Deck 13: The Economy and Work

Question 1

The Great Recession gave employers reason to _________ worker benefits.

A) strengthen
B) reduce or eliminate
C) restructure
D) encourage

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Patrick wants to open a business in a country with a strong sense of community and egalitarianism. He thinks his company should be interested in the public good and is perfectly fine being subject to a democracy. Patrick would like to open his company in a __________ country.

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) totalitarian

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When an economic system is based on private ownership of property and guided by the seeking of maximum profits it is classified as a __________ system.

A) capitalist
B) socialist
C) democratic socialist
D) corporatist

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When an economic system is based on ownership of the means of production by the people for their collective benefit it is classified as a __________ system.

A) capitalist
B) socialist
C) democratic socialist
D) corporatist

Question 5

Jill believes that Adam Smith was essentially correct when he claimed that people could pursue their own personal interests because the __________ would keep society from disintegrating as everyone competes for consumers and profit. Thus, she consistently opposes government intervention into the market.

A) laws of the marketplace
B) laws of society
C) social contract
D) marketplace masses

Question 6

The largest employer in the United States today is __________.

A) General Motors
B) Walmart
C) U.S. Steel
D) Microsoft

Question 7

A generation ago, workers tended to work for ______ employer(s) during their working years.

A) three to four
B) one or two
C) one
D) five to six

Question 8

__________ refers to the investment choices that involve the movement of corporate monies from one investment to another.

A) Capital flight
B) Outsourcing
C) Globalization
D) Alienation

Question 9

Don does not mind paying higher taxes for the benefit of everyone. Although he pays nearly half his income in taxes, he is happy living in a __________ where there is a family support program for parents and children, care for the elderly, and a national health care program.

A) capitalist nation
B) socialist nation
C) welfare state
D) wealthy state

Question 10

__________ refers to employment that is temporary, contracted, leased, and other nonstandard arrangements.

A) Sporadic employment
B) Contingent employment
C) Transitional employment
D) Service sector employment

Question 11

Industries that take a specific task and transfer the work overseas are __________.

A) offsetting
B) sunrising
C) outsourcing
D) transitioning

Question 12

The United States is in the midst of an economic transformation that is moving it to a(n) __________.

A) service/information economy
B) manufacturing economy
C) agrarian economy
D) transportation and entertainment-based economy

Question 13

Fundamental changes in the economy resulting from technological breakthroughs, globalization, and capital flight describe __________.

A) the reserve army of the unemployed
B) the structural transformation of the economy
C) sunrise industries
D) sunset industries

Question 14

When the Earth's peoples are increasingly interconnected economically, politically, culturally, and environmentally, we are in an era of __________.

A) alienation
B) globalization
C) outsourcing
D) capital flight

Question 15

During the Great Recession, corporations relied more heavily on __________.

A) current employees to do more
B) temporary workers and independent contractors
C) keeping workers by increasing benefits
D) using tax loopholes

Question 16

Some societies organize their economic system in a way that benefits the collective as opposed to any one individual. This system is known as __________.

A) capitalism
B) globalization
C) socialism
D) feminism

Question 17

Wages in the new service sector of the economy tend to be __________ those previously paid in the manufacturing sector.

A) higher than
B) lower than
C) about the same as
D) higher for most, but not all, compared to

Question 18

__________ is/are a force currently transforming the U.S. economy.

A) New innovations based on computer technology
B) A shift from services to manufacturing
C) Localization of the economy
D) A booming entertainment industry

Question 19

An employment arrangement where employees work as temporaries or independent contractors and get few benefits from employers is __________.

A) discouraged employment
B) displaced employment
C) reserve employment
D) contingent employment

Question 20

Ben wants to open a business in a country that allows him to own property privately, make a personal profit, and compete openly against other firms. In general he prefers that the government stay out of his business. He would like to open his business in a __________ system.

A) socialist
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) democratic

Question 21

The proportional rate of unemployment for people of color tends to be ________ no matter the economic conditions.

A) in constant flux
B) relatively consistent
C) better than for whites
D) lower

Question 22

Some companies employ workers in low-wage countries to provide services to people in the United States instead of employing Americans to do the same work as they had in the past. This practice is known as __________.

