Deck 18: Economic Institutions

Question 1

The story in which the American businessman E. L. Winthrop wanted the Indian to weave a large number of baskets illustrates:

A) a failure of communication
B) cultural relativism
C) differences between the institutions of folk and industrial societies
D) ethnocentrism

Answer 1

differences between the institutions of folk and industrial societies

Question 2

The institutions that are concerned with production and distribution of goods and services constitute a society's:

A) economic institutions
B) family institutions
C) political institutions
D) religious institutions

Answer 2

economic institutions

Question 3

The idea that people will attempt to maximize their pleasure or profit in any situation and will also try to minimize their loss or pain is referred to as the:

A) capitalist theory of economics
B) central theory of economics
C) maximization principle
D) theory of contingency

Answer 3

central theory of economics

Question 4

Among the hallmarks of industrial society is the production of all of the following EXCEPT:

A) commodities
B) information
C) professions
D) services

Question 5

Which of the following is characteristic of subsistence economies?

A) complex division of labor
B) family as basic production unit
C) highly developed markets
D) production of surplus commodities

Question 6

Economic institutions that regulate exchange behavior are

A) markets
B) exchange mediums
C) divisions of labor
D) networks

Question 7

The sociologist who applied the economic rational choice approach to group behavior was

A) Karl Marx
B) Gary Becker
C) Peter Berger
D) Robert Merton

Question 8

In a market, prices for various goods and services are established based on:

A) changing levels of supply and demand
B) governmental policy
C) how buyers and sellers are related
D) the cost of producing them

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT essential to a market?

A) a medium of exchange
B) a place to hold exchanges
C) government support
D) use of contracts

Question 10

In market transactions, impersonal relations are possible because other roles of the participants are neutralized through the use of:

A) contracts
B) currency
C) division of labor
D) networking

Question 11

Market transactions are governed by

A) bureaucracies
B) contracts
C) mercantile associations
D) markets

Question 12

An economy in which producers try to meet the needs of their immediate and extended families and do not produce goods for export is known as:

A) basic economy
B) market economy
C) subsistence economy
D) contract economy

Question 13

Which of the following are economic institutions that regulate exchange behavior?

A) bureaucracies
B) markets
C) mercantile associations
D) soviets

Question 14

All of the following have accelerated the spread of markets into nonmarket societies EXCEPT:

A) colonialism
B) desire for goods produced by industrial societies
C) political conquest
D) the emergence of new technologies

Question 15

Immanuel Wallerstein argues that the new type of social organization that emerged in the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries was based on:

A) economic relationships
B) political empires
C) religious fragmentation
D) war and conquest

Question 16

According to Immanuel Wallerstein, political empires can be seen as a form of:

A) economic domination
B) economic innovation
C) economic production
D) economic redistribution

Question 17

Immanuel Wallerstein argues that the major drawback of political empires was their:

A) lack of economic productivity
B) lack of political stability
C) need for a huge military and civil bureaucracy
D) need to continually find new peoples to conquer

Question 18

An economic enterprise that has headquarters in one country and conducts business activities in one or more other countries is called:

A) a conglomerate
B) a monopoly
C) a multinational corporation
D) an oligopoly

Question 19

An example of an early multinational corporation was

A) International Business Machines
B) U.S. Steel
C) Hudson's Bay Company
D) all of the above

Question 20

The first of many substances for which huge markets emerged in developed nations was:

A) cocaine
B) chocolate
C) sugar
D) poppies

Question 21

All of the following are included in underdevelopment except:

A) poverty
B) hunger
C) overpopulation
D) dependency

Question 22

The Byrne Corporation has headquarters in Chicago and manufacturing plants in Korea, Brazil, and Australia. It sells its products in 47 countries. The Byrne Corporation may be classified as:

A) a conglomerate
B) a monopoly
C) a multinational corporation
D) an oligopoly

Question 23

A major difference between the modern multinational corporation and seventeenth-century trading firms like the Dutch East India Company is that:

