Life in the Fast Lane. An Observational Study in a Bakery

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,7, University of Applied Sciences Aalen, language: English, abstract: This paper describes a detailed, qualitative exploration of social behavior concerning interaction and communication on individuals of different age and gender on the basis of a hidden observation within a bakery in southern Germany. The existing literature states a drastically change in values regarding diverse generations, which is consistent with the authors results. The first outstanding finding of the investigation was the generational difference in personal interaction between the customer and the cashier. The second significant discovery was the different perception of time amongst younger and older individuals in the process of shopping at a bakery. This leads to the assumption that productivity and efficiency surpass the desire for social contact. Therefore, this finding provides an important contribution towards better understanding generational distinctions in behavior and the altered conception of time as a resource.