Deck 10: Work and the Economy

Question 1

An economic system in which there is private, rather than state, ownership of wealth and control of the production and distribution of goods is called _____.

Answer 1

capitalism

Question 2

Work can have a(n) _____ impact on the physical and emotional well-being or workers.

Answer 2

negative

Question 3

In business and corporations, profit tends to be the _____.

Answer 3

bottom line

Question 4

When a company or corporation reduces the labor force, it is called _____.

Question 5

All civilians who are employed or unemployed but able and desiring to work is called _____.

Question 6

In the future, workers will need verbal, math, and _____ skills.

Question 7

The notion that work is intrinsically good and useful and that people should continue to work even if they are financially independent is called _____.

Question 8

Working full-time for poverty wages is called _____.

Question 9

According to _____, in a capitalist society the worker is estranged from his or her own labor.

Question 10

Unemployment can lead to such problems as high levels of stress, depression, and _____.

Question 11

Brenner (1978) calculated the impact for a sustained 1 percent rise in unemployment to cause a _____ percent increase in suicide.

Question 12

To increase profits, management has decided to subvert workers' needs to organizational needs, bust unions, and _____.

Question 13

The union movement has been instrumental in bringing about higher wages, fringe benefits, and _____.

Question 14

When unemployment is high for particular groups but not others, it is called _____.

Question 15

The notion that your sense of worth and the satisfaction of your needs are intricately related to the kind of work you do is called _____.

Question 16

Initially, the United States was a(n) _____ society.

Question 17

In _____, people are motivated by profit and compete with each other for maximum shares of profit.

Question 18

According to _____, alienation is an objective phenomenon.

Question 19

In the context of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), _____ is the most common form of employee ownership in the United States.

Question 20

In the context of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), _____ allows employees to acquire some portion of shares over time as stock is transferred to them as a part of their benefits.

Question 21

In the context of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), _____ allows employees to get votes in accord with the number of shares they hold.

Question 22

The notion that your sense of worth and the satisfaction of your needs are intricately related to the kind of work that you do is called _____.

A) your calling in life
B) the work ethic
C) your profession
D) your stability factor

Question 23

Initially, the United States was a(n) _____.

A) industrial society
B) computer society
C) agrarian society
D) manufacturing society

Question 24

An economic system in which there is private, rather than state, ownership of wealth and control of the production and distribution of goods is called _____.

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

Question 25

In _____, people are motivated by profit and compete with each other for maximum shares of profit.

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

Question 26

In a pure capitalist system, government involvement in the economy is _____.

A) minimal
B) frequent
C) extensive
D) absolute

Question 27

In simplest terms, globalization of the economy means _____.

A) a significant increase in the amount of international trade and investment
B) each country producing goods and services for itself
C) each country doing well by sharing resources with other countries
D) trading food for oil

Question 28

Amin (2004) argued that globalization has led to _____.

A) a more even distribution of wealth throughout the world
B) a growing gap between the world's rich and poor
C) a safer world
D) a world where war will disappear

Question 29

When a company or corporation reduces the labor force, it is called _____.

A) labor reduction
B) job replacement
C) downsizing
D) reductions

Question 30

Which of the following changes has occurred because of the global economy?

A) An increasing number of jobs are part-time or temporary.
B) An increasing number of jobs have no fringe benefits such as health insurance.
C) Corporate tax obligations have been reduced, cutting back on revenues necessary to support social programs.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 31

All civilians who are employed or unemployed but able and desiring to work is called _____.

A) the market economy
B) the labor force
C) the pool of workers
D) the employment rate

Question 32

Which of the following terms refers to the separation of work into specialized tasks?

A) specialization
B) specialized departments
C) division of labor
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 33

In recent years, the United States has moved into a(n) _____ society.

A) agricultural
B) manufacturing
C) service and informational
D) industrial

Question 34

Which of the following skills will workers need in the future?

A) verbal skills
B) math skills
C) abstract thinking skills
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 35

Since 1960, the proportion of workers who are members of unions has _____.

A) declined
B) increased
C) stayed the same
D) increased dramatically

Question 36

By 2015, _____ percent of wage and salary workers were union members.

A) 11.1 percent
B) 17.8 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 38.9 percent

Question 37

In a 2011 Gallup poll, roughly _____ percent of workers surveyed said they were satisfied with their jobs.

A) 28 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 67 percent
D) 88 percent

Question 38

To say that Americans today "just don't want to work anymore" is the _____.

A) fallacy of personal attack
B) fallacy of appeal to prejudice
C) fallacy of circular reasoning
D) fallacy of misplaced concreteness

Question 39

Which of the following terms refers to working full time for poverty wages, working part time when full-time work is desired, or working at a job below the worker's skill level?

A) unemployment
B) underemployment
C) full employment
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 40

Which of the following terms refers to the proportion of the labor force that is not working but is available for work and has made specific efforts to find work?

A) unemployment rate
B) underemployment rate
C) full employment rate
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 41

____ is defined as a sense of estrangement that is usually measured by an individual's feelings of powerlessness, normlessness, isolation, and meaninglessness.

