Organizational Culture

Chapter five identifies several components of organizational culture including artifacts, stories, rituals, and ceremonies. Think about an organization that you have been a member of or are familiar with, and discuss how organizational culture contributes to people’s sense of membership within that organization. Close by discussing whether the organization actively attempts to shape the organizational culture, as in the examples discussed in class, and what this might accomplish.

I spent the summer after high school graduation working at Dunham’s Department Store located in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. A majority of the time, I was the sidewalk sales clerk. I organized, cleaned, and ran the register at the sidewalk sale. Usually, I was the only employee working outside and so I had to represent the company well. Hundreds of tourists come to Wellsboro everyday, and one of the places to see is Dunham’s Department Store.

Dunham’s was opened in 1905 by the Dunham family and is still open today. Wellsboro is known for its canyon, beautiful trees, gaslights, and antiques. When people come to visit Wellsboro, they often stop at Dunham’s. It is so popular because it is a family owned and run store. Chain stores are sparse in Wellsboro and Dunham’s has its own unique feel and style. It is important that all the employees follow this organizational culture to that it continues its success.

Dunham’s follows a metaphor because it sees its company as a family. The Dunham’s website has one page called “Our Family Serving Yours.” Though the company was started by their family and is still owned and run by the Dunham family, management sees the employees as members of the family as well. Management tries to increase productivity and customer service by relying on this metaphor. Some employees are not always influenced by the metaphor because they have been a part of the “family” for so long. It is only when they are reminded of the “family” unit that they are a part of that their dedication is renewed.

Employees are reminded of the Dunham family metaphor when they participate in rituals. The annual organization-wide party is a ritual that honors its top employees. Awards are given out when employees have been working for the “family” unit for a certain amount of years. For example, a ten-year award or a twenty-year award might be given out. These rituals renew the employees desire to continue working for Dunham’s.

Other daily rituals take place and I was a part of many of them. Early in the morning, the entire staff would meet in the store to help carry out the entire sidewalk sale. Everyone would participate in the carrying of tables and merchandise. During this time, employees talked and relaxed together. It is a time of socialization as well as working together as a team. Birthday celebrations also occurred in the main office. One of the secretaries would bake a cake or cookies and everyone could feel free to help themselves to some of the food throughout the day. All of these rituals helped employees to get to know each other better and work harder for the company.

If there was ever a time that an employee was not feeling motivated or had a negative attitude, they would see Mr. Dunham walking around their attitude would change. Mr. Dunham is the owner of the store and is seen as a hero of the company. He is in his seventies and still comes to work everyday. He is not forced to be a hero in the company. For example, employees do not have to watch a movie about how he founded the store and why you should respect him. Rather, he walks around and talks with all the employees and is very kind to everyone. Employees want to work harder to make Mr. Dunham happy. His family opened the store and he is very determined and driven to keep it running for a long time into the future. Employees see Mr. Dunham as the hero that they do not want to disappoint.

Artifacts are present in Dunham’s and on the employees themselves. The company dress code is business casual, but you must always be appropriate and put together. Sandals and open toed shoes are not allowed. Similarly, appropriate tops and skirt lengths are required for women. Men must wear a shirt and a tie at all times. This dress code enables customers to trust the fashion advice of the well-dressed employee. Artifacts are also present in the layout of the store. The floor plan has been the same for many decades and this shows the long history of the company.

Along with artifacts, performances are a big part of Dunham’s. Employees must be very positive and helpful to the employees at all times. They must have the passion for the work they are doing and try to help them as much as possible. When a new employee is hired, they are slightly out of the social network. This is because the “family” has been around for so long and a new member is hard for some of the employees to get used to. However, performances around the business and through the reassigned rituals, enables the new employees to fit in relatively quickly. The lunchroom is a big part in this integration into the company. Everyone eats together in the lunchroom and it is a time for the new member to learn about other employees and slowly enter into their social network.

Finally, the values of Dunham’s Department Store are very similar to other company values. Employees must be honest in their dealing with money and with management. They must be helpful and positive to the customers and to other employees. An overall positive attitude is required in order for the company to do well and earn money. The management expects all of these values and they are not necessarily outlined for new employees. They may be discussed before a person begins work and if they are not followed, a meeting with management will be required. Overall, Dunham’s bases its values on whatever it takes to make the customer happy and keep the business running.

