Destination malls

See page 542.

On page 542 the American Dream Mall was discussed as a ‘Destination mall’ – an experience and destination in its own right. You can find out more about this and other similar malls at:

http://www.americandream.com/
http://www.wem.ca/
https://thedubaimall.com/

 

Disneyfied organizations

See pages 543 of the book.

The following are links to some of the organizations in the chapter which have some aspects of ‘Disneyization’ (Bryman, 2004):

Hard Rock Café: http://www.hardrock.com
Santa Claus Village, Finland: http://www.santaclausvillage.info/
Black Country Living Museum: http://www.bclm.co.uk/

 

Angry caller

Page 551 explains how performing emotional labour can be stressful, particularly having to be pleasant and keep calm in the face of abuse. The link below is a recording of a call where the operator is on the receiving end of considerable abuse and swearing, but maintains his composure throughout. BE WARNED: the recording contains a lot of strong language, and may cause offence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj2oXMdZ4sk   

Having listened to the call, think about the following:

•           What emotional labour does the operator have to perform? Is he doing it well?
•           How stressful do you think the situation is for the operator?
•           How do colleagues help him to cope with the stress of the call?
•           Do you think management have a responsibility to help staff manage the stress of taking calls such as this? How could they do this?
•           Have you worked in a job where you dealt with similar types of abuse? If so, how did you feel about it and deal with it?

 

Sexual commodification of workers

See page 560 of the book.

The President’s Club scandal was presented on page 560 as an example of the sexual commodification of workers. You can read more about it at:

https://www.ft.com/content/075d679e-0033-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/president-club-what-happened-who-went-guestlist-charities-dorchester-hotel-groping-women-men-only-a8175611.html

Hooters was presented in the chapter as an organization singled out for the sexual commodification of its workers.

Hooters themselves talk quite openly about the imagery of the ‘Hooters girl’ on their own website at: http://www.hooters.com

Debate about Hooters and its use of female sexual attractiveness can be found in the following articles:

Bindel, J. (2008) It’s more like a strip club than a restaurant, The Guardian, 11 April 2008. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/11/women.business

Brown, J. (2008) Hooters: over the top, underdressed and over here. The Independent, 12 April 2008. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/hooters-over-the-top-underdressed-and-over-here-808160.html

The Guardian (2010) Feminist activists protest against Hooters in Cardiff, 11 August 2010. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2010/aug/11/cardiff-feminist-network-say-no-to-hooters-campaign-city-centre-protest

Hyde, M. (2008) Buffalo duck wings and a dash of orange tempt Beijing palates, The Guardian, 12 August 2008. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/12/olympics20081

MSNBC (2006) Hooters to change – but not what works, 14 December 2006. Available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16209446/ns/business-us_business/t/hooters-change-not-what-works/#.ULOvZ2f_1M4

Guidance on the boundary between dress codes and sex discrimination has been provided by the UK Government Equalities Office:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dress-codes-and-sex-discrimination-what-you-need-to-know