Jacen Mott

Dr. Griffin

UWRT 1102-016

29th, April 2017

Understanding Social Class Within a Marina

Topsail Island Yacht Club is a marina located in Surf City, NC; while the club services as

a club house and marina for its members. Everything provided to the members at a low cost

compared to other marinas along the NC coast. This brings in the middle class families who own

a boat and need a safe place to store it. Having one hundred ninety-two slips the marina has a

large member list, mostly made up of middle class and wealthy people. This club is controlled by

a board committee that is made up of members of the club and who come up with the rules and

regulations for the club. This creates the issue of a small wealthy group controlling the middle

class majority. These differences and attempt of control cause arguments and conflicts in the

community.

As a whole community, the Yacht Club seems to be split into two groups. A majority

group that likes the general manager, and the wealthy group that likes the main manager. With

the manager taking care of the finance and management, the general manager is the face of the

marina with running the forklift and helping customers. Though a split in the club could be

shown by a hosted social event, an event hosted by the general manager for example. The

general manager hosted a shrimp boil party for Independence Day, any member, family or friend

of the club was welcomed. However, a few members of the board committee were against some

of this social gathering and looked down upon it, but the majority wanted the Independence Day

shrimp boil to continue. The party happened, and the party was obviously split; with the
wealthier member staying on the top floor of the club house, drinking and enjoying the night.

The majority stayed on the bottom patio, getting drunk and playing corn hole. Showing a

distinction in the members of the Yacht Club. This happens because two groups prefer to

socialize separately, and this is due to several conflicts throughout the year.

The main purpose of the club is use of the marina, which allows the members to skip the

pain of putting their boat in the water and cleaning it afterwards. This task is left for the Topsail

Island Yacht Club staff, where the general manager takes a boat out of the dry stack using a fork

lift and places it in the water. Then the dockhands take the boat and move it to an open slip for

the members to get in their boat. When the members return from a day out on the water, the

dockhands catch the boat and help unload the members stuff. With the dockhands working

under the general manager, and as a team they coordinate to accomplish the task. The task being

to help the yacht club member with their boat and move it to the forklift loading station. This can

be difficult because there are only eleven boat slips on the water, and there could be sixty boats

out in the water. However, the marina team always successfully completes this task, with the

guidance of the general manager. Though the general manger does a lot of work in the marina, he

works under the manager who works for the board committee.

The other benefits of being in the club allows the members to have access to the pool and

the three story club house. This all seems simple and issue free, but there will always be

complications. The issue all comes down to the board committee being made up of eight

members, who mostly are owners of the dry stack; people who make profit out of the yacht club.

Those people who own parts of the dry stack are considered high-class and wealthier then

the majority. Within the marina, these people own their own boats that are usually large boats.

Some of these boats are considered actual yachts compared to the boats owned by the majority
hobby fisherman. This could cause issues with the club on privileges, like who gets to use the

boat rack for boat maintenance. The rule in the club is one day on the rack, and if someone of the

majority has to have their boat moved for whatever reason off the rack, no one questions the rule.

Though when a nicer boat that belongs to someone of higher class is moved, it becomes a big

issue. Issues like this lead to the higher class believing they are more privileged and powerful

then the middle and lower class; leading to the question, how does social class justify authority?

Social class is usually defined as a lower, middle, or higher class. These are defined by an

individuals social status. Social status is valued by educational achievements, occupational

status, wealth and even style of speech. (Brauer & Bourhis, 602) While authority is a part of

power, and authority is taking action using power. Orta Silvia defines power as an individuals

relative capacity to modify others states by providing or withholding resources or administrating

punishments. (Silvia, 333) This provides use of ones own authority to inforce their social

power. Within social power, there are two definitions: socialized power; using power for the

good of others, and personalized power; using power to benefit ones self. (335)

With social power being a big aspect in this issue, high social power comes in higher leadership

positions. When an individual holds a position, they are influenced on how they use their power.

A communitys culture is a big influence on their role as a leader, for example: goals of the

community set the requirements of being a leader. With this said, in the Yacht Club, the board

committee must regulate the rules for boating purposes to be successful leaders.

Within the Yacht Club, the board committee being the leaders are elected once a year by

the members that attend the election. Any member in the Yacht Club could run and be elected as

a board committee member. However, mostly the marina owners only have interest in these

positions. This could have to do with their social status in the community, which leads to an idea
on why people with high social status want to be leaders. Categorizing as personalized power,

studies show people want to exercise power to justify their social status. (Brauer & Bourhis, 602)

Marius Van Dijke has a hypothesis that social power is increased by increasing an

individuals personalized power. (Dijke, 1) The research shows that power itself is mostly

considered a personalized power, because people are interested in a personal gain. When

someone is given high power, they take advantage of this to control their environment to secure

their own position. To test this idea and Dijkes hypothesis, he conducts two experiments. The

first experiment set psychology students in a position where they can increase their personalized

power by decreasing anothers personalized power. The second experiment was testing the same

results with just a different task at hand. The results showed people want a power advantage, and

do so by increasing their own power. These results show that people will use their resources to

increase their own social power to secure their own social status. (551)

Looking into the Yacht Club, it is possible that some of the board committee is taking a

leadership role to assure their social status. This would explain how the majority of the Yacht

Club has no interest in being part of the board committee, that they do not need to prove

anything. A social issue in the yacht club is that the general manager controls the whole

operation of the marina, although he does not make the rules. This becomes an issue when the

board committee is not satisfied with how the general manager runs the place, which creates

conflict among the two. This is because the higher class depends on the middle class and can

create conflict. Especially when the higher class wants to manage their resources.

Resources play a big role within social classes. Recourses can help identify a social status,

because resources are influenced by wealth and other social aspects. Social Resources can be

difficult to define, this is because these resources are in every part of human interaction and
behaviors. (Donenfeld) Though resources pertaining to this matter are mainly physical resources,

such as money, laws, and personal connections. At the Yacht Club, the manager did not get along

with the general manager. The manager had more power over the general manager, even the

power to lay him off. With the manager being good friends with certain members of the board

committee, he used the resources to have a good reason to lay off the general manger. This was

an issue, because the higher class did not get along with the general manger. However, the

majority loved the help and expertise of the general manger, they treated him as family. Since he

has left, the marina has been less efficient.

The general manager being laid off could have been the results of several conflicts. Little

conflicts like the managers rule on wearing closed toe shoes, which the general manager

disobeyed often. Characteristics of the Social Dominance Theory, that dominant groups control

material goods, wealth and health. (Brauer & Bourhis, 603) This reflects back on how groups

or individuals manage their resources to help secure their social status. Groups and individuals

are powerful groups when they have that ability to do so, and can be defined as a higher social

power if they stereotype others to maintain control. (607)

In a large social system or community power can be distributed in different ways. This is

called the diffusion of social power. (Evers) Evers defines it in two meaning for the United

States: power is diffused when influence over significant political decisions in any context is

dispersed among several relatively autonomous actors or group of actors, and when at the same

time the total grouping of influential is open and fluid enough to allow other individuals and

groups to enter it with only a moderate expenditure of resources. (Evers) In this context, it is

applied that the United States breaks down the power into small parties to equally distribute the

power among the nation. Not only is this power broken down, it is partially available to everyone
with the power to vote and have opportunity to take a power position. This is called voicing an

opinion and voting, a way for the American people to give opposition. (Evers)

United States being a large geographic country, the social classes can be separated by rural towns

and urban cities. Focusing within a city, it is divided by the inner city and suburbs. Which is

constructed of different communities ranging in different social classes. Though they live in

different communities, they share one large community, the city. The issue here is that these

different classes have different views and needs, which causes conflict among the community.

The ideal problem solver is for the communities to express their issues by voicing them, and then

voting on what is right. That works for distributing the communities power among the

community. But when distributing a higher level power among the community, it is voted among

the community as a whole. Now the community has to agree on common terms, but this doesnt

happen so the larger group always has voting power over the others. Leaving the community in a

conflict and a dominant social class.

Leaving the dominant social class in power, does not mean they have complete control.

Although the higher social class controls the main resources, the lower social class allows the

higher class to function. In this loop the lower class provides to the higher class by cleaning and

doing the hard work the higher class will not do. In return, the higher class pays for these

services in different ways. A common way to pay is by direct income, another conflicting way is

through taxes, and these taxes provide services for the lower class to function.

The question in this loop, is which class has authority over the other class. Is it the higher

educated and wealthier class, or the less fortunate lower class? Generally speaking, a person with

authority is looked up upon because of their traits. Traits, such as being clean, well-dressed, and

speaking fluently. Most high class individuals share this trait, and are more approachable then
someone that is messy. This comes to be by conditioning, that someone who seeks power must

become a good leader, and adapt to the traits of someone with authority.

This comes to the question, when did these traits make good leaders? Most of it comes

from the human mind making opinions. Someone who is wealthy, is considered successful and

that they must make a great leader. (Cialdini) Or that the individual is healthy, tall and strong is

someone who can protect you. (Cialdini) Which is easy to do for someone who has wealth to

afford a healthy lifestyle. Another trait of a good leader is to be happy and confident, and usually

the poor are generally depressed and in a negative mood. Higher power individuals usually and

assume that they will experience positive effects. (Brauer & Bourhis, 603) While less powerful

people believe they experience the opposite. (603) Generally speaking, a wealthy individual has

more opportunities on leadership traits then a low class individual.

For the Yacht Club, there is no doubt that the board committee has the nicest boats and

are wealthy. It is possible the majority of the Yacht Club voted on these individuals because they

showed interest in taking initiative for the board position, and appear as successful people. As for

the United States government, people are elected for a position that they qualify for. Giving

people the freedom to work hard and qualify their self for a position they desire. With the

positions in power being demanding, it takes people with high education and good skills to

qualify; which usually leads to wealth.

Comparing and contrasting the United States social class with the social class in the

Yacht Club, it allows for an understanding that these same social issues happen in large and

small communities for similar reasons. Giving an understanding that these social issues occur in

any form of hierarchy. That it is not an understanding that only applies to the Yacht club, but

within any community with social class divisions and divided power.
 With the Topsail Island Yacht Club having one hundred ninety-two members, and a small

board committee of only eight, it seems like a large portion of the club has no interest in the rules

and regulations of the club. Even if it creates conflict with their being in the club. For the

members that have been voted as a leader in the club, they all fit the social idea of a good leader.

They all are wealthy, and mostly old. The one that isnt old, is very healthy. They all have some

kind of experience in leadership and high interest in boating. The majority that does not attend

the club meetings, are possibly just there for the enjoyment of the club; and not to brag on

wealth. For this distribution of power, the majority can care less, but the majority takes

advantage of this position. Possibly for their own benefit to make them feel secure of their social

class. Which these individuals also have some of the nicest boats, reinforcing the theory that they

want to show off their nice lifestyle. As the Yacht Club is place for a hobby, it is understandable

for the majority to be more interested in relaxing instead of dealing with the uptight individuals

that assume power.

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