As I was reading Nickel and Dimed, I couldn't help but wonder how I would act if I had to live in the situations that Ehrenreich is living in. What do you think you would do? How would you handle being a maid and having to clean up after others? Would you try to change the way things were done? Challenge the process perhaps? How about standing up for others like Ehrenreich did with Holly? Think about if your job is worth changing how things were handled. Do you think it’s a risk to take if it would cause you to get fired?
The question of ethics comes into how Ehrenreich is conducting her research. Do you think that by living in the manner that she is and being so secretive to others is ethical? How would you feel if you found out someone you worked with was doing what Ehrenreich was doing? Would you do the same thing she is in order to find out more? Is there any other way her research could be conducted? Think about how things would differ if she was truthful to her employers and her fellow employees.
There is fine line to saying what you would do in a situation and what would actually really happen. If i were living the way that Barbara was living i think i would follow the rules and do what i was told. In her situation there is no room for error because there are many people looking for jobs. I would probably stand up for someone if there were seriously hurt on a job and help split there work. i would follow the golden rule of treating others the way that you want to be treated. there is a point in time where one does have to do things for themselves but also people in the same situation need to work together. all the maids that Barbara works with are in the same or worse situation and so if they help each other than they won't feel as lonely in the world. I would only stand up for someone if i knew i was not going to get fired. I think that right now since i am not in that situation it sounds self-conceeded not to say that you would help someone even if you don't get fired but it is sometimes survival of the fittest especially for the lower class. Barbara is able to live a little bit more on the edge and play with the idea of being fired because it does not mean anything to her in the long run.
ReplyDeleteOverall Barbara's research would probably not have recieved the results that it did if she had not gone undercover. There is a lot of debate about the ethics of her research but it did not harm anyone. she did not use really names or places so that no one in particular was divulged. I personally do not think that it hurt anyone in the book to have their story told. if anything it probably helped to have the story and the facts seen in writing for the world to see. I personally don't really care who the actual people that were used were name i care that the situation that they are living in needs to change. After reading this book i find myself wanting to know what can i do to help. Hopefully others find themselves asking what else they can do as well.
If I was in Ehrenreich's position I am sure that most of my energy would be spent in just trying to get by, let alone organize a strike. I think Ehrenreich was mistaken in being so brazen with her employers. She knew that her position was temporary. If she had to work with Ted day in and day out, I am sure she would be more like her coworkers. It really bothered me when she was trying to organize a group to join a union at Wal-Mart and then just ditched them. Also, I believe her pro-union campaign broke the rules of observation. Her job was to merely participate and record, not alter or incite. Also, when trying to stick up for Holly, she was more insulting than helpful; although what Ehrenreich said was the truth (I find myself wavering when trying to take a stance on the ethics of Holly's case). While I do not condone her efforts as a researcher, I do believe it was morally correct to try and improve working conditions and wages.
ReplyDeleteEhrenreich was correct to keep her journalistic intent secret from her coworkers and definitely her superiors. Her experience would not be as accurate if people knew she would be writing about them. It would be impossible to be a participant while others viewed her as an outsider.
If I was living in the same situation as Barbara, I think I would follow all the rules and do what I am supposed to do. Getting a job is hard enough and so many people want them, so with just one mistake you could be fired. I think I would do what I am told no matter how bad it is in any situation. I wouldn’t challenge the process that things need to be done, because they are made a certain way for a reason. I think that is something serious happened to another worker, I would definitely stand up for them even if it meant that I could lose my job. I would not want to work in a place that treated me that way. Living in this environment would be difficult to survive with such little money, but at the end of the day, a person would feel so much better about standing up for someone. I personally would stand up because it’s the right thing to do and that’s how I have grown up. I think it would be harder for other people to stand up for someone who is hurt because they need that job to survive. Many people in this situation have a hard time living on this money and if becoming fired is a possibility, they probably would not risk it.
