Deck 6: Post-Fordism and Organizational Communication

Question 1

Postmodern organizations are best characterized by ______.

A) stability and order
B) change and unpredictability
C) making mass quantities of goods
D) hierarchical organizational structures

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Stacey drives for a popular rideshare company, has a jewelry store on Instagram, and does web design. Stacey makes her living as a member ______.

A) of a cast system
B) of the branding revolution
C) of the gig economy
D) of a venture capitalist group

Answer 2

C

Question 3

As we brand ourselves, we focus on developing an USP. This acronym describes our ______.

A) understood stability proposition
B) undiscovered selling points
C) unique staging practices
D) unique selling proposition

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When your grandparents ask you what you are going to major in and if you think you will graduate from college and get a well-paying job, your grandparents are in essence applying a ______ logic in terms of how well your college education will translate into financial stability.

A) liberal
B) sociological
C) market
D) critical

Question 5

"Team work" in organizations probably emerged ______.

A) in post-modern, post-Fordist organizational forms
B) in bureaucratic, hierarchal organizational forms
C) in hybrid, feminist organizational forms
D) in scientifically-managed, directly-controlled organizational forms

Question 6

Bob's father worked for MOT Insurance for over two decades as a claims adjuster. Bob worked for the same insurance company, however in the span of two years, he was moved from a claims adjuster, to dispatcher, and then laid off. A few weeks later he was rehired as a contractor. Bob experienced ______.

A) short-term employment
B) gig employment
C) identity insecurity
D) internal security

Question 7

To view oneself as human capital is to view yourself as ______.

A) a permanent and ongoing commercial project that competes with other social actors for market shares
B) a permanent and ongoing commercial project capable of increasing capitalistic freedom
C) a permanent and ongoing commercial project that bolsters the political and economic system
D) a permanent and ongoing commercial project that values yourself more than your employer

Question 8

Professor Quimble teaches a senior capstone class and constantly warns her students that in order to be successful in this new economy, they will have to "be flexible." She also mentions the characteristics of the idealized neoliberal worker include ______.

A) self-directed, stable, and self-motivated
B) democratic, entrepreneurial, and stable
C) loyal, stable, and self-motivated
D) entrepreneurial, self-directed, and instantly available

Question 9

The global energy crisis, high inflation, and a shrinking economy represented what economist called ______.

A) neoliberalism
B) decentralization
C) stagflation
D) capitalism

Question 10

Kylie works part time for Taylor and Lord Fashions. She started blogging about fashion and posting her daily wardrobe on Instagram. After a few successful posts, someone from Corporate Marketing called and offered Kylie a small clothing allowance if she continued to post photos of herself in the Taylor and Lord wardrobe. Within a year, Kylie had 5K followers on her fashion page. She was given an end-of-year bonus but was still part time. Kylie continued to work and maintained her social media presences with the hopes of being hired full time and being offered an increase clothing allowance. Kylie was engaging in ______.

A) immaterial compensation
B) ideological labor
C) aspirational labor
D) active labor

Question 11

Fordism was focused on the product and post-Fordist organizations were focused on ______.

A) the process of production
B) the focus on partnerships
C) the practical nature of developing employees
D) the practice of continuous improvement

Question 12

Lee and Laura never finished high school but made a modest living by working at a local factory for over 30 years. They raised their two children who both went to college and had successful careers. Lee and Laura helped their grandchildren pay for college as well, however their grandchildren don't have the same career stability and often change jobs. Lee finds this all very frustrating. Based on what you know about postmodern organizations, what could you tell Lee to help explain what's going on with his grandkids?

A) Large economies of scale that support the development of steady employment for a lifetime don't really exist in our postmodern and always-shifting economy.
B) Knowledge-workers live in a world where their skills are so selective that they can afford to change jobs often.
C) Independent contractors find it best to minimize insurance costs by taking on freelance positions.
D) This shift represents the rise in careful, long-term economic planning that allows for future stability.

Question 13

Books like Silent Spring, Working for Ford, and Unsafe at Any Speed highlighted the fact that corporations were often ______.

A) unrestricted and global connected
B) inhumane and damaging to the environment
C) impactful and spiritually holistic
D) crisis-driving and challenged

Question 14

President ______ implemented neoliberalism as a means of reducing obstacles to economic growth.

