Part 1 - Nature Of Work And Leisure, Trends In Employment And Earnings

Question 0

What industries report the highest and lowest average earnings, respectively?

Answer 0

Financial services, hotel and restaurant

Question 1

What are earnings?

Answer 1

Wages + overtime pay! bonuses and commission

Question 2

Who does the actual labour force include?

Answer 2

The unemployed + the employed

Question 3

Define the economically inactive

Answer 3

Working age people who are neither in employment or unemployed

Question 4

What is the potential labour force?

Answer 4

The labour force plus the economically active

Question 5

Describe the recent trends of employment of public and private sector workers

Answer 5

Both have grown, public sector employment growing more

Question 6

How do public sector workers typically differ to private

Answer 6

Far more female workers, much higher proportion have a degree

Question 7

Are people who work part time typically choosing to work part time, or are they just unable to find a full time job?

Answer 7

Over 75% choose to work part time

Question 8

Define part time workers

Answer 8

People working less than 30 hours a week

Question 9

What falls under the term temporary work?

Answer 9

Casual work, seasonal work, working for employment agencies, fixed-period contract work

Question 10

What is homeworking?

Answer 10

Working either at home or at places away from the central office, production or distribution facilities, using the home as the base

Question 11

What are the benefits of homeworking and why?

Answer 11

Workers have more control over when they work, helping with family commitments and reducing stress
Employers benefit from lower office costs, access a wider pool of workers
Less congestion and pollution from less commuting

Question 12

What is teleworking?

Answer 12

Using a telephone and a computer to carry out work

Question 13

How is average age in the labour force changing?

Answer 13

It’s increasing

Question 14

What are the benefits and drawbacks of employing older workers?

Answer 14

They change jobs less frequently, bring experience to the workforce - this reduces turnover costs
Less geographically and occupationally mobile than young workers

Question 15

How is the proportion of men and women in the labour force changing?

Answer 15

Women are forming a greater proportion of the labour force, men still higher

Question 16

Why is it that women are participating in the labour force more?

Answer 16

Increased job opportunities for women
Increased pay
Changing social attitudes
Increased expectations of living standards
Women having children later and returning to work quicker

Question 17

Give some examples of pay inequality between genders

Answer 17

90% CEO’s are men
96% aircraft pilots are men

81% of checkout operators are women
As are 79% of cleaners

Question 18

Why may it be that ethnic minorities are far less likely to be members of the labour force?

Answer 18

Discrimination by employers
Language difficulties
Cultural differences (mainly applies to women)

Question 19

What are unit labour costs?

Answer 19

Labour costs per unit of output

Question 20

What are the main costs that make up labour costs?

Answer 20

Wages
National insurance
Redundancy payments
Recruiting and training

Question 21

Why is unit labour cost lower in the USA in comparison to most EU countries?

Answer 21

Their workers are more productive

Question 22

What is the tax wedge?

Answer 22

The gap between what employers pay for labour and what workers receive in disposable income

Question 23

Why may increased unit labour costs NOT lower competitiveness

Answer 23

They may not lower quality competitiveness, so consumers are prepared to pay for high quality

Question 24

What is outsourcing?

Answer 24

Subcontracting part of the production process to another firm

Question 25

What is offshoring?

Answer 25

Transferring part of the production process to another country. May be outsourced or undertaken by the same firm

Question 26

How have some EU and US firms reacted to the competitive pressure from China and India on unit labour costs?

Answer 26

Outsourcing and offshoring

Question 27

What is leisure?

Answer 27

The time people have left after work/education and maintenance commitments

Question 28

What is maintenance time?

Answer 28

The activities necessary for existence - sleeping, bathing, eating, domestic work

Question 29

Explain why overtime rates are typically more than standard rates

Answer 29

Working longer hours means less leisure time, so as leisure time decreases, the more valuable what they have less becomes and hence they have to be compensated more to give it up

Question 30

List the 3 suppliers of leisure

Answer 30

The private sector The public sector The voluntary sector

Question 31

How do the private sector supply leisure? Give an example

Answer 31

For example a cinema charges you to watch a film

Question 32

How do the public sector supply leisure? Why?

Answer 32

Local authorities and agencies representing the government supple various leisure activities such as libraries, parks. Most of the activities they supple are merit goods

Question 33

How do the voluntary sector supple labour?

Answer 33

Volunteer run clubs, for example angling. May charge a small fee to finance the activities

Question 34

List and describe the factors influencing demand for a particular leisure activity.

Answer 34

The price The price of complementary goods and services - for example going to the cinema may incur travel costs and buying popcorn Price of substitutes - includes work Tastes Age composition of population Gender composition - eg more man engage in DIY as leisure Advertising Major events - eg World Cup stimulating more people to play football Exchange rate

Question 35

Describe 4 recent changes in the leisure market

Answer 35

Rise in proportion of home based leisure activities Rise in gambling, through online gambling Rise in expenditure on leisure, from more disposable income and more leisure time Increase of influence of USA

Question 36

Why has the tourism industry increased so much?

Answer 36

``` Increase in disposable income Reduction in working hours Fall in the real cost of travel Early retirement People living longer A reduction in time spent on domestic take Improved transport Increased advertising Increased awareness of the benefits ```

Question 37

Give an example of how the benefits of tourism spread

Answer 37

Initially they benefit and create employment for hotels, attractions, restaurants. Then they create income and employment in insurance firms, taxi companies

Question 38

What is the tourism income multiplier?

Answer 38

The extent to which a change in income from tourism causes GDP to change

Question 39

Give some reasons as to why the benefits of tourism may not be as great as they initially appear.

Answer 39

The initial jobs created in the tourist industry are usually not very well paid. The effect of income and employment is not felt as much if a large proportion of goods and services used in the tourism industry are imported

Question 40

What typically influences the effect of tourism on the balance of payments?

Answer 40

Where the firms involved obtain their materials and foods | National origin of the firms

Question 41

Why may social tensions arise from tourism?

Answer 41

If the tourists have notable different income levels and culture to the locals, the locals may be upset, for example if tourists get drunk and make lots of noise late at night. Greater spending power of tourists may cause resources to be switched from meeting the needs of locals, to meeting the needs of tourists

Question 42

How can tourism threaten local culture?

Answer 42

The locals, typically younger locals, copy the culture of tourists in manners such as clothes, social attitudes, drink. Presence of tourists changes the types of goods and services demanded and hence the skills and working patterns of the locals

Question 43

How can tourism damage the environment?

Answer 43

Visual pollution, eg hotels and theme parks Noise and air pollution of travel used by tourists Waste generated by tourists Congestion Destruction of natural environment to provide activities for tourists

Question 44

How do changes in the economy influence leisure?

Answer 44

A growing economy causes personal incomes to rise, causing demand for most leisure products to rise too.

Question 45

How are leisure products affected by changes in disposable income?why?

Answer 45

Most are disproportionally affected, as many are superior goods

Question 46

What is the market concentration ratio?

Answer 46

The percentage share of the market of a given number of firms

Question 47

How does the market concentration ratio influence competitive pressure and market power?

Answer 47

Higher the market concentration ratio, the less competitive pressure there is in an industry and the more market power the big firms have