Conformity and Obedience - Essay Example

At work, conformity is shown when employees wear clothes that are approved by the dress code.

Obedience is the ability to follow the commands of others. This can be illustrated by teenagers’ behavior of their leader who may tell them to jump off the bridge or try drugs. In case a teenager is obedient to his group leader, he would follow this path.  

Conformity is not always desirable as well. For example, at a workplace very often conformity may prevent an individual from further career growth.  On the one hand, once an individual rejects to conform, he may fall of the society. On the other hand, an individual’s ability to stay out of the crowd is his desire to become a leader. Thus if a company suggests wearing black ties, once an employee comes in a yellow tie he can be strictly criticized. But the matter is to reach high performance at a workplace and no matter what the color of his tie is. This is an example of when conformity may be preventive for further performance in a company. I think that dress code turns employees into mindless crow following others. In reality, if a dress code is uncomfortable for employees, it is better to talk to CEO and explain to him that for better performance people in a company should feel comfortable.

The same principle works in case children have to obey their parents and to enter the University chosen for them by their family. In this case, blind obedience can be damaging to a child’s future. Thus it is necessary to talk about the issue with the parents and insist on the possibility of his choice of a place for higher education. Parents should try to understand their children and try not to impose their way of thinking too much on young people not to destroy their personality and their future life.

Therefore in the modern culture conformity and obedience may be oppressive to an individual.  On the other hand, conformity and obedience are two integral components of social order and there is no need for every individual to fall from this order to keep the life of every society good and stable.