Deck 6: Organizations, Societies, and the Global Domain

Question 1

A good deal of sociological research on bureaucracies has dealt with:

A) uncovering the rules of the bureaucracy
B) comparing bureaucracies to other systems
C) uncovering how the rational often becomes irrational
D) following the historical development of bureaucratic organizations

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The only type of authority that is associated with bureaucracy is ________________.

A) traditional
B) charismatic
C) rational-legal
D) organizational

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The fact that rationality is limited by the instabilities and conflicts that exist in most organizations is referred to as _________________.

A) limiting rationality
B) political rationality
C) technical rationality
D) bounded rationality

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Societies are filled with ______________________, which are collectives purposely constructed to achieve particular ends.

A) governances
B) organizations
C) formations
D) systems

Question 5

_______________ is a problem in bureaucracies where rules are required needlessly, and often slow progress or increase amount or complexity of work.

A) Red tape
B) The Peter principle
C) Bounded rationality
D) Informationalism

Question 6

According to Max Weber, a(n) _____________ is a highly rational organization and is highly efficient.

A) Internet site
B) corporation
C) network
D) bureaucracy

Question 7

According to Weber, there are three different types of authority that vary by:

A) what type of domination they represent
B) what makes the authority legitimate
C) how many people are subject to the authority
D) how peaceful or violent they are

Question 8

The president and a police officer are examples of people who have positions of __________________.

A) weak dominance
B) rational-legal authority
C) charismatic authority
D) rationalized dominance

Question 9

Due to the explosive growth of digital communication, micro-level and macro-level phenomena:

A) are more segregated
B) are more intertwined
C) are reducing the expansion of globalization
D) are more separate from individual influence

Question 10

Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of which type of authority?

A) Traditional
B) Rational-legal
C) Charismatic
D) Bureaucratic

Question 11

When a country is ruled by a small group of people at the top who exercise a great deal of power, often obtained through illegitimate means, this is referred to as a(n) __________________.

A) capitalist dictatorship
B) informal bureaucracy
C) oligarchy
D) democracy

Question 12

According to your text, Yahoo and the March of Dimes are examples of __________________________.

A) organizations
B) corporations
C) micro-level systems
D) bureaucracies

Question 13

John is a boss who is very stern with his employees, and they follow every command he gives to them. John is someone who exemplifies ______________________.

A) weak domination
B) strong domination
C) rational-legal authority
D) strong subordination

Question 14

Capitalism and bureaucracy best exemplify what Max Weber meant by ___________.

A) rationalization
B) ethnomethodology
C) systemization
D) organization

Question 15

The order of succession to the British throne is an example of ________________ authority.

A) rational
B) charismatic
C) organizational
D) traditional

Question 16

The Prime Minister of Canada is an example of which type of authority?

A) Traditional
B) Rational-legal
C) Charismatic
D) Bureaucratic

Question 17

The Catholic pope is an example of which type of authority?

A) Traditional
B) Rational-legal
C) Charismatic
D) Bureaucratic

Question 18

John works in a college office. He spends most of his day sending back forms to students when they have filled a form out incorrectly, even when it contains all the information needed to complete the task. John has a ________________ personality.

A) charismatic
B) traditional
C) bureaucratic
D) tedious

Question 19

According to Weber, a(n) __________________ is a model in which the degree of rationality is greatly exaggerated.

A) prototype
B) ideal type
C) real type
D) model type

Question 20

Joe works for a company where employees ask each other for guidance in certain situations rather than ask the supervisors. This company is an example of a(n) ______________ bureaucracy.

A) informal
B) formal
C) collegial
D) ideal

Question 21

Many factories and companies are linked through knowledge and information. This is referred to as ___________________________.

A) knowledge inferential
B) information sourcing
C) informationalism
D) intelligence systems

Question 22

Sexual harassment can consist of many types of unwanted sexual attention such as jokes, remarks or sexual advances, but in order to be illegal:

A) it must come from a high-ranking man to a lower ranking woman
B) it must be offensive not just to the victim but to the workplace culture as a whole
C) it must be recurrent or severe enough to create a hostile workplace
D) it must directly influence someone's pay or promotion

Question 23

Which of these accurately describes how a problem has changed from the past in the digital age?

A) People are expected to do less than they were in the past.
B) Employees used to be monitored less carefully than they are now.
C) Interaction can be more easily controlled in a centralized way.
D) There used to be a problem with too little information in writing; now there is the danger of too much in written form.

Question 24

Women face the _________________, in which they cannot get promoted past a certain level in bureaucratic organizations despite their qualifications.

A) glass ceiling
B) glass escalator
C) pink elevator
D) pink ceiling

Question 25

The network organization came into existence during which decade?