A) early trading firms had access to more capital
B) early trading firms were much more powerful corporations
C) modern corporations are not granted exclusive rights to trade with other nations
D) modern corporations are likely to rely on military conquest to achieve their goals

Question 24

When sociologists speak of the "development of underdevelopment," they are referring to the fact that:

A) economic development in industrial nations produces poverty and dependency in third world nations
B) underdeveloped countries are unable to compete in the world economy
C) underdeveloped countries benefit from underdevelopment
D) underdeveloped countries no longer have natural resources to export to developed nations

Question 25

In the modern world, economic resources are increasingly controlled by:

A) colonial powers
B) government agencies
C) great empires
D) multinational corporations

Question 26

Which of the following is based on the belief that the wealth of a nation can be measured by its holdings of gold or other precious metals?

A) laissez-faire capitalism
B) mercantilism
C) venture capitalism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 27

The economic philosophy known as mercantilism held that a nation's wealth could be measured by:

A) its capacity to produce goods and services
B) its holdings of gold and other precious metals
C) the average income of its working class
D) the literacy level of its citizens

Question 28

Which of the following was NOT an element of mercantilism?

A) A nation's wealth could be measured by the amount of gold held by the royal court.
B) Economic growth depended on increasing the nation's exports.
C) Production must be controlled by guilds.
D) There should be unrestrained competition in the marketplace.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT an element of laissez-faire capitalism?

A) A society's wealth may be measured only by its capacity to produce goods and services.
B) Economic decisions should be controlled by the workers.
C) The production of goods and services is regulated by free trade.
D) Workers should be freed from the restrictions imposed by feudalism.

Question 30

Malcolm Chan believes that owners of property should be free to do almost anything they like with it in order to make profits. In addition, he feels that when an individual makes a profit in a business venture the entire society benefits. Chan's beliefs represent the economic philosophy known as:

A) laissez-faire capitalism
B) mercantilism
C) socialism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 31

The economic philosophy based on public ownership of property is

A) mercantilism
B) capitalism
C) democratic socialism
D) socialism

Question 32

All of the following are elements of laissez-faire capitalism EXCEPT:

A) Free markets provide better products at lower prices than other producers could offer.
B) Markets should determine what goods will be produced, but the government should regulate competition.
C) Owners of property should be free to do almost anything they like with it in order to make profits.
D) Workers should be free from the restraints imposed by guilds.

Question 33

Laissez-faire capitalism arose as a reaction to which of the following economic philosophies?

A) mercantilism
B) socialism
C) venture capitalism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 34

Adam Smith's concept of the "invisible hand" refers to the belief that:

A) competitive markets improve the quality of life for everyone
B) God influences all economic matters
C) people are not aware of their own economic interests
D) there is a limit to economic growth

Question 35

Laissez-faire economists believe that human life would be best improved by:

A) a guaranteed minimum income for all citizens
B) allowing unrestrained competition in the marketplace
C) increasing a nation's holdings of gold and other precious metals
D) public ownership of property and the sharing of profits

Question 36

Which of the following is an economic philosophy based on public ownership of property and sharing of profits?

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

Question 37

Early socialists called economics the "dismal science" because it:

A) destroyed the guild system
B) inevitably led to war
C) justified the exploitation of the masses
D) undermined the philosophy of mercantilism

Question 38

All of the following are elements of a socialist economic system EXCEPT:

A) centralized planning
B) public ownership of property and the sharing of profits
C) several political parties competing for power
D) worker participation in production decisions

Question 39

Sam Greene believes that laissez-faire capitalism exploits workers and increases human misery. He advocates a system of centralized planning in which workers determine what is to be produced and how it is to be distributed. Greene supports the economic philosophy known as:

A) democratic socialism
B) socialism
C) utopianism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 40

An economic system in which demand and supply are regulated by government agencies is a:

A) market economy
B) centralized economy
C) command economy
D) commodity economy

Question 41

Command economies have had all of the following results EXCEPT:

A) efficient planning and distribution systems
B) overdeveloped industrial infrastructures
C) public dissatisfaction with available goods
D) limited capability to compete in world markets

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a command economy?

