Using Sociology in the Workplace David Francis Senior Manager of Strategy and Research The Toro Co. I'm an SCSU Applied Sociology and Mathematics graduate from the late 80's. Currently I work for the Toro Company - the people that made your childhood miserable by manufacturing lawn mowers that wouldn't break down and give you a break from your chores. I work in the marketing department of Toro's consumer division. I'm responsible for helping plot the strategic direction for the company, monitoring market conditions, monitoring our competition, understanding the consumer, marketing research, and managing the division's E-commerce activity. This is a somewhat different job than what most sociology students think about when considering a degree or career in sociology. I love the sociological thought process and the sociological way of looking at the world - which is why I pursued a degree in sociology. However, when I was preparing for life in the "real world," I had difficulty applying this into something that I could actually make a living from until I realized that there is really very little difference between sociology and marketing. Obviously, they seek very different outcomes - some type of social intervention, policy, or understanding, versus selling a product or service. The methods and techniques through which we arrive at these different endings, however, are the same. Both sociology and marketing seek to understand human behavior and the variables that influence that behavior so that we may intervene. Both require heavy levels of empirical research and observation. Both make use of scientific practices. They are essentially the same. (I'm sure Comte is rolling in his grave.) Given this, I find it difficult to itemize how I use sociology in my day-to-day work environment, because what I do is sociology.