Deck 17: The Economy and Work

Question 1

Who is the contemporary sociologist who attributes differences in the employment rate of whites and blacks to social class more than race?

A) James Gottfredson
B) G. William Domhoff
C) Lewis Coser
D) William J. Wilson

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is it called when a person's work becomes the dominant force in their life, shaping their attitudes, beliefs, and actions on and off the job?

A) role distance
B) master status
C) occupational encapsulation
D) status inconsistency

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following nations serves as the best example of a mixed economy?

A) Russia
B) China
C) Sweden
D) Canada

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In capitalism, how is the relative value and cost of goods determined?

A) the cost to produce the product
B) the cost of labor
C) supply and demand
D) governmental regulations

Question 5

Jimmy Walker has seven luxury automobiles, one for every day of the week. He often boasts to his friends and co-workers when he drives his Porsche, Bentley, or Rolls Royce. How would a sociologist describe Jimmy's behavior?

A) Jimmy is engaged in conspicuous consumption.
B) Jimmy is a victim of environmental determinism.
C) Jimmy has been caught up in primary production.
D) Jimmy has employed tertiary economic recognition.

Question 6

The view that a strong economy contributes to the overall operation of society and its other interdependent institutions, such as family, education, and religion, is most aligned with which sociological perspective?

A) functionalist view
B) conflict view
C) interactionist view
D) feminist view

Question 7

What are the three key elements of capitalism?

A) government ownership, central production, communal distribution
B) private ownership, competition, profit
C) bureaucracy, efficiency, industrialization
D) management, labor, raw materials

Question 8

Because the United States provides health care for the poor, regulates to some degree what is produced and sold, and sets limits on the price of certain commodities, what is the best term to describe the economy?

A) laissez-faire capitalism
B) welfare capitalism
C) pure capitalism
D) democratic capitalism

Question 9

Approximately how much does the government lose each year in taxes due to the underground economy?

A) $200 billion
B) $100 billion
C) $500 million
D) Impossible to calculate exactly.

Question 10

What would a sociologist call a white-collar occupation that is prestigious, relatively high paying, and requires advanced formal education with specialized training?

A) elite role
B) master status
C) chief executive officer
D) profession

Question 11

What sociologist predicted an upswing in union power and membership because of Internet "cyber unions" ?

A) Michael Gottfredson
B) Arthur Shostak
C) William J. Wilson
D) C. Wright Mills

Question 12

Rance Bachman sits on the boards of four oil companies and two propane manufacturers. His friend, Kimmel Evans, sits on five of the same boards. Such a situation where the same directors sit on multiple boards and control the economic and political activity of the industry is called ________.

A) corporate interlock
B) conspicuous consumption
C) environmental determinism
D) industrial homogamy

Question 13

What was the major advertising medium in the United States between 1920 and 1950?

A) newspaper
B) radio
C) television
D) bill boards

Question 14

In Southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1950s coal was king. Mining companies actually built and ran their own communities for their employees. In this sense, mining was an example of which form of economic production?

A) the natural economy
B) the plant community
C) primary production
D) secondary production

Question 15

How do conflict theorists view capitalism?

A) It is the sigh of the oppressed....the opiate of the people.
B) It is the iron cage that will confine us all.
C) It is the future of mankind, the synthesis of socialism.
D) It is driven by power, greed, and unfair competition.

Question 16

Currently, what nation serves as the best example of a socialist economy?

A) Japan
B) Sweden
C) India
D) China

Question 17

In Pittsburgh, PA, the major steel companies made massive amounts and varieties of steel and other metal products. How would a sociologist describe this type of economic activity?

A) primary production
B) distribution
C) consumption
D) secondary production

Question 18

What is the process by which goods and services are brought into existence?

A) consumption
B) production
C) distribution
D) materialism

Question 19

What term do sociologists use to describe the belief that social class is of paramount importance in shaping people's values, behaviors, and life chances?

A) economic determinism
B) environmental design
C) primary production
D) conspicuous consumption

Question 20

What is the systematic production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in society?

A) the government
B) the economy
C) compurgation
D) capitalism

Question 21

The process by which goods and services are brought into existence is called distribution.

Question 22

What sociological perspective views work as a socialization process of steady and incremental changes in attitude and behavior to acquire the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the chosen profession?

A) functionalist view
B) conflict view
C) interactionist view
D) feminist view

Question 23

What is the manifest function of advertising?

A) providing "breaks" from radio and television programs
B) providing exposure for celebrity sponsors
C) educating the public to be well-educated consumers
D) stimulating the sale of goods and services

Question 24

In democratic socialism large, government-regulated businesses, industries, and social services are found working in harmony with participatory democracy, strong labor organizations, private ownership, and personal profit.

Question 25

American businesses and industry spend about 500 billion dollars in advertising each year.

Question 26

Jimmy is 14 and has a neighborhood lawn-care business. Simon sells crack cocaine in the inner city. Andrea runs a lucrative escort service for entrepreneurs. Neither Jimmy nor Simon nor Andrea receives a W-2 form and they all do business for "cash" money. In view of this, which statement is most accurate?

A) Because they do not receive W-2 forms, they are not required to pay taxes.
B) All three businesses are a part of the underground economy.
C) Because they are all cash businesses, the government is not concerned about their earnings.
D) Jimmy, Simon, and Andrea all risk doing serious jail time if their businesses are discovered by the IRS.

Question 27

What sociological perspective addresses the socialization process of learning a new job as a matter of power, gender role differences, and a reflection of the conservative values of the profession?

A) the functionalist approach
B) the conflict/feminist approach
C) the interactionist approach
D) the structuralist approach

Question 28

What classification is used to describe occupations that provide high income, prestige, and extensive benefits?

