By Karina Garcia
At the news of the Hostess Brands' liquidation last November, fanatics of Twinkies tried to get hold of the iconic snack. America grew up with the Twinkies. There was nostalgia about the loss since the salient image of Twinkies brought on flashbacks of one's childhood. Although the analysis of the Twinkies craze would be of sociological value, it is more relevant to understand how the Hostess Brands strike "killed" more than just Twinkies. The collapse of the Hostess Brands' system in turn led to disturbances in systems and partnerships in which the company participated. I will specifically discuss how it influenced both the larger economy and individuals within the WIC system.
The Hostess Brands strike, which culminated with the closing of bakeries and liquidation of Twinkies, resulted from the collapse of a company. Former Hostess Brands CEO Gregory F. Rayburn made the following statement: "We deeply regret this decision, but we have repeatedly explained that we will close facilities that are no longer able to produce and deliver products because of a work stoppage — and that we will close the entire company if widespread strikes cripple our business" (foxnews.com). This response can be easily analyzed through the structural functionalist perspective. Structural functionalism’s analogy is an organism. The main premise is that the whole is dependent on the parts’ performance of its functions.
Talcott Parsons constructed the theory of systems. It stated that a system is dependent on meeting the needs of its actors and having actors to maintain the system. Parsons acknowledged four functional imperatives of the action systems: adaptation, goal-attainment, integration, and latency. In the case of the workers, the needs and benefits were threatened by Hostess Brands. Workers were not integrated well into the system. So, it led to the workforce stopping their operations and striking. However, the company was at dire economic situation. It had not been able to adapt to the economic downturn. The company had failed to maintain latency, in other words motivation of its labor force. The strike led to the collapse of the system since the system could not fulfill its production goal without the labor power. Essentially Rayburn burns the labor component of the company system for not fulfilling its purpose and collapsing the system.
Structural functionalism posits that systems are interwoven. The closing of Hostess Brands had negative implications across other systems. Hence, the closing of the Hostess Brands influenced other sectors. For one, layoffs created through the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands added to the unemployment rate. The company was interconnected with the economy since it was a source of stable employment for many workers, who had been contributing with their purchasing power. The second impact relates to the video “WIC recipients hurt by Hostess shutdown, but solution in the works” (http://fox13now.com).The video points out that Hostess produced a whole wheat bread, readily available at multiple stores, which met federal standards for Women, Infant and Children Program. However, the Hostess Brands’ closure meant that a WIC certified product will no longer be available and alternatives. Since Hostess Brands served a supplier of WIC product, its closure affected WIC.
References:
http://fox13now.com/2013/01/03/wic-recipients-hurt-by-hostess-shutdown-but-solution-in-the-works/
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/11/13/twinkies-maker-hostess-closing-3-bakeries-after-strike/
At the news of the Hostess Brands' liquidation last November, fanatics of Twinkies tried to get hold of the iconic snack. America grew up with the Twinkies. There was nostalgia about the loss since the salient image of Twinkies brought on flashbacks of one's childhood. Although the analysis of the Twinkies craze would be of sociological value, it is more relevant to understand how the Hostess Brands strike "killed" more than just Twinkies. The collapse of the Hostess Brands' system in turn led to disturbances in systems and partnerships in which the company participated. I will specifically discuss how it influenced both the larger economy and individuals within the WIC system.
The Hostess Brands strike, which culminated with the closing of bakeries and liquidation of Twinkies, resulted from the collapse of a company. Former Hostess Brands CEO Gregory F. Rayburn made the following statement: "We deeply regret this decision, but we have repeatedly explained that we will close facilities that are no longer able to produce and deliver products because of a work stoppage — and that we will close the entire company if widespread strikes cripple our business" (foxnews.com). This response can be easily analyzed through the structural functionalist perspective. Structural functionalism’s analogy is an organism. The main premise is that the whole is dependent on the parts’ performance of its functions.
Talcott Parsons constructed the theory of systems. It stated that a system is dependent on meeting the needs of its actors and having actors to maintain the system. Parsons acknowledged four functional imperatives of the action systems: adaptation, goal-attainment, integration, and latency. In the case of the workers, the needs and benefits were threatened by Hostess Brands. Workers were not integrated well into the system. So, it led to the workforce stopping their operations and striking. However, the company was at dire economic situation. It had not been able to adapt to the economic downturn. The company had failed to maintain latency, in other words motivation of its labor force. The strike led to the collapse of the system since the system could not fulfill its production goal without the labor power. Essentially Rayburn burns the labor component of the company system for not fulfilling its purpose and collapsing the system.
Structural functionalism posits that systems are interwoven. The closing of Hostess Brands had negative implications across other systems. Hence, the closing of the Hostess Brands influenced other sectors. For one, layoffs created through the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands added to the unemployment rate. The company was interconnected with the economy since it was a source of stable employment for many workers, who had been contributing with their purchasing power. The second impact relates to the video “WIC recipients hurt by Hostess shutdown, but solution in the works” (http://fox13now.com).The video points out that Hostess produced a whole wheat bread, readily available at multiple stores, which met federal standards for Women, Infant and Children Program. However, the Hostess Brands’ closure meant that a WIC certified product will no longer be available and alternatives. Since Hostess Brands served a supplier of WIC product, its closure affected WIC.
References:
http://fox13now.com/2013/01/03/wic-recipients-hurt-by-hostess-shutdown-but-solution-in-the-works/
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/11/13/twinkies-maker-hostess-closing-3-bakeries-after-strike/