Critically discuss all three of the following statements in separate sections, each with its own

sub-title.
1. Most people say they like their work: but perhaps they say so because they have to like an
activity that takes up so much of their life. If you could design your ideal job, what would it be
like?
Defining Work may seem easy, but in reality this certainly isnt the case. Keith Grint argues
that work cannot be seen as simply an employment. In fact work can be done by individuals who
are not employed for example housewives, child minding and even car maintenance. 1 Specific
definitions describing exactly the concept of work are hard to find, simply because each and
every one of us has a subjective point of view; just like the phrase ideal job.
The media is one of the greatest influences in todays society, in fact Baudrillard, a contemporary
sociologist, was fascinated by how the media affects our daily perception of reality and the
world. Advertising makes wants become needs, and everyone tries to strive for what one, in his
opinion, needs to have. A job with a good salary is what many young workers consider as ideal.
In fact, Goldthorpe argues that for many workers work is seen as a means of acquiring income
necessary to support a valued life.2 Without any doubt, attitudes towards work have definitely
varied historically from one society to another. Nowadays, employees look at the company
which employs them in a calculative manner. When searching for the ideal job, many are those
who strive to find solidarity among the workers and the management. The mechanical solidarity,
as Durkheim puts it, pertains to traditional workers, and ceases completely in our society. In fact,
organic solidarity takes over where there is a growing need for specialization and differentiation,
and individualism and interdependence keep increasing.

1 Haralambos, M., & Holborn, M. (2004) In M. Haralambos, & M. Holborn, Haralambos and Holborn
Sociology Thems and Perspectives (pp. 618)
2 Goldthorpe, J. H. (1968). The Affluent Worker; Industrial Attitudes and Behaviour Volume 2. CUC (pp. 38).

Satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment are aspects which describe how content the worker
is. The happier people are at their workplace, the more productive they are. How important are
wages when considering satisfaction at work? Although wages are of utmost importance in our
society, they are, certainly, not everything. Karl Marx believed that through work one can
achieve human happiness and fulfilment. By seeing their product used and appreciated by others,
workers satisfy their basic needs which encourage them to work harder. Marx speaks about
alienation, which is what makes a person unable to gain satisfaction when performing his work.
Alienation reaches its highest point in capitalism where workers lose control over the objects
they produce, and become alienated from themselves, and from their own work. Here, as Marx
explains work ceases to become an end in itself, a satisfaction or fulfilment of human needs. It is
simply a means of survival. He sees capitalism as based on self-interest; it is concerned with
increasing the profits rather than the satisfaction of the being. In his opinion, communism is the
only choice workers have in capitalist countries to get away from alienation, and gain their
satisfaction back. This of course is debatable as we have seen most communist countries go
through workers revolt and a collapse of the communist system in most countries it existed.
On the other hand, Stanley Parker suggests that the amount of involvement, and of participation
that workers have at work together with the amount of satisfaction are directly related to leisure.
This can also be considered as a feature which makes a job an ideal one. Thomas Edison says
that, despite working eighteen hours a day, he never did a days work in [his] life [since] it is all
fun.3 Parker, in his studies, analyzed the relationship between work and leisure, and he came up
with three patterns. Firstly, in the extensive pattern work extends to leisure, there is no dividing
line between these two. This is usually the case when there is a high level of autonomy, intrinsic
job satisfaction and involvement in work. Secondly, there is the neutrality pattern, which draws a
fair division between work and leisure. Here leisure hours are longer than the previous one and
this is used for relaxation, and is often family centered. Lastly, in the opposition pattern work is
completely separated from leisure, and this is associated with unskilled manual worker or mining
workers. Although many are those who criticize Parker, it is interesting to note he emphasizes on
the fact that leisure would make a job much more enjoyable, and comfortable to work in.

3
2

People should never say that they like their job simply because they have to spend hours working
there. However this reason should be the one motivating them to work and study harder in their
earlier years, so as to find the ideal job which in their opinion would be perfect for them to have
for their needs, to achieve personal satisfaction, and lastly to engage in leisure.
2. Most employment opportunities today are to be found in the services sector rather than in
manufacturing, and in small rather than in large firms. Loyalty and commitment to the firm are
expected of all employees. Yet, the conditions of employment are still as abusive and
dehumanizing as ever. Is this true? Why (or Why Not)? And what could be done to change this
situation?
The shift from blue-collar to white-collar jobs has been one of the fundamental changes in the
occupational landscape of the labour force. Technological advancement transformed the nature
of the workplace together with the nature and skills expected from workers. The manufacturing
industry becomes more and more involved with technology, and the demand for high valueadded products has increased. Studies which have been conducted by the National Statistics
Office (NSO) indicate that manual workers cover up to 42.2% of the labour force in Malta, and
up to 57.8% are engaged in non-manual work.
This scenario is completely different from Marxs time. His book The Communist Manifesto
speaks about the differences between the ruling class (those who own and dominate the means of
production) and the working class (the workers who, according to Marx, were depicted as being
powerless, and are subject to the lack of power). Their conflicting interest results from the
productive labour done by the workers, and the increasing self-interest of the ruling class who
gain most of the wealth from the products produced. Marx argues that classes are composed of
the exploiter and exploited, the oppressor and the oppressed. At the time Marx was writingemployees were subject to bad and abusive conditions, including low wages. The more exploited
the workers were, the more benefits the ruling classes gained. Although times and society have
changes drastically, employees in several firms and companies are still subject to unfair
treatment. Sandra Carpenter who worked in Wal-Mart for two and a half years says that she
encountered favouritism, discrimination and low wages. They had no respect for the individual,
and when workers tried to speak up to improve their situation, the managers continued to treat
them badly.
3

