Deck 9: The Structure of Society: Organizations and Social Institutions

Question 1

What is an oligarchy?

A)a system in which many people are ruled by a few
B)a system dictated by highly specific tasks
C)a large hierarchal organization
D)a small organization dictated by its members

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to George Ritzer,why has McDonald's been so successful?

A)It is a classic bureaucracy.
B)It pays its employees well.
C)It donates profits to charity.
D)It offers personal service.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The tragedy of the commons and the free-rider problem are types of _____ dilemmas.

A)organizational
B)social
C)medical
D)global

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to the textbook,what is the definition of social structure?

A)a large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and having specific job descriptions
B)a pyramid-shaped structure with a few powerful positions at the top and many virtually powerless positions at the bottom
C)a company that has manufacturing,production,and marketing divisions in multiple countries
D)the social institutions,organizations,groups,statuses and roles,values,and norms that add order and predictability to social life

Question 5

According to the textbook,what is the "division of labor"?

A)the specialization of different people or groups in different tasks
B)the subdivision of jobs based on ascribed statuses
C)a large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and having specific job descriptions
D)a pyramid-shaped structure with a few powerful positions at the top and many powerless positions at the bottom

Question 6

In health care settings,what is the July Effect?

A)Government agencies infiltrate hospitals during the summer months in an attempt to catch medical errors.
B)Medical errors increase as new medical residents,who are still learning how to care for patients,enter the hospital setting.
C)Hospitals are understaffed as many medical professionals take summer vacations.
D)Patient admissions increase during the summer because more people are engaged in outdoor recreational activities.

Question 7

The subdivision of jobs into specific tasks requiring less skilled employees is called

A)privatization.
B)de-servicing.
C)centralization.
D)de-skilling.

Question 8

People have traditionally considered oceanic fish stocks as belonging to no one.Fishers in an open-access system often attempt to catch as many fish as possible.But the overfishing of these areas eventually results in a decreased population of fish,which can cause the commercial extinction of particular species.This is an example of

A)the iron cage.
B)the tragedy of the commons.
C)the free-rider problem.
D)a cultural belief.

Question 9

The tragedy of the commons occurs when people

A)intentionally disregard state and federal laws.
B)act in their own self-interests and use up a resource that is available to all but exists in limited quantity.The depletion of the resource adversely affects the community as a whole.
C)act in their own self-interests and do not pay their fair share for collective resources.The social order breaks down as people lose trust in their government's regulatory abilities.
D)choose to focus on the collective needs of the community at the expense of their own self-interest.The result is a pervasive feeling of animosity.

Question 10

According to Weber,all of these are characteristics of bureaucracies EXCEPT

A)their structure is hierarchical.
B)they are unfair.
C)they are governed by rules and regulations.
D)they have a division of labor.

Question 11

Which term refers to a system of authority in which the majority of people are ruled by a few powerful individuals?

A)oligarchy
B)cronyism
C)nepotism
D)universalism

Question 12

A situation in which people refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is freely available is called the

A)free-rider problem.
B)tragedy of the commons.
C)McDonaldization effect.
D)natural hierarchy.

Question 13

The expectation that everyone should attend school until the age of 16 is an example of a(n)

A)organization.
B)folkway.
C)cultural belief.
D)institutionalized norm.

Question 14

The free-rider problem occurs when

A)people fail to get help in an emergency because they think someone else will do it.
B)individuals keep their personal desires hidden in order to be accepted by the group.
C)people refuse to contribute to a common resource when the resource is free.
D)individuals choose public transportation over driving their own vehicles.

Question 15

The conviction that formal education is the best path to financial success is an example of a(n)

A)organization.
B)folkway.
C)cultural belief.
D)institutionalized norm.

Question 16

According to the textbook,what is a multinational corporation?

A)a large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and having specific job descriptions
B)a pyramid-shaped structure with a few powerful positions at the top and many virtually powerless positions at the bottom
C)a company that has manufacturing,production,and marketing divisions in multiple countries
D)any organization that hires employees from myriad countries

Question 17

The National Education Association is an example of a(n)

A)organization.
B)coherence system.
C)social structure.
D)multinational corporation.

Question 18

What do sociologists call it when people act in their short-term self-interest and,in doing so,create long-term social problems?

A)rationalization
B)calculability
C)an aligning action
D)a social dilemma

Question 19

A large hierarchical organization that is governed by formal rules and has specific job descriptions for employees is referred to as a(n)

A)pyramid.
B)institution.
C)company.
D)bureaucracy.

Question 20

What is the definition of McDonaldization?

