Question 1
According to Fine (2008), idioculture is the system of knowledge, beliefs, behaviors and practices that are shared between members belonging to the same interacting group, and which members can refer to or apply in the course of their interactions. Therefore, the practices or habits between groups are associated with a particular type of setting. Some of the aspects of idioculture that Fine has studied include; Little League teams, Times and themes in Donald Roy’s study of a factory, Couples with unique names for one another and Family traditions. Work cultures are specific practices that employees are disposed to for them to conform to the organizational ethics and values. Some of the specific work cultures include the concept that all employees must respect the values and ethics of their colleagues even though they do not agree with them. This is an idioculture that promotes respect and honor among employees.
Question 2
The situations presented to insurance agents involve a high level of variability, which requires them to be highly flexible when interacting with their customers. According to Leidner (1993), the routinization of this form of service work requires all the insurance agents to receive training in how they can standardize their character, values and beliefs. The agents are trained to have perseverance and possess a positive mental attitude for them to be successful in whatever they do. Therefore, combined insurance agents are subjected to positive mental attitude (PMA) training as a way of influencing how the new agents interact with their colleagues and customers as well as their perspective and attitudes towards life, themselves and their experiences. Therefore, this training contributed to the transformation of character among the agents as they were instructed on the types of verbal and non-verbal communication cues they were expected to use. Ultimately the agents independently adapted to the new situations and experiences.
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Question 3
Routinization is believed to attract benefits such as controlling service recipient behaviors. Leidner (1993) affirms that in order for routines to give workers more power over service-recipients at Combined Insurance, the workers interactions were controlled by their employer. The employer provided the agents with a script and rules that dictated how they were supposed to talk and conduct themselves during interactions. The insurance agents were trained on how to have a proper demeanor and appearance, which was meant to have a psychological impact and standardize service encounters. Therefore, the workers gain more power over service-recipients as their form of expression is aimed at achieving a specific tone that implies a sense of urgency and leaves the customer with a favorable impression of the agent. By combining proper interactive elements to achieve the desired effects, the agent manages to achieve the desired effect and the processes through which meaning; control and identity are achieved during interactions in any kind of settings. Through routinization, the combined insurance agents gained insight on how to sell products. Similarly, in the work place today, routinization has been used as a way of training employees on the appropriate ways they can interact with their clients. Employees are governed by a set of principles on ways in which they can make the client’s experience pleasant.
References
Leidner, R. (1993). Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life. University of California Press
Fine, G. A. (2008). Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work 1 st edition. University of California Press
