í Assignments

Based on Ritzer’s reading, he compares our production, work and consumption to fast food restaurants in the way that they both process. He calls this term “McDonaldization”, which both sides production, work, consumption and fast food restaurants can be compared based on the four key aspects. These four key aspects are efficiency, calculability, predictability and standardization and lastly control. Ritzer explains each of these four aspects and how they could relate the production, work, consumption and the fast food restaurants. The main goal for fast food restaurant is give food to the consumer as fast as they can, as well as decent prices, which is what makes them so reliable and a choice for many people. The way production and work is efficiency is because it requires some type of equipment to cut down time on production or time that it takes to complete the task. The way consumption is the aspect of predictability and standardization is because the work is being made to have a routine and a way to be made so that each time it is identical or close to it. The way production and work is control is by management controlling their workers, making sure they are achieving the task has efficient as possible at time management rather exchange human employees for machines (technology) that will do the same task those employees had. It is again like a fast food restaurant, get the task completed as soon as possible but the job needs to be done well because the faster and better the task gets done the more consumption they will obtain.
The relationship that I see that Ritzer’s work of “McDonaldization” has with the economic rationalization of Max Weber is that both signify that there is a reason behind economy. As for Max Weber, he explains how religion it is being used as a reason to expand capitalism, for Ritzer those four key aspects, efficiency, calculability, predictability and standarlization and control, are what he calls “McDonaldization” which is the reason to expand capitalism as well. Both religion for Weber piece and the McDonaldization are what help capitalism expand because the profit is important as it is the goal. It is ways to get the workers to work harder and achieve more during their job because it will benefit the capital but that is not what it is being told to those workers. The workers are the tools which are very highly needed for both McDonaldization and Economic Rationalization to work.

Due Sunday, November 6th, by midnight. Word count: 400 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. If you paraphrase, make sure to include the proper citation.

Drawing on details from Ritzer’s work, explain what mcdonaldization is and its relationship to the economic rationalization that Max Weber described in his work The Prostestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

This week’s reading, “ In working, Studs Terkel(1972: xxvii) believes that we should all stop thinking about the “ work ethic.” I believed that one should always have a strong work ethic in your field to succeed. I find in his writing this is what he is trying to state, Terkel argues that no matter what type of job you have or performed it should be meaningful to you as a whole in every aspect of your life.
Terkell goes on to give examples of different professions and interviews them about their jobs. They each describe the satisfaction their work gives to them despite the hard physical conditions it may require. I think this is where his connection to ‘’ Human matters” comes into play, and he argues that one should find persuade a career in which will make you happy and not money. As he interviews different fields of the job, he tells stories on how a waitress, is happy serving her customers and feel she does such a great job which fulfills her with such great achievement and gives her the satisfaction to come to work every day.
In my, opion Terkell believes and argues everyone find their calling in which they will find meaning in. He claims that ones the old man left his work and decided to find what he loves he enter the ‘’Human matter” cycle. He was able to find his calling and not feel as guilty for leaving his stable job for something that might not pay good, however as he persuades his passion for his new calling. He finds himself with satisfaction that equals to no money amount the other job ever did. It seems to me that Terkel idea is for human to make a difference in the world.
I feel pursuing my education and career goals. Attending CWE is for me to be able to persuade a career in Early Childhood Education, that each day I will wake up and love to go to work.Of course, there will be days that turn into wanting to run away from the job, but the fact that you have built a career and making a difference is what makes a job become a career. The fact that you enjoy and you are making a difference that gives you satisfaction, that achievement gives you motivates you to be able to keep going with your career.