ReplyDeleteI think the way Barbara did this experiment is the only way that could have worked. If people knew what she was doing, they would act differently. This way might not be completely ethical, but it had to be done this way. People could lie and not tell the truth if they knew that she was undercover. By being undercover she was able to get truth out of the other employees and see how things really are for them. For this experiment that she did, knowing the truth about this situation is what was needed. Not knowing the full truth about what really goes on in this type of work, no one would ever know the truth and be able to help.
Although I have gone through a lot of similar experiences as Ehrenreich has, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I had to continue doing that sort of work everyday for the rest of my life. Having worked in restaurants, I’ve had to do a lot of the dirty clean ups that the books talk about, and I know that it is no fun whatsoever. However, if your end goal is to make sufficient money to have food and shelter, you don’t have much of a choice but to do what’s assigned to you. I know, also from experience, that challenging the process is at many times, not a good idea. Of course, it really depends on your employer and what the job is, but most of the times, an idea that is different from what they are used to, or a simple complain, can end up getting you fired. Yet, I do agree in standing up for others (like Barbara did for Holly), even if that means that you get fired.
ReplyDeleteI think for the point being, Ehrenreich had to be secretive in order to make her study work. I would say it is ethical because in the end, she is trying to raise awareness for those she writes about in her book. If I found out someone was doing what Ehrenreich did, I would applaud them. I would be amazed they are willing to put themselves out there like she did. I feel like the way she conducted her research was really the only way to go about it, because if people knew what she was up to, they would behave very differently, which would therefore make the book unrealistic.
If I was in the situations that Ehrenreich is living in, I would probably work as many jobs as I could. I would do that because I think in order to survive in today’s world, everyone needs to work hard. If I was struggling financially, I would do anything to get myself out from that situation, including being a maid or something like that. I think Ehrenreich over exaggerate the situation of the low wage workers. I think some corporations might be doing the things the author mentioned, but not entirely the same. If things are wrong and need to be fixed, I think it is worth it to get it fixed no matter how hard it is, including being fired from the position, because things are always being fixed after someone got fired or something gone wrong big time.
ReplyDeleteI think the act of the author is unethical, it is wrong to do the things the author did just because of a research study. In the research, the people treated her like a real friend, people express their true feelings to her, and help her and all she did was deceiving them. If I found out that someone was doing the things that the author was doing, I would be very pissed off, because I would treated him/her like a best friend and at the same time him/her was deceiving me. If she was truthful to her employers and her fellow employees, she would not get the same result. She might be “discriminated” from her fellow employees, even if the employers had agree to offer the jobs to her, because her fellow employees would think that her was a wealthy woman that just was trying to test people or just to make fun of them.
As far as how I would act, I think it is pretty simple. In a situation where you have to put bread on the table in a whole new fashion, you will go into survival mode, just as she did. Though she was also observing and trying to keep herself distant, you get totally wrapped up in how to keep alive.
ReplyDeleteIt is because of this that I think her study was ethical. First of all, she wasn't doing harm to her coworkers. She never mentioned anyone losing their jobs on account of her, though Holly thought she was close. She definitely wasn't physically harming any of them, and if anything, she was trying to help the people she was studying.
The question of honesty comes into play, naturally. The fact that she was able to step out of this world where others could not is obviously unfair and the fact that they didn't know that I suppose could be pinned against her. But I still think that she was honest with them with where she was in the moment, and a few people she even told about her situation. When I am at work, people don't have to know that I am saving for a college education, not for rent or food. In fact, many people don't share their histories with one another anyway, so concealing her past isn't really anything of consequence. It is merely that her past is quite consequential.
It is here where I think about the ethics of her work the most, because a worker that is trapped in that situation might definitely feel inferior and humiliated by what Ehrenreich was doing. The fact that someone can just come and pose their life style, just jump in without anything is definitely degrading. Why can't one flip it, and just jump into a top essayists' life?
Because of this I think Ehrenreich kept her background secret, as well as wanting to have the same treatment as everyone else and getting to know people on a more intimate scale. I can see that it would be considered unethical, but I would not rat her out for it.
