Some people simply don't know who is in charge / myLot

Hong Kong

June 12, 2009 9:47am CST

There are situations where we know for sure who is in charge. You go to shop, you are in charge and the salesman have to serve you and make sure you feel well. Not the other way round. You go to a restaurant and have dinner, you are in charge and the waiters have to serve you and make sure you feel well. Not the other way round. But there are situations where who is truly in charge is not so obvious. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean every people are the same. For instance, when your boss ask you to do a task, who is in charge? The boss seems to be in charge because he is the one assigning tasks and he is the one determining your payroll. Now, if the tasks you do are simple and you can be replaced by easily, that may possibly be the case. But what if you are experienced enough and not that easy to find a replacement for you? Do you think you are worried that your boss will fire you or your boss is more worried you will leave your current position? This is just an example, but what I want to say is that there are just so many more similar things happening around us everyday that people are just confused or even ignored who is actually truly in charge. The problem is they think they are in charge where they usually are not and therefore are doing things stupidly.

1 response

cobrateacher

@cobrateacher (8432)

• United States

12 Jun 09

fasai, I think this is one of the cultural differences between where you are and the US. If you shop at some of the high-end stores, the sales staff will act as if they're doing you an enormous favor if they even talk with you. They clearly think they're in charge. Waiters often tell the customer what to order, or bring things you didn't request because they like whatever it is. Who's in charge there? I could go on and on. The basic idea, though, is that it seldom matters. Except for highly sensitive situations, nobody's really in charge. We do our jobs well, and the boss doesn't matter. For example, I teach with a principal who has often expressed his dislike of those of us who are veterans. He wants only young people on his staff. Who cares? I was there before he came, and I'll probably be there after he's gone. When I was a beginner, 41 years ago, it was the opposite. Beginners had to prove themselves ans live up to the expectations of the veterans. Just about the only time Americans are concerned about who's in charge is if we want to go over somebody's head to complain to someone with more authority.