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The World Of Waiters Book Review

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The World of Waiters Book Review Jacob Jenkins The Ohio State University Abstract This book begins with the author examining why he chose the hotel industry, narrowing down the ethical dilemma in gathering the information needed to conduct the research. The author describes what service is and gives the reader a chance to understand the various relationships involved in a dining experience, whether it be behind the scenes or merely out in the dining area. Narrowing further, the author examines the service given to customers; looking at the serving style of whether to treat the customer as a friend or as a professional, and observing who gets the upper hand, the waiter or customer. Finally, the book wraps up the…show more content…
In this review, we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of the book, the overall opinion of what the book tells the reader, and discuss the relation to class concepts. Strengths and Weaknesses The author makes clear his ethical dilemma in the research process. For example, when they first started their research, they struggled to evaluate the discretion level given to those they were researching. Either Nicod could tell the truth about why he was there or he could not say anything in order to record honest behavior. If Nicod decided to pursue the former, then he could have recorded bias behavior because they did research and found that management and staff showed “hostility to outsiders, and particularly to researchers (Mars & Nicod, 1984, p. 14). Given the type of research and how it would affect the behavior and be limited to only the coworkers who had nothing to hide or limited loss to exposure. Ultimately, they concluded that they would proceed with undercover research. They further explain that they “have done little or nothing to damage our subjects’ personal reputations, because every effort has been made to mitigate the ethical offence. In the first place, we have omitted names and changed other irrelevant facts to protect the identity, and therefore the privacy, of those involved” (p. 14). Another strength was that the examination really let the reader dive into this world and can process what the waiter is thinking, how they control
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