I can’t really imagine if I had to live in Barbara’s situation and do all the dirty jobs to survive since I’ve never had similar experience working in a restaurant or a retail store. In real life, I will stand up for friends and others when I see them ill treated by school, work, or other people. But I really don’t know if I would still act the same if I were put in Barbara’s position and had to struggle for living as the lots of pressure from the possibility of losing your job would make people stay in silence even if their coworkers were exactly like Holly. So though at present I hope I would hold on to my integrity and risk to change for better jobs and stand up for others in trouble, I don't know how I would change my mind if I had to live as a low-wage worker and go through all the extreme conditions like overtime working, poor health care and housing.
ReplyDeleteI think what the end of her experiment was made Barbara’s research ethical. Being secretive to others made it possible for her to break into the low-wage class and gain firsthand experience for the book. And the book help raise awareness among people who know little about homelessness like me. If I were Holly and later found out what Barbara was doing, I would sincerely thank her for making our voice heard. I would admire her putting herself in the low-wage class for her study and for the public good.
If I were in Barbara's situation, I would be most likely follow the rules and do my work the way I was told to do it. I probably would not make a fuss to anyone about the situation or try to change the norms. I believe that as an undercover researcher, one is there to simply observe the lifestyle. I disagree with Barabara's wanting to change the process of certain jobs or trying to get other employers to start a union. It is not up to her to decide what needs to be done or should be done. She was there to take note of the living and working situation, not to change or improve it. However, I do feel that Barbara was ethical in going undercover to make this story. She would not have had the same results, opinion or honest feedback that she got from actually simulating the experience and being secretive about her identity and purpose. It is likely that if she had not gone undercover, people living that life would have been less open and less willing to divulge about their lifestyle and day to day struggles.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in Barbara's situation, I would do what I need to do in order to survive. In the fact, if I take a job like that I do not have chance to make mistakes. I will just do whateve I suppoes to do. I do not think about this job is only for a short period, but it is for work, for life and for living. I do not think anyone who the power to change our current "class system", especially, the lower classes. The rule for people is, if you follow the rule then you will be fine, if you against the rule then you will out of the game. This is the real world, if you are not happy with your life then make your life happy. But how to make your life happy, just work hard and do not argue why. Barbara has a good job and some people's dream job, her research is ethical. If she did not write this book then who else can write? Someone form the lower class can write a book like that? Probably he or she spend most of time on livings and no extra time to do this kind of job.
ReplyDeleteBeing in Barbara's situation, I would try my best to stay respectful to the management and the rules that have been previously set for my job. However, I would also be trying my best to find different ways to tweak around the system and get things done more time efficiently for my benefit. I would, of course, have to accept the rules and regulations set before me, but that doesn't mean I can't find a way to have those rules and regulations benefit me in the best way possible.
ReplyDeleteI also was considering the second question before it was posted. Barbara was doing a little bit of covert operations in her study, and many can take that to be offensive. Barbara's actual lifestyle is of course much higher than that of the one she was currently working in for the study, and if I were one of her coworkers I would feel a bit played to see someone just jump on into my lower lifestyle, play around in it, then run away with options while I don't have such options. One side may say what I just stated, for example when Barbara left Walmart, ending up in one of her coworkers following behind her; she changed many of the lives of people she worked with. Another side may also state that while Barbara did play around with the hard lifestyle of many others, she was doing them a favor in the long run by trying to convince society that something must be done about the current situation of low paying jobs.
If i was in Barbara's situation I would probably stay quite to try and keep my job. Sure it would be the right thing to not put up with all of the crap she has to put up with but if I was fighting to keep a job I wouldn't be one to complain. I would try to help someone who was hurt by taking some of their shifts or talking to management. Especially in todays economy people have to be careful or they wont have a job. A job is a job in todays economy so if I was in Barbaras situation I would respect management and try to keep my job. As for the second question I don't think that her way of research is ethical but if she wouldn't have done it the way she did then she would not have gotten the same results. If she would have told her co-workers what she was doing they might not have been so open to her. I would be mad if I was used for a research book like the people that are featured in the book. I don't know about other people but I wouldn't want my life and struggles put out there for everyone to read about. Again she wouldn't have gotten the results she did if she hadn't done it the way she did.
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