Deck 10: Conflict and Control in the Workplace

Question 1

Employees in many workplaces put a great deal of effort into their work. Which of the following reasons for working this hard would be the best example of Michael Burawoy's concept of "hegemonic organization of work"?

A) Employees want their company to be successful because they feel committed to it.
B) Employees are anxious about being laid off.
C) Employees are aware their performance is being monitored by management.
D) Employees are paid according to their performance.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Michael Burawoy uses the term hegemonic organization of work in much the same way as which of the following terms used by Richard Edwards?

A) Self-control.
B) Simple control.
C) Technical control.
D) Bureaucratic control.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following are the main definitional components of work-related skill?

A) Substantive complexity and decision-making autonomy.
B) Social interaction and technological involvement.
C) Substantive complexity and technological involvement.
D) Decision-making autonomy and social interaction.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following best describes how sociologists conceptualize "deskilling" and "enskilling?"

A) Once they have acquired them, it is very difficult for workers to lose their skills.
B) Jobs can be deskilled, but there are few examples of them being enskilled.
C) Jobs can be redesigned to require fewer or more skills, and workers can both lose or learn skills.
D) Deskilling applies to jobs, while enskilling applies to people.

Question 5

Rosemary began work as a bank teller a year ago. During the first three months, she spent two days a week in formal training, learning about different financial transactions, how the bank's computer system worked, and other aspects of the job. Over the course of the year, she has also learned from experience how to get around "bugs" in the computer system, and from her coworkers how to deal with difficult customers and, sometimes, difficult bosses. Which of the following terms best describes what Rosemary learned outside of formal training?

A) Informal knowledge.
B) Worker sub-culture.
C) Organizational culture.
D) Tacit skills.

Question 6

Which of the following best explains why Harry Braverman's 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital was so influential?

A) He proved that deskilling occurred in all occupational groups over the past century.
B) He added an important gender analysis to labour process debates.
C) He challenged work researchers to ask new questions about labour process changes.
D) He placed a great deal of emphasis on how workers resisted efforts to control them.

Question 7

According to Harry Braverman, which of the following occupations experienced deskilling and standardization in the 20th century, much like factory-based manufacturing jobs had been deskilled and standardized decades earlier?

A) Managerial occupations.
B) Clerical jobs in bureaucratic offices.
C) Sales jobs in rapidly expanding retail businesses.
D) Lower-tier service-sector jobs.

Question 8

Which of the following scenarios would be the best example of Andrew Friedman's concept of a "shifting frontier of control"?

A) A large manufacturing company shifting its operations to factories in China.
B) An automobile manufacturing company shifting to lean production methods.
C) Nursing home workers forming a union and getting some control over working hours.
D) A large bank introducing a form of electronic surveillance of workers in all branches.

Question 9

Which of the following criticisms has been made of both Harry Braverman's book Labor and Monopoly Capital and Gordon, Edwards, and Reich's analysis of the evolution of segmented labour markets in 20th century North America?

A) Their theories portrayed workers as largely passive.
B) Their theories suggested that workers have much more agency than they really do.
C) Their theories ignored the role of technology in shaping the labour process.
D) Their theories overemphasized the power of unions.

Question 10

If they could come back to life, which of the following classical social theorists would likely be most supportive of the new managerial paradigms that have been introduced in the past several decades in an attempt to solve the problems of bureaucracy and assist managers in motivating workers?

A) Karl Marx.
B) Adam Smith.
C) Max Weber.
D) Émile Durkheim.

Question 11

Which of the following statements best describes "informated work" as discussed by Shoshana Zuboff in her early case studies of computer use in workplaces?

A) Work done traditionally, without the aid of computers.
B) Work previously done by people that is now done completely by computers.
C) Work involving computers and requiring workers to learn new skills.
D) Work involving computers that has led to the deskilling of workers.

Question 12

The concept "survivor syndrome" is best defined by which of the following?

A) Young people who spent years in university and now have to pay off massive debts.
B) The costs employers face trying to rehabilitate workers injured on the job.
C) Manufacturing firms that have remained competitive despite out-dated technology.
D) Negative effects of downsizing on employees who kept their jobs.

