Question

Using Anthropology
DAVID W. McCURDY
Summary In this article, McCurdy discusses some of the professional applications of anthropology, such as in advertising, engineering, teaching, and business, to name a few. He also argues that an anthropological perspectivecharacterized by ethnographic research, embracing the concept of microculture, and cross-cultural sensitivitycan help professionals perform better in a wide array of situations.
McCurdy illustrates his argument using the case of a newly appointed warehouse manager who is called upon to improve service to customer outlets operated by UTC, a large corporation. Instead of bringing in new rules and regulations, as most new managers do, she chose to undertake an ethnographic approach during her six-week "grace period." By using ethnographic research she was able to discover the detailed nature of the problem, while building goodwill with the warehouse employees.
The educational materials handled by the warehouse had been reaching customer outlets in poor condition and in inaccurate amounts. Warehouse employees, who had been under great pressure to work rapidly, had felt forced to estimate, rather than count, the materials they shipped to outlets.
By having the books shrink-wrapped and reducing the size of the shipping boxes, the manager was able to speed up work at the warehouse, ensure that the right number of books and other materials was being shipped, and improved the condition of the goods at their destination.
By using an ethnographic approach, the new manager had revealed the problems at hand. Only this made it possible to find realistic solutions.
According to McCurdy in "Using Anthropology," over half the Ph.D.s in anthropology each year find employment outside of academia.

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