Ethan Eldred

Professor Katryn
November 4, 2022

Ethnography Essay #2
For this second essay I’m sticking within the same cultural context of my workplace,

Apple, and I’m going to be focusing on another broad conclusion that arose when I went back

and looked at my data. I chose to focus on the way we conduct ourselves within the work area

and what factors drive us to comply with unspoken or spoken rules of conduct. The two main

concepts I’m going to be focusing on are the panopticon and influential leader versus authority

leader.

The main place I made these observations was the repair room within my work place,

which is a small room that is roughly fifteen by ten feet. With the limited workspace it puts us in

a spot where we have to be mindful of our actions and words. In the past, situation have arisen

where machines have been broken, callers heard things they weren’t supposed to and people

neglecting their job by spending time in there when they shouldn’t. This presented an

opportunity for me to analyze the conversations people were having around how management

was tightening the rules with verbal warnings and through semi passive actions. Starting with

passive actions, the first concept I want to relate is the panopticon concept, which is the idea that

prisoners (in this case employees) never know whether or not they’re being watched from a

tower. Creating a feeling that leads them to self regulate in a manner that the prison finds

acceptable.

 Inside of the repair room there is a code of conduct that workers are supposed to follow but

people still tend to get unruly from time to time. As a result the managers started cracking down

on the rules. One way they would do is to leave the cameras on in their small office space with

the door open—which we have complete visibility of from outside of the repair room but not

from inside. The cameras that are on the screens inside of the office are the ones within the repair

room. Management used to sit inside of the office constantly but they slowed down and don’t sit

in the room as often anymore. Regardless of them slowing down, we still consciously behave in

a way that aligns with the code of conduct much more frequently now. This connects to the

panopticon concept because it puts the employees into a position of not knowing whether

someone is watching the cameras, or who is watching them. Each manager reacts differently

when people get rebellious, which leads to the next concept of an influential style leader versus a

hard power leader.

The influential manager is the ‘Team Lead’ and can still manage us by their influence over

benefits/pay, promotions, hours worked or even having the option to write us up and have us

fired if we don’t follow the rules. Yet, This lead has always been incredibly kind and holds a

more influential style of power over all of us. The conversations I listened to pointed to people

talking mostly about the lead with respect and understanding, Especially when it came to

enforcing policy. Which this then influenced people to follow the rules a bit more and

performance improved over time. Comparing this to another leader, who rules with a hard power

style, allowed me to really see the contrast between the two.

This other leader is a step above the lead as a manager, both have the same amount of

influence over our roles. This other leader is respected but out of worry, she has been notorious

 for being strict and to the book. When she catches someone breaking the rules, or catches wind

of something, she will go out, figure out what happened, and use the rules to write people up and

fire them if necessary. People tend to be more polite, straight forward and honest with her as they

know if there is something wrong in their notes or question then she’ll enforce the policy harder.

Overall, I find that people go to both leaders, just for different reasons and necessities.

In conclusion, to be able to see the concept of the panopticon being reflected, maybe not

purposefully, in how they’re using the visibility of the repair and office/cameras to keep people

in line, even if they aren’t present. And just the stark contrast of an influential leader who is

pliable in the rules, helps push back when we need help from higher up or helps people through

influencing their actions to be more in line with the rules. Versus the manager wielding hard

power and enforces using the power and rules she was given, Even if it results in someone being

fired. Over all the essay inspired me to take a closer look at how power is distributed within the

workplace but also how that power is wielded between people in higher positions.