Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Walmart's Dress-Code
It was interesting in the If Preppies Took Over Wal-Mart and today's class discussion to learn that something as simple as a uniform can have such a profound impact. I never thought too much of what exactly a uniform represents, or what message or values it can portray to a customer or employee. While some jobs require a standardized uniform for safety reasons, in the other occupations a uniform has a much larger meaning. While it provides a sense of camaraderie amongst workers, a uniform also helps to represent a business, or create an image to consumers. While some may argue that they're simply clothes and have a minimal impact, a classy or unique uniform can help to set a business apart, or help to build a loyal customer base.
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Before our discussion on this topic I never really thought about employee uniforms that much. It is interesting to see all of the implicit meanings that work attire may carry with it. I think however, work uniforms will probably have a different meaning from one worker to the next.
ReplyDeleteI think employees do care about their uniforms. But I do not think they look into the meanings of their uniforms as much as we did in Mondays class. I think what really matters is if they are comfortable in their work uniforms.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's interesting what a profound impact a uniform can have on employees, I don't necessarily agree that the change will always be that significant. At a past job, we went through a uniform change from khakis and polos to khakis and a trendier looking, form-fitting shirt. While I will say that as an employee, I loved the change because I thought we looked more updated, and we had the option of voting on which new uniform design we liked the most, I don't think that it shaped the company's image or brought us closer to the company's core values. At most, we looked more up-to-date and maybe a few of the employees felt that the company cared about their opinions. I think that the Walmart uniform change is more drastic, though, and that their uniform simply advertised more of their core values.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comment in that employees do care about their uniforms, but do not really think about what those uniforms mean. From my personal experience, I always liked the uniform I had to wear for my job back home. While I did like this uniform, I never really thought about why my employer selected the uniforms they did. My employer chose black and white for my uniform colors, and I never really thought of why they chose those colors. They chose black and white, and after our discussion in class, I pit a lot more thought into why they chose those colors. I'm still not sure why they chose those colors, but it is interesting to try and figure out their intentions.
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