A)a situation in which people refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is freely available
B)a situation in which people acting in their own self-interest use up commonly available but limited resources
C)the process by which the characteristics of the fast food restaurant come to dominate other areas of social life
D)the process by which jobs are subdivided into simple tasks requiring less skilled employees

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic or feature you would expect to find in a bureaucracy?

A)chain of command
B)division of labor
C)impersonality
D)high flexibility

Question 22

Which of the following countries has the shortest school year?

A)Germany
B)Japan
C)South Korea
D)United States

Question 23

Which group of organizational participants has the vaguest job description?

A)middle-level managers
B)lower level workers
C)upper management
D)contingent workers

Question 24

In 2004,the U.S.Department of Labor brought enforcement actions against companies such as Wal-Mart,RadioShack,and Starbucks because these companies required their employees to

A)work off the clock.
B)pay their own health insurance premiums.
C)submit to random drug testing.
D)purchase their own work uniforms.

Question 25

A study of New York and Los Angeles kindergartens found that children spend more time in _____ than in _____.

A)recess;reading
B)lunch;physical education
C)instruction and testing;free play
D)free play;instruction and testing

Question 26

What is one way low-level employees can exert some measure of control in the workplace?

A)secretly defy the expectations and orders of their superiors
B)comply with all instructions and orders
C)stay out of the way of other co-workers
D)interact with middle and upper management as much as possible

Question 27

Many important resources are available to all people,even those people who do not contribute to them.Examples of these resources include public roads,public education,and public radio and television programming.How would a sociologist account for the fact that many people who benefit from these,either directly or indirectly,choose not to pay their fair share?

A)People believe their personal contribution (or lack of contribution)does not have much effect on the continued existence or quality of the good or service.
B)People often choose to act in their own immediate self-interests. C.People often see no reason to incur personal costs if they do not have to.
D)All of the above.

Question 28

Which trait would an organization find most valuable in a middle-level employee?

A)intellectual brilliance
B)company loyalty
C)assertiveness
D)morality

Question 29

The _____perspective asserts that organizations are created,maintained,and changed through the everyday actions of their members.

A)structural functionalist
B)conflict
C)ecological
D)symbolic interactionist

Question 30

Most corporations are still organized according to ideas developed in

A)the 1960s.
B)mid-1980s.
C)early 1900s.
D)late 20th century.

Question 31

Division of labor means that

A)the working classes are unable to agree about important issues.
B)work is designed so that tasks can be done by any available worker.
C)job descriptions carefully lay out the responsibilities of each employee.
D)people have too many tasks to do to become proficient at any of them.

Question 32

What effect is global trade having on the traditional Spanish siesta?

A)Other European countries are considering adopting the siesta.
B)Spanish businesspeople are shifting the siesta to the morning.
C)Spain is considering giving up the siesta.
D)The Spanish siesta is becoming longer.

Question 33

In the United States,how many federal agencies are specifically charged with hospital oversight?

A)zero
B)one
C)two
D)three

Question 34

What term did Weber use to describe his fear that bureaucracies would become both dehumanizing and pervasive in society?

A)the division of labor
B)the tragedy of the commons
C)McDonaldization
D)the iron cage

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of an informal system that allows a bureaucracy to function?

A)plea bargaining in the criminal justice system
B)standardized testing in the education system
C)open-water fishing in the marine sciences
D)students who speak up in a classroom setting

Question 36

When is an organization most likely to imitate what other organizations are doing?

A)when the organization is financially successful
B)when Weber's "iron cage" appears weak
C)when there is uncertainty about what actions might be effective
D)when the organization is internally stable

Question 37

Although Max Weber was critical of bureaucracies,he did admire them for their

A)ability to stabilize the labor market.
B)efficient organization of the large-scale tasks required of modern economies.
C)ability to be flexible in response to unusual circumstances.
D)ability to provide an outlet for employee creativity.

Question 38

Allowing workers to have an _____ role in their jobs would likely improve employee satisfaction and morale at many corporations.

A)efficient
B)experimental
C)amenable
D)active

Question 39

In a bureaucratic organization,such as university,any given employee's authority comes from

A)his or her contingency.
B)his or her seniority level.
C)his or her position.
D)his or her objective contributions.

Question 40

The McDonaldization of society has resulted in what sociologically significant outcome?

A)People eat more expensive food that is less nutritious.
B)Social life is more homogeneous,more rigid,and less personal.
C)Service workers are more satisfied with their jobs.
D)We have a wider variety of products to choose from in restaurants.

Question 41

Analyses of medical errors in hospitals indicate that _____ are most often the cause.