Toniann German

Soc Ass. #6

This week’s readings related to one another in that they are discussing the relationship between work and education. “Raising the Floor Not just the Ceiling” discusses author Tressie Cottom rebutting against president Barack Obama’s thoughts that for-profit colleges will aid in making education more accessible to the minority population. In this article, Cottom explains that it is not allowing people the same opportunity to become educated, rather than allowing people the same opportunities to earn a wage. Just because someone goes to college does not grantee them a job or the same pay as some of today’s “white workers.” Because there is no federal job guarantee we see Obamas example of how low income kids who have the grades to go to great colleges refuse or settle for less. I believe this is because we are stuck in a world were a degree is required for better pay and yet we “still fall through the cracks of the American Dream.” (Cottom,2014) Cottom is arguing that we must make it fair for those who do not believe in attending college. The “solution that leads to a bigger problem” that Cottom was describing was making college more available by stating that college allows for better opportunity or better pay, when in reality people will be more in debt and unhappy that they had to attend college to work in a field where there is still an unfairness in wage and job opportunities for minorities.

Pual Fains article also backs up Cottom in that for- profit colleges do not truly have the students’ needs at heart. In the “Congressional report slams for-profit colleges” Author Paul Fain states that students who attend for profit colleges are failing. A two-year study showed that associate degree students have a 64% drop out rate. He states that there is in fact a connection from the dropout rates to the amount of money that is used on the student’s education. He argues that most of the money is going to the advertisements for the school rather than helping their students graduate. For profit colleges are supposed to be an alternative for nontraditional students such as day time working adults, however studies show that these colleges are more concerned with gaining money from enrolling students and profiting from their debt.

This connects to “Andrew Ross article High culture and hard labor” in that, for-profit colleges are using their resources to exploit their students rather than provide for them. In Ross article, he discusses how wealthy parts of Abu Dhabi and as well as Dubi are exploiting migrant workers due to their ethnicity and lack of education by having them creating luxury buildings under threat. Ross explains the fast pace construction from the workers on Saadiyat island have many concerned.  After interviewing some of the workers who had been promised decent pay and their recruitment fees paid in full from their employers Ross has discovered that what is written on paper is not in fact true. Most of the workers have had their passports taken away, their homes relocated and downgraded to labor camps, and have not been paid what they were promised. This is in fact occurring on some level here in the states were for profit colleges are not truly helping or providing for their students leaving them in debt and uneducated, there for leaving them open to desperation and unfair wage such as the workers in ross’s article.

Studs Terkel’s interviews numerous people to try to get to the meaning of work. Throughout theses countless interviews he tries to demonstrate that there is more to work than just a means to making a buck. To some individuals, they seem to just go through the motions of working from 9 to 5 from Monday through Friday. As to others they have manage to find some kind of meaning to their jobs. He gives us numerous examples but the ones that I found most profound were the fire fighter and the banker, who he used at the end of the introduction. The Fireman puts his life in danger every time he steps into a burning building, but manages to find a great deal of meaning and satisfaction in what he does. Versus the banker, who sees his job as not having any real worth, he just sees it as working with paper that is not real to him.

Studs Terkel found that some people were looked down and were judged simply because of the jobs that they held. As some individuals need to find some self worth in their jobs and the need to belong to “human community.” They find that they need to give their jobs deeper meaningful names. As janitors, are usually also known as building engineers (1972: XX). Just because they changed the names of their jobs, doesn’t mean that they didn’t like their jobs, they just needed to feel like they belong and worthy of their peers.

As working adults, I’m sure some of us are still striving to find “our dream job”. But what is the perfect “dream job”? It all depends on the individual. I’m sure what I think a “dream job” is, might be totally different to what you feel is the “dream job.” Just like Studs Terkel found in interviewing all the people that he did, as they were all from various walks of life, they all had different perspectives and views on what made work meaningful. I’m sure that most of us have heard time and time again, how teachers are the most unappreciated professionals. But when you speak to a teacher (some anyway), they will tell you how much they love teaching and they find it extremely meaningful. We know that they don’t get paid enough but they tell us, that they are not doing it for the paycheck; they are doing it because they truly love teaching our children.

In the reading by Terkel, we see many examples or stories of different working individuals with jobs that society my have deemed low class or not meaningful. I think it is interesting that when reading this piece, I notice examples of workers in service or labor jobs that have become stuck in the routine of the job thinking that what they do is not important because society has created this hierarchy of what a meaningful job might be. Terkel makes a point to let the reader know that no matter what the job is, if it means something to the individual, the love for that job will carry on even when they are not exactly working or on the clock. That no matter what the job is, one can feel fulfilled or consider what they do for a living meaningful as well as putting food on the table.