A) centralized planning
B) government control of supply and demand
C) efficiency in the allocation of goods and services
D) public ownership of the means of production

Question 43

Which of the following is an economic philosophy based on the belief that private property may exist at the same time that large corporations are owned by the state and run for the benefit of all citizens?

A) democratic socialism
B) mercantilism
C) socialism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 44

Which of the following is a central element of democratic socialism?

A) elimination of competitive markets
B) elimination of private property
C) promotion of exports
D) state ownership of large corporations

Question 45

Although John Dombec believes that large corporations should be owned by the nation and run For the benefit of all citizens, he does not favor the elimination of the institutions of private property or competitive markets. Dombec's beliefs represent the economic philosophy known as:

A) communism
B) democratic socialism
C) socialism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 46

Worker control of the production and distribution of goods is an element of which of the following economic philosophies?

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

Question 47

Which of the following economic philosophies allows markets to determine what goods will be produced, but allows the government to regulate economic competition?

A) democratic socialism
B) socialism
C) venture capitalism
D) welfare capitalism

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an element of welfare capitalism?

A) formation of unions by workers
B) free competition in the marketplace
C) government ownership of large corporations
D) government regulation of competition

Question 49

John Davis believes that markets should determine what goods will be produced but also that the government should take a strong role in preventing unfair competition. Davis is advocating an economic philosophy known as:

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

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT a basic human right under welfare capitalism?

A) a guaranteed minimum income
B) a minimum level of health care
C) Social Security and pension rights
D) the right to engage in collective bargaining

Question 51

Which of the following terms is used by Daniel Bell to refer to a society that emphasizes theoretical knowledge as the axis around which new technology, economic growth, and stratification will be organized?

A) global society
B) postindustrial society
C) socialist society
D) urban-industrial society

Question 52

The major characteristic of postindustrial society is:

A) a guaranteed minimum income
B) intellectual technology
C) machine technology
D) the absence of conflict

Question 53

In a postindustrial society, economic growth comes from:

A) higher levels of international trade
B) higher levels of productivity on the part of factory workers
C) knowledge and information
D) the emergence of multinational corporations

Question 54

Which of the following statements about the transition from industrial to postindustrial society is NOT true?

A) It demands lower educational levels on the part of workers.
B) It forces skilled workers into lower-paid jobs in the service sector.
C) It has erased many of the gains made by blacks since World War II.
D) It produces high unemployment in a period of relative prosperity.

Question 55

All of the following are among the criticisms of postindustrial society EXCEPT:

A) A new working class will emerge to demand a more equal distribution of wealth.
B) Increasing demands for educational qualifications will solidify the position of the black underclass.
C) Industrial production is the central feature of the postindustrial economy.
D) Technologies permit business owners to exert far more control over workers than was possible before.

Question 56

The social contract, as defined by Daniel Bell in his analysis of the post industrial society,
Provided that in exchange for hard work, saving, and skill improvement, citizens could expect from the government all of the following EXCEPT:

A) adequate healthcare
B) a guaranteed job
C) decent education for their children
D) increasing standard of living

Question 57

The presidential administration of the 1980s and the congress of the 1990s have held the view that the benefits of the "social contract" should be provided by:

A) individuals themselves
B) the economy
C) the family
D) the government

Question 58

The feeling of being powerless to control one's own destiny is termed:

A) abandonment
B) alienation
C) anomie
D) disillusionment

Question 59

In which of the following situations is a worker most likely to feel alienated?