Dunham’s Department Store does try and shape organizational culture by having certain rituals, metaphors, artifacts, performances, heroes, and values. Without all of these factors influencing the employees, the culture would be extremely different. Management requires things like the types of artifacts that must be worn by employees and working together to form these rituals. Mostly, the owners and managers of the store enforce the family metaphor because they want their store to be seen as a family atmosphere. Employees have created the other parts of the organizational culture over time. They have done so to help socialization between them and encourage teamwork. Overall, Dunham’s management does not heavily enforce rules, values, or regulations. Mostly, they are expected of their employees and negative effects happen when they are not followed. The organizational culture of Dunham’s Department Store is present and strong and will continue into the future.

Please see Dunham's Department Store Links for extra information.

News/ Media

Use concepts from class to discuss a news story or other item shown in the media.



I watched a recent episode of NBC’s The Office and applied relevant organizational communication concepts to what I saw. The episode was titled Fun Run and it originally aired on September 27, 2007. While the plot of this particular episode was humorous and enjoyable, there were plenty of organizational concepts discussed.

The basic plot of the episode was that the company’s boss, Michael Scott, hit an employee with his car in the parking lot. The employee’s injuries were minor but she was hospitalized for a pelvis fracture. Though the injury was not a positive event, the injured woman was able to get a necessary rabies vaccine while she was in the hospital. She needed it because a raccoon and other animals bit her previously. This made the hospitalization not such a bad thing because if she were not hospitalized, she would end up with rabies from the animal bites she experienced.

Some important concepts present in the series, The Office, are informal organizations and teamwork in the office. The entire office dresses business casual when they come to work. Employees look comfortable, while still professional enough for the workplace. The overall environment of the office that they work in is very informal. One reason for this comfort in both their attire and their attitudes is the teamwork that occurs between the entire staff. Michael Scott is the boss of the office though he is always willing to listen to his employees. They work together more as an entire team rather then having a boss with lower level employees. This informality of the office allows for better communication between all of the employees.

In addition to enjoying the causal atmosphere, many of the employees work together on separate committees. For example, in this episode the party planning committee is discussed when all of the office goes to visit the injured worker in the hospital. The party planning committee takes care of all the social events that occur in the office. A party planning committee is very important in the office for many reasons. It allows the employees to enjoy their office more than if they were working all of the time. The short amount of social time encourages worker communication and friendship. When friendships are present in an office environment, the teamwork model works very well.

The show The Office exhibits a workplace democracy as well as an informal work environment. The teams are a part of this democracy. In addition, quality information is distributed to all of the employees. This was evident when Michael first hit the woman in the parking lot and he came inside to tell all of the other employees. Information is shared between everyone in the office. Though Michael is the boss of the office, all of the employees are treated fairly. They seem to focus on having a solid base structure rather then working from the top-down. Also, the employees vote many of the events that happen in the office. This further encourages worker participation and involvement. The Office represents this workplace democracy very well.

Worker relationships are very important in the show as well. A few of the employees are actually dating each other. This allows for a very interesting workplace environment. However, friendly relationships are encouraged for all of the workers. One way that Michael Scott tries to encourage positive relationships is by having mid-day meetings with his employees. If something is not going well in the company, he will sit everyone down to discuss it. In addition, if he is very excited or happy about something else, he will also have a meeting to discuss it. These spontaneous meetings allow all of the employees to be a part of the decisions and activity of the company.

A final noteworthy point in this episode is that Dunder-Mifflin is concerned with its public image. After Michael Scott hit his employee, she ended up in the hospital. Though her pelvis was fine, doctors were concerned about her recent animal bites. They gave her rabies shots and Michael felt the company should support her battle with rabies. He planned a 5K run for all of the employees to participate in with the money going to charity. Though many of the employees decided not to attend the run, he was still interested in the company’s philanthropic endeavors.

This episode of The Office covered many of the topics that have been discussed in Organizational Communication. I believe that the most important points are the company’s informal atmosphere, worker involvement, workplace democracy, and the communication and relationships between employees. The episode was extremely entertaining and humorous and it represented many of the key features of successful companies.



Please refer to the Additional Information label on the right hand side of the screen for links about NBC's The Office.

Organizational Policies and Procedures for Worker Involvement

Discuss the chart on page 238 and draw a line where worker involvement is impractical or improper. Then, discuss your views for establishing participatory and democratic workplaces.

