Deck 12: Economy and Work

Question 1

________ emphasized the concept of cooperation and competition in his economic theories.

A) Max Weber
B) Thomas Hobbes
C) Adam Smith
D) Karl Marx

Answer 1

Adam Smith

Question 2

With what invention did the era of the machine begin?

A) Ford's Model T automobile
B) Singer's sewing machine
C) Watt's steam engine
D) Remington's typewriting machine

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What is socialism the exact opposite of?

A) State capitalism
B) Laissez-faire capitalism
C) Sovereign capitalism
D) Welfare capitalism

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Advertising, designing websites, negotiating, investment, research, and training are all examples of jobs common in

A) The Industrial Revolution
B) A postindustrial knowledge economy
C) An agricultural economy
D) A socio-industrial economy

Question 5

Postindustrial economies shift from production of _________ to production of __________.

A) Raw materials, finished goods
B) Services, goods
C) Goods, ideas
D) Ideas, raw materials

Question 6

Fashions like long fingernails, high heels, and tight skirts for women

A) Became popular for most women with the industrial economy
B) Were necessary for employed women to be able to compete with men in the modern industrial economy
C) Were a sign that women were pampered and didn't need to work
D) Are examples cited by Marx as benefits from the industrial revolution

Question 7

Which of these combinations best characterizes the U.S.'s system of capitalism?

A) Laissez-faire and State (but not welfare)
B) State and Welfare (but not laissez-faire)
C) Welfare and Laissez Faire (but not state)
D) Laissez-faire, State, and Welfare

Question 8

At which of these stages in the development of society could people start to own more goods than necessary for their immediate needs?

A) Nomadic hunter-gatherer groups
B) The agricultural economy
C) The industrial economy
D) The modern consumer economy

Question 9

According to Thorsten Veblen (1899), __________ characterized the consumer economy in which prestige was based on accumulating and showing off as many possessions as possible.

A) Bourgeoisie profit-mongering
B) Proletariat profiteering
C) Market purchasing power
D) Conspicuous consumption

Question 10

According to Durkheim (1893)

A) The working and upper classes cooperate with each other as often as they compete
B) We are all interdependent; the economy is a unifying force
C) The economy ensures that everyone has adequate resources
D) An economic system based on private property divides people into unequal classes

Question 11

Marx and Engels (1848) argued that

A) The working and upper classes cooperate with each other as often as they compete
B) We are all interdependent; the economy is a unifying force
C) The economy ensures that everyone has adequate resources
D) An economic system based on private property divides people into unequal classes

Question 12

The United States was formed during which one of these historical periods?

A) The end of the Industrial Revolution
B) The start of the Agricultural Revolution
C) The start of the Industrial Revolution
D) The beginning of the Information Revolution

Question 13

In the post industrial world of work, clients and workers live in every part of the globe, and work can happen any time of the day and night. This leads to

A) More money and prestige earned by the globalized workers
B) The distinctions between home and work fading away
C) An increase in knowledge work
D) A decrease in outsourcing

Question 14

The three social changes that characterize postindustrial economies are

A) Knowledge work, rootlessness, and globalization
B) Industrial work, globalization, and density
C) Knowledge work, density, and Particularism
D) Specialized work, Particularism, and rootlessness

Question 15

With the development of the modern consumer economy, emphasis shifted from

A) Production to consumption
B) Cooperation to competition
C) Home to work
D) Payment for a product to payment for labor

Question 16

The difference between communism and socialism is

A) There is no difference; they are the same
B) With communism, there is no government, while socialism requires a government for central planning.
C) Socialism is more utopian than communism, and can occur only after many years of communism
D) Communism retains a distinction between high and low status work, but with socialism everyone is completely equal

Question 17

Using __________ contributed to the accessibility of automobiles for the majority of Americans.

A) An assembly line
B) Time management techniques
C) A steam engine
D) The concept of advertising

Question 18

According to your text, we need an economy to produce and distribute resources because

A) One person or household could not produce everything we need for an adequate quality of life.
B) The economy allows people to earn money,
C) Corporations need to make profits
D) The economy ensures that goods and services are distributed equitably in order to produce equality in society.

Question 19

In a postindustrial economy, people with limited education generally