A) 1960s
B) 1970s
C) 1980s
D) 1990s

Question 26

Companies, such as Dell, have organizations located in other counties besides the United States where customer service questions are handled. This is referred to as ______________________.

A) downsizing
B) offshore outsourcing
C) informationalism
D) McDonaldization

Question 27

Which of these best describes Parkinson's Law?

A) The more a bureaucracy tries to be efficient, the more forms there are to fill out
B) Never underestimate the power of the secretary
C) Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence
D) Work expands to fill the available time

Question 28

To say we are a "risk society" means:

A) the central issue is risk and how to minimize or prevent it.
B) we take more risks than we have in the past.
C) we think of risk taking as more desirable than we have in the past.
D) one society risks things for other societies.

Question 29

One strategy of companies who use offshore outsourcing for customer service calls for U.S. customers is "national identity management." This means:

A) helping to educate people on calls about their home country
B) selecting national identities with accents that sound trustworthy to Americans
C) cross marketing products to the outsource country and the United States
D) posing as American on calls, complete with an adopted American hometown and Americanized name

Question 30

McDonaldized systems in the realm of consumption must be more ____________ than the traditional bureaucracy.

A) bureaucratic
B) flexible
C) customer-friendly
D) ruthless

Question 31

According to the text, a very small, tight-knit neighborhood which is characterized by a strong sense of community would be referred to as a(n) ____________________.

A) gemeinschaft society
B) gesellschaft society
C) gazelle-like society
D) primitive society

Question 32

Which sociologist differentiated between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft societies?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Robert Merton
C) Ferdinand Töennies
D) Manuel Castells

Question 33

Which of the following is TRUE regarding informationalism?

A) The new technologies are not flexible and can't adapt
B) Technologies act on information
C) Some organizations are not defined by networking logics
D) The specific technologies associated with information are not merging into a highly integrated system

Question 34

People who live in a large city, such as Los Angeles, may feel a sense of being disconnected from each other and a sense of impersonality. People living in these cities, according to the text, would be living in a ___________________________.

A) gemeinschaft society
B) gazelle-like society
C) gesellschaft society
D) mind shift society

Question 35

Many people are now filling out their own tax forms and printing out their own postage stamps at home. The people who are doing so are referred to as ________________.

A) consumers
B) producers
C) prosumers
D) orientators

Question 36

A major twentieth century theorist on bureaucracy who defined the bureaucratic personality is:

A) Max Weber
B) Robert Merton
C) Talcott Parsons
D) Manuel Castells

Question 37

Ulrich Beck argued that we have moved from an industrial society to a ________ society.

A) unequal
B) risk
C) oligarchic
D) technocratic

Question 38

A ______________ is a complex pattern of social relationships that is bounded in space and persists over time.

A) society
B) social structure
C) bureaucracy
D) hierarchy

Question 39

As a leading _______________ theorist, Talcott Parsons had a ____________ view of macro-level societies.

A) symbolic interaction; constructionist
B) conflict; negative
C) structural functionalist; positive
D) ethnomethodologist; dismissive

Question 40

Which of these best describes the Peter Principle?

A) The more a bureaucracy tries to be efficient, the more forms there are to fill out
B) Never underestimate the power of the secretary
C) Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence
D) Work expands to fill the available time

Question 41

According to Arjun Appadurai, there are fluid, irregular, and variable global flows that produce different results throughout the world. Appadurai calls these:

A) landscapes
B) globules
C) glo-flows
D) gesellschaft societies

Question 42

According to the text, the U.S. government is an example of a(n) _____________.

A) state
B) nation
C) nation-state
D) oligarchy

Question 43

Which of these are a characteristic of spaces of flows?

A) The borders are clear and defensible
B) People identify strongly with them
C) They are very fluid in nature
D) They are temporary in nature

Question 44

Japan and Israel are examples of ________________ because they encompass a population that defines itself by its political organizational structure and its people.

A) nation
B) state
C) oligarchy
D) nation-state

Question 45

_____________ is the major reason there are greater risks to society than ever before.

A) McDonaldization
B) Cultural imperialism
C) Globalization
D) Informationalism

Question 46

Which of the following is a characteristic of a network?

A) Fuzzy boundaries
B) Flexible production
C) Vertical structure
D) Dispersed decision making

Question 47

According to the examples provided in the book, which of these organizations has faced major problems in conforming to contemporary realities?

A) The NFL
B) The Catholic Church
C) NASA
D) Microsoft

Question 48

Which of these sociological concepts address the new realities of organizations supplementing bureaucracies?

A) Informal organizations
B) Gendered organizations
C) Network organizations
D) Anomic organizations

Question 49

Which of these are accurate statements about McDonaldization?

