Reference no: EM133301806
Meaningful and Meaningless Work
Case 1: Mariah works as a shift manager at a grocery store. Her job duties are making employee's schedules, overseeing cashiers and assigning them to stations, dealing with any problems or complaints that arise, closing the store at the end of her shift, and double checking cash drawers. She must deal with impatient customers almost every shift; they will often treat her cashiers as invisible or inhuman, and only barely change their tone when she arrives to deal with the situation. Customers often badger her to accept expired coupons and give lower prices on items. She dreams of going back to school, but many cashiers envy her position, pay, and benefits.
Question 1: Use Andrea Veltman's concepts of "meaningful work" and "meaningless work" to decide which one better describes Mariah's job. Answer the question by:
(1) Explaining any needed terms or concepts,
(2) Giving your answer - meaningful or meaningless? If you think neither, say why neither is a good fit. And,
(3) Use facts from the case to support your answer.
Case 2: Dewayne has a career entering raw data and survey results from neurology research into the software programs that high-paid neurologists will use to analyze the data. Dewayne spends his shifts typing endless numbers into statistics software programs, double checking that the numbers he's entered are correct, and confirming in the system that data has been successfully entered. Then the neurologists can begin analyzing the data. Dewayne feels a huge sense of purpose making sure that this important research can be done, even if he's not the one doing the research itself. The neurologists are incredibly thankful for him and thank him in their published research. Dewayne's office walls are covered in photos sent by the neurologists of patients who live better lives because of the research.
Potential Question 2: Use Andrea Veltman's concepts of "meaningful work" and "meaningless" work to decide which one better describes Dewayne's job. Answer the question by:
(1) Explaining any needed terms or concepts,
(2) Giving your answer - meaningful or meaningless? If you think neither, say why neither is a good fit. And,
(3) Use facts from the case to support your answer.