A) contingent work
B) primary sector work
C) outsourcing
D) tax evasion

Question 23

In a bureaucratic hierarchy, each person in the chain's hierarchy relays orders to and takes responsibility for the actions of those __________ while following orders from those __________.

A) below; above
B) above; below
C) below; below
D) above; above

Question 24

Many contingent workers ______ than their counterparts who do the same work.

A) earn less
B) earn more
C) are more satisfied
D) have better benefits

Question 25

Marx felt that when people are separated from each other, from themselves, and from the products they create, they are experiencing __________.

A) alienation
B) outsourcing
C) contingent employment
D) capital flight

Question 26

The main goal of scientific management is to __________.

A) have employees feel more satisfied with their work assignments
B) provide better customer service
C) speed up production
D) decrease worker efficiency

Question 27

Alienation and the resultant feeling of work being meaningless is a problem theorized by __________.

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Max Weber
C) Erving Goffman
D) Karl Marx

Question 28

Scientific management has an emphasis on __________.

A) employee governance
B) efficiency
C) high wages
D) good products

Question 29

__________ is a demographic trend that marks the current period in the economy.

A) The overall growth of the working population
B) A disproportionate representation of Whites in tenuous employment
C) A greater increase of men in the workforce
D) The concentration of high-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector

Question 30

About __________ of the home loans in 2005 were subprime loans.

A) 20 percent
B) 11 percent
C) 31 percent
D) 45 percent

Question 31

Gerald is a freelance artist who works from home. He is referred to as a(n) __________ employee.

A) independent
B) self-sufficient
C) contingent
D) primary sector

Question 32

Jerica's factory recently moved out of the United States to a country with cheaper labor where she will produce the same products at a lower cost in a practice known as __________.

A) offshoring
B) outsourcing
C) globalization
D) alienation

Question 33

__________ is a common occupational danger that plagues workers today.

A) Seasonal Affective Disorder
B) Invisible contaminant
C) ADHD
D) Emphysema

Question 34

The speculative nature of the housing market and home flipping led to __________, and was a major contributor to the most recent recession.

A) homeshoring
B) a housing bubble
C) sunset industries
D) sunrise industries

Question 35

A problem associated with the current labor market is that __________.

A) placement in a segment is unrelated to social class
B) work in the secondary sector is so inadequately paid that many full-time workers live in poverty
C) the segmented labor market is inherently egalitarian
D) men are confined to just a few sectors of the economy

Question 36

A substandard working environment where labor laws are violated is called a __________.

A) sunset industry
B) sunrise industry
C) sweatshop
D) outsourcing

Question 37

According to Marx, when workers do not have any control over their labor, they experience __________.

A) improved productivity
B) alienation
C) greater satisfaction
D) less stress

Question 38

Josh works in the IT industry as a computer systems analyst. His job can be characterized as in which of the following?

A) Domestic industry
B) Transglobal industry
C) Service sector
D) Secondary sector

Question 39

The unemployment rate for African Americans is __________ the rate for Whites.

A) at least twice as high as
B) about the same as
C) half
D) three-quarters

Question 40

__________ has led to the decline of unions.

A) The lack of transformation in the economy
B) High support from the government
C) Businesses trying to prevent the formation of unions
D) The historical ineffectiveness of unions to improve working conditions

Question 41

Compared to other __________ nations, Americans work more hours.

Question 42

Efforts to increase worker efficiency by breaking down work into very specialized tasks and working with an assembly line production mentality is central to the concept of __________.

A) sweatshops
B) the dual labor market
C) scientific management
D) capital flight

Question 43

Historically, __________ have organized strikes, work slowdowns, and public relations campaigns to improve working conditions.

Question 44

Bill works in a dimly lit factory where he is exposed to toxic chemicals and gets paid very little for working low hours. Bill works in __________.

A) a sweatshop
B) the primary labor market
C) the IT industry
D) a managerial job

Question 45

Matt has not actively sought work for over a month since losing his job last year. He is no longer counted as unemployed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but instead is being classified as a __________.

