Cafeteria Settings in Work Environments

Observation of a Setting--Cafeteria with Vending Machines

The cafeteria is in a rectangular room approximately 15 feet wide by 40 feet long. There are two doors in the middle of the long sides; one door opens to an engineering cubicle area, the other door opens to a production floor. The cafeteria has eight three-foot square metal tables with four metal chairs at each. There are bulletin boards on one side of the room (next to the door leading to the production floor) with information about upcoming employee events and current job offerings. Along one of the short walls is a kitchen facility with a sink, cupboards (containing paper goods for general use), two microwave ovens and a coffee maker which has the capability of making espresso. There is a bottled water container next to four five vending machines on the other long wall (next to the door leading to the engineering department). All of the machines accept one dollar bills. There is also a pay phone (next to the bulletin board) and a "white board" under a clock on the other short wall. The room is sometimes used for train

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se food in the buffet, but during the observation period, no one came in with their own food or beverages, although some people did come in and not purchase any food. These individuals came with others who purchased food from the buffet. The cafeteria opens at 11am; people began coming in shortly thereafter, although not many at first. People come to this cafeteria in groups and as singles and tend to eat with whom they arrive (those who arrive alone ate alone). This facility is not a manufacturing plant and most of the individuals are considered "white collar" workers. No senior managers or employees came into the cafeteria during the observation period, and people stayed much longer than in the cafeteria with vending machines. Only four people who came into the cafeteria during the observation period also left within the observation period; nearly everyone who came into the vending machine area left during the observation period. Conversations were steady during the observation period, but conversations were not easily overheard from one table to the next. Groups tended to separate themselves from each other by leaving an empty chair between them, but groups would sit at separate tables rather than at the same table when
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1591
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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