A) Pluralism
B) Apathy
C) Alienation
D) Disenfranchisement

Question 42

According to _____, the worker is estranged from his or her own labor in a capitalist society.

A) Thomas Hobbes
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Karl Marx
D) Frank Thornton

Question 43

In the year 2010, which of the following countries had the lowest unemployment rate?

A) Japan
B) Australia
C) Canada
D) France
E) Netherlands

Question 44

Two researchers, Dixon and Van Horn (2003), looked at work in the early 2000s and called it the era of _____.

A) the woman
B) the computer
C) the disposable worker
D) the man

Question 45

People who are underemployed, in the sense of being overeducated and overqualified for their jobs, are:

A) more likely than adequately employed workers are to report higher levels of health.
B) less likely than adequately employed workers are to exhibit symptoms of depression.
C) unlikely to leave their jobs sooner than other workers.
D) likely to lack job satisfaction than other workers.

Question 46

Which of the following problems can be a result of unemployment?

A) high levels of stress
B) depression
C) anger and resentment
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 47

Brenner (1978) calculated the impact for a sustained 1 percent rise in unemployment to cause a _____ percent increase in suicide.

A) 1 percent
B) 2 percent
C) 3 percent
D) 4 percent

Question 48

In the context of interpersonal relationships, researchers have found that shift work tends to _____.

A) increase conflict in the family
B) raise marital happiness and interaction
C) decrease problems such as conflict over sexual and child-rearing matters
D) improve quantity and quality of parent-child interaction

Question 49

The _____ administration fired and permanently replaced more than 1200 air-traffic controllers.

A) Reagan
B) George Bush I
C) Bill Clinton
D) George Bush II

Question 50

The union movement has been instrumental in bringing about _____.

A) higher wages
B) fringe benefits
C) safety conditions for workers
D) all of these answers are correct

Question 51

The workplace death rate has been cut by more than half since 1970 by _____.

A) the republican party
B) the Supreme Court
C) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
D) the Bush II Administration

Question 52

The negative attitudes that many Americans have about unions sometimes lead them into the _____.

A) fallacy of appeal to prejudice
B) fallacy of circular reasoning
C) fallacy of composition
D) fallacy of retrospective determinism

Question 53

Millions of Americans now work under flextime that results in _____ than Americans who do not.

A) lower productivity
B) lesser stress while driving to work
C) lower morale
D) lesser satisfaction

Question 54

Which of the following statements is true about job enrichment?

A) It has little or no impact on employee dissatisfaction and alienation.
B) It involves having more direct control over a worker than already exists.
C) It involves giving workers more responsibility than they already have.
D) It focuses on confining a worker to a single, highly specialized task.

Question 55

In the context of employee ownership, which of the following statements is true about direct ownership?

A) In direct ownership, employees get some control of the enterprise.
B) In direct ownership, employees acquire some portion of shares over time as stock is transferred to them as a part of their benefits.
C) In direct ownership, employees simply own shares in the company.
D) In direct ownership, employees get votes in accord with the number of shares they hold.

Question 56

Unemployment that is the result of the functioning of the political-economic system itself is called _____.

A) structural unemployment
B) discriminatory unemployment
C) national unemployment
D) political unemployment

Question 57

When unemployment is high for particular groups but not others, it is called _____.

A) structural unemployment
B) discriminatory unemployment
C) national unemployment
D) political unemployment

Question 58

Globalization means that businesses find low-skilled workers in other nations who work for lower pay than Americans.

Question 59

Corporate tax obligations have been increased, allowing the Federal Government enough money to support various social programs.

Question 60

Work can have a negative impact on both the emotional and the physical well-being of workers.

Question 61

Unemployment varies by occupational category, with rates tending to be lower among blue-collar and service workers.

Question 62

Typically, unemployment rates are lower for minorities than for whites and are lower for younger than for older workers.

Question 63

When executives downsize an organization causing thousands of people to lose their job, many times the executive is rewarded with bonuses for saving the company money.

Question 64

The term "unemployed" refers to working full time for poverty wages, working part time when full-time work is desired, or working at a job below the worker's skill level.

Question 65

The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labor force that is not working but is available for work and has made specific efforts to find work.

Question 66

It was the Reagan administration that fired and permanently replaced more than 1,200 striking air-traffic controllers.

Question 67

When unemployment is high for particular groups but not others, it is called discriminatory unemployment.

Question 68

Workers in an authoritarian organization are likely to experience negative emotions and attitudes ranging from job dissatisfaction to alienation.

Question 69

Role conflict, like role ambiguity, leads to lower satisfaction and higher stress levels.

Question 70

Unemployment that is the result of the functioning of the political-economic system itself is called discriminatory unemployment.

Question 71

Since 1960, the proportion of workers who are members of unions has increased.

Question 72

Initially, the United States was an industrial society until the year 1850.

Question 73

Many observers argue that globalization has led to a growing gap between the rich and poor globally.

Question 74

Since the 1960s, the proportion of workers who are members of unions has declined.