Assignment #10 Part A
Part A
In Elaine Hall’s essay “Doing Gender by Giving ‘Good Service,” she explains the association between gender and organizations by identifying two different models: the gender-in organization and the gendered organization approach. Hall explains that the gender-in organization tends to be gender-neutral organizations that affect men and women differently. This model tends to be a disadvantage for women, as it tends to steer men towards the better jobs. As for the gendered organizations instead of supposing neutrality it directs the worker to their given role. This model tends to breakdown how organizations and workers differentiate gender at work. (Hall 453).
Hall clarifies that the gender-in organization model identifies men and women as different types of workers that give specific meaning to their jobs. She uses the example of the role of a police officer; society tends to see policewomen as less authoritative than the policemen. Their gender is what brings meaning to a neutral setting. As for the Gendered organization model its when specific occupations are viewed as gender specific. Their gender is viewed as an essential part of doing their job and its something that people do with their behavior (Hall 454).
Elaine Hall believes that the gendered organization model has more explanatory power in the restaurant industry because they generally “do” gender by:
- Creating gender divisions, they view restaurant work as women’s work.
- Creating the image of deferential servant, waitresses have to learn to “accept one’s Place”
- Creating the image of women as being sexual objects, they hire attractive young women to attract the opposite sex.
The gendered model that restaurants use specifically allocates men and women to the different jobs that are needed in restaurants and they define the job performances in gender terms. Hall notes that regardless of the type of restaurant, in order for their employees to provide good service they must follow three scripts: Friendliness, subservience and flirting (Hall 465). In their initial training employees are taught to always welcome patrons with a smile, make them feel welcome. Being that women are viewed as friendlier, this is when the gender division comes in. The second script is subservience; in this the customers do differentiate, as they often treat their waitresses as less than and look down on them more so than a waiter. The third scrip is the flirting, this is suggested as the owners see it as essential to keeping the customers interested in coming back to spend their money.