Terkel gives a great example of how we have been trained by society to look down upon service jobs when he mentions the waitress who loves what she does but still gets asked why she is just a waitress as if that is not something to be fulfilled by or as if she is “too good” to settle for a waitress job. (terkel xv) I can agree that this is something I have thought about when I see someone has potential or that I find really intelligent, I realize that I have to think about what work means to them and me so that I do not make assumption of someone’s work ethic.

Terkel mentions that one should try to work on improving their lives and should want their children to earn a living with prestigious jobs. As a society, we have been thought to look down on jobs in service (hospitality or labor) so much that we’ve even used different titles to describe the jobs. I totally agree with this because I too have done it myself. Labeling the work title differently just so we do not feel like we are just a receptionist, just a sales person etc.

The idea of having good work ethic seems to be more important than having happiness or feeling fulfilled in the work that we do. Instead of working a job and feeling like a robot like most of us do. I think Terkel is trying to show us that real life matters like actually being happy with the work that we’re doing will give us that feeling of pride whether we are on work duty or not.

In the reading by Studs Terkel (1972:xxvii) he states how work is very important to people and their “human matters” because it allows you to feel accomplished and gives you self value. Although a job may be tough, rough and tiring to achieve, finishing and completing that job or task gives a person a lot of positive emotions within. From my understandings, Studs Terkel believes that those positive emotions that completing a job offers is what “work ethic” should be about and considered. Terkel will like for people to change the views of what “work ethic” is; from being just about making that money to enjoy the emotions you receive by working and completing a task.
Studs Terkel shows through his readings a lot of stories about workers that had different types of labors. In those readings, we could notice that those workers felt proud of the type of job they did and how hard they worked. With the jobs they had they were able to feel accomplished, satisfied and proud of themselves. They were also able to learn day by day more. Terkel wants people to allow themselves to work for meaningful purposes. He states that maybe a job can not satisfy the human spirit of a person but people can turn that around and use their human spirit to make that job into a meaningful work. It is true we all work to gain money, but our priority should be our passion. Work for our passions and integrity and not the gain of money. Doing so will get you discipline and determination to be able to succeed in your career.
In the story of Joe and Susie Haynes, we saw how Joe followed the family tradition to also work at mines. While working at theses mines and being around the land which he learned about, he increased his knowledge in many aspects. Although working at the mines affected his health in many ways, Joe remembers very well all the hard work he did at the mines and everything he learned about the land and the machines. He was also about to notice how other people were about to use their knowledge to buy off land which would increase their money. He shares his story about how he worked for money and so did his father. By doing that he remembers that he did not get to spend time with his dad just like when he began to work, he was mostly at work the entire day.
Overall, Terkel believes that people should not work so hard to just gain money but instead work hard to gain their success and other positive emotions that come with those.

In Working, Studs Terkel argues that our concept of “work ethic” needs to be extracted from our daily banal nationalistic approach in order to sustain life. Those with the means feed on the working class. The separation of class is clearly noted by education, income, and authority. Those who lack the level of education needed are a greater disadvantage when it comes to networking, opportunities, respect and a status of prestige.

The insight given on Mike Lefevre dictates what Terkel is trying to say about work and “human matters”.  Mike works as a laborer, a small part of a grander scaled conveyor belt-like system. He notes that his work serves as a means to ends. It does not satisfy him in the sense of wanting to wake up and do it again. He expresses the need of creditability for his hard labored work. Constructing things with his hands could potentially bring him joy. In a perfect world, everyone could be accountable for themselves and productive. With proper notability even if their work is part of a larger picture. Future work is foreseen by a wave of technology. If you can’t improve yourself, improve your children. He feels the notion of his work is to preserve the future of his kid. He wants his son to be a person who gets the credit, not the small guy that builds the credit for the boss.