An interesting American study analyzed 200 professions varying from the levels of skills required
to the salary ranges. It was concluded that risks, low wages, and adverse conditions are what
constitutes the worst jobs in America. Laws in democratic countries have been implemented to
protect employees from conditions which may be life-threatening or which may violate
fundamental human rights. Although, studies have shown that most people do not feel
comfortable speaking to superiors and suggesting improvements, doing so would enhance not
only the condition of the worker, but that of the company too. This does not, necessarily- mean
that all firms and companies expose their employees to bad and abusive treatment. In fact, in
2011, BMW opened a new factory to encourage older workers to remain in their job when they
reach pension age. The new factory which is situated in the town of Dingolfing, Germany, is
characterized by extra back support, better lighting, and an easier pace than factories workers
may have previously experienced. Relaxation rooms and a healthy canteen are also to be
included. This shows that some companies do repay the employees for being loyal, and
committed.
Another study which was conducted by the CNN established a list of the best companies to work
for; SAS, Boston Consulting Group and Wegmans Food Markets were found to be the top three,
respectively. These companies all employ thousands and treats them so well that workers choose
to stay and work harder, and more willfully. SASs manager says that people stay at SAS in
large part because they are happy, but to dig a little deeper, [he] would argue that people dont
leave SAS because they feel regarded -- seen, attended to and cared for. On the other hand,
Wegmans Food Markets is a customer-friendly supermarket which offers good services to all
customers but it also keeps in mind the well being of the workers.
Marxs study neglected the fact that there are more classes, than just the ruling and the working
class. He predicted that the workers would unite and revolt against the capitalists which, would
then lead to the birth of social communism. But this never happened; a classless society with no
conflict does not exist in society. We, all, live in a capitalist society, some are lucky to find the
best companies to employ them, but others are less fortunate therefore they have to do their best
to try and improve their situation by speaking up, and participating in their work place.
3. Maltese management culture is a hybrid, combining the features of a role culture (a legacy of
British colonialism?) with the values of a power culture (a legacy of a macho/Latin culture, plus
4

an outcome of living on a small island?). Social status is derived by both personal and positional
power (These ideas are adapted from Rupert Mifsud, Managing People in Malta, 2003, pp. 3738). Comment on what is it like to be an employee in Malta, including an assessment of relations
with peers, subordinates and superiors.
Symbolic interactionism, as explained by George Herbert Mead, is concerned with explaining
social action in terms of the meaning that individuals give them. Interactionists focus on the
interaction among people by observing symbols in communication and interaction. Observations
in several workplaces, by different interactionists are often carried out to discover how workers
collaborate with each other, so that social action is better understood.
Zammit, a Maltese sociologist, has observed the relation between workers and how this changes
when it comes to workers coming from a different hierarchical position. Social solidarity
amongst workers and peers is, immediately, highlighted in his study and although senior
management considers solidarity to be high, it changes drastically when it comes to other
members holding a higher hierarchical position. Communication and interaction between
managers and workers is minimized in comparison to the fairly strong and regular
communication with members in the same hierarchical position. Another important feature in
our management culture which needs to be noted is how the worker identifies himself in the
workplace. Goffman argues that in larger societies achieving a social status through ones
position at the work place is not easy, especially within a large organization but in the Maltese
scenario senior managers, automatically, assume higher status than ordinary workers in the same
firm.
Rupert Mifsud writes that the paternalist relationship between the management and the
employees is ruined because of the traditional Western management. Planning, Organizing,
Commanding, Coordinating and Control are five key factors established by Henri Fayol, which
exist in every organization to ensure that it is administered and thus operated efficiently.
Although Foyals model remains the main management measure used in our Maltese
management organization, it is actually this paradigm that draws a dividing line between workers
and the management. Since the managers have the duty to plan, organize, command, coordinate
and control, the ordinary workers feel inferior and on the other hand managers assume a higher
status at their work place. Having said this however it is not easy try and identify the exact kind
5

of management in our country. One has to look closely at our historical and geographical
background, without neglecting the current situation since both all great influences on our
management culture.
Maltas colonial history and a local education system which rests explicitly on British textbooks,
means that our management culture is likely to be substantially influenced by British colonial
power but this does not mean that Maltas close geographical position and traditional links with
Latin mainland Europe can been ignored. On the contrary the Maltese cultural variation may be
of Latin origin as Sultana and Baldacchino concluded in their study. In other words, as Handy
explains, the Maltese management culture is likely to have derived from the social power culture
but it is also likely to be effected by the role culture because of the high bureaucratic nature, and
this is where positional power predominates. This is why social status derives from personal and
positional power, because our Maltese cultural system is both influenced by the recent colonial
powers, and the traditional Latin background.
Therefore, Rupert Mifsud rightly concludes that the Maltese Management culture is a hybrid
which comprises the values of our traditional culture together with the contemporary features of
role power. Trying to find to a particular definition for our management style is impossible, and
this is not the case only in Malta, but without any doubt, in many other countries.
_______________________________________________________________________________

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10