Deck 14: Work And Economic Life

Question 1

Transactions outside the sphere of regular employment,sometimes involving the exchange of cash for services but often involving direct exchange of goods or services,are said to make up:

A) the family
B) the formal economy
C) the political system
D) the informal economy
E) technology

Answer 1

D

Question 2

During the summer of 2008,gas prices climbed to unprecedented levels.Demand for large SUVs and trucks declined as consumers opted for smaller automobiles and hybrid cars.It is difficult for car companies to shift their production plants to accommodate this demand because:

A) fordist systems are quite rigid, and production lines require an enormous amount of reinvestment in order to change
B) the working conditions are such that people no longer want to work in the auto manufacturing industry
C) the pay is too low for people to want to work in the auto manufacturing industry
D) U.S. workers prefer to work for Korean carmakers that provide a more stimulating environment
E) the manufacture of hybrids takes a higher level of skill than making SUVs or trucks, and there is not enough skilled labor to make the change

Answer 2

A

Question 3

from a sociological perspective,women who are homemakers:

A) do not work
B) desperately want a job, but do not have the skills to get one
C) do work, although they are not part of the paid labor force
D) spend most of their time shopping
E) spend a lot of time relaxing with their friends

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the U.S.Bureau of the Census,the number of occupations the U.S.economy has is:.

A) 5,000
B) 4,000
C) 10,000
D) 15,000
E) 20,000

Question 5

The type of position a worker would most likely be dissatisfied with is a:

A) creative profession
B) helping profession that is a white-collar, relatively high-status job that pays reasonably well
C) helping profession that requires physical labor, late-night hours, and low levels of educational attainment
D) profession with a high degree of autonomy
E) stressful, high-level executive position

Question 6

Modern societies have thousands of occupations and therefore a great deal of:

A) Taylorism
B) self-sufficiency
C) economic interdependence
D) apprenticeship
E) farming

Question 7

The system developed by _______________,in which mass production is tied to the cultivation of mass markets,is known as _______________.

A) Henry ford; Taylorism
B) Henry ford; fordism
C) frederick Winslow Taylor; fordism
D) frederick Winslow Taylor; scientific management
E) Homer Winslow; Simpson management

Question 8

Work done in exchange for a regular wage or salary is considered:

A) drudgery
B) an occupation
C) a wager
D) wealth
E) a Taylorism

Question 9

Carrying out tasks requiring the expenditure of mental and physical effort to produce goods and services that cater to human needs would be termed:

A) work
B) occupation
C) income
D) wealth
E) Taylorism

Question 10

Work provides _______________,which in turn tends to structure people's psychological makeup and daily lives.

A) capitalism
B) housework
C) employee discounts
D) personal identity
E) health insurance

Question 11

Among those listed here,a worker would most likely be dissatisfied as a:

A) clergyperson
B) physical therapist
C) firefighter
D) education administrator
E) roofer

Question 12

Karl Marx argues that workers in capitalist societies:

A) are the strongest advocates for the companies in which they work
B) are dehumanized by tedious and demeaning labor processes over which they have no control
C) work in harmony with their co-workers to produce products in which they have great pride
D) prefer to be told what to do rather than having to make decisions for themselves
E) get large employee discounts that make the jobs worthwhile

Question 13

An U.S.management consultant named _______________ invented a system of _______________ in which industrial processes were studied to break them down into precisely timed and organized simple operations.

A) Henry ford; Taylorism
B) Henry ford; fordism
C) frederick Winslow Taylor; fordism
D) frederick Winslow Taylor; scientific management
E) Homer Winslow; Simpson management

Question 14

The following that the text offers as a reason to explain why having a job is important to people is:

A) to make home life seem appealing in comparison to the drudgery of work
B) to get away from depressing home life
C) to boss people around
D) to make social contacts
E) for no other reason than to earn money

Question 15

The larger traditional societies had 20 to 30 major craft trades,and most people were:

A) metalworkers
B) self-sufficient
C) economically interdependent
D) managers
E) unskilled laborers

Question 16

Work has become divided into a number of different occupations in which people specialize.Sociologists refer to this as:

A) division of labor
B) self-provisioning
C) occupational division
D) occupational segregation
E) technology

Question 17

The item listed here that is NOT part of the informal economy is:

A) a teenager occasionally babysitting and being paid in cash
B) a plumber working "off the books"
C) a server not claiming all of her tips
D) an electrician being paid overtime
E) illegal drugs

Question 18

According to the text,South China has been turning into the:

A) banking center of the world
B) workshop of the world
C) tourist haven for Europeans
D) place where more developed countries bring their garbage
E) most unionized place in the world

Question 19

Taylorism resulted in:

A) workers' loss of control over knowledge of the production process
B) increased autonomy for craft workers
C) the rise in skilled labor
D) massive unemployment
E) an increase in the social significance of work

Question 20

Henry ford paid his workers well and in 1914 raised their wages.He did this to ensure compliance in the workforce and:

A) because he felt responsible for the people who worked for him
B) to see that they could be very happy doing their job
C) to enable workers to afford to buy the products they made
D) to allow women to afford to stay home and raise children
E) to share the profits that he had made from the products that they had made

Question 21

Jobs in which workers control the pace and content of their work within general guidelines are referred to as being:

A) self-provisioning
B) high-trust systems
C) low-trust systems
D) occupations
E) work

Question 22

from 1950 to 1980,reference to the number of union members as a percentage of the number of people who could potentially be union members declined in most of the developed countries is the:

A) Taylor ratio
B) ford ratio
C) union density
D) division of labor
E) multiplication of labor

Question 23

The one of the following that provides the best explanation for the decline in membership in labor unions in the United States is the:

A) increased political power of the Republican Party
B) high cost of union dues relative to lower wages
C) increase in the number of women employed in the manufacturing sector
D) increase in service jobs coupled with higher unemployment
E) new constitutional amendments making unionizing workers more difficult

Question 24

The position considered to be in a high-trust system is:

A) engineer
B) factory worker
C) cashier at a fast-food restaurant
D) data entry clerk
E) phone operator

Question 25

According to Karl Marx,capitalism reduces many people's work to dull,uninteresting tasks,over which workers have no influence or control.He referred to this situation and the feelings it engendered as:

A) self-provisioning
B) informal economy
C) scientific management
D) the division of labor
E) alienation

Question 26

Unionized workers at Bill's Bulb World would like to change the overtime regulations at work.The workers have to make changes by:

A) introducing a new regulation to management and discussing how to make changes
B) suggesting new regulations to management, and if management does not agree, striking.
C) making management an offer it can't refuse.
D) talking to their legislators to force management to make changes.
E) implementing new overtime regulations and then presenting them to management.

Question 27

Harnessing science to machinery to achieve greater productive efficiency is known as:

A) family
B) economy
C) political system
D) religion
E) technology

Question 28

A temporary work stoppage by a group of employees who want to express a grievance or enforce a demand is called:

A) self-provisioning
B) a lockout
C) absenteeism
D) a strike
E) a riot

Question 29

Richard freemen and Joel Rogers's Worker Representation and Participation Survey excluded:

A) entry-level workers
B) self-employed people
C) private sector workers
D) employees in large firms
E) retail sales

Question 30

According to freeman and Rogers's study,what U.S.workers want most from their jobs is:

A) more money
B) more time off
C) more flexibility
D) fewer rules and regulations
E) more influence at work

Question 31

Jobs that are set by management,geared toward machines,and give workers little control are referred to as being:

A) self-provisioning
B) high-trust systems
C) low-trust systems
D) occupations
E) work

Question 32

Institutions that produce and distribute goods and services make up:

A) the family
B) the economy
C) the political system
D) religion
E) technology

Question 33

According to the text,one reason for the decrease in unionization lies in the labor unions themselves.In 2005,seven leading unions broke from the AfL-CIO and formed their own,known as Change to Win.A significant change in their attempts to unionize workers is:

A) passing the Employee free Choice Act, which would require employers to recognize a union if the majority of its workers signed cards saying they were in favor
B) passing the Employee Unionization Act, which allows people to unionize and strike in Right to Work states
C) advocating for new legislation that puts Wal-Mart in the spotlight for the numerous abuses of its workers
D) ensuring a workers' bill of rights that provides equal access to health care
E) encouraging more strikes as a tool to achieve labor union goals

Question 34

Compared with other jobs,union membership is much higher in:

A) agriculture
B) construction
C) retail sales
D) truck driving
E) government

Question 35

According to the text,one of the reasons for the decrease in unionization is the labor union itself.In 2005,seven leading unions broke from the AfL-CIO and formed their own,known as Change to Win.A significant change in their attempts to unionize workers is:

A) advocating for freedom of choice in unionization
B) dissolving current contracts
C) requiring employers to negotiate
D) concentrating on workers who are employed in jobs that cannot be sent overseas
E) advocating for undocumented workers

Question 36

One of the most surprising findings of the Worker Representation and Participation Survey is that of respondents:

A) 90% stated that they wanted to work in an organization that had a short work week and good health benefits
B) 70% indicated that they would like to work in an organization run solely by the employees
C) 63% indicated that they would choose to work in an organization run jointly by management and employees
D) 63% indicated that they would like to work in an organization run by a multinational corporation
E) 90% stated that they would like to work in an organization run by a national corporation

Question 37

Traditionally,union workers have been employed in the manufacturing sector.Recently,this trend has been changing,but successful unionizing of workers has increased among:

A) Wal-Mart employees
B) undocumented workers
C) foreign nationals
D) nurses
E) corporate executives

Question 38

Theodore works for a marketing company and travels regularly for his job.His work schedule is flexible,and he works on his own projects.This company uses the type of managerial system known as:

A) informal system
B) Taylor system
C) ford system
D) low-trust system
E) high-trust system

Question 39

According to the text,the percentage of workers in in the United States in 2011 who were members of a labor union was:

A)11.9%
B)18.7%
C) 24%
D)31.5%
E) 40%

Question 40

The one of the following that has NOT been a latent consequence of scientific management and mass production is:

A) a rigid production system
B) the alienation of workers
C) a close worker supervision and control
D) a bureaucracy
E) an increase in worker autonomy

Question 41

The dominant type of corporate capitalism today is:

A) family capitalism
B) managerial capitalism
C) institutional capitalism
D) communism
E) socialism

Question 42

The tremendous increase in transnational corporations over the past 30 years has been made possible by the:

A) dominance of family capitalism
B) advances in transportation and communications
C) elimination of poverty in the developing world
D) growth of unions
E) influence of socialist policies

Question 43

According to Richard Barnet and John Cavanagh,billions of bits of information stored in computers that track an endless stream of currency exchanges,credit card transactions,insurance plans,and the buying and selling of stocks and bonds make up the global:

A) cultural bazaar
B) shopping mall
C) workplace
D) financial network
E) positioning satellite

Question 44

According to Sanford Jacoby,"welfare capitalism":

A) was a paternalistic model in which corporations controlled workers through moral education
B) was at its height just after the Great Depression
C) reappeared in the 1960s in the form of government subsidies to corporations
D) encouraged unionization
E) characterizes contemporary U.S. capitalism

Question 45

It seems that every few weeks another corporate merger or acquisition occurs.The factor that has facilitated this is that:

A) governments have decreased the amount of oversight they have over corporations
B) businesses want to diversify to acquire ones in different industries
C) corporations are much cheaper to acquire now
D) governments see that it as easier to regulate only a few companies that have merged rather than several corporations that are competing against one another
E) government mandates

Question 46

Large corporations that have branches in two or more countries are referred to as:

A) family capitalists
B) managerial capitalists
C) transnational corporations
D) communists
E) entrepreneurs

Question 47

When a small group of giant corporations predominate in an industry,they constitute a(n):

A) low-trust system
B) high-trust system
C) monopoly
D) public company
E) oligopoly

Question 48

When one firm is in a commanding position in an industry,it is a(n):

A) low-trust system
B) high-trust system
C) monopoly
D) public company
E) oligopoly

Question 49

According to Richard Barnet and John Cavanagh,the poor do not have the resources to participate in the global:

A) cultural bazaar
B) shopping mall
C) workplace
D) financial network
E) positioning satellite

Question 50

The stage of corporate capitalism that is dominated by large firms run by individual entrepreneurs or their family members and passed on to their descendants is:

A) family capitalism
B) managerial capitalism
C) institutional capitalism
D) communism
E) socialism

Question 51

The parts of the U.S.economy in which the entrepreneur is still common are:

A) government agencies
B) small firms
C) big corporations
D) grocery stores
E) clothing stores

Question 52

The economic system that involves restless expansion and investment to accumulate capital is:

A) communism
B) socialism
C) social democracy
D) capitalism
E) cumulus system

Question 53

The stage of corporate capitalism in which the company is itself a more defined economic entity,separate from the entrepreneurial family,and controlled by managers is known as:

A) family capitalism
B) managerial capitalism
C) institutional capitalism
D) communism
E) socialism

Question 54

The stage of corporate capitalism based on the practice of corporations owning shares in other firms with interlocking directorates controlling much of the corporate landscape is referred to as:

A) family capitalism
B) managerial capitalism
C) institutional capitalism
D) communism
E) socialism

Question 55

Capitalism is characterized as:

A) centralization of authority with close worker/management relationships
B) private ownership and open competition
C) worker participation in decision making and profit distribution
D) a caring and enlightened leadership devoted to paying workers fair wages
E) return of profits for community and civic development

Question 56

Images and dreams are spread throughout the world,even to the developing world,through movies,TV programs,music,videos,games,toys,and T-shirts.Richard Barnet and John Cavanagh call this the global:

A) cultural bazaar
B) shopping mall
C) workplace
D) financial network
E) positioning satellite

Question 57

The following that characterizes capitalism as a way of organizing economic life is:

A) private ownership of the means of production
B) public ownership of the means of production
C) government-controlled markets
D) expensive materials and labor
E) pre-Industrial Revolution labor

Question 58

The following statement about the U.S.economy that is true is that:

A) the 200 largest manufacturing corporations control more than half of all manufacturing assets
B) entrepreneurs are virtually obsolete
C) families run most of the largest firms
D) the power and significance of corporations have declined over time
E) most corporations operate domestically

Question 59

Since the beginning of the twentieth century,capitalist economies have been increasingly dominated by:

A) communists
B) socialists
C) corporations
D) entrepreneurs
E) labor unions

Question 60

Richard Barnet and John Cavanagh refer to the international division of labor as the global:

A) cultural bazaar
B) shopping mall
C) workplace
D) financial network
E) positioning satellite

Question 61

The "race to the bottom" in relation to the global economy means that:

A) retailers and manufacturers are competing to have the most appealing work conditions and benefits for the lowest-level employees
B) retailers and manufacturers are making an effort to give the lowest-level workers more decision-making power
C) retailers and manufacturers are building more and more factories underground so they do not have to worry about environmental degradation
D) retailers and manufacturers will go anywhere to find the lowest wages
E) large retailers are racing to acquire all small firms with the goal of making small firms obsolete

Question 62

Many Americans who purchase Honda Accords claim that the car is more reliable than U.S.-built cars.The irony in this belief is that

A) Hondas are built in Japan with money from the U.S. and Canadian governments
B) Honda Accords have the lowest reliability rating of all sedans
C) Japanese automobile manufacturers contribute more to U.S. universities than do U.S. automobile manufacturers
D) workers at Japanese automobile plants have arranged baseball tournaments similar to those of the workers in the United States.
E) most Honda Accords are built in North America with parts manufactured in the United States.

Question 63

Approximately one-third of Intel's workforce is located outside the United States and selected Dalian,China,to be the home to its chip fabrication plant because:

A) cheap labor is available for multinational corporations
B) China has a growing supply of engineers and offers incentives
C) it is not exposed to the same environmental regulations as in the United States
D) it is easier to manage the workers because Chinese culture emphasizes obedience
E) Chinese workers are not as lazy as U.S. workers

Question 64

Being a private secretary was once a very prestigious male occupation but lost its prestige because:

A) with technology, there was really no need for someone to perform this type of administrative duties
B) global outsourcing required men to enter into more technologically based occupations
C) post-fordism established a pattern of men moving away from the office and into warehouses and production facilities
D) more women entered the field, and as it became an occupation associated with women, it became a clerical position
E) private secretaries did tasks that were far more complicated than contemporary secretaries do

Question 65

A characteristic of post-fordism is having:

A) highly bureaucratic business structures
B) vertically organized business structures
C) mass production
D) in-house production
E) job insecurity

Question 66

Raphi has a degree in business management and information technology.In the past few years,he has been a consultant on a new computer game,a manager of a small technology-development firm,and a Web designer for new small businesses.He recently started his own business that gives technology help to individuals and small businesses.Raphi is considered a(n):

A) part-time worker
B) flexible worker
C) portfolio worker
D) career jumper
E) alienated worker

Question 67

The factory in Dongguan in southern China that makes a million pairs of athletic shoes a month for Nike,Adidas,and other major brands is an excellent example of:

A) flexible production
B) good business practices
C) electronic data interchange
D) globalized product services
E) transnational corporate culture

Question 68

Although some large corporations are still strongly centralized bureaucracies based in the United States,most today are:

A) smaller than they used to be
B) resistant to joining with foreign-based firms to share strategic planning
C) investing in factories and equipment in the United States that produce tangible products
D) unable to compete in the global economy
E) more like an enterprise web with decentralized operations across the globe

Question 69

The sociologist who sees the implementation of automation in the workplace as a way to reduce the alienation experienced by workers is:

A) Robert Blauner
B) Harry Braverman
C) Shoshana Zuboff
D) Richard Sennett
E) Anthony Giddens

Question 70

The process of replacing human labor power with programmable machines,or _______________,is called _______________.

A) robots; automation
B) automats; robota
C) high-trust systems; globalization
D) robots; alienation
E) low-trust systems; capitalism

Question 71

The U.S.occupational structure has undergone a good many changes during the previous 100 years.An example of how the occupational structure has changed is that:

A) globalization necessitates more international travel
B) manufacturers of university logo sports apparel found that it was actually more expensive to manufacture their products in Asian sweatshops than in U.S. cities and thus closed the sweatshops
C) the average working career globally is longer
D) the changes in the economy mean that fewer U.S. workers will remain with the same company throughout their working lives and more will become portfolio workers
E) the vast majority of U.S. workers are now employed in manual labor

Question 72

It is true with respect to global outsourcing that

A) many major U.S. clothing companies make their own apparel
B) most garment manufacturers directly employ garment workers
C) clothing manufacturers own the factories where their clothes are made
D) the system of global outsourcing of clothing provides job security for garment workers
E) one trend in global production is the emergence of giant transnational corporations in parts of Asia

Question 73

Unemployment is increasingly a standard condition in the U.S.economy because:

A) the success of Keynesian economics mandated a continuous cycle of unemployment
B) as welfare benefits have increased, it has become unnecessary to work to have a decent life
C) the economic prosperity during President Clinton's time in office was followed by the corporate-friendly policies of George W. Bush
D) U.S. workers have become increasingly lazy
E) the worldwide economic recession was combined with a reduced need for labor power

Question 74

In a 1983 review of the literature on "the skill debate," Spenner found that:

A) most jobs have been "deskilled"
B) most jobs have been "upskilled"
C) jobs have been "upskilled" in terms of their complexity of tasks, but "deskilled" in terms of control of their work by the workers
D) skill levels have remained essentially unchanged
E) the notion of "skill" in most jobs has always been overrated

Question 75

The statement that is true concerning the iPod is that:

A) Apple manufactures it
B) for each $299 iPod sold, Apple makes about $8
C) about 90% of the $299 retail price is retained by U.S. firms
D) the final assembly of the iPod in China contributed to more than 50% of its value
E) more than half of the retail price goes toward retailing, marketing, distribution, and Apple's revenues.

Question 76

The one of these who is LEAST likely to have a job is a(n):

A) 18-year-old high school graduate
B) resident of Hartford, Connecticut
C) middle-age African American
D) recent graduate of law school
E) 30-year old with an associate degree from a technical college

Question 77

Groups of 5 to 20 workers who meet regularly to resolve production problems are called:

A) Taylorists
B) quality circles
C) industrialists
D) entrepreneur teams
E) strike breakers

Question 78

The "new" economy in which ideas,information,and forms of knowledge support and sustain innovation and growth is most commonly called the:

A) idea economy
B) knowledge economy
C) informative stage
D) flim-flam order
E) thin-air economy

Question 79

The transnational corporation that has revolutionized the field of supply chain management,giving it a supreme edge in competing for products,is:

A) General Motors
B) Wal-Mart
C) ford
D) Microsoft
E) Target

Question 80

This question was composed on a Dell computer; the author purchased the computer by going to the company's website,selecting the specific features wanted,and placing the order.Dell's method is the prime model of the production system known as:

A) fordism
B) Taylorism
C) Dellism
D) mass customization
E) mass confusion