Chapter 7 Markets, Organizations, and Work True or False 1. Entrepreneurs are people who start, but do not invest in, businesses. Answer: False 2. It is illegal for important functions of government to be subcontracted to private employers or to entrepreneurs. Answer: False 3. The rational choice perspective on markets is concerned with how buyers and sellers find each other. Answer: False 4. In the classical economic view of markets, the identity of market actors does not matter in predicting how markets function. Answer: True 5. Insider trading refers to an informal rule that helps market participants know whether and how they can bargain for the best deal with someone else in a similar market situation. Answer: False 6. Once a bureaucratic form of an organization emerges, an organization is on the road to establishing a long-term presence. Answer: True 7. German sociologist Max Weber thought that bureaucracy was a needlessly rigid response to the complexities of modern large-scale markets and big government. Answer: False 8. Loose coupling is a form of decision making meant to counteract the garbage-can model of decision making. Answer: True 9. An organization's structure can help or hurt its chances for survival. Answer: True 10. Organizations that successfully identify and fulfil a niche usually survive because they have no competition from similar organizations. Answer: False 11. Nonprofit organizations participate in a market for donations. Answer: True 12. According to the sociological concept called organizational isomorphism, organizations in the same field tend to become increasingly similar to each other over time. Answer: True 13. Organizations that are able to mimic their peers give themselves protection against threats to their survival. Answer: True 14. The average full-time worker in America works about an extra month longer each year than the average full-time worker in other similar countries. Answer: True 15. Rich contemporary societies like the United States are defined by the basic fact that the overwhelming majority of individuals have similar jobs and are engaged in similar activities. Answer: False 16. Monitoring work increases productivity, although it can also produce resistance. Answer: True 17. The Hawthorne studies were a variety of experiments designed to see what factors might induce workers to produce more output in the same amount of time. Answer: True 18. The antithesis of scientific management is the well-developed assembly line system of production. Answer: False 19. The classic assembly-line workplace is organized with an emphasis on standardization and surveillance, often with little room for interaction among employees. Answer: True 20. The largest employer in the United States is Walmart. Answer: True 21. Autonomy refers to how much a particular job allows workers to control their activities. Answer: True 22. Government jobs tend to be considerably more secure than the vast majority of jobs in America. Answer: True 23. In comparison with other countries, U.S. employers have fewer employment regulations to adhere to and relatively weaker labor unions with whom conditions of work have to be negotiated. Answer: True 24. The main aim of lean production, from the perspective of management, is to continually identify and constantly reduce the costs of production. Answer: True 25. Relatively speaking, employees in America have less power than workers in other countries. Answer: True Multiple Choice 1. Markets involve exchanges among which three principal classes of economic actors? A. buyers, investors, and producers B. buyers, producers, and sellers C. buyers, regulators, and sellers D. buyers, investors, and regulators Answer: B 2. A __________ society is organized without private property and based on the principle that individuals should be able to consume societal resources based on their needs, not their ability. A. capitalist B. communist C. entrepreneurial D. socialist Answer: B 3. __________ is an economic system based on private property and market exchange. A. Capitalism B. Communism C. Entrepreneurship D. Socialism Answer: A 4. Socialism is __________. A. an economic system based on private property and market exchange B. an economic system where the government owns property and controls production C. an economic system organized without private property and based on the principle that individuals should be able to consume societal resources based on their needs, not their ability D. an economic system where buyers, sellers, and producers engage in the exchange of commodities and services Answer: B 5. Which of the following statements about markets is false? A. Markets and market ideas are increasingly penetrating areas of social life that were once considered outside of the market domain. B. Markets are places where buyers and sellers engage in exchange of commodities and services. C. New markets to sell goods and services to potential buyers are continually invented. D. All over the world, including all of the most developed countries, the vast majority of goods and services are provided by government-run services. Answer: D 6. Which of the following is the clearest example of the pervasiveness of markets in the intimate spaces of people's lives? A. the market for adventure travel to the South Pole B. the market for doggie day care C. the market for restaurant takeout D. the market for help naming children Answer: D 7. In classical economics, both sides of a transaction (buyer and seller) are assumed to have __________. A. informal rules against the exchange of currency B. an intuitive understanding of constrained behavior C. knowledge about each other's well-being D. knowledge about the good or service they are buying or selling Answer: D 8. The rational choice perspective of markets assumes that __________. A. individuals have perfect knowledge about market exchanges B. individuals make decisions that they