Chapter 11 - Work & The Economy Flashcards
Why is work a social product?
The organization and structure of work is an outcome of social relationships
How is work situated in the economy?
It’s a social institution in which people carry out the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services
Are economic systems fixed?
No
How are economic systems not fixed?
They are structured, contested and reshaped by people
Are economic inequalities connected with social inequalities?
Yes
What is an economic system based on private ownership and an exchange relationship between owners and workers?
Capitalism
What is an economy driven by pursuit of profit?
Capitalism
What was Marx’s view of capitalism?
System with 2 classes:
1) capitalist class - own means of production (bourgeoisie)
2) working class - sell labor to capitalist employers in exchange for wages (proletariat)
What is an economic system based on free-market relations?
Capitalism
Which economic system has a laissez-faire attitude?
Capitalism
What is a specific process that has consequences for the nature and organization of work as well as for the division of labor?
Industrialization?
What brought new forms of energy, machine technologies, and transportation?
Industrialization
When did the early stages of industrial capitalism, defined as family capitalism happen?
Mid to late 19th century
When did the movement of ownership from individuals/families to corporations and shareholders take place?
Late 19th to mid 20th century
What phase of capitalism did the movement of ownership from individuals/families to corporations and shareholders happen in?
Corporate or monopoly capitalism
What are different situations created by mergers?
1) Monopoly
2) Oligopoly
What is a monopoly?
One corporation controls an entire market
What is an oligopoly?
Several companies control an entire industry
What context do transnational or multinational companies operate in?
Global
What is the term for people around the world consuming the same cultural products?
Cultural homogenization
What are the 4 major economic sectors?
1) primary and resource industries
2) manufacturing
3) service sector
4) social reproduction
What work sector involves the extraction of natural resources from the environment?
Primary sector/resource industry
What was the most common type of work for Canadians until the 20th century?
Primary sector/resource industry
What work involves processing raw materials into usable goods and services?
Secondary or manufacturing sector
What work involves services ranging from information management to making coffee?
Tertiary services sector
What work often involves emotional labor?
Tertiary services sector
Which work sector includes a host of essential services?
Tertiary services sector
Which work sector has a great variation of workers?
Tertiary services sector
What is the tertiary work sector characterized by?
Polarization of jobs
1) good jobs - high-skilled, well-paid
2) bad jobs - poorly paid, dead-end
Which work sector is rapidly expanding?
Tertiary services
Which work sector encompasses all socially necessary labor not done in exchange for money?
Social reproduction sector
What encompasses work in the public world of the factory, office, school, and store, and involves monetary exchange?
Sphere of production
What refers to the work that is not officially recorded as part of the economy, and where there is a direct economic exchange?
Social reproduction
Why is the work in the social reproduction sector not always legal?
Barter system, and organized through personal relationships between bosses, workers and customers
What consists of the range of economic activities not reported to the government?
Informal economy
Why do individuals work in the informal economy?
Economic survival
What is a factor leading to the rise of non-standard work?
New technologies
What is the notion of numerical flexibility?
Involves the shrinking or elimination of core worker force
How has the workplace in Canada grown in diversity?
More dual-earner families, increasing presence of indigenous Canadians and racialized people in Canadian cities, increased awareness of disabled workers and highly educated younger workforce
When did participation of women in Canadian labor force begin to steadily increase?
1970s
How is the social institution of work gendered?
Labor market segregated by sex, gender-based income gap, women over represented in non-standard jobs
How are First Nations people disadvantaged in the labor market?
Higher rates of unemployment and over represented in the non-standard jobs market
How are visible minorities disadvantaged in the labor market?
They earn less and immigrants are marginalized
What are challenges faced by youth in the labor market?
Limited opportunities and face higher unemployment rates
What enables middle class people to secure professional control?
Professionalization
What theory suggests that professionals can be defined according to a checklist of characteristics?
Trait theory
Which sociologist argued that professional status is linked to resources available to occupational groups?
Johnson
What is an important form of collective action to secure rights and dignity in the workplace?
Unionization
Why were unions formed?
Protect workers from long hours, dangerous conditions, low pay and favouritism
What is the basic premise of organized labor movement?
Take collective action through process of bargaining a contract
How many workers out of 3 are unionized?
1 in 3
Which sex dominates the public service sector?
females
How do unions benefit workers?
Better wages, work conditions, security, benefits, equalization of wages
