustaining the needs of specific groups of stakeholders. In all three situations, the theory allows for the J -- 1 program to be ineffective by understanding the root causes of the problem. Once this happens, is when the underlying disparities will continue to become worse.

(Devine, 2014) ("Culture Shock," 2014) To make matters worse, the U.S. government will promote this as a cultural exchange program (versus temporary manual labor). This is creating the misconception that J -- 1 is something which will help these individual to gain invaluable experience in the process. Only to find out later on that there is no culture understanding provided. A good example of this can be seen with one of the recipients saying, "I would never have come had I known the job was.