think will improve their well-being C. individuals almost always act in ways that advance the common good D. individuals believe there is no need for altruistic behavior Answer: B 9. The rational choice perspective of markets is a powerful perspective because it relies _________. A. on the idea that the general public is uninformed about the complexity of market exchanges B. on the idea that the general public is well-versed in the complexity of market exchanges C. on a complex theory about what motivates individuals and organizations as they enter into market exchanges D. on a simple set of assumptions about what motivates individuals and organizations as they enter into market exchanges Answer: D 10. According to sociologists, what does the rational choice perspective of markets overlook? A. concerns and considerations about social forces B. concerns and considerations about constrained behavior C. knowledge of market exchanges D. knowledge of exchanges between people who know each other Answer: A 11. Which of the following questions about a market exchange is a sociologist least likely to ask? A. How do buyers and sellers find each other? B. How do buyers and sellers know that they won't be cheated? C. What role does power play in a market exchange? D. What role does the currency exchange rate play in a market exchange? Answer: D 12. The sociological study of markets focuses on which factor, or which combination of factors, to explain how markets work? A. social networks B. social networks and power C. social networks and culture D. social networks, power, and culture Answer: D 13. In his bestselling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell uses the story of Paul Revere to illustrate __________. A. the influence of power on how markets and market exchanges work B. the influence of culture on how markets and market exchanges work C. the influence of motivation on how markets and market exchanges work D. the influence of social networks on how markets and market exchanges work Answer: D 14. Why do markets need social ties? A. to maintain alliances of kinship and friendship B. to maintain levels of trust necessary to carry out economic transactions C. to facilitate repeated transactions D. to diminish the influence of random, one-shot transactions on market exchanges Answer: B 15. Which Nobel Prize–winning economist, who studied human behavior through the lens of the market, famously argued that in the market everyone is the same? A. Gary Becker B. Paul Krugman C. James Meade D. Joseph Stiglitz Answer: A 16. When considering potential applicants, sociologists have concluded that employers look at merit and all the following factors EXCEPT __________. A. age B. gender C. race D. role of markets Answer: D 17. Auditing firms often face problems of conflict of interest and resource dependency because __________. A. auditing firms do what is called due diligence B. auditing firms treat all potential clients simply on the basis of merit C. auditors are affected by absolute, not relative, power D. auditors are paid by the very companies whose books they are required to validate Answer: D 18. Insider trading is an example of a(n) __________ A. formal market rule B. informal market rule C. cultural norm about who can participate in markets D. insurance industry regulation Answer: A 19. When the March of Dimes changed its mission from fighting polio to fighting birth defects, it exhibited which common organizational feature? A. persistence B. bureaucracy C. isomorphism D. loose coupling Answer: A 20. Which of the following statements about why organizations persist is false? A. Organizations persist because people involved in organizations have a strong interest in their survival. B. Organizations persist because people who work for organizations want to keep their jobs. C. Organizations persist because they, especially as they grow, tend to become less bureaucratic. D. Organizations persist because they have established operating principles and procedures that do not rely on any one individual to maintain them. Answer: C 21. Which of the following adjectives is NOT usually associated with the downside of bureaucracy? A. inefficient B. bloated C. persistent D. ineffective Answer: C 22. __________ provided the most influential description and analysis of bureaucratic organizations. A. Max Weber B. Viviana Zelizer C. Mark Granovetter D. Malcolm Gladwell Answer: A 23. What is the hallmark of bureaucracy, according to Max Weber? A. the existence of formal procedures and rules B. a high level of personal freedom C. the ability to survive ups and downs D. entrepreneurial vision and technical curiosity Answer: A 24. What are the formal procedures and rules of a bureaucracy supposed to ensure? A. accountability and efficiency B. accountability and consistency C. consistency and efficiency D. efficiency and toleration Answer: B 25. Weber's theory of bureaucracy emphasizes all of the following features EXCEPT __________. A. hierarchical organization B. written rules C. full-time decision making officers D. feedback loops Answer: D 26. The chain of command is associated most closely with which of the following features of a bureaucracy? A. hierarchical organization B. written rules C. full-time decision making officers D. feedback loops Answer: A 27. Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy is criticized because bureaucracies have been found to function in ways that Weber did not anticipate. Evidence of the variances between Weber's theory and reality include all of the following EXCEPT __________. A. rules that are routinely broken or ignored B. managers who are unable to effectively supervise subordinates C. bureaucrats who treat their jobs as a calling D. bureaucrats who are self-interested Answer: C 28. What model of decision making can be used by organizations that have fallen prey to the garbage-can model of decision making? A. bill accomplishing B. logical intuiting C. loose coupling D. rational outlining Answer: C 29. Alpha Corporation, which has developed an impermeable shell that protects it from environmental demands, strongly resists change and is said, therefore, to exhibit __________. A. structural inertia B. structural adaptation C. organizational closure D. organizational solidity Answer: A 30. The better an organization matches its initial environment, __________. A. the weaker its resistance to change B. the weaker its resistance to environmental demands C. the stronger its resistance to environmental demands D. the stronger its structural inertia Answer: D 31. A __________ is a distinct segment of a market or social process. A. bangtail B. niche C. spot market D. third sector Answer: B 32. Of the following higher education institutions, which two are most likely to be in the same niche market? A. New York University and Miami-Dade Community College B. Miami-Dade Community College and the University of Southern California C. Harvard University and Yale University D. Ohio State University and Holy Apostles College and Seminary Answer: C 33. Individuals who give funds to a nonprofit organization because they have been impacted by it or because they support its mission are called __________. A. change agents B. donors C. economic actors D. entrepreneurs Answer: B 34. Organizations gain legitimacy in all of the following manners EXCEPT __________. A. by increasing their reach B. by speaking out publicly against those with high status C. by increasing their renown D. by gaining financial resources Answer: B 35. The landmark legislation that declared that citizens with disabilities should have the same access to physical spaces such as buildings and bathrooms as their non-disabled peers is called the __________. A. Civil Rights Act of 1964 B. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 C. National Advisory Commission on Disabilities Act of 1991 D. National Disabilities Act of 1990 Answer: B 36. Organizational isomorphism is a concept used by sociologists to explain why organizations in the same field tend to become __________ over time. A. decreasingly similar B. increasingly similar C. decreasingly competitive D. increasingly competitive Answer: B 37. __________, __________, and __________ isomorphism are three distinct types of organizational isomorphism. A. Coercive; mimetic; normative B. Coercive; normative; repetitive C. Compulsory; normative; repetitive D. Repetitive; intuitive; operative Answer: A 38. Which of the following explanations for why organizations might become more similar over time is least plausible? A. Organizations might become more similar over time in response to compulsion. B. Organizations might become more similar over time in response to pressures to defend their legitimacy. C. Organizations might become more similar over time in order to avoid negative attention. D. Organizations might become more similar over time in response to niche demands. Answer: D 39. American workers employed full time work an average of __________ per year. A. 42 weeks B. 44 weeks C. 46 weeks D. 48 weeks Answer: C 40. The average full-time worker in America works __________ per year than the average full-time worker in other similar countries. A. substantially fewer hours B. fewer hours C. about the same number of hours D. more hours Answer: D 41. If typical American workers sleep about eight hours a night and take two weeks of vacation a year, they spend __________ of their waking hours at work. A. 25 percent B. 30 percent C. 35 percent D. 40 percent Answer: B 42. Which country's workers worked fewer hours, on average, in a calendar year than the others? A. France's workers B. Germany's workers C. Italy's workers D. America's workers Answer: B 43. Growth of specialization in the kinds of jobs people hold __________. A. has slowed dramatically since the 1970s, along with the decline in manufacturing jobs B. has gradually slacked off since the 1970s, along with the decline in manufacturing jobs C. has gradually slacked off since the mid-1990s, as globalization has taken off D. has continued right up to the present Answer: D 44. How many different job titles does the U.S. Census Bureau identify in its detailed job classification system? A. about 5,000 B. less than 10,000 C. over 12,000 D. over 15,000 Answer: C 45. Monitoring work __________, although it can also __________. A. decreases productivity; reduce resistance B. increases productivity; produce resistance C. decreases the need for specialization; reduce productivity D. increases the need for specialization; reduce productivity Answer: B 46. Sociologists use the term __________ to describe how most jobs are organized and controlled by managers from above, as well as the relationship between workers and management. A. labor dependency B. division of labor C. labor equation D. labor process Answer: D 47. A series of experiments conducted in the 1920s and 1930s with different teams of workers to see what factors might induce them to produce more output were called the __________. A. Braverman studies B. Hawthorne studies C. Milgram obedience studies D. Whitehall challenge Answer: B 48. Whose writings sparked the rise of scientific management? A. Max Weber B. Frederick W. Taylor C. Elton Mayo D. Harry Braverman Answer: B 49. What is the thesis of Labor and Monopoly Capital by Harry Braverman? A. that in order to maximize profits, capitalist firms and their managers should allow workers to decide how something should be done B. that in order to maximize profits, capitalist firms and their managers are continually driven to reduce employees' ability to control what they do on the job C. that in order to minimize costs, capitalist firms and their managers should allow workers to decide how something should be done D. that in order to minimize costs, capitalist firms and their managers are continually driven to reduce employees' ability