Ethnography-Mock at KFC - Essay Example

I studied my ethnography research at KFC in a local mall. It was Sunday and I was at the Dolmen Mall around 1 pm. Dolmen Mall is one of the biggest malls down here in New York. KFC was located in the food court on the first fourth floor of the mall. There were a lot of stalls that had covered the entire fourth floor. The stalls were juxtaposed with each other. In front of the stalls, there were tables and chairs and a comfortable seating area arranged for visiting family. The total number of stalls in the area was 25.

The stalls belonged to various genres from coffee to desserts to donuts to fast food to continental to oriental food. KFC was stationed right in the center of the food court. On the left side, it had Mr. Burger and on the right side, it had McDonald's. The staff at KFC was mostly young. I felt that the primary reason behind the young staff at KFC was the less pay per hour. The stall was crowded as it was a weekend afternoon. People from different ethnic and religious backgrounds were frequenting to the stalls.

I noticed a gang of friends seated comfortably in a stall in front of KFC. They were happily laughing and chatting away. This group of friends was between 15-16 years. It comprised of 4 boys and three girls. They were cracking jokes, and playing with cell phones. One of the girls was meddling with her clutch to take out a mobile phone. I have noticed that men usually carry cell phones in their pants while women carry it in their handbags. I also observed their table manners and concluded that females were better behaved compared to their male counterparts.

The conversations that flowed were very colorful. They ranged from cars to food to college gossip to relation statuses. I noticed men were the ones with the greater sense of humor as they would be the one cracking most of the jokes. Girls, however, were more prompt with their insight into the latest gossip and happenings in college.  1) Frame the study as a larger theoretical, policy, or practical problem. The study will help frame marketing plans at the mall according to the type of gentry that visits it. 2) Pose initial ethnographic research questions.

(aside from essential question) Where is it located? What kind of interiors are there? What kind of people is visiting? What kind of conversations is following? How are they behaving? What is the general mood like? What are the differences between the ways in which the guy is interacting and the way in which the guys are interacting?