A) McDonaldization is not applicable to large organizations
B) McDonaldization is applicable to both consumption-oriented organizations and production-oriented organizations
C) The principles of McDonaldization can be applied to small restaurants
D) McDonaldized systems need to be much more "customer friendly"

Question 50

The military is an example of bounded rationality because:

A) military cycling of personnel in combat zones is a source of instability
B) newcomers to battle zones don't know what to do
C) there is cooperation among the branches of military
D) the complexity of most military actions make them difficult for individuals to understand

Question 51

Which of these items are characteristics of a bureaucracy?

A) Offices that exist in a vertical hierarchy.
B) Each office has a specified sphere of competence.
C) Those who occupy positions own what is needed to do their jobs.
D) Everything of formal importance is written down.

Question 52

During times of financial depression, which type of landscape might be the main focus of economists?

A) Ethnoscapes
B) Financescapes
C) Ideoscapes
D) Mediascapes

Question 53

The Irish are an example of a _____________, as they are a large group of people who are linked through common descent.

A) nation-state
B) state
C) race
D) nation

Question 54

Which examples represent problems associated with bureaucratic organization?

A) Nazi murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust
B) Sexual harassment in the workplace
C) The formation of nonprofits such as Wikipedia that compete with corporations
D) The development of open source software by companies like Linux

Question 55

Some countries distribute negative information about other countries, hoping to gain favor in the eyes of the public. This is an example of a(n) ___________________.

A) ideoscape
B) mediascape
C) technoscape
D) financescape

Question 56

The most important and obvious barriers to global flows are constructed by:

A) nation-states
B) nations
C) continents
D) corporations

Question 57

A characteristic of a space of place is:

A) defensible borders are unclear
B) flows are unlimited
C) settings have well-defined borders
D) there is no solidity

Question 58

According to the examples provided in the book, which of these are major organizational challenges in the contemporary era?

A) globalization
B) democratization of the Internet
C) outsourcing of jobs
D) feminization of the workplace

Question 59

Which items below does Weber's model of a bureaucracy fail to account for within organizations?

A) infighting
B) a tendency toward oligarchy
C) favoritism
D) vertical hierarchy

Question 60

Which of these defines the main difference between Microsoft and Linux?

A) One is proprietary and only people at the company work on it; the other one is open-source and anyone in the world can contribute to it
B) One is only sold in the United States and the other one is sold globally
C) One can be used on any device and the other one only works on laptops
D) One is priced for individual use and the other one is only for commercial use

Question 61

Organizations refer to collectives, which are purposely constructed to achieve particular ends.

Question 62

Theories of glass ceilings for women have mostly been developed based on studying American organizations, and are unlikely to apply globally.

Question 63

Contemporary organizations have been forced to become more flexible and agile than the ideal type of a bureaucracy.

Question 64

Spaces of flows are likely to have clear and defensible borders and are permanent in nature.

Question 65

The president of the United States is someone who exhibits traditional authority.

Question 66

The following are examples of organizational barriers.

A) Nation-states create tariffs to protect their own import/export flow of agriculture products
B) Toyota optimizes its flow of automobiles to all possible markets in the world
C) Labor unions oppose the flow of undocumented workers to control flow of labor
D) Companies try to anonymize market flows so others cannot find out sales data

Question 67

According to Weber, bureaucracies are always rational organizations.

Question 68

Spaces of places are settings that have well-defined borders and can limit flows of all kinds, and are likely to have some solidity.

Question 69

Potency refers to the likelihood that commands will be obeyed by subordinations.

Question 70

Most bureaucratic organizations become oligarchical.

Question 71

The leaders of cults often have outgoing and engaging personalities and therefore are referred to as people who exert charismatic authority.

Question 72

The development of bureaucracy is one of the defining characteristics of Western society.

Question 73

According to Töennies, the Amish community is an example of a gesellschaft community.

Question 74

Some of the most important and most obvious barriers to global flows are those constructed by nation-states, but nation-states have been losing control over a number of global flows.

Question 75

A customer service agent who is more interested in obtaining a customer's Social Security number rather than helping them resolve a particular issue has a bureaucratic personality.

Question 76

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft societies are ideal types.

Question 77

Bureaucratization involves rationality that is highly centralized and mostly invisible to consumers of the goods and services being produced.

Question 78

Cases of sexual harassment often get widespread publicity, leading to overreporting of sexual harassment to company management.

Question 79

A network organization can be composed of several "interconnected nodes" with a horizontal structure and fuzzy boundaries.

Question 80

Talcott Parsons was a structural functionalist who had a very positive view of macro-level societies.