to control what they do on the job Answer: B 50. What is the chief characteristic of the assembly line system of production? A. Workers continually face a process of deskilling. B. Every task workers perform is completely scripted for them. C. Work is done by skilled craftspeople capable of producing finished products more or less by themselves. D. Managers are easily replaceable and have a weak position relative to that of workers. Answer: B 51. The overall pattern of job growth over time suggests that there has been a long-term shift towards jobs that require __________. A. less skill and less education, not more B. more skill and more education, not less C. more skill but less education D. less skill but more education Answer: B 52. Which of the following job skills is more easily measured than the others? A. managing a negotiation B. working effectively in teams C. measuring a manufacturing process D. coping with change Answer: C 53. Increasingly, the large assembly line factories, in which an individual worker performs a single task (or set of tasks) is being replaced by workplaces where __________. A. cooperation among workers is encouraged and jobs are more interchangeable and interconnected B. cooperation among workers is encouraged and jobs are less interchangeable and interconnected C. cooperation among workers is encouraged and jobs require individuals to become true craftsmen D. cooperation among workers is encouraged and managers attempt to squeeze as much out of workers as possible Answer: A 54. In terms of job satisfaction, people almost universally tend to rate jobs as better when they __________. A. are stress free B. involve conformity and sameness C. pay more D. involve self-expression Answer: C 55. Beyond the rate of pay, which of the following aspects of work does NOT contribute to job satisfaction? A. autonomy B. routine C. security D. skill Answer: B 56. __________ refers to how much a particular job allows workers to control their activity. A. Autonomy B. Security C. Status D. Trust Answer: A 57. Satisfaction in work performed is invariably lower when __________. A. actions are tightly controlled or monitored B. levels of autonomy and discretion are high C. jobs require supervision of others D. workers have the freedom to pick and choose how they structure their days Answer: A 58. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of low-trust workplaces? A. cameras that monitor workers' actions B. blocked or denied access to the Internet C. little or no direct supervision D. little or no freedom to pick and choose hours to work Answer: C 59. In comparison with other countries with advanced economies, the United States has __________. A. less workplace regulation and weaker labor unions B. less workplace regulation and stronger labor unions C. more workplace regulation and weaker labor unions D. more workplace regulation and stronger labor unions Answer: A 60. Unionization rates reached their peak in the United States in the __________. A. 1940s B. 1950s C. 1960s D. 1970s Answer: B 61. What percentage of the American workforce is currently unionized? A. a little more than 10 percent B. a little more than 15 percent C. a little more than 20 percent D. a little more than 25 percent Answer: A 62. Which of the following consequences of lean production has been more consistently harmful to workers than the others listed? A. the elimination of health and pension benefits B. the introduction of new technologies C. the reduction of waste in the production process D. continual identification of and reduction in the costs of production Answer: A 63. Which of the following tactics and strategies have employers NOT used to compete in the competitive global marketplace? A. outsourcing B. decreased hiring of part-time workers C. increased hiring of part-time workers D. reducing nonwage compensation Answer: B 64. American workers are increasingly reliant on employers for __________, while workers in other rich countries are not. A. social security and income B. wages and investment income C. healthcare and housing allowances D. health insurance and pension benefits Answer: D 65. The most significant alternative to the American system of work is what is sometimes called __________. A. socialism B. the social democratic model C. the market forces model D. isomorphism Answer: B Scenario Multiple Choice 1. Amir, like most people in his community, makes weekly trips to the village square, where local vendors sell their goods. Everyone in the area is familiar with what will be available to purchase and how transactions are to be conducted. Although the exchanges between buyers and sellers may seem frenetic to outsiders, the locals adhere to a set of regulations and norms that satisfies the needs of all involved. This scenario conforms to the sociological definition of which term? A. central planning B. entrepreneurship C. rational choice D. market Answer: D 2. After running her own successful pet-grooming business in Northern California, Caitlyn left family and friends and moved to Southern California, where she knew no one. Upon arrival, she immediately set up business in her new environment but became frustrated when no one seemed to notice her pet-grooming shop, much less patronize it. Caitlyn's situation exemplifies the importance of __________ in establishing how market exchanges happen. A. classic economic theories B. culture C. power D. social networks Answer: D 3. For 23 years, a group of 12 men and women has been operating a successful charity for families impacted by AIDS. The group has seen many changes over the years, regarding personnel, community needs, medical advances, and economic climate. The charity has endured throughout the years because of its sense of purpose and commitment. What kind of a group is it? A. a company B. an industry C. an organization D. a union Answer: C 4. During a break at the company that employs them both, Liz