A)incompetent physicians
B)exhausted staff
C)structural flaws
D)advanced technologies

Question 42

OldCorp hired a new manager to make the accounting department more efficient.She restructured the department so that each process can only be done one way,and each employee is only trained to do one process.The accounting jobs at OldCorp have been

A)bureaucratized.
B)globalized.
C)de-skilled.
D)professionalized.

Question 43

In general,organizations are more similar than different.

Question 44

SoftCom started out as six college friends working in a garage.If something needed to be done,any one of the six could do it.As the company got busier,each friend took responsibility for specific tasks.The company now has a(n)

A)social dilemma.
B)kleptocracy.
C)division of labor.
D)synecdoche.

Question 45

The product developers at Insta-Food create partially cooked meals that are only heated at the company's restaurants.This ensures that the meals taste the same in every restaurant and also saves the company the expense of hiring cooks.Which concept does this illustrate?

A)the iron cage
B)the tragedy of the commons
C)the free-rider problem
D)McDonaldization

Question 46

In a bureaucratically organized workplace,lower level workers usually have the least specific job descriptions.

Question 47

Why doesn't a bureaucracy stop functioning when an individual bureaucrat retires or dies?

A)Any individual bureaucrat's duties are not very important.
B)Each bureaucrat simply fills a position and can be replaced
C)Bureaucracies are highly flexible and quickly adapt to change.
D)All bureaucracies have multiple people performing the same job.

Question 48

Selma is a professor who listens to National Public Radio on a daily basis but refuses to contribute to her local station's fund drives.Selma is a free-rider.

Question 49

Nearly two-thirds of the world's population belongs to which three religions?

A)Buddhism,Christianity,and Judaism
B)Christianity,Hinduism,and Islam
C)Hinduism,Judaism,Wicca
D)Islam,Santeria,and Christianity

Question 50

In order to address global competition,education reformers have consistently advocated for longer school days and shorter vacations in U.S.schools.

Question 51

According to Weber,which statement about bureaucracies is false?

A)They serve no rational purpose.
B)They are necessary in complex societies.
C)They contribute to the smooth functioning of complex societies.
D)There is no potential downside to the organizational patterns associated with bureaucracies.

Question 52

The rise of religious nationalism around the world presents a threat to global security.

Question 53

Cultural beliefs are an element of social structure.

Question 54

In a complex society,organizations help to meet many basic needs.

Question 55

Recent research on middle-level employees of large corporations indicates that there is ample opportunity for advancement.

Question 56

According to the No Child Left Behind Act,what happens to low-income schools that continually fail to meet their performance goals?

A)They risk losing their aid monies.
B)Administrators are promoted.
C)There are no repercussions.
D)They are given additional aid monies.

Question 57

Multinational corporations control a significant portion of the world's wealth.

Question 58

In the United States,most schools are bureaucratic organizations.

Question 59

FirstCorp has an office coffee pot for employees.Though anyone may partake of the coffee,there is a sign above the machine that reads,"Please pay your fair share! A contribution of 25¢ per mug is suggested." After a few weeks,the office manager realizes that 200 cups of coffee have been taken,but only 100 quarters are in the jar.FirstCorp is experiencing

A)the tragedy of the commons.
B)the "iron cage."
C)rate-busting.
D)a free-rider problem.

Question 60

U.S.school calendars today are based on the _____ economy of the past.

A)farming
B)metropolitan
C)industrial
D)flourishing

Question 61

How has globalization affected religion?

Question 62

How do middle-level managers in bureaucracies deal with their relatively low chances of moving up to the top of the pyramid structure? What are some of the lower level employees' responses to their boredom and lack of control? Why are these fundamentally sociological questions?

Question 63

Is your college or university a bureaucracy according to Weber's definition? Identify the ways in which it does (or does not conform)to Weber's description.

Question 64

Describe how the state of Texas Board of Education regulates textbooks.Cite at least two examples

Question 65

Why do the high-level executives of large corporations tend to be almost exclusively male,white,and from middle- or upper-class backgrounds? In other words,why are U.S.executives such a homogenous group?

Question 66

Identify one company that is not a fast food restaurant.Explain the ways it has been McDonaldized.

Question 67

Many are concerned about the place of the United States within the global economy and believe that if we do not reform our education system,we will not be able to compete with other societies.Drawing on the discussion of education from your textbook,describe how students in the United States compare with students in other nations with respect to math and science skills.What may account for these differences?

Question 68

Identify the key features of a classic bureaucracy.

Question 69

Describe at least two bureaucratic obstacles that blocked relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Question 70

Define the tragedy of the commons and the free-rider problem.What characteristics do these phenomena share?