Question 1

Analyses of medical errors in hospitals indicate that _____ are most often the cause.

Accepted Answer

A) incompetent physicians 
B) exhausted staff 
C) structural flaws 
D) advanced technologies 
A) incompetent physicians 
B) exhausted staff 
C) structural flaws 
D) advanced technologies C

Question 2

People have traditionally considered oceanic fish stocks as belonging to no one.Fishers in an open-access system often attempt to catch as many fish as possible.But the overfishing of these areas eventually results in a decreased population of fish,which can cause the commercial extinction of particular species.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A) the iron cage. 
B) the tragedy of the commons. 
C) the free-rider problem. 
D) a cultural belief. 
A) the iron cage. 
B) the tragedy of the commons. 
C) the free-rider problem. 
D) a cultural belief. B

Question 3

U.S.school calendars today are based on the _____ economy of the past.

Accepted Answer

A) farming 
B) metropolitan 
C) industrial 
D) flourishing 
A) farming 
B) metropolitan 
C) industrial 
D) flourishing A

Question 4

Many important resources are available to all people,even those people who do not contribute to them.Examples of these resources include public roads,public education,and public radio and television programming.How would a sociologist account for the fact that many people who benefit from these,either directly or indirectly,choose not to pay their fair share?

Accepted Answer

A) People believe their personal contribution (or lack of contribution)does not have much effect on the continued existence or quality of the good or service. 
B) People often choose to act in their own immediate self-interests. 
C) People often see no reason to incur personal costs if they do not have to. 
D) All of the above. 
A) People believe their personal contribution (or lack of contribution)does not have much effect on the continued existence or quality of the good or service. 
B) People often choose to act in their own immediate self-interests. 
C) People often see no reason to incur personal costs if they do not have to. 
D) All of the above.

Question 5

According to the textbook,what is a multinational corporation?

Accepted Answer

A) a large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and having specific job descriptions 
B) a pyramid-shaped structure with a few powerful positions at the top and many virtually powerless positions at the bottom 
C) a company that has manufacturing,production,and marketing divisions in multiple countries 
D) any organization that hires employees from myriad countries 
A) a large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and having specific job descriptions 
B) a pyramid-shaped structure with a few powerful positions at the top and many virtually powerless positions at the bottom 
C) a company that has manufacturing,production,and marketing divisions in multiple countries 
D) any organization that hires employees from myriad countries

Question 6

When is an organization most likely to imitate what other organizations are doing?

Accepted Answer

A) when the organization is financially successful 
B) when Weber's "iron cage" appears weak 
C) when there is uncertainty about what actions might be effective 
D) when the organization is internally stable 
A) when the organization is financially successful 
B) when Weber's "iron cage" appears weak 
C) when there is uncertainty about what actions might be effective 
D) when the organization is internally stable

Question 7

SoftCom started out as six college friends working in a garage.If something needed to be done,any one of the six could do it.As the company got busier,each friend took responsibility for specific tasks.The company now has a(n)

Accepted Answer

A) social dilemma. 
B) kleptocracy. 
C) division of labor. 
D) synecdoche. 
A) social dilemma. 
B) kleptocracy. 
C) division of labor. 
D) synecdoche.

Question 8

According to Weber,all of these are characteristics of bureaucracies EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) their structure is hierarchical. 
B) they are unfair. 
C) they are governed by rules and regulations. 
D) they have a division of labor. 
A) their structure is hierarchical. 
B) they are unfair. 
C) they are governed by rules and regulations. 
D) they have a division of labor.

Question 9

Selma is a professor who listens to National Public Radio on a daily basis but refuses to contribute to her local station's fund drives.Selma is a free-rider.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Which of the following countries has the shortest school year?

Accepted Answer

A) Germany 
B) Japan 
C) South Korea 
D) United States 
A) Germany 
B) Japan 
C) South Korea 
D) United States

Question 11

Is your college or university a bureaucracy according to Weber's definition? Identify the ways in which it does (or does not conform)to Weber's description.

Accepted Answer

According to Max Weber's definition, a b

Question 12

Division of labor means that

Accepted Answer

A) the working classes are unable to agree about important issues. 
B) work is designed so that tasks can be done by any available worker. 
C) job descriptions carefully lay out the responsibilities of each employee. 
D) people have too many tasks to do to become proficient at any of them. 
A) the working classes are unable to agree about important issues. 
B) work is designed so that tasks can be done by any available worker. 
C) job descriptions carefully lay out the responsibilities of each employee. 
D) people have too many tasks to do to become proficient at any of them.

Question 13

How do middle-level managers in bureaucracies deal with their relatively low chances of moving up to the top of the pyramid structure? What are some of the lower level employees' responses to their boredom and lack of control? Why are these fundamentally sociological questions?

Accepted Answer

Middle-level managers in bureaucracies o

Question 14

The National Education Association is an example of a(n)

Accepted Answer

A) organization. 
B) coherence system. 
C) social structure. 
D) multinational corporation. 
A) organization. 
B) coherence system. 
C) social structure. 
D) multinational corporation.

Question 15

In general,organizations are more similar than different.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

In a complex society,organizations help to meet many basic needs.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Which term refers to a system of authority in which the majority of people are ruled by a few powerful individuals?

Accepted Answer

A) oligarchy 
B) cronyism 
C) nepotism 
D) universalism 
A) oligarchy 
B) cronyism 
C) nepotism 
D) universalism

Question 18

What is the definition of McDonaldization?

