Sunday, September 9, 2012
Basic Knowledge Issue: Post 1
At my work, my managers tell me to ask questions and never assume. I interpret this as a knowledge issue: the conflict between reason and language. Your own reasoning might deduce that you should do a certain task at a certain time, but your superiors may tell you to do otherwise. Is it better to do as you are told or to do as you think makes sense? Of course, if your supervisors do not tell you why, then they are not using language to the fullest extent that they could and should. Should you trust that they know better? Could your reasoning be incorrect?
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Where do you work?
ReplyDeleteI work at Culver's and often run into the same issue. Usually it will be something as silly as washing a dish or crushing nuts. I find it very interesting that by working at a certain place for longer periods of time, people think they know the only correct way to do something. I definitely think you are correct to make inferences and truly, it brings a different way of doing things to the work place. Yes, you may infer wrong sometimes but as Hannah Montana would say, 'Everybody makes mistakes...'
At my work, it's less about in what way that you do something, but how efficiantly you get it done. I have to say that my old assistant manager has been working a very long time there, and she did know some of the most efficient ways of getting things done. However, people always have different strengths in different areas, and, being a very open person, she was definately pleasantly surprised to find when something was done in a better, more efficient way. I must say that many workplaces differ. There may be "one way" to do it because they have found in the past that if they allow other people to go about it their own way that it does not get done in the way that they want it to get done. (That is also a very human trait - my father likes things done a certain way and so they have to be done in one way whereas other people are much more lenient).
ReplyDeletei believe there is no real answer to your knowledge issue :)
I think if you just disregard what they say and don't say anything language isn't being used to the fullest and that would be much worse than just asking them why. Or if you just do what they say and do not question why you are doing that instead of something you believe to be more important then I think both language and reason would fail.
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