The chart on page 238 of Organizational Communication by Eisenberg, Goodall, and Trethewey shows the empowerment continuum of work teams. The X-axis is the percentage of responsibility and authority of the team and the Y-axis is the degree of empowerment. The greater the percentage of responsibility and authority a team has, the greater the degree of empowerment.

Lower points on the chart are activities such as housekeeping, training one another, quality responsibilities, managing suppliers, and many other tasks. A team of workers can easily accomplish these tasks. A head manager does not need to be in charge of these smaller responsibilities. In addition, there are higher levels of work team responsibility and authority. These tasks are things such as making compensation decisions, disciplinary process, budgeting, and equipment purchase. Some companies allow teams to manage these high responsibility tasks in addition to the lower level responsibility tasks. However, worker involvement is not always the most efficient, fair, or practical way to run a business.

An imaginary line is present on the chart where worker involvement is no longer proper. At a certain point, too much team responsibility makes the company impractical. The division point between team decisions and a boss’s decisions needs to be between vacation scheduling and choosing team leaders. After choosing team leaders, one or two powerful people need to make the decisions rather then an entire team. Having one leader makes for a more efficient workplace.

If all employees of a company were in charge of making disciplinary decisions, imagine how chaotic it would be to have everyone disciplining one of their coworkers. What if everyone was able to make compensation decisions, or buy whatever new equipment they wanted? The company would spend more time having its workers make these decisions then time they were actually working. A manager, supervisor, or boss needs to present to take care of the higher responsibility jobs and allow the teams to make smaller decisions.

The reason that workers cannot always make decisions in the team structure is that when there are lots of people on a team, people work unequal amounts. For example, if there were twenty employees on a team, they would not all put in exactly the same amount of effort into their decisions. A leader that was more dedicated to the company would have to be present to take over the workers that do not want to put in any effort. This is not fair for the entire team.

In addition to workers putting unequal amounts of effort into their job, only one individual should do some tasks. When a boss makes the decision to discipline an employee for their actions, it is simple and does not involve all the employees. It is just more efficient to have one decision maker for the higher levels of responsibility. If workers are afraid that having one boss make important decisions will exclude them from the team worker environment, perhaps the employees could help in other ways. It would be possible for employees to help create the disciplinary handbook or help with the budget in advance. That way when a situation comes up and the boss needs to consult the handbook, or whatever other decisions might be necessary, the employees had helped make those rules.

Workplace democracy focuses on employee participation in decision making for an improved outcome. A company can do this by making everyone an owner, making the management integrated into the workplace, having quality information widely distributed, and making the structure solid from the bottom up. By having these four qualities, worker participation increases as well. However, this is not always a practical way of viewing a company.

When worker participation and worker democracy are the main goal of a company, it leads to inefficiency and the wasting of time. This inefficiency can occur when too many employees are trying to make decisions on the same thing. Sometimes it is better to have a select few, or even one, employee make difficult decisions. This way the other employees can focus on accomplishing other tasks. Another reason that worker participation does not always work is that it looses its appeal. Initially the idea of being completely involved in the decision making process might seem ideal, but over time the spontaneity is gone and workers no longer like the involvement.

Though the idea of worker involvement and a workplace democracy is good, carrying out these plans in an efficient, spontaneous, passionate way is often difficult. The terms worker and involvement and workplace democracy are oftentimes unrealistic goals of a company. A better plan is to have employees help to make the handbooks, vote on new machinery, and work on the budget so that they are involved. After their input and voting occurs, one manager of boss takes care of the details of these ideas. This way everyone can be efficient in his or her own realm of the work environment.

Human Relations and Human Resource Approach

Discuss the differences between the human relations and human resource approaches to management. Pay particular attention to how they approach the issue of worker participation.

The human relations approach differs from early views of management because it considers the needs of individuals. It focuses on the fact that people want to feel unified, part of a team, like they are making a difference, and they are a significant part of life. In addition, the human relations approach believes that creativity and dedication will come naturally when an employee is empowered in the workplace.

Elton Mayo studied humans and their working environments and came up with some definitive observations. He saw that people were part of a group, and not just an individual. People are influenced by the group and do not act according to their own self-interest. Finally, he found that decisions are based on emotions. Throughout his studies he concluded that the environment of work did not matter as much as the human interaction available to the employees. The basis for the Hawthorne effect is that increased attention equals increased productivity. This approach concludes that human relationships allow business to run smoothly. Open communication is honored and any differences are negotiated through negotiation. This is very different from classical management that held very different expectations from its employees.

