Ethnographic Research

Ethnographic Research

Introduction

For my ethnographic research, I have chosen the settings of the restaurant that is situated on the two lower levels of a hostel building which is just two streets away from where I live. I have been there a number of times two spend time with two of my friends who live there.

The main focus of my study is to compare the normal routines, activities and attitudes of the workers of that restaurant when their supervisor, Jessica is present to keep an eye on them and how they behave and act and engage in activities when she is not around. The main idea is to study how their standards of behaviors change when the student managers are in charge instead of the supervisor herself.

Although the main focus of the study is the norms of the workers, but gender roles and hierarchy also play an essential role at that restaurant.

Analysis

The restaurant is small in size and is there to meet food requirements every day for the students over there. There are many kinds of snacks, entrees and drinks that are sold in the restaurant. On entering the restaurant, we see a buffet, behind which, workers stand to serve the food. Where the buffet ends, there is a burrito bar which has all the items that are required to make a sandwich or a burrito. There is another room in which there is a machine so that the customers can get themselves fountain beverages. The soup and salad bars are also in the same room. The restaurant also has a dining room with proper tables and chairs so that the students can enjoy their meals sitting comfortably. The dining room has a glass window through which the students can get a clear view of the campus. In the dining room there is also a table which is placed near the register on which, the workers can sit when ever they are on their breaks. One of the three televisions is also placed near that table. The other two televisions are also there in the dining room. The dining room was the main are which was observed.

The observation that was conducted for this research spanned over a period of four days. In the first three days, the workers were observed in the absence of their supervisor. On the fourth day they were observed in the presence of their supervisor who had just gotten back from a five day leave. The various jobs that the workers have in the restaurant include, four cooks, one floor cleaner, two people as entrée servers, one person for serving pizza, one person as a milk and beverage server, a salad bar runner and eight student managers. Three different managers work in one night.

All of these jobs are distributed between both of the sexes accordingly. The female workers have the kind of jobs that usually revolve around distributing and serving food. For example, the burrito servers and the entrée servers are female ...