Deck 11: Work and the Workplace

Question 1

Compared to industrial wages of around $35 an hour in the United States, comparable workers in Mexico earn

A)$2.90 an hour.
B)$5.90 an hour.
C)$16.90 an hour.
D)$66.90 an hour.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In 1970, the federal government created OSHA to oversee and regulate

A)workplace health and safety.
B)union and management bargaining procedures.
C)the process of outsourcing jobs.
D)the skills needed for new jobs in the Information Revolution.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which term refers to the decline of industrial production that occurred in the United States after about 1950?

A)the global economy
B)the Information Revolution
C)deindustrialization
D)the computer revolution

Answer 3

C

Question 4

If you have an occupation that provides good pay and extensive benefits, you have work in the

A)primary labor market.
B)secondary labor market.
C)secondary sector of the economy.
D)primary sector of the economy.

Question 5

By 1900, the share of the U.S.labor force working on farms was equaled by the share working in

A)retail sales.
B)service jobs.
C)computer-based jobs.
D)industrial jobs.

Question 6

From 1850 until today, there has been a steady increase in the share of the U.S.labor force engaged in

A)industrial work.
B)service work.
C)farming.
D)mining.

Question 7

In 2006, part of the Sago coal mine in West Virginia collapsed, killing twelve men.Which of the following statements about this event is correct?

A)This accident was an exception; mining is federally regulated and is therefore one of the safest occupations.
B)The mine had a clean record with no violations; it was determined that the miners themselves had caused the explosion by not following proper practices.
C)An explosion killed all of the men inside the mine instantly.
D)Over a period of years, this mine had been cited for hundreds of safety violations.

Question 8

When people speak of large corporations operating in many countries with more and more products moving from country to country, they are talking about

A)globalization.
B)deindustrialization.
C)the Information Revolution.
D)the secondary sector of the economy.

Question 9

Which of the following is an occupational hazard that places workers at risk of leukemia and other cancers?

A)stress
B)mining operations
C)radiation
D)repetitive motion

Question 10

Each year, about how many U.S.workers suffer from a serious accident on the job?

A)100
B)1,000
C)110,000
D)1 million

Question 11

According to Karl Marx, alienation in the workplace results from

A)the experience of powerlessness.
B)too much responsibility.
C)dangerous working conditions.
D)a focus on rational efficiency

Question 12

The most recent technological change to the U.S.economy was

A)the Agrarian Revolution.
B)the Industrial Revolution.
C)the Information Revolution.
D)the Union Revolution.

Question 13

Perhaps the most important reason that U.S.companies have moved industrial production abroad is

A)better conditions for ordinary workers in other nations.
B)lower wages paid to workers in other nations.
C)unemployment here at home.
D)no skilled workers here at home.

Question 14

Zeke works in a job that has long been one of the most dangerous types of work, that is

A)driving a bus.
B)mining.
C)office work.
D)piloting commercial aircraft.

Question 15

If you were to work at the top of the primary labor market, you would most likely have a

A)service job.
B)profession.
C)blue-collar job.
D)job in farming.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT one of the three sectors of the economy?

A)the production of raw materials
B)the transformation of raw materials into finished products
C)service work
D)global trade

Question 17

Which of the following types of work poses the highest risk of death on the job?

A)sales jobs
B)professional work
C)transportation
D)agriculture

Question 18

Which term refers to the expansion of economic activity around the world with little regard for national borders?

A)deindustrialization
B)postindustrialization
C)globalization
D)the Information Revolution

Question 19

In the tertiary sector of the economy, most people in the labor force do what type of work?

A)agricultural work
B)factory work
C)service work
D)forestry or mining

Question 20

The Industrial Revolution pushed workers into which sector of the economy?

A)primary sector
B)secondary sector
C)tertiary sector
D)global sector

Question 21

If your job has the quality of McDonaldization, which of the following would you NOT expect to find?

A)efficiency
B)uniformity
C)predictability
D)creativity

Question 22

According to government statistics, which category of people had an unemployment rate three times higher than those with college degrees?

A)high school graduates
B)high school dropouts
C)those with graduate degrees
D)those in skilled trades

Question 23

Andy has been out of work for 3 years.At first, he registered at the unemployment office and actively sought work, but with no results to show for it, he just doesn't bother anymore.Andy is now in the category of

A)temporary workers.
B)adjunct workers.
C)discouraged workers.
D)McJob workers.

Question 24

Which term refers to bias built into the operation of the economy, education, and other social institutions?

A)the glass ceiling
B)McDonaldization
C)institutional discrimination
D)workplace segregation

Question 25

Which of the following people was an important figure in developing the strength of labor unions in the United States?

A)Stanley Milgram
B)John Hope Franklin
C)W.E.B.Du Bois
D)Eugene Debs

Question 26

In 2015, what percentage of the nonfarm U.S.labor force was unionized?

A)11 percent
B)21 percent
C)31 percent
D)41 percent

Question 27

What organizations seek to improve wages and working conditions through various strategies, including collective bargaining and strikes?

A)volunteer associations
B)work teams
C)labor unions
D)factory workers

Question 28

Max Weber saw the Industrial Revolution as one expression of what larger historical process?

A)the rationalization of society
B)increasing workplace alienation
C)increasing social inequality
D)globalization

Question 29

Women make up what percentage of the full-time U.S.labor force?

A)42 percent
B)52 percent
C)62 percent
D)72 percent

Question 30

Which term refers to a barrier-often involving institutional discrimination-that prevents women and other minorities from moving up in the workplace?

A)pink-collar ghetto
B)glass ceiling
C)McDonaldization effect
D)workplace segregation

Question 31

In 2014, the median income for men working full time was

A)$16,194
B)$26,194
C)$36,194
D)$56,194

Question 32

A majority of college and university teachers are now

A)full-time employees with benefits.
B)tenured.
C)under the age of thirty.
D)part-timers or graduate assistants.

Question 33

Including people working in temporary jobs and part-timers, about what percentage of the U.S.labor force works without at least some of the benefits most full-time workers count on, including retirement plans, sick leave, health insurance, and job security?

A)2 percent
B)10 percent
C)20 percent
D)40 percent

Question 34

Many states have "right to work" laws which, among other things,

A)limit the power of corporations to engage in worker lock-outs.
B)guarantee jobs to every citizen of the state.
C)require union membership for all state employees.
D)limit the power of unions to require membership as a condition of hiring.

Question 35

Which of the following terms refers to work guided by the principles of efficiency, predictability, uniformity, and automation?

A)the temping of the workplace
B)Marxist alienation
C)McDonaldization
D)worker competence

Question 36

A century ago, workers needed to develop the manual, industrial skills required for making things; today, workers in the postindustrial economy must develop the

A)intellectual skills required to manipulate symbols.
B)scientific skills required to work with the natural environment.
C)technical skills required to operate heavy machinery.
D)personal skills required to carry out lonely jobs in forests or at sea.

Question 37

One reason for the "jobless recovery" that this nation has experienced in recent years is

A)computer technology, which allows more people to do less work.
B)fewer temporary workers are needed compared to regular employees.
C)U.S.workers are too expensive to compete in the global economy.
D)large investments are being made in education and job training by U.S.companies.

Question 38

In the recent debate over the pay and benefits of public sector employees, Ohio's Governor John Kasich and Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker claimed that

A)all workers should be part of the private sector.
B)states should require all public workers to belong to a union.
C)past public union agreements were causing their states to experience huge budget deficits.
D)unions have no right to exist.

Question 39

By mid-2016, what was the official U.S.unemployment rate?

A)2.0 percent
B)5.0 percent
C)8.0 percent
D)12.0 percent

Question 40

Max Weber understood alienation as the

A)experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness in the workplace.
B)depersonalization of the workplace and society due to modern society's rational focus on efficiency.
C)self-estrangement resulting from lack of satisfactory relationships with significant others.
D)gradual loss of economic security over time.

Question 41

The structural-functional approach highlights how technological change

A)creates conflict between competing businesses.
B)has reduced the importance of science.
C)eliminates some old jobs as it creates new ones.
D)has halted the Industrial Revolution.

Question 42

A basic principle of the structural-functional approach is that all social institutions are

A)in conflict.
B)operating separately.
C)interrelated.
D)symbolic.

Question 43

The structural-functional approach, which suggests that technological change ends up improving society, can be criticized for being too

A)optimistic.
B)pessimistic.
C)radical.
D)micro-level.

Question 44

About what share of U.S.workers spend at least some of a typical workday working at home?

A)almost none
B)25 percent
C)about half
D)75 percent

Question 45

If you claim that basic change is needed to our economic system in order to solve our current problems, from which political point of view are you speaking?

A)conservative
B)radical-right
C)radical-left
D)liberal

Question 46

Telecommuting has what major disadvantage for workers?

A)Long drive times to and from the office.
B)Less time to care for small children or aging parents.
C)It blurs the line between home and work.
D)It greatly lowers personal income.

Question 47

If you claim that people, especially the disadvantaged, look to the government to meet their needs, you are speaking as a

A)liberal.
B)radical on the left.
C)radical on the right.
D)conservative.

Question 48

The social-conflict approach understands work by

A)focusing on how people construct the reality of their lives.
B)treating society as a system that can rebound from disruptions caused by workplace changes.
C)emphasizing social inequality.
D)providing insights about how real people feel about their jobs.

Question 49

From which political point of view would you place great trust in the working of the market?

A)liberal
B)conservative
C)radical left
D)Marxist

Question 50

Which theoretical approach highlights the meaning that people attach to the jobs they hold and the work they perform?

A)structural functional
B)symbolic interaction
C)social conflict
D)feminist