Soc 101 Ethnographic Study Examples 2011

Ethnography

The concept studied in this ethnography was minimum wage work. Minimum wage is the

lowest possible wage (whether that be by the hour, daily or monthly) that an employer is legally

allowed to pay his or her employees. Supporters of the establishment of a federal minimum wage

believe and promote that this system aids in the reduction of exploitation and also that it guarantees

workers the ability to provide for themselves, and any family member, the basic necessities needed

for survival (for example food and shelter). However, others argue that the existence of a federal

minimum wage adds to an increased unemployment rate among younger people and unskilled

workers. Minimum wage work is often characterized as “skilled labor” and includes the completion

of unwanted, minuscule tasks. Examples of jobs with government established minimum wage

salaries are the front desk workers at college dormitories, fast food workers, a restaurant

dishwasher, and a gas station attendant. In the United States, the minimum wage has been risen

from $0.75 (in 1950) to $5.15 (in 2005); however, despite that increase, the exact value is actually

lower because as the minimum wage level has been increased by the federal government, the value

of the US dollar has decreased. This loss of value and the significantly high number of people

employed at minimum wage are contributing factors to the continuously increasing level of poverty

in the US, especially because the small income is not a sufficient salary that would provide people

with a substantial lifestyle to live off of. The purpose of this study was to grasp an understanding of

what it is like to hold jobs that are not highly desirable and yet only be paid a small salary for the

work that is done.

Observations for this study were carried out in two different locations; however both were at

a McDonald’s restaurant. The first location I observed is located on High Street and the second is

located in a suburb of Columbus, called Dublin. I chose to observe at these two settings because one

is located near a large college campus and is also very close to the downtown business district of

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Columbus, and the other is located in a developed suburb about 20 minutes away. I thought that

these specific locations would increase my chances of observing a variety of both workers and

customers. Also, I thought it would enhance the quality and overall accuracy of my observations

because the communities surrounding the two locations are so different from each other. When

observing, I chose to do so from a “third person” point of view. I did not interact or socialize with

employees or customers (with the exception of interviews, which were done following my

observation time) because I did not want people’s behaviors to be influenced (positively or

negatively) by an awareness of my observations. When conducting my interviews, I was sure to

remain completely neutral and made the questions broad enough so that they could be individually

subjective and free of influence from my personal opinions.

The two restaurants were very different from each other. The first location was clean, yet

had an industrial-like and sterile atmosphere about it. The walls were a stark white, grey tiles

covered the floors, the booths and tables were a combination of white and grey and the only color

throughout the dining area was randomly placed "McDonalds" logos. Also, unlike the second

McDonalds observed, this one had an indoor play-place for children. I observed at this location on a

Monday afternoon, between 1:00-3:00 pm, and the restaurant was staffed with one manager, two

cashiers, one person working the pick-up window and two other workers. The second location was

almost the opposite, in terms of décor, of the first. Located in the upscale suburb of Dublin, this

McDonalds has a very warm and inviting atmosphere. The walls were painted, there were

multicolored tiles on the floor, nice decorations throughout (fake flowers and photographs, not only

McDonald’s logos) and a fireplace completed the dining room. I conducted my observation on a

Saturday between 11:00am-2:00pm. On this particular weekend, there was a soccer tournament

being held in town, so it was very crowded and the restaurant had one manager, four cashiers, one

person working the pick-up window and three other people working at that time.

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My observations were not very specific because I was interested in the overall

characteristics of people who work at the minimum wage rather than a specific characteristic or

action. The most general observation I noticed was of the way in which the employees interacted

with customers, seen at both locations. I found that the majority of the employees (with the

exception of one at the first location) were polite, well-mannered and willing to help the customers.