and Phil discuss what they dislike about their jobs. Liz is eager to implement some innovative ideas, but her boss is neither enthusiastic about her suggestions nor hopeful that upper management would adopt them. Phil is new to the company, but is already bored with the tedious routine of his job. They both dream about a more exciting, innovative workplace. Liz and Phil's complaints are indicative of the negative aspects of __________. A. a bureaucracy B. an open market C. an organization D. outsourcing Answer: A 5. The officers of a college sorority, who want to make changes to their chapter's bylaws, are reluctant to solicit input from their campus sponsors, regional chapters, or the national organization for fear that their original ideas will be compromised. Their fear is characteristic of __________. A. the garbage can model B. the labor process C. loose coupling D. organizational isomorphism Answer: A 6. A Southwestern U.S. fast-food chain has opened an outlet in New Orleans. The new outlet's manager is familiar with the myriad federal, state, and local regulations that govern the operation of eating establishments. The restaurant chain also has a long list of its own rules and guidelines. Knowing the distinct preferences of New Orleans diners, the manager decides to bypass some of the specifics of all of these regulations, while complying with health standards for storing, handling, preparing, and serving food to ensure repeat business. What action is the manager engaging in? A. bureaucratic overloading B. central planning C. loose coupling D. outsourcing Answer: C 7. Julie opened a bookstore in 1992 and was pleased that it soon became a favourite gathering spot for local college students. As technology rapidly advanced all around her, demanding major adaptations at all the larger bookstore chains in her area, Julie exhibited structural inertia. Which of the following decisions is confirmation of Julie's structurally inert bookstore business? A. Julie offers discounts on children's books at the end of each season. B. Julie extends her hours of operation for the duration of the summer. C. Julie takes on a business partner with no prior selling experience. D. Julie resists selling e-books even though her customers have asked her to do so. Answer: D 8. Alana is enrolled in a university-level business strategy course. She is required to submit an in-depth case analysis of a business affected by coercive isomorphism. Of the following businesses, which do you think represents the most fruitful subject for her analysis? A. a sporting goods retailer B. a pharmaceuticals firm C. a 24-hour fitness facility D. an Internet marketing services firm Answer: B 9. Enrique took pride in his ability to handcraft furniture, enjoying each step in the construction, assembly, and finishing of each piece. When his business failed, he began working at a furniture manufacturing plant, where he was responsible for nailing upholstery to sofa and chair frames. Enrique's experience is an example of __________. A. autonomy B. bureaucracy C. deskilling D. structural inertia Answer: C 10. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Spanish, Sarah looked for a job where she could put her Spanish-language skills to work. A four-month-long search led her to a part-time job as a call centre associate for a shoe company, where opportunities to take calls from Spanish-speaking customers are limited. What kind of worker is Sarah? A. an autonomous worker B. an entrepreneur C. an outsourced worker D. an underemployed worker Answer: D Short Answer 1. Provide two examples of functions of government that are increasingly being performed by private subcontractors, and address why this change in employment practices has occurred. Answer: Governments have sought to cut costs by using private firms to handle what was formerly done by government employees. Two examples of functions of government that are increasingly being performed by private subcontractors are mentioned in the textbook. The federal government has used private military contractors alongside American soldiers in combat in recent wars, and some local governments have subcontracted their court systems to private enterprises. 2. What did sociologist Karl Polanyi mean when he theorized that economic action is embedded in social interactions? Answer: Economic action is embedded in social interactions—that is to say, economic exchange takes place within the context of socialized life. People often buy and sell from people they already know. Market activities are often built on kinship, friendship, trust, and goodwill, between people who know each other. Markets need these social ties in order to maintain levels of trust necessary to carry out economic exchange. 3. Explain why sociologists tend to find that markets are not "great equalizers" in terms of who is acting in a particular market. Answer: When sociologists examine how markets work, they find that an important set of benefits accrue to the already powerful. In most market exchanges, one party has more power than the other, and this power imbalance shapes how the interaction between the parties unfolds. One example is the well-known fact that larger firms often get much better deals on the same product as smaller firms. And decades of research has shown that employers make hiring decisions based not just on merit, but also based on the race, gender, age, and ethnicity of potential candidates. 4. Explain why life insurance is a fitting example of the influence of culture in markets and market exchanges. Answer: Only after the cultural norms about the appropriateness of putting a monetary value on a life changed did the life insurance industry take off. For this to happen, people in the insurance industry had to justify and legitimize the idea that a human life has some kind of economic (as well as social) value to friends and family. 