Working at McDonald's by Amitai Etzioni Article Analysis

Working is part of life, any type of job will leave you an ability for the future, and jobs in the restaurant industry are not the exception. This job requires skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, social skills, time management, teamwork, multitasking, etc. In Working at Mc Donald’s by Amitai Etzioni, he argues that working while attending school is a bad idea. These jobs in this area are skill least, routine, and not educational in several ways. he said ‘’ There is no room for initiative, creativity, or even elementary rearrangements.’’

My problem with this article is that he talks about it without knowing how is to work in the restaurant industry and basing this argument on his son's experience and some old articles. I have been working in the restaurant industry for almost four years. Based on my experience, this job required many skills, not only the physical ability but also mental. Dealing with people is not easy, especially when they don't respect how hard it is. In the base of this, here is my argument of who this job does need skills and why people should be more conscience.

One of the skills that you will get working in the restaurant industry is Multitasking. In the workplace, Multitasking usually entails switching back and forth between activities and effectively doing different tasks one after the other. Shimul Melwani, a professor of organizational behavior at the University of North Carolina’s and her Ph.D. student Chaitali Kapadia said the “When people are holding two separate pieces of information in their head, they’re somehow able to act and engage in more creative ways,” Multitasking can also lead us to feel energized and alert. They conducted many experiments and surveyed 105 waiters and waitresses at their local restaurants on both busy and slow evenings. The staff was asked to assess their energy levels and, additionally, were asked to draw a picture of an alien, which was judged on its originality. Confirming their theory, the researchers found that the busier the restaurant staff had been, the more they had needed to multitask during their shift, the more energized they felt. This, in turn, increased the flexibility of their thinking on the AUT and the novelty of their aliens. This experiment shows how Multitasking may allow us to see the bright side of our busiest periods and be able to do not only do one job but also learn how to be prepared to do other tasks at any moment the is required.

Another of the abilities learned while working in a restaurant is Teamwork. Teamwork replies upon individuals working together in a cooperative environment to achieve common team goals through sharing knowledge and skills. The highlights that one of the essential elements of a team is its focus toward a common goal and a clear purpose (Fisher, Hunter, & Macrosson, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1995, 1999; Parker, 1990; Harris & Harris, 1996). Teamwork can be associated with other skills they will make the teamwork better these five main elements - self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and social skills, known as ‘Emotional Intelligence’ (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) .this is skill is maybe the complicated and stressful skill, the reason is the as a worker you will spend a lot of time with these people and having differences are inevitable but if you have strong communication and a set goal as the article explaining would be easier.