A) displaced worker
B) discouraged worker
C) member of the reserve army of the unemployed
D) sunset worker

Question 46

The _______ is revolutionizing how business is transacted

Question 47

Chris has been out of work for a while and has not actively sought work in over a month. He is a __________ worker.

Question 48

One reason for the decline of union strength is the loss of __________ jobs.

Question 49

The division of labor between men and women preserves the __________ of men.

A) differential power
B) primary role
C) glass ceiling
D) underrepresentation

Question 50

Unemployed people who want to work but whose presence tends to depress the wages of other workers and keep them from making demands on their employers are known as __________.

A) discouraged workers
B) displaced workers
C) the reserve army of the unemployed
D) sunset workers

Question 51

__________ believed an "invisible hand" would control the marketplace.

Question 52

Nowadays, union workers make __________ than their nonunion peers.

Question 53

John works on an assembly line in a big warehouse for a manager where he has little control over the work he does or the products he produces. John is at a high risk for __________.

A) alienation
B) Taylorism
C) gentrification
D) downward social mobility

Question 54

__________ are substandard work environments where workers are paid less than minimum wage, are made to work overtime without being paid premium rates, and are subjected to conditions that violate labor laws.

Question 55

Sweatshops are substandard work environments where workers are subject to __________.

A) being paid minimum wage
B) working regular shift schedules
C) being paid premium rates for working overtime
D) working under conditions that violate labor laws

Question 56

Centralized planning is a component of __________.

Question 57

The economic shift from manufacturing to service has resulted in __________.

A) the loss of jobs that pay well
B) more opportunities for a middle-class lifestyle
C) an increased standard of living
D) a strengthening of unions

Question 58

Companies use lie detector tests and drug tests to increase their __________ over workers.

Question 59

Mary, an African American domestic worker, harbors resentment toward Hispanics because she fears they will take her job if she asks for higher wages or misses work for some reason. This racial tension is a consequence of the fact that racial minorities disproportionately make up __________.

A) the employed sector of society
B) the reserve army of the unemployed
C) recent immigrants
D) those in power

Question 60

The division of labor between the sexes __________.

A) motivates women to work harder and get better education
B) preserves the differential power, privilege, and prestige of men
C) distributes work more evenly based on ability and not gender
D) contributes to racism

Question 61

Describe contingent employment and discuss its impact on the lives of American workers. Would you like to work in this situation? Why or why not?
Ideal

Question 62

A common belief is that unemployment is functional for society because it reduces inflationary pressures.

Question 63

Discuss the problems associated with the reporting of employment and unemployment statistics by the government.

Question 64

What are the characteristics of The Corporation-Dominated U.S. Economy? Discuss the fundamental differences between the two economic forms.
Ideal

Question 65

What did Adam Smith think about the role of government in the marketplace? Do his ideas still apply today?

Question 66

Describe Taylorization and discuss the effect it has on the plight of American workers.

Question 67

What are the implications of globalization, including such agreements as NAFTA, CAFTA, and the like?

Question 68

Describe the nature of discrimination in the workplace.

Question 69

Alienation and the resultant feeling of work being meaningless is a problem experienced almost exclusively by white-collar workers.

Question 70

Outline the key economic issues that led to the Great Recession?
Ideal

Question 71

Describe the condition referred to as capital flight and discuss the conditions that have caused it. How does capital flight precipitate globalization?
Ideal

Question 72

Unemployment is evenly distributed among racial and ethnic groups.

Question 73

Discouraged workers, those who were once employed but no longer are looking for a job, are not counted as unemployed by the government.

Question 74

Juan does contract work for a publishing company. He is a contingent worker.

Question 75

OSHA has all the resources it needs to ensure workplace safety.

Question 76

The labor market assigns people of color disproportionately not only to low paying jobs but also to jobs that are unstable.

Question 77

How and why have unions lost power? What may happen as a result?
Ideal

Question 78

Although the authors identify many problems with work in contemporary society, dangerous working conditions are presented as a problem of the past.

Question 79

Alienation is limited to manual workers.

Question 80

Placement in a particular segment of the labor market is closely tied to social class.