A) building a cabinet
B) designing a building
C) performing highly repetitive tasks on an assembly line
D) working in groups whose tasks involve teamwork

Question 60

Japanese firms tend to avoid worker alienation by:

A) instituting flexible work schedules
B) paying workers more
C) rewarding individual initiative
D) strengthening the role of the small group

Question 61

Maquilladora industries on the Mexican border have working conditions that

A) promote good community relationships
B) are exclusively male dominated.
C) are illegal in the United States
D) are increasing the demand for full time employees

Question 62

A mentor is one who will do all of the following except

A) prevent burnout.
B) teach employees how to deal with supervisors
C) how to work effectively.
D) work to increase employee alienation.

Question 63

Union-management negotiating that occurs after management agrees to sign a union contract is:

A) collective negotiating
B) collective bargaining
C) union bargaining
D) union negotiating

Question 64

Union contracts provide for which of the following:

A) power to influence decisions
B) the right to set their wages
C) some measure of justice and due process at work
D) a grievance system that gives the power to management

Question 65

The term "free rider" refers to:

A) union member who benefits from the work of the union leaders
B) employees who are paid less than union members
C) striking union members who continue to receive their pay
D) employees who are non union members receiving benefits of union members

Question 66

Since the 1950s union membership in the United States:

A) has risen slightly
B) has been increasing dramatically
C) has seen a decline
D) has not changed

Question 67

Compared to employers in Europe, employers in the United States are:

A) more likely to accept unions
B) less tolerant of unions
C) working quietly to change the power of the unions
D) are extremely anti-union

Question 68

When workers are aware of their lower status and inequality and feel there is little they can do about it, this is:

A) false perception
B) affective status
C) poor workplace relations
D) false consciousness

Question 69

In the work environment, the function of a manager is to:

A) change levels of production
B) reduce interpersonal relations
C) motivate employees to work effectively
D) groom employees for other jobs in industries

Question 70

The process of collective bargaining can include discussions on all of the following EXCEPT:

A) pay
B) employment for spouses
C) benefits
D) working conditions

Question 71

Which of the following is responsible for the reforms in American capitalism?

A) anti-union employers
B) unions
C) deregulation of certain industries
D) the environmental protection movement

Question 72

Industrial sociology is concerned with:

A) devising techniques to increase worker productivity
B) discovering factors that motivate workers
C) increasing worker morale
D) the social organization of work

Question 73

Taylorism and human relations management are examples of which of the following perspectives in industrial sociology?

A) conflict theory
B) functionalism
C) interactionism
D) socialism

Question 74

The goal of Elton Mayo's study of Western Electric's Hawthorne plant was to:

A) bring unions into the decision-making process
B) find ways to introduce technological innovations into the workplace
C) reduce tensions between workers and managers
D) understand the effect of informal organization on the factory's formal organization and goals

Question 75

Frederick W. Taylor is associated with the approach to industrial relations known as:

A) conflict theory
B) human relations
C) industrial ecology
D) scientific management

Question 76

Scientific management is most concerned with:

A) decreasing absenteeism
B) increasing productivity
C) increasing worker commitment to the organization
D) raising worker morale

Question 77

Which of the following is NOT associated with the approach to industrial relations known as scientific management?

A) hiring inexperienced workers
B) piecework payment systems
C) teamwork between workers and management
D) time and motion studies

Question 78

On the basis of his Hawthorne Plant studies, Elton Mayo concluded that worker productivity could be increased by:

A) emphasizing teamwork among workers and managers
B) improving lighting
C) increasing the number of rest periods
D) using pay incentives

Question 79

The managers of the Conrad Corporation believe that workers are basically lazy and lack initiative. They have decided that the best way to increase productivity is to reorganize work and increase the division of labor. Since the only reason people come to work is for a paycheck, workers' salaries will be tied to their productivity. This approach represents what industrial sociologists call the:

A) conflict approach
B) human relations approach
C) industrial ecology approach
D) scientific management approach

Question 80

Efforts to improve cooperation between workers and managers in order to achieve the organization's goals are characteristic of:

A) conflict-oriented approach to management
B) professionalization
C) scientific management
D) the human-relations approach to management