Classical management thought that a stable company would come from strict adherence to policies and order. Human relations approach encouraged personal happiness through communication. A negative side of classical management is that it is too constraining and employees must participate in thoughtless routinized practices. The downside of human relations is that with encouraged communication comes possible deception and dishonesty. Also, if the employee is not happy, they will not be productive. Both the classical management approach and the human relations approach have positive and negative sides. However, the human relations approach differs from the human resources approach in many ways that will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

The human resources approach is concerned with the “total organizational climate as well as with how an organization can encourage employee participation and dialogue” (Eisenberg, 87). Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs refers to the needs that every human has before they can reach their potential. This means that if someone is satisfied, his or her self-actualization will continue to inspire productivity. However, if basic needs such as food or shelter are not provided, then having these needs will encourage more productivity then initially available. Another way to explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is to discuss them as an upward pointing arrow. At the bottom of the arrow are necessary physiological needs such as food and clothing. After this is safety needs such as shelter, security and employment. Next is love and a sense of belonging, respect from others, and affection. The penultimate need is self-esteem and this includes salary, status, opportunities and responsibilities. Finally, self-actualization will occur. However, not everyone can achieve self-actualization.

Employees such as the maintenance workers or people that remain in very monotonous jobs may not ever achieve self-actualization. This is because they are separated by class and cannot reach their full potential. This is where human resources and human relations approaches differ. Human resources gives people the chance to feel needed and achieve greatness. However, there are still people that cannot get to this level. Contrastingly, in human relations, everyone is able to communicate and express their needs. Every worker can convey their feelings to even though there is division of labor; they are able to remain productive. This is not possible for the human resources approach because some jobs are not designed to express the hierarchy of needs.

The human relations approach and the human resource approach also differ in that human relations is more superficial then human resource. Human relations wants positive and happy employees. It focuses more on the psychological factors and tries to make everyone happy. One example of this would be painting the office walls to be a warmer color. Though it might make the room look better, it's not really going to change an employees opinion about the company. This causes it to be more superficial then the other human resource approach. Human resource approach uses teams rather then a hierarchy approach. The entire organization is questioned and challenged, making it more substantial. Workers tend to be more satified in this approach because their input is used to benefit the company. Participation is increased by rearranging the work structure to be more democratic and focused on worker empowerment. This approach increases worker satisfaction by avoiding the superficial tendencies of the human relations approach. Though the human relations and human resources approaches are very different, but both strive to have workers be as productive as possible.

Elton Mayo

Question #3: Organizational Communication and Classical approaches

Discuss which approach or approaches to Organizational Communication seems most closely connected to the Classical approaches to management and discuss why this is so.

The classical management approaches “are represented by a collection of theories that share the underlying metaphor of organizations modeled after efficient machines” (Eisenberg, 64). This means that all the parts in the organization run smoothly and without any problems, similar to a well-oiled machine. Some factors included in this machine metaphor would be the employees, the tools needed to produce the desired product, and the management all working in harmony.

During the eighteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth century, organizations resembled empires. Positions of power were very evident and the workers relied on the industry to make a living. The workers were the lowest of the empire and the bosses ruled over them. Information was only sent to managers and supervisors, and the workers were controlled by the higher positions. The methods for production also ensured that the workers were passive in the workplace and only did what they were told. Employees felt controlled and began to experience resistance to domination. This is defined as any action on the part of oppressed individuals to lessen the constraints placed on them by those in power.

The Industrial Revolution brought about division of labor and hierarchy in industries. Division of labor is how the tasks are handed out among individuals and hierarchy is the vertical organization of power. However, scientific management was introduced in 1880 to 1920 and this was characterized management as a science. It was based on “clearly defined laws, rules, and principles” (Eisenberg, 72). It was based on planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling of the employees. Everyone did a certain task that enabled products to be created and the company to be successful.

Bureaucracy was the term used to describe these early organizations. It entailed a division of labor, a hierarchy of offices, rules that guided performance, separation of personal life from work life, hiring employees based on technical qualifications, and employment as a career.