Terkel gives the perspective of another worker who gave up his net of stability to pursue his own happiness. In this case, he’s an older man who chooses not to blindly accept the work given, and realized he should do work that he would enjoy. With this new reality in focus, he knew there was no going back. The author suggests this as the ultimate realization and outlook one should acquire, in return, the work will find you. No longer will we have to look for jobs, but just something that consumes our minds and sprouts financial stability.

Personally, this is how I feel towards my education and professional life. I strategically map things out based on my end goal. In my opinion, these paths need to be determined with the wave technology. I never took any joy as being part of a conveyer built; all that mattered was the compensation. It is very much so a means to an ends in my case as well. Which explains why I’m at CWE continuing my education to obtain “happiness”.

When it comes to the idea of work ethic, some may question the value of work and its relationship to ones’ self. I believe that when one thinks of what work ethic should consist of, one should entertain the elements of human life and the fulfillment of work from their own personal values. In other words, the meaning you put behind your work should be one that helps you feel accomplished with the personal values in your life. In Terkel’s piece, I believe this is the point that he makes. No matter how industrious, physical or mundane one’s job can be, Terkel argues that one should look into the idea of how work is meaningful to ones’ self. Once a person finds meaning behind one’s work, Terkel believes that one finds their touch with reality.

He also brings argues the point that once one accepts the idea that work is meaningful, people connect to the “human matters” of jobs. Through various stories and experiences he uses in his writing, he captures the back and forth struggle workers have with their jobs by accomplishing mundane tasks. He continues to argue that while these tasks embody what work contains, the way humans connect to them bring a reality to the work. One quote he uses that I enjoyed and best describes his argument is one that summarizes the overall idea of how work connects to human matters. “Most of us…have jobs that are too small for our spirit. Jobs are not big enough for people.” (1972 xxix) I believe this quote captures the meaning that jobs can never satisfy the human spirit, but it is the human spirit that turns jobs into meaningful work.

In my own experience, I try to distinguish the same principles discussed in the article in my own philosophy of work and life. I believe work is based off one’s core principles and values. In my definition, work embodies the effort one makes in order to fulfill what is required to live and feel accomplished. Jobs are just the medium to find meaningful work. One finds various jobs that are filled with tasks that assist in finding that connection to one’s human reality of feeling fulfillment in their work. From the point they find fulfillment, then the work becomes meaningful and substantive in more ways than a paycheck. That is what brings the human reality into it. When work transforms itself from jobs and into careers that develop human life for one’s self and others.

In the reading “Working “By Studs Terkel I believe what he is trying to state that work is being generated by technology, or better seems as computers, but nothing bring more satisfaction then to have performed physical labor and completed a tangle task. He gives examples of different professions and the satisfaction each feel in the physical job. Not be though that these physical job were short on technology, like factory machines or devices to ease in their labor, but they required a larger physical aspect of performance than those from digital world and computer like jobs. He explains a man work ethic is not based on their age but on its determination and discipline in the capitalistic society. Ralph Helstein explains that work is anything that has value, you should not pursue what is going to make you money but what your passion is, the work that will create that discipline and determination in you to succeed in a capitalist society. Due to the factory like lines of management there is always someone above someone in business today. This keeps everyone accountable for and productive. Society adapts different methods to fulfill this passion and drive, just to be happy and feel satisfaction of hard work.

The story of Bud Freeman relates too what Terkel is communicating about since he discusses what it is like to be a Full-time musician. The discipline, dedication and determination he has only comes from having a passion for the profession. You complete the task and dedicate the appropriate time and research needed to succeed in the career choice. Work is anything value to a citizen’s life. The person places the value on the work by the morals and environment they are living in.

In my opinion, this is how I personally pursue my career and educational life. I am determined, disciplined and dedicated to my goal of achieving success. I view success by the value I have placed on my job. It’s my passion and I perform in a capitalistic manner. I network with clients and contacts so have them view me useful, I administrate worker with some factory line management and pay them according to the time provided and wake up every day with my goal to achieve monetary and valued in my career choice.