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Donald Trump
C) George Bush
D) Barack Obama

Question 15

Peter runs a non-profit educational organization with a small budget and very few full-time staff members. During the bulk of their programming in the summer, their staff swells to 35 or 40 part-time, temporary teachers. During the hiring process, Peter and the full-time staff carefully review the teachers' resumes and put teachers into teams where they each bring something unique to the table. In these teams, teachers are in charge of planning all of their own activities, units, field trips, and lessons. They have to make proposals to the full-time staff for big trips, but otherwise, this frees up the full-time staff to trouble-shoot and deal with student issues. From a management perspective, which of the following benefits of work-teams is Peter maximizing?

A) empowerment of workers by enabling them to play a more direct role in organizational decision making
B) development of a workforce that is multi-skilled rather than deskilled
C) development of holistic team synergies that result in innovative decision making
D) functional autonomy, with little need for direct supervision

Question 16

As a manager, Larry believes that work teams are beneficial for his organization. He views ______ as one of the advantages that empowers employees.

A) task design
B) internal processes
C) clock time
D) functional autonomy

Question 17

Nancy was awarded a 'day off' voucher for having a strong sales quarter at Alebac Sports. She decides to go skiing in the Pocono Mountains for the day. She takes pictures and uploaded them to the company's Instagram page. Nancy's day off represents ______.

A) brand identity and decision-making autonomy
B) a flexible organizational structure
C) responsibility autonomy
D) a company marketing opportunity and value creation

Question 18

Susan is a pediatric oncology nurse, which means that she works on both the pediatric floor of the hospital and the oncology floor of the hospital. She is on a pediatric team and an oncology team. Her pediatric team is a nightmare - the "team leader" seems totally unable to direct the team to have meaningful conversations or to make productive decisions. Susan often feels as though all of the individual members could do more work on their own than the team, as a whole, can do. The oncology team is a dream - the team leader is truly a leader and the team often feels empowered. Which of the following "warnings" or "advice" about teams could best apply to this scenario?

A) Teams have to be implemented carefully, with input from employees.
B) Teams cannot be imposed from above; they have to have real buy-in from workers if they're going to be truly participatory.
C) Team-members need adequate training in team processes, such as decision-making and leadership skills.
D) Team-members need to understand the ways in which they can exact control over one another so that they don't abuse their power.

Question 19

As a business owner, Cynthia enjoys limited government intervention, her private property rights are protected, and she has freedom to express her own interests. Cynthia is functioning in a ______ economic system

A) neoliberalist
B) blue collar
C) Fordist
D) cultural

Question 20

Alternative work arrangements are characterized by ______.

A) steady work hours
B) fringe benefits
C) few connections with colleagues
D) high market investments

Question 21

In our postmodern economy, ______ work can be dull, alienating, unpredictable, and lacking in job security.

Question 22

Robert Reich (1991) calls workers who process information and symbols ______.

Question 23

Work teams have more of the management function and are often self-organizing.

Question 24

The philosophy of Kaizen allows for continuous improvement in the work environment.

Question 25

Postmodern organizations do not have any definition and emerged out of nowhere; we cannot really trace their emergence to any particular set of contexts.

Question 26

Neoliberalism began as an ______ philosophy and evolved into a taken for granted way of thinking about life.

Question 27

Teamwork can increase the surveillance and stress that workers encounter in the workplace.

Question 28

Creative knowledge-workers have the most security and the biggest boundaries between life and work in our postmodern economy.

Question 29

The third spirit of capitalism was a cult-like and oppressive corporate structure.

Question 30

Work teams are seen as the ideal decision-making structure in post-Fordist, postmodern organizations.

Question 31

Modern organizations are often called ______ organizations because of their tendency to produce people and products in mass quantities.

Question 32

______ enable workers to have a direct role in decision making and increase organizational productivity.

Question 33

A ______ workplace creates instability and affects labor practices

Question 34

Because teamwork fosters consensus-making and hierarchical power-sharing, teamwork is an ideal way for organizations to ensure that prejudice and abuses of power do not become issues.

Question 35

The rise in the gig economy reflects the increased flexibility in the labor market.

Question 36

The growth of the ______ class has resulted in an influx of workers who face a great degree of job insecurity, who are less likely to make long-term investments in neighborhoods and communities.

Question 37

Geographical ______ allows companies to cut cost by moving manufacturing to where labor is cheapest.

Question 38

In post-Fordist organizations, realms of employees' lives formerly deemed ______ such as emotions, can come under corporate control.

Question 39

The central element of immaterial labor is communication.

Question 40

In our postmodern, consumption-based economy, people can be marketed in particular ways. We might, then, say that people, like products, can be ______.