5. Describe Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy. Answer: Weber thought bureaucracy was a necessary response to the complexities of modern large-scale markets and big governments. An organization that embraced bureaucratic means was attempting to find ways to allocate resources and make decisions more efficiently than it otherwise would. The hallmark of a bureaucracy, according to Weber, was the existence of formal procedures and rules, which are supposed to ensure both consistency (the same problem or task is addressed the same way each time) and accountability (individuals in the bureaucracy are accountable to those above them). 6. What is the point of loose coupling, and what is its relation to the garbage-can model of decision making? Answer: Loose coupling is the attempt to decentralize decision making to allow for multiple approaches to emerge, thereby helping organizations avoid garbage-can decision making, which induces them to fight over every detail of every decision, make unsatisfactory compromises, and lose sight of original goals and vision. 7. How does evolutionary theory inform sociologists' understanding of organizations? Answer: Evolutionary theory tells us that environment influences not only the life and death of the organism, but also the ways in which the organism grows and changes across generations. Like organisms, organizations depend on their environment to provide resources necessary for survival. Where an animal might depend on its environment to provide food and water, an organization depends on its environment for economic, social, and political resources. Without these resources the organization will perish. This ecological metaphor is a useful one for understanding how organizations work. 8. There are three different reasons why an organization might comply with the demands of American with Disabilities Act (ADA) to modify their physical structures to be accessible to all individuals, including those who are challenged with a mobility disability. What are they? Answer: When organizations are pressured to comply with certain legal regulations or requirements (such as the ADA's requirements) to avoid consequences (such as being sued by a customer or being fined by a government), coercive isomorphism occurs. When organizations comply to avoid losing their legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters, normative isomorphism occurs. When organizations comply to avoid standing out in contrast to what others in their environments do and look like, mimetic isomorphism occurs. 9. What do sociologists mean by "the labor process"? Answer: The labor process is the term that sociologists have developed to describe how most jobs are organized and controlled by managers from above, as well as the relationship between workers and management. The study of the labor process attempts to open up the workplace by examining how workers actually do their jobs, how managers try to control and direct them, and how the relationships between the two unfold. It represents another way in which the sociology of the economy moves into areas that classical economics paid relatively little attention to. 10. What is deskilling and what impact does it have on today's workers, according to sociologist Harry Braverman? Answer: Deskilling, in Braverman's view, is the process by which management seeks to ensure that workers never learn detailed knowledge of what needs to be done on the job. In deskilled occupations, individual tasks are heavily standardized and fairly easy to learn. The workers in such settings, therefore, are easily replaceable and are in a weaker position to resist whatever management wants. 11. In the new workplaces of the twenty-first century, how is the organization of work different from the large assembly-line factories of the past in which an individual worker performed a single task (or set of tasks)? Answer: Workplaces where cooperation among workers is encouraged, and jobs are more interchangeable and interconnected, is an ongoing change in twenty-first century workplaces. This represents one of the most important shifts in the nature of work since the advent of the modern assembly line in the age of Ford. 12. What are some of the contributing factors to job satisfaction? Answer: Perhaps the most obvious aspect is how well a job pays (people almost universally tend to rate jobs as better when they pay more). But beyond the rate of pay, several things stand out: the amount of autonomy in a job, its status, the amount of trust it entails, the level of skill, the importance of credentials, and the amount of security that the job provides. 13. Discuss several characteristics of high-trust occupations. Answer: In high-trust occupations, people work without much or even any direct supervision. They may be trusted with important responsibilities and company secrets. They are generally able to control the pace of their work efforts (they can take breaks when they choose) and have some flexibility in when they work and how to structure their days. 14. Name three ways in which American employers have attempted to cut costs that affect workers more directly than other forms of cost cutting. Answer: The downside of lean production for American workers has been the elimination of job perks and forms of security that workers once took for granted, including health insurance and pension benefits; the replacement of full-time workers with part-time workers; and outsourcing. 