A) blue-collar occupations
B) secondary labor market
C) primary labor market
D) red-collar occupations

Question 29

What single event brought the most widespread and lasting change to American society?

A) the Industrial Revolution
B) the Great Depression
C) World War I
D) World War II

Question 30

In 2006 the unemployment rate in the United States was about 4.8 percent. How do you think the government responded to this situation?

A) The Congress immediately sought legislation to increase unemployment compensation.
B) The President called for patience by the American people to allow his economic recovery plan to work.
C) The government was satisfied that the nation was at "full employment" because it expects some unemployment.
D) The President declared his economic recovery plan a great success because this was the lowest unemployment rate in history.

Question 31

Which of the following are dysfunctions associated with the economy?

A) conspicuous consumption and mass production
B) high unemployment and recession
C) easy credit terms and cutthroat competition
D) the stock market and transnational corporations

Question 32

What is a huge corporation that produces hundreds of different products under a variety of trade and brand names?

A) primary industry
B) interlocking directorate
C) corporate conglomerate
D) industrial complex

Question 33

President Ronald Reagan dealt the labor unions a massive blow when he fired striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization.

Question 34

What sociological approach views work as an important social role and part of our social history?

A) interactionist approach
B) functionalist approach
C) conflict approach
D) feminist approach

Question 35

What is the economic system where the means of production are owned and controlled by the state, and goods and services are distributed as a cooperative enterprise without regard to profit?

A) capitalism
B) communism
C) totalitarianism
D) socialism

Question 36

How has self-employment changed in the United States since the 18th century?

A) It has dropped from 75 percent of the workforce to about ten percent of the workforce today.
B) The percentage has remained about the same but the type of self-employed work has changed.
C) It has increased from about 30 percent of the workforce to about 60 percent of the workforce today.
D) It has made only a slight gain over the past 200 years and is about five percent greater today.

Question 37

What level of unemployment does the United States government consider as being "full employment"?

A) less than 12 percent
B) less than 9 percent
C) less than 5 percent
D) less than 2 percent

Question 38

An occupation that involves manual labor or factory work is referred to as a white-collar occupation.

Question 39

What national event revitalized labor union militancy in the 1960s?

A) the Vietnam War
B) the assassination of Martin Luther King
C) the assassination of President Kennedy
D) the civil rights movement

Question 40

The United States serves as the perfect example of an economy based on pure capitalism.

Question 41

Occupational prestige can be improved by simply changing the title of one's job, such as referring to a janitor as a "maintenance engineer" and a dog catcher as an "animal control officer."

Question 42

The Industrial Revolution can be credited with being the single phenomenon that has brought the most widespread and lasting change to American society.

Question 43

Because of advances in technology and worker rights, assembly-line work has become one of the most satisfying blue-collar occupations.

Question 44

The process of accumulating and using goods and services is called ________.

Question 45

An aspect of work that symbolic interactionists would be very concerned about as a research topic would be worker satisfaction.

Question 46

Labor unions have consistently gained membership in the American workforce since their start in the 1860s.

Question 47

The allocation of goods and services to members of society is called ________.

Question 48

During the eighteenth century over three-fourths of Americans were self-employed.

Question 49

Government officials believe the hidden economy is a temporary phenomenon that will disappear when the economy stabilizes.

Question 50

Underemployed workers are those who may work less than a full-time schedule or at jobs for which they are overeducated and overqualified and have no benefits.

Question 51

In its pure form, free economic competition requires a laissez-faire policy that allows the economy to be guided solely by the laws of the marketplace.

Question 52

Since the advent of the postindustrial economy in the 1970s, unemployment rates have consistently dropped year by year.

Question 53

The ideology, values, norms, and activities that regulate an economy are referred to as a[n] ________.

Question 54

A large business concern owned by thousands of stockholders and managed by boards of directors defines a[n] ________.

Question 55

The desire to express one's social standing by acquiring goods and services simply for the purposes of having, displaying, and consuming them is called ________.

Question 56

Jobs that involve manual labor or factory work are referred to as ________ occupations, and jobs that involve office work or nonmanual labor are referred to as ________ occupations.

Question 57

The three key elements of capitalist ideology are private ownership, competition, and distribution of goods and services based on the needs of the people.

Question 58

Sociologist Arthur Shostak has predicted that union members will be empowered with a new sense of strength and empowerment through Internet access.

Question 59

From 1920 until after World War II television was the single most successful advertising medium, which was then replaced by motion pictures.

Question 60

Approximately 50 percent of the American workforce was employed in manufacturing in the year 2000.

Question 61

Occupations that are unique in that workers share common values, norms, and attitudes not only toward their work but also toward life in general, which results in workers' spending most of their off-the-job time with others in the same line of work, are referred to as ________.

Question 62

Discuss employment, unemployment, and underemployment in the American economy over the past 25 years. How are figures on unemployment misleading?

Question 63

The four qualities that characterize a profession as suggested by George Ritzer are ________, ________, ________, and ________.

Question 64

How has the global economy changed in the past twenty years, especially for American business?

Question 65

Define capitalism and socialism and the concept of a mixed economy.

Question 66

The exchange of goods and services and the generation of income that goes unreported to the government is referred to as the ________ or ________ economy.

Question 67

How has the American work force and economy changed since the framing of the U.S. Constitution?

Question 68

Define production and list the three types, giving an example of each. How has production changed and remained the same in the American economy over the past one hundred years?

Question 69

Occupations in which workers stay at home and use computers, e-mail, fax machines, cellular phones, and other forms of technomedia to perform their jobs is called ________.