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ARGUMENT OF DEFINITION
Argumentof Definition
Bluecollar job is an occupational category that involves workers whoperform manual work. During historical times, blue collar workersused to wear blue uniforms and worked in trade jobs. The blue collarjobs may include both unskilled and skilled labor that usuallyinvolves physical work such as mechanical maintenance, mining andmanufacturing among others. Blue collar jobs are wage labor whereworkers are paid hourly. These jobs mainly depend on the experienceand specialty of the worker (Webster,para 2).
Thispaper seeks to discuss the argument definitions of the blue collarjob. The paper structure includes the formal definition of a bluecollar job, its operational definition, and definition by example.
FormalDefinitions
Ablue collar job is a manual job that involves the use of hands toconduct various tasks in the workplace.It involves physical labor such as workshop or factory that isrelated to the direct output provided by the company, and theoutcomes are tangible and identifiable. Working as a commercial crabfisherman, inseminating turkeys, as a waitress in a restaurant and amechanic, all constitute blue collar jobs (Crawford,p 23). Despite most of these jobs needing to be done manually, thosewho carry out the jobs need to have clear background knowledge on thekind of jobs to be done.
Bluecollar jobs consist of a number of traits that distinguishes it fromother jobs such as white collar jobs (office jobs). A Bluecollar job makes people see their tangible efforts they have achievedat the end of the day compared to other jobs. According to Crawford(p 43),a good job entails a number of tasks that allow individuals to puttheir best capabilities in action, see the results of their effortsand their effect in the world.
Itis argued that when a blue collar job is used implicitly, it canadversely affect an individual’s employment.For example, in the video, the National Rifle Association`s PoliticalVictory Fund shows an intruder who breaks into woman`s home. Thewoman is startled, wakes up and runs to take her phone to call thepolice. Later, the woman is seen opening her safe to pick her firearmthat she uses for protection but it suddenly disappears. This filmdepicts that if Hilary Clinton is elected then, women will lose theirprotection (firearms) and remain only with a phone that they will useto call the police. Lack of firearms to protect themselves wouldincrease the rate of break-ins and lead to high rates of murderscaused by intruders who break into people`s home. This video willmake women to think lesser of Hilary and thus causing her to lose hersupport from women for not allowing people to keep firearms inhouses. This is because people need firearms to protect themselvesand their loved ones and taking it away causes them to lose theirmotivation for supporting Hilary (NRA Political Victory Fund PAC,para 5).
OperationalDefinitions
Bluecollar job is a manual job because it involves various types ofphysical work that require the tasks to be carried out by use ofhands. It often involves building or maintenance of something thusrequires the use of hands to achieve it. Most of these kinds of jobsrequire those carrying them out to apply a lot of energy to have theactivities completed. Those who are physically weak find it tough tocarry out blue collar jobs as most of the activities are donemanually (Crawford,p 45).
Theblue collar job requires skills and knowledge to enhance theeffectiveness of the job. Theskills and knowledge are necessary for a blue-collar job especiallyamong workers such as electricians, mechanics, structural workers andplumbers. Those that do not require low-skills include jobs thatrequire simple tasks such as assembly, maintenance and cleaning. Bluecollar jobs require more reading than any other job because itconsists of routine works that make reading integral part inenhancing knowledge on how to use an instrument, understanding theproduction of quotas and how to apply a product. Reading is importantin blue collar jobs because it provides people with the ability toanalyze routine works by improving their skills and knowledge thatenhance the achievement of work performed in future. The developmentand advancement of technology have resulted in the need for skillsand knowledge in blue collar jobs that necessitates training (Miller,p 21).
Stereotypeshave been formed indicating that blue collar jobs are notintellectually challenging, but in the real sense, they are. Manypeople believe blue collar labor are unskilled labor thus does notrequire reading to perform a task. However, it is evident that bluelabor jobs require reading in order to improve a person`s skills andknowledge that would make a great impact in future. Lack of skillsand knowledge would hinder the ability of an individual toeffectively carry out the tasks. This is because they would not beable to effectively use an instrument to build or maintain something,or understand production (Rose,p 44).
Definitionby Example
Inthe contemporary society, a blue collar job can longer be addressedas unskilled labor because some of the jobs consist of people whohave skills and knowledge acquired in school. Additionally, someinvolve use of technologies that require training and certificates toget the job such as mechanics. For example, inseminating turkeys is ablue collar job that requires training and knowledge in order toeffectively perform the task and obtain the results. Also, becauseblue collar jobs are stereotyped to be unskilled labor, a younggifted person for instance who chooses to be a mechanic overeducation is viewed as an eccentric. Most parents believe that theonly way to success is through education. However, some blue collarjobs require people with highly qualified skills to perform theirtasks, so blue collar job should be considered a skilled labor aswell (Rose,p 45).
Therefore,the official and operational definition of blue collar job has causeda lot of misunderstanding in the current society. Technology hascontributed to changes in the blue collar jobs which involves bothskilled and unskilled labor. Thus the definitions should be redefinedto include skilled labor in the context of a blue collar job in orderto encompass both categories involving skilled and unskilled labor.This modification will make the definition of the blue collar jobbecome more useful to readers and be able to categorize themeffectively (Rose,p 47).
Conclusion
Theformal definition of a blue collar job indicates that it is a manualjob performed by workers to accomplish a task. The operationaldefinition indicates that it involves the various types of physicaltasks that require the use of hands to carry out the tasks. With thechanges in technology, skills and knowledge have become an importantpart of a blue collar job. This is because some blue collar jobs areintellectually challenging thus require skills and knowledge toperform the tasks. Therefore, it is important for the definition ofblue collar job to be modified to include skilled labor.
WorkCited
Crawford,Mathew. TheCase for Working with Your Hands: Or why office work is bad for usand fixing things feels good.Penguin: London, 2010
Miller,S. James. Actingout Culture: Readings for Critical Inquiry,3rd edition, Bedford/St. Martinas, 2015
NRAPolitical Victory Fund PAC. “Don’t Let Hilary Clinton Leave YouDefenseless.” PoliticalCommunication Lab,Stanford University, 2016. Retrieved on 6thSeptember 2016 from: http://pcl.stanford.edu/campaigns/2016/
Rose,Mike. Blue-Collar Brilliance: Questioning assumptions aboutintelligence, work, and social class. TheAmerican Scholar,78(3),43-49. (2009).
Webster,MaryJo. Where the jobs are: The new blue collar. USAToday,2014.