15. Why has it been said that strong regulation of most jobs in Europe has proved to be something of a double-edged sword? Answer: European employers may be more reluctant to hire workers when they know they cannot fire them very easily and when they have to pay higher taxes for their workers' pension and health benefits than in the United States. This has also encouraged companies in Europe to hire workers on a temporary basis without full social benefits, creating a new division between full-time employees who enjoy world-class benefits and vacations and a growing temporary and contingent workforce that does not. Essay 1. Why are entrepreneurs important to market economies? Answer: Markets—places where buyers, sellers, and producers engage in exchange of commodities and services—are the foundation of economic life. All over the world, including all of the most developed countries, the vast majority of goods and services are provided through economic markets. It is fair to say that almost every arena of social life today has a market attached to it. Entrepreneurs—people who invest in and start businesses—are constantly inventing new markets to sell goods and services to potential buyers. Without entrepreneurs, market economies would lose an important driver of economic growth and innovation. For example, in recent years, a whole range of new services for pets has been introduced, including doggie day cares (places where you can drop your pet off to be watched and entertained by a human staff while you are at work), dog-walking services (a dog-walking professional comes to your house or apartment and walks your dog a couple of times a day), animal psychologists (who offer to help your pet with their emotional life), elaborate dog grooming services (to make dogs look their best) and other such services. Other examples show that markets and market ideas, thanks to entrepreneurs, are increasingly penetrating areas of social life that were once considered outside of the market domain. Specialists now exist to provide services such as helping people find lovers, "name ologists" to help parents name their children, even "want ologists" to help people figure out what it is they want out of life. 2. Discuss the significance of the rational choice perspective of markets and the sociological approach to this model. Answer: In classical economics, a market implies an exchange of goods and services between buyers and sellers. In this definition, exchanges can happen in the blink of an eye (when we hand over money or click a computer screen), and the price of the good or service being exchanged is determined by the demand for whatever is being sold. Both sides of the transaction (buyer and seller) are assumed to have knowledge about the good or service they are buying or selling, and both participants are thought to be making decisions that they think will improve their individual (or their families, or company's) well-being. The rational choice perspective is a powerful model because it relies on a simple set of assumptions about what motivates individuals and organizations as they enter into market exchanges. However, many of the concerns and considerations about social forces that sociologists think are important are missing from this model. For example, sociologists would ask what is necessary for these exchanges to occur? How do buyers and sellers find each other? How do people know that they won't be cheated? What role does power play in the market? The sociological definition views markets not as random, one-shot exchanges between a buyer and seller, but rather as repeated interactions that people—buyers, sellers, and producers—carry out according to formal and informal rules. 3. Describe, in sociological terms, how power affects markets and market exchanges. Answer: In the classical economic view of markets, the identity of market actors should not matter in predicting how markets function. But when sociologists observe how markets actually work, they tend to find not equality but inequality, and an important set of benefits that accrue to those who are already powerful. Markets are affected by relative power and status in a wide variety of other ways. One way is the importance of power relationships between firms operating within the same market. The idea behind this perspective is that if you look closely at most market exchanges, one party has relatively more power than the other, and this relative advantage in power shapes how the interaction between the parties unfolds. It is well known that larger firms can often get better deals on the same product than smaller firms. 4. Describe how the organization known as Apple Computer has changed over time. Answer: Apple started as a two-person organization, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak began designing the first Apple personal computer in a garage in Los Altos, California. Sales enabled Apple to hire a number of outstanding young engineers and computer scientists and expand its range of the products. A breakthrough came in 1984, when the company introduced the first Macintosh, and Apple began to transform itself into a multinational corporation with a board of directors and professional managers. Apple morphed into a bureaucratic organization and faced product setbacks after the founders left the company. After the return of Steve Jobs, Apple developed breakthrough products that would revolutionize the computer world: the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. 5. Discuss two ecological aspects of organizational survival. Answer: An ecological framework of organizational structure raises the question of whether successful organizations (1) continually adapt to the changing environments that they operate in or (2) survive because they were uniquely suited to their environment from the start. Either way, however, organizations must have features that are suitable for their environment if they are to stay alive and prosper. This might mean that an organization has developed an impermeable shell that protects it from environmental demands, or it might mean that the organization has maintained such a fluid structure that it can easily mobilize to adapt to changing environments. 