Field log
5.15am: wake up and pray
5.25am: go for a morning jog, shower, and talk with wife and children.
6.00am: have breakfast, hold a family prayer together.
6.30am: take my kids to the bus station, get back home, and head to my workplace.
7.00am: arrive at my place of work, a brief checkup with the security personnel at the gate and interact with the employees.
7.30am: have a cup of tea with my employer and discuss on the running of the company.
8.00am: supervise the employees, interact with them and congratulate the good workers.
9.00am: head back to my office.
10.00am: tea-break with staff, review the work being done to ensure if it is going as planned.
11.00am: ensure all workers are back to their stations, discuss with my assistant about the needed equipment.
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11.30am: request the van driver to go and buy what is required, ask the kitchen department to ensure that lunch will be ready.
1.00pm: have lunch.
2.00pm: back in our working stations.
3.00pm: carry out supervision on how the construction is going on, ensure that the masons utilised the right measurements that I gave them and ensure that the workers are in good condition.
4.00pm: Prepare to go home, have a short meeting with the CEO.
5.00pm: pick up my children from school.
6.00pm: Arrive home, tend to my garden and have a shower.
7.00pm: watch TV with my family.
9.00pm: have supper, kids go to bed.
10.00pm: look at a program with my wife.
11.00pm: Confirm if the children are sleeping, my wife and I go to sleep.
The daily lives are somehow affected and directed by the social norms of the society. The above field log clearly shows how lives are governed by societal norms. According to the standards of the community, it's nice to have a short prayer every single day with the hope that you will receive blessings from God. Societal norms also emphasise on the importance of education. Social norms orders one to provide his or her children with good education. There are consequences for not adhering to the social norms. As such, if one fails to educate their children, they are liable to punishment by the law and the society agrees with the law.
Normally, social norms are informal understandings that govern behaviour in the society. In the morning, shaking hands with the employees is considered to be a social norm. If one fails to shake hands with people around him or her, an individual is likely to create enmity and foster feelings of hatred with the employees or the people around him. Social norms also create conditions that act as constraints to our lives. Social norms require an employee to be always in good terms with the employer even if they are exploited. This is to ensure that the worker remains viable to the company.
Following norms in the society, a supervisor is required to talk with the employees in a suitable manner and with respect as respect is essential in creating a good working condition. This will significantly contribute to the success of the business because the employees will be motivated to work hard and they will have the will to succeed. When one is harsh to the employees, then the supervisor or the employee is at the risk of facing a potential court charge of mistreating the workforce. Also, social norms require employers to pay the salaries of their staff on time fully.
Social norms lead to constraints that shape or daily lives. The reason why we do something or fail do it constraints our way of living. Moreover, social norms require us to have a formatted and planned life which is a restriction in a way. Nonetheless, these standards are created by the society hence they may only be practised by a particular community. Different cultures have different norms. Norms are established according to the beliefs of society. In the society that we live in, women are associated with specific roles as well as men. Therefore, these constraints and shapes an individual’s way of living.
A sociological concept like social roles has been well featured in my experiences. A social role is a set of connected rights, behaviour, beliefs and obligations as seen by people in a particular social institution. It is free, expected or continuously alternating behaviour and may give a person a social position or social status. Being a supervisor at my workplace is a social role hence by carrying out my activities as a supervisor, am practising the role of being a supervisor. Also, my planned life gives me the role of being a father whereby societal norms require a father to take care and provide for the family. The experience of interacting with many employees and other people also boosts my role of being a parent which makes me become a better parent to my children.
The concept of the institution is also seen in my daily experiences. My work at the construction site falls under the institution of the economy. My job provides me with the finances that I need to take care of my family. It guides me in the pursuit of my individual well-being. The family institution also applies in my field log. The family is every important in a child’s life. It is the centre of the life of a child as they depend on others. My wife and I make sure that we spend quality time with our kids to teach them cultural attitudes and values about themselves and others. For example, I take them to school to spend time with them (Scott, 2008) . The environment that adults create help children to learn, so I ensure that I create a healthy environment for my children for them to learn appropriate values. Religion is also evident in my life as I engage in prayer every morning when I wake up and hold family prayers with my family.
Being a supervisor of more than one hundred workers and ensuring that they are in good health condition when working falls under the concept of interactions. Relating well with my employer also falls in this category. I ensure that I relate well with my boss so as to secure my job as well as obeying societal norms. The sociological concept of interaction is also seen when I engage in small talks with the security personnel at my place of work. Being a supervisor falls under the category of impression management. I have to create a good impression with my fellow workmates every day. Following a time directive is also impression management as I can manage my time well. When other workers see that I can manage my time well, they also try to emulate my behaviour. Hence, time management is not an issue at my workplace because all employees use their time well. Having the ability to carry out my daily routine is also evident in impression management.
Under the aspect of emotional labour, I have the potential to handle all the emotional feelings about my position of being interactive with all my fellow workers and ensuring that we are in good terms. I am also capable of managing my feelings according to organisational rules and guidelines to meet my job expectations. When my boss yells at me for example, I can control my emotion to avoid acting in a manner that I will later regret. I also motivate and encourage other workers to enable them to have the ability to manage their feelings towards the rules and regulations of the company.
Many sociologists learn about the concept of interaction by first conducting a study between two or more social groups. The way in which the groups interact will assist the sociologists to develop new theories, systems and rules that the people can live with. Interactions could be verbal or non-verbal. However, both verbal and non-verbal interaction pass a message which can be used by sociologists to examine the concept of interaction. Impression management as a concept in a company that can be reviewed by how much individuals influence others. Sociologists are familiarised with this by attempting to gauge how a particular person or group has influence over others (Healy, 2014) . Supervisors act under impression management when they can affect the employees into performing a specific task.
Having the role of a supervisor does influences not only the institution but also the society as a whole. When I make a decision, I have a motive of benefiting the community as well as the social institution. When I execute a decision of employing more personnel, I have the cause of creating job opportunities for the society. When the employees feel oppressed by my decision and end up not performing to their highest potential, it becomes one huge constraint. My boss helped me in my work which enabled me to get to that rank. He pushed me into becoming a person who is good at making decisions, and I also learnt that a risk is worth taking because it does not always end up in failure. The knowledge that he shared with me has assisted me in helping other individuals as well. My children have greatly benefited from what my employer shared with me for I have the ability to explain it to them that there is no pain with no gain and I serve as a good example to them.
References
Healy, K. (2014). Social work theories in context: Creating frameworks for practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Scott, J. (2008). Social networks: Critical concepts in sociology. Vol. 4. Taylor & Francis.