Also, the workers at both locations had noticeably different characteristics (physical – race, age,

gender, etc.) and unlike commonly held stereotypes about the type of people who work the

minimum wage jobs, not one characteristic, behavior or action was specific to only one of any of

those three categories. I also observed many circumstances in which employees interacted with one

another. These interactions included a variety of situations; some were a person asking for extra

help or other questions pertaining to work, while others were conversations about non-work related

topics. When asked about the relationships between the employees, one female employee (from the

second location) said that employees interact with each other, such as joking around, because it

helps the time go by faster and the “boring” tasks are not as difficult to get through. She also said

that they are willing to help one another because employees of McDonalds are all a part of the same

“team” and they are there to professionally support one another. Along with teamwork, I also

observed the different jobs assigned. The cashiers had the most personal interaction with customers.

The managers (at both locations) were the “over-lookers” of the front counter (where the orders

were placed by walk-in customers) and at the second location the manager prepared the items for

the pick-up window. Also, at both locations, there were employees who gathered food for eat-in

customers, restocked the condiments station and picked-up around the restaurant. All of the workers

seemed to work well together; however, at the first location the exception was a white male

teenager who did not want to socialize with any other workers and of all the employees observed,

he was by far the least welcoming to customers.

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Aside from the employees, I also observed the ways in which the customers acted. In my

interviews, I asked customers if they had any stereotypes about those who worked in minimum

wage jobs. Their answers were all related to three topics: race (specifically blacks and minority

racial groups, such as Mexican), education (rather lack there of), and motivation (low-paid and

unskilled workers have little or no drive to “make something” of themselves). Despite these

stereotypes expressed in the interviews, I did not observe any obvious forms of rude behavior or

discrimination towards employees. The customers seemed to respond in a manner that reflected the

one in which they were approached with by the employee. Most customers appeared to be in a

hurry, but remained polite and patient. One difference I did notice about the customers at the two

different locations is that at the first location, the customers were more likely to leave trash on the

floor or not tuck-in a chair than those at the second location. At the second location, customers

seemed more aware of and concerned about the mess they were leaving behind.

From my observations, I learned a great deal about the concept of minimum wage work and

how it relates to sociology. McDonalds is a location where employees begin earning minimum

wage (however advancement and salary increases are a possibility) and as gathered from the

interviews, most employees hired are younger, less-educated (some still in school or saving for

further education) and less-skilled than others in our society’s competitive corporate world. From

my interview with a cashier at the first location, I inferred that the job title and salary were not as

important as the luxury of having a job. He also said that everyone has to start somewhere and that

even though he has to make sacrifices to live off of the low salary, he is confident that he is building

his future. Most of the workers consider themselves lucky to have a job; some are using the income

to support themselves and their families while others are working to save for the future. Although

the minimum wage job market does contribute to poverty in the United States, it also enhances the

opportunity for the success of others.

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My observations also shed light on our class’ discussion of the challenges that those with

less educational and economical opportunity face. We studied stratification and this relates to

minimum wage because those typically hired into these jobs (young, less-educated individuals)

oftentimes come from working-class families and as seen within the concept of stratification,

structured ranking (upper, middle, working, poor classes) leads to an unequal balance of

opportunity in society. The two people interviewed at the first location both came from single-

parent families (raised by their mothers) who struggled financially and because of this, their life

chances may not be as fortunate as a child who grew up with both parents in a middle class

environment. Minimum wage work is also characteristic of a capitalist society because McDonalds

is a privately owned corporation and the incentives for working there (based primarily on

information gathered from interviews) is different for each individual, but all are relative to each

other in the sense that the employees took the jobs for economic purposes, specifically as an attempt

to get ahead or, ironically in relation to stereotypes, to “make something” of themselves.

Throughout this study, the working conditions of minimum wage employees were observed.

The physical location of the restaurant, interaction amongst employees and employers, and the

treatment of the workers all play a significant role in the analysis of my observations. In conclusion,

I found that those working a minimum wage job are doing so for personal reasons but in general

terms the job was not taken as a desirable one, but because it offered an opportunity for economic

growth and stability. Although there are stereotypes held about those people working minimum

wage jobs, this observation provides audiences with the opportunity to see that these workers are

not defined by the labor they perform. People working at minimum wage level are taking advantage

of the opportunities available to them to sustain an income and plan for the future.

Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.