6. How does serving a niche help organizations survive? Answer: Organizations not only face threats from the environment and their own inertia, they also must survive in an arena with competition. The competition may be different for each type of organization, but all organizations must compete for resources within their environment. Organizations that survive have often successfully identified and fulfilled a niche (a distinct segment of a market or social process) for which the organization's services or products are in demand. Though there is still competition from other similar organizations, an organization that is effective at servicing a niche usually survives. 7. Explain how the Industrial Revolution led to both an increase in job specialization and an increase in managerial and professional occupations. Answer: The Industrial Revolution—the rise of large-scale production of goods and products for mass markets— cantered on the emergence of the factory as an increasingly central place where economic activity occurred. The first factories used relatively simple technology, and much of the work had to be done by skilled craftspeople who were capable of producing a finished product more or less by themselves. As technology advanced, so did more sophisticated forms of management and supervision. Jobs were subdivided into different specialties. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America and Europe, factories increasingly became dominated by assembly-line production, in which each worker would perform one or a small number of tasks. Alongside the increasing specialization inside factories was rapid growth of both new and old professional and managerial occupations. The increasing wealth that the industrial revolution created both required and supported the creation of a large set of occupations that provided services and support to the manufacturing sector. Colleges and universities, once primarily reserved for the very wealthy or for religious instruction, underwent a mammoth expansion from the late nineteenth century onward. Occupations like physician, lawyer, accountant, business manager, professor and teacher, and many others expanded very rapidly, and became linked to educational credentials that provided a ticket to entry into the field. 8. What research supports the conclusion that the overall pattern of job growth over time seems to indicate that there has been a long-term shift towards jobs that require more skill and more education, not less? Answer: Two sociologists (Wright and Dwyer 2000) who tested this proposition came to exactly this conclusion. Grouping job titles into 10 categories ranging from the least skilled to the most skilled and asking where job growth is occurring across these categories, they found that, in the 1960s, the pattern of fastest growth was for the most skilled job categories, and the lowest growth was at the bottom. The 1960s were a time of solid economic growth in the United States. In the 1990s, another period of solid (even spectacular) economic growth, the researchers find a more mixed pattern, in which the fastest-growing occupations are those at the top, but the second-fastest-growing job is at the very bottom. On balance, though, there is little evidence that workers are being pushed into the least skilled (or most deskilled) jobs, and the income difference between college graduates and those without college degrees has been growing in recent years. 9. What is autonomy and why is it such an important component of job satisfaction? Answer: The level of autonomy on the job refers to how much a particular job allows a worker to control his or her activities. The level of autonomy and discretion (or trust) in a job is important because satisfaction in the work performed is invariably lower when every action is tightly controlled or monitored. Having the trust of one's employer (handling secrets, not being monitored or supervised closely by anyone) is invariably associated with greater responsibilities and higher pay. By contrast, in very low-trust workplaces, cameras may monitor workers' every move and the ability to choose when to take a break (or even go to the bathroom!) may be monitored and controlled by someone else. 10. How is the context of work different for workers where the system of work follows a social democratic model rather than the American model? Which model do you prefer? Answer: The most significant alternative to the American system of work is what is sometimes called the social democratic model, typically associated with countries in Northern Europe. Social democratic countries spend far more on social programs to help the poor and the unemployed than in the United States, and they also provide health insurance and retirement benefits that are not so closely linked to someone's job. Social democratic countries also typically provide much more protection for workers in their jobs; it is harder to fire someone, workers have more protections against mistreatment from their employers, and they have more paid vacation time and paid leave when they have a child than American workers. Relatively speaking, employees in America have less power than workers in other countries and, so, I lean toward favouring the social democratic model. To receive full marks, answers should show an awareness that the strong regulation of most jobs in Europe has proved to be something of a double-edged sword. Employers may be more reluctant to hire workers when they know they cannot fire them very easily and when they have to pay higher taxes for their workers' pension and health benefits than in the United States. This has also encouraged companies in Europe to hire workers on a temporary basis without full social benefits, creating a new division between full-time employees who enjoy world-class benefits and vacations and a growing temporary and contingent workforce that does not. Test Bank for The Sociology Project : Introducing the Sociological Imagination Jeff Manza, Richard Arum, Lynne Haney 9780205949601, 9780205093823, 9780133792249
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