Overall, the classical management approach ignores the needs and creativity of the workers. Communication is only needed before the machine is used. An example of this would be communication that explains how to use a certain machine or discussing an employee’s tasks. Communication should not happen during production because it will slow down the process. Communication is only needed in the classical approach when giving orders and enforcing rules. This lack of communication forces a separation of power that can lead to employee unhappiness.

The approaches to Organization Communication are communication as information transfer, communication as transactional process, communication as strategic control, and communication as a balance of creativity and constraint. Communication as information transfer applies to the classical approaches to management because thoughts are transferred from the boss or supervisor to the employee. It is important because it allows for a central route to communicating with the entire system. Information and orders are sent out from a central source which is important. However, it is not the most fitting approach because very little communication happens in the classical approaches. Communication as transactional-process model says that clear communication is not made between senders and receivers. The roles happen at the same time. Information is always flowing between the sender and receiver. This also does not happen in classical approaches because little communication happens between the powerful boss and the employees. Communication as strategic control relates to the classical approaches the most because it is used to control the environment. In this approach, clarity is not always the most important factor in communication. Communication is mostly goal related and in order to reach a certain end, communication is taken as the receiver adapts it in his or her mind. This approach to organizational communication best fits the classical approach because industries are always trying to run like a well-oiled machine. The end is what is important, not the communication or emotions between people. Finally, communication as a balance of creativity and constraint means that people are always trying to figure out a balance between individual creativity and organizational constraint. In an industry that relies on scientific management and the classical approaches to management, there is very little room for creativity. Employees do what they are told and are not able to stray from their orders. This theory does not apply to organizational communication.

Organization communication relies heavily on communication as strategic control in order to have employees perform in the desired way. Messages are sent and received by the employer that tries to accomplish their task in the most efficient way. Creativity is limited and emotions are often disregarded. Classical approaches focus on efficiency and productivity and not the needs of the workers.

Question #2 : Interview

In order to discuss the work experience and organizational structure of a company, I interviewed Jennifer Wentz of Weis Markets. We discussed her career as an architectural draftsperson and I asked questions about her boss, the way Weis Markets runs, and what motivates her to accomplish her work. Throughout the interview I learned a lot about her career and the way her organization is structured. In this post I will describe the organizational theories that correlate with Ms. Wentz’s career and the changes in the organization since she first began at the company.

Weis Markets is a chain of grocery stores with a majority of locations in Pennsylvania. Ms. Wentz’s occupational title is an architectural draftsperson or as it is now considered, a computer aided drafting (CAD) operator. She works in a special building where she and a group of people draft store remodels and new store construction plans. She first began her career with Weis markets fourteen years ago. At this time she was completely in charge of her own project, which she drew by hand from conception of the idea until the completion. Ms. Wentz said that drafting by hand was more of an art and it required artistic skill. Some people were very good at it and others were not. However, the drafting career has changed tremendously since the use of computers.

Currently Ms. Wentz uses her computer to formulate plans. Nothing is drawn by hand anymore and she says that there are very few people that would want to revert to drawing by hand now that computers are so efficient. Instead of the need for artistic abilities, a vast knowledge of computers is needed so that you can put appropriate parts of the plans together. You now need to know what you have to draw as well as how to make the computer do that task in the most efficient way.
Another difference in her job from when she first began is that a CAD operator does not see a project through until its completion. Now the operator lays out the basic floor plan of a store and then sends it to a consultant that does the entire project. Ms. Wentz says does not like this current trend because she then has to go back through the project and check all of the consultant’s work, which she does not enjoy. This brought up the question of productivity and conditions in the workplace.

Ms. Wentz clearly stated that Weis does not treat its workers in an extra caring manner in order to increase productivity. She says that they always want to quickly change store plans and does not give the CAD operators enough time to fix them. In addition, the large workroom used for creating the building plans was separated into small cubicles a few years ago. This means that many people are highly productive and focus on the plan they are supposed to be doing. Opposing this positive point, others use their cubicles to cover up the work they are not doing. Disregarding those that misuse the cubicle, they were created to keep workers focused and productive.

The Weis architectural department has a hierarchy of workers. Hierarchy “refers to the vertical arrangement of power and authority that distinguishes managers from employees.” The architect of the department has to be licensed by the state the building is being built in and is the boss of the department. Then the department is divided into people working on new grocery stores and those working on remodeled stores. Each branch has an overseer. The operators that work in these departments are the lowest in the chain.

Weis Markets follows the human relations approach when dealing with their employees. Though there are no great efforts made to treat their workers exceedingly well, there are some attempts at an employee and boss relationship. When the CAD operators are pressured to redo a drawing at a moment’s notice, the boss advocates for them. He or she knows how long it will take a project to be redrawn, and lets the main boss know. This creates a relationship between he or she and the operators. Though plans are drawn on the computer, it is not a routine task like those that follow the classical management approach. Weis employees are told what to do, but they must also use their knowledge and individual skills to carry out a project. Overall, the attempt to increase worker productivity is superficial, which is a major theme in the human relations approach. Walls that are used to separate employees from each other and to give the office a home-like atmosphere, though Ms. Wentz says it is far from home-like. It is an extremely superficial way of satisfying the employees. The employees do not have a direct say in what goes on in the office like in the human resource approach. Rather, they are expected to increase their productivity because of the office environment, though that is often not the case. However, Ms. Wentz says that when people are not productive, it is their own choice to do so.

After my interview with Ms. Wentz I realize that there are definite strengths and weaknesses in the organizational theories of this chapter. Mainly I see that employees are trying their best to be productive in their careers even though their environments are not always inviting or inspiring. De-skilling a task to be so routine that you need absolutely no skill is not something that would inspire productivity or life happiness out of someone. A job should be interesting to the employee and offer some sort of emotional reward. I feel that Ms. Wentz’s job does offer her satisfaction after designing a project. Even though the environment is not designed for team work or a work place democracy, it is usually a place of productivity. The job technology andn approach has changed since she first began, though it is still something she enjoys.

A Happy Work Life

My ideal work life is one that involves challenges, creative tasks, and a sense of accomplishment at the end of each workday. I would like a job that allows me to think on my own rather than being told what to do in every situation. I want to plan large events and be involved in all of the details that go along with them. It is essential that I follow the craft ideal and work because it is a process of self-development and enjoyment. I want work to be something that I do because I love it and not simply because it earns money. “Work as a duty…has been changing considerably in the last decades,” says Erich Fromm. No longer do people focus on work as a necessary evil. The workplace now has the capacity to excite and fulfill its workers. This is the type of attitude I plan on having towards my work life.

I plan to avoid every form of alienated work by being emotionally connected to my career. If I feel passionate and creatively involved in a project, I will not be alienated from my work. Alienation in the workplace means that everything is set up for you. You have a time and a pace to work at. You are not fulfilled by your work, creativity is limited, and wages represent self worth. Money should not be the only reason for working and if it is, then the worker is alienation from their career. Fromm says, “Work, instead of being an activity satisfying in itself and pleasurable, became a duty and an obsession.” Some people see their job as a duty and a way to earn money. Other individuals put off career enjoyment until they feel they have enough money to leave the alienated job and move to something they actually enjoy. Careers focused on alienation cause the workers to become hostile and lazy. Both of these characteristics do not encourage the type of work life I wish to have.

Jill Fraser discusses alienation in White-Collar Sweatshop and says that “unpleasant working conditions, difficult job demands, and rising career insecurities have combined to make stress the constant companion of many of today’s white-collar men and women.” Workers are no longer doing jobs that they love, but rather carrying stress with them throughout the day because of their jobs. They have less time to unwind because they are working long hours and even weekends. Another problem associated with today’s worker is “job spill.” This means that the concrete lines of work in the past are no longer present. For example, the forty-hour workweek and a lunch break every day. Workers no longer have a work life and a social life; work becomes their entire life.

Fromm and Fraser’s main point is that alienation has taken over the craft ideal in the workplace. People have forgotten that it is possible to have a career that is fun, creative, and challenging in a positive way. I will not waste time in an alienated career. I do not want any form of alienation in my future work life and I will not stay in a job if I see the pattern of alienation becoming prevalent. I want my work life to be challenging and fulfilling, but I do not want it to become a task or something to dread. If this ever happens in my work life, I will find a job that better suits me.



Erich Fromm



Jill Andresky Fraser's Book White- Collor Sweatshop

Erich Fromm, "Worker in an Alienated Society." In Harry Brent and William Lutz (Eds.), Rhetorical Considerations (3rd Ed.), pp.228-232. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Publishers, 1980.

Jill Andresky Fraser, White- Collor Sweatshop. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2001.