Question 13

Which of the following core themes in the labour process debate were prompted by Harry Braverman's 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital?

A) The rise of unions and the decline of industrial democracy.
B) Job deskilling and managerial control over work decisions.
C) Technological change and quality control of production systems.
D) Team conflict and high-performance work systems.

Question 14

Which of the following scenarios would best be labelled as an example of "neo-Taylorism?"

A) Workers in a "lean production" factory feel stressed by constant pressure to increase output.
B) Office jobs are simplified and standardized by introducing new computer software.
C) Jobs are outsourced to China and India where labour laws are not as strict.
D) "Teamwork" managerial approaches are introduced to allow assembly line workers some job task autonomy.

Question 15

Which of the following definitions of a type of management control is correct?

A) "Bureaucratic control" involves the use of government laws and regulations.
B) "Responsible autonomy" involves workers regulating themselves.
C) "Technical control" is almost impossible in assembly-line manufacturing.
D) "Electronic control" might be effective, but is illegal in Canada and the United States.

Question 16

Which of the following terms is used to describe regulation of the labour process through coercive or paternalistic methods?

A) Technical control.
B) Bureaucratic control.
C) Responsible autonomy.
D) Simple control.

Question 17

Aisha is an office worker in a large insurance company. Her job basically consists of responding to customer enquiries and complaints by telephone. Aisha's manager recently asked her to design a spreadsheet to record the different types of customer enquiries and complaints she and other office workers received. Which of the following would be the best description of what has taken place?

A) Multi-tasking.
B) Multi-skilling.
C) Electronic control enhancement.
D) Efficiency enhancement.

Question 18

Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of debate in Canada about: (a) whether or not to build new pipelines to get western Canadian oil to world markets; and (b) where to build them, if they are to be built. Some groups argue that both questions should be answered only if all groups affected, including First Nations, are effectively consulted and if climate change issues are included in the discussion. Which of the following perspectives would best describe this argument?

A) Technological determinism.
B) Economic determinism.
C) Social determinism.
D) Bio-environmental determinism.

Question 19

Gordon, Edwards, and Reich wrote about the evolution of segmented labour markets in North America. Which of the following did they suggest was an outcome of this process?

A) An increase in global systems of production.
B) A socially fragmented and politically weak working class.
C) A growing gender wage gap.
D) Greater marginalization of immigrants in society.

Question 20

Which of the following statements best defines "surplus value" as discussed by Karl Marx?

A) The profits remaining for capitalists after they paid workers for their labour.
B) The additional value generated by introducing new technologies to the workplace.
C) The greater societal wealth generated under capitalism compared to feudalism.
D) The contribution to national wealth generated by the petit bourgeoisie.

Question 21

Outline the core arguments made by Harry Braverman in his 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital. Why has this book been influential in the sociology of work? Discuss the criticisms that the book has received. Think back to a job that you have held (or perhaps a friend or family member has held) and describe some aspect of what you did in the job, or how you were treated by your boss, in the way Braverman would have described it if he had held that job.

Question 22

Wallace Clement and John Myles (1994) are quoted in the textbook as saying that society is faced by a "postindustrial Nirvana of knowledge where everyone will be a brain surgeon, artist, or philosopher (Bell) or, alternatively, a postindustrial Hades where we shall be doomed to labour mindlessly in the service of capital." Outline the debate framed by Clement and Myles. Which of the two positions is most accurate, in your opinion? Discuss the evidence that leads you to this conclusion.

Question 23

In a sentence or two for each, define technological determinism, economic determinism, and social determinism.

Question 24

Karl Marx argued that, in capitalist society, work had become a commodity. In a few sentences, explain what he meant by this.

Question 25

In a sentence or two for each, define simple control, technical control, and bureaucratic control.

Question 26

"Technological innovation is the engine of both economic growth and social development." Critically evaluate this claim, making reference to theories and empirical evidence presented in this and other textbook chapters.