Macy’s stores are known for their unique American designs and collections. The brands on their shelves range from clothes to home appliances and electronics. The chain of stores brags of having the most sought after designs. It is home to the best American brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Bella, Clinique, Martha Stewart Collection, Levi’s, and Ralph Polo Lauren. With over 750 stores and an online platform, it has become embedded in the minds of many Americans who, after shopping there, give positive reviews of their experiences at the stores. The stores are convenient for all people, considering the opening hours at the stores. The opening and closing hours at Macy’s allow people from all working environments to shop at their convenient time of day. They open early and close late in the evening. The products at the stores are diverse, and their quality is top notch. As a result, many Americans prefer Macy’s stores whenever they want quality goods, and services.
Observation
One Macy’s store that has stayed true to the core values of Macy’s stores is the Macy’s Parks at 3841 South Cooper Street Arlington , TX 76015. Like any other Macy’s store, their opening and closing hours are convenient. I visited the store at 6.00 pm because a friend advised that it was the busiest time of the day for the residents of Arlington. I figured it was the best time to make my observations on the norms of people in this area. I spent roughly 30 minutes at the store. There was a flurry of activity at the store. Due to the high quality of the goods, which is accompanied by high prices, I did not expect there to be so much traffic. I was surprised at the queues that were building up. It was a busy evening. The people in the store were from all races. While White Americans make up over 50% of the Tarrant County population, the same could not be said of the store. Most of the people at the store at that time of day were working class Hispanics and Latinos.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Social Norms
Norms are social rules that a society employs to foster harmony and peaceful coexistence. For the Macy’s store at Arlington, one outstanding norm was the first come first serve rule. Like any other store, people queued to pay for the goods they purchased. People followed the queues until it was their turn to be served. Of course, there were a few people who thought they were more important, and attempted to cut the line. Thankfully, the store personnel were there to manage the situations. In the few minutes I was there, two people attempted to skip the line. It was clear that it is socially unacceptable to disrespect the first come first served rule, especially in the rush hours of the evening, when everybody is in a hurry to get home. However, there was a group of people that were allowed to jump the queue; the elderly were allowed to be served before the rest ( Burrell & Morgan, 2017 ). They did not wait in line like everybody else. Surprisingly, nobody seemed to have a problem with that.
Also, there were certain gender-based restrictions at the store. For instance, changing rooms for ladies and gentlemen were on different floors in the Park. Men’s clothing were on the second floor, and therefore, the fitting rooms were on that floor. Women’s fitting rooms were on the first floor, where their clothing were. There was a restricted area in both floors where people of the opposite gender were not allowed go beyond. There was no staff to ensure that that boundary was adhered to. Even in their absence, the shoppers seemed to understand that there are places they could not venture into. I soon discovered that the restriction was not some physical red line placed there, but a social norm that the people had developed.
Sociological Concepts
A sociological concept is a set of ideas that a society values. They include norms, culture, folkways, media effect, and the functionalist theory. The norms that I observed fall into various categories of sociological concepts and ideals. Both norms fit into culture. Culture is a broad belief system that encompasses all other sociological concepts. Denzin (2017) avers that it includes all the shared norms that a society treasures. In the Macy’s store case, the unspoken gender rule falls under culture. All culture value the privacy of gender. Without having a notice to indicate the bounds that a person can go, the people seemed to understand that it existed. The respect of gender space as witnessed in the store points to a greater cultural aspect where people respect the boundaries of the opposite sex. Following the queue falls under the functionalist theory. The theory suggests that a society exists in harmony because it is based on interdependence. Every member of the society depends on the others to make their lives easier. If a customer cut the line, the rest would react to restore that social norm of first come first served. It is dependent on all members to ensure that such norms are not violated. It also takes interdependence to allow the elder members of the society to receive priority. If a person did not agree with this norm, they would be forgiven to raise concern.
Reflection
Based on my previous experiences, it would be prudent to admit that this incident was unique, yet similar in many forms to my other experiences. While all societies share a mutual agreement when it comes to customer service and the queue system, in my previous incidences, people did not protest when a person tried to cut line as much as they did in Macy’s store. Where I grew up, the protest would be in murmurs, and probably nothing much would happen apart from expressing frustration. In this case, the people protested the move. They were actively involved in the exercise to ensure that nobody cut the queue. In many cases, the people would ask the personnel to intervene. In this case they did it themselves. It pointed to a socialization that I have not seen before. It is hard to point out exactly why they acted differently from the others I have experienced, but I suppose the historical background of the Hispanics in Texas had something to do with it ( Lin, Cook & Burt, 2001 ).
Engagement
While in the store, I realized that a majority of the staff were Latinos. It explains why many people whom came into the store were Hispanics. While it may not come out expressly clear, the presence of the Hispanic staff played a significant role in attracting fellow Hispanics. Leaving the store, I had questions about why Hispanics liked the store. The ethnic sociological concept was responsible for the phenomenon. Many people want to feel comfortable in the social space. The most significant aspect of social security is ethnicity ( Humes & Hogan, 2015 ). People from the same ethnic background have an unspoken way of socializing. Stores and other shopping centers have this phenomenon within their vicinity, where they attract people based on the demographics of the staff.
References
Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (2017). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis: Elements of the sociology of corporate life . Routledge.
Denzin, N. K. (2017). Sociological methods: A sourcebook . Routledge.
Humes, K., & Hogan, H. (2015). Do Current Race and Ethnicity Concepts Reflect a Changing America?. In Race and Social Problems (pp. 15-38). Springer, New York, NY.
Lin, N., Cook, K. S., & Burt, R. S. (Eds.). (2001). Social capital: Theory and research . Transaction Publishers.