Accepted Answer

A) a situation in which people refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is freely available 
B) a situation in which people acting in their own self-interest use up commonly available but limited resources 
C) the process by which the characteristics of the fast food restaurant come to dominate other areas of social life 
D) the process by which jobs are subdivided into simple tasks requiring less skilled employees 
A) a situation in which people refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is freely available 
B) a situation in which people acting in their own self-interest use up commonly available but limited resources 
C) the process by which the characteristics of the fast food restaurant come to dominate other areas of social life 
D) the process by which jobs are subdivided into simple tasks requiring less skilled employees

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of an informal system that allows a bureaucracy to function?

Accepted Answer

A) plea bargaining in the criminal justice system 
B) standardized testing in the education system 
C) open-water fishing in the marine sciences 
D) students who speak up in a classroom setting 
A) plea bargaining in the criminal justice system 
B) standardized testing in the education system 
C) open-water fishing in the marine sciences 
D) students who speak up in a classroom setting

Question 20

Why doesn't a bureaucracy stop functioning when an individual bureaucrat retires or dies?

Accepted Answer

A) Any individual bureaucrat's duties are not very important. 
B) Each bureaucrat simply fills a position and can be replaced 
C) Bureaucracies are highly flexible and quickly adapt to change. 
D) All bureaucracies have multiple people performing the same job. 
A) Any individual bureaucrat's duties are not very important. 
B) Each bureaucrat simply fills a position and can be replaced 
C) Bureaucracies are highly flexible and quickly adapt to change. 
D) All bureaucracies have multiple people performing the same job.

Analyses of medical errors in hospitals indicate that _____ are most often the cause.

U.S.school calendars today are based on the _____ economy of the past.

According to the textbook,what is a multinational corporation?

When is an organization most likely to imitate what other organizations are doing?

SoftCom started out as six college friends working in a garage.If something needed to be done,any one of the six could do it.As the company got busier,each friend took responsibility for specific tasks.The company now has a(n)

According to Weber,all of these are characteristics of bureaucracies EXCEPT

Selma is a professor who listens to National Public Radio on a daily basis but refuses to contribute to her local station's fund drives.Selma is a free-rider.

Which of the following countries has the shortest school year?

Is your college or university a bureaucracy according to Weber's definition? Identify the ways in which it does (or does not conform)to Weber's description.

Division of labor means that

How do middle-level managers in bureaucracies deal with their relatively low chances of moving up to the top of the pyramid structure? What are some of the lower level employees' responses to their boredom and lack of control? Why are these fundamentally sociological questions?

The National Education Association is an example of a(n)

In general,organizations are more similar than different.

In a complex society,organizations help to meet many basic needs.

Which term refers to a system of authority in which the majority of people are ruled by a few powerful individuals?

What is the definition of McDonaldization?

Which of the following is an example of an informal system that allows a bureaucracy to function?

Why doesn't a bureaucracy stop functioning when an individual bureaucrat retires or dies?

Taking a New Look at a Familiar World

Seeing and Thinking Sociologically

Building Reality: the Social Construction of Knowledge

Building Order: Culture and History

Building Identity: Socialization

Supporting Identity: the Presentation of Self

Building Social Relationships: Intimacy and Family

Constructing Difference: Social Deviance

The Architecture of Stratification: Social Class and Inequality

The Architecture of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity

The Architecture of Inequality: Sex and Gender

Global Dynamics and Population Demographic Trends

The Architects of Change: Reconstructing Society

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Exam 9: The Structure of Society: Organizations and Social Institutions

Analyses of medical errors in hospitals indicate that _____ are most often the cause.

U.S.school calendars today are based on the _____ economy of the past.

According to the textbook,what is a multinational corporation?

When is an organization most likely to imitate what other organizations are doing?

SoftCom started out as six college friends working in a garage.If something needed to be done,any one of the six could do it.As the company got busier,each friend took responsibility for specific tasks.The company now has a(n)

According to Weber,all of these are characteristics of bureaucracies EXCEPT

Selma is a professor who listens to National Public Radio on a daily basis but refuses to contribute to her local station's fund drives.Selma is a free-rider.

Which of the following countries has the shortest school year?

Is your college or university a bureaucracy according to Weber's definition? Identify the ways in which it does (or does not conform)to Weber's description.

Division of labor means that

How do middle-level managers in bureaucracies deal with their relatively low chances of moving up to the top of the pyramid structure? What are some of the lower level employees' responses to their boredom and lack of control? Why are these fundamentally sociological questions?

The National Education Association is an example of a(n)

In general,organizations are more similar than different.

In a complex society,organizations help to meet many basic needs.

Which term refers to a system of authority in which the majority of people are ruled by a few powerful individuals?

What is the definition of McDonaldization?

Which of the following is an example of an informal system that allows a bureaucracy to function?

Why doesn't a bureaucracy stop functioning when an individual bureaucrat retires or dies?

Taking a New Look at a Familiar World

Seeing and Thinking Sociologically

Building Reality: the Social Construction of Knowledge

Building Order: Culture and History

Building Identity: Socialization

Supporting Identity: the Presentation of Self

Building Social Relationships: Intimacy and Family

Constructing Difference: Social Deviance

The Architecture of Stratification: Social Class and Inequality

The Architecture of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity

The Architecture of Inequality: Sex and Gender

Global Dynamics and Population Demographic Trends

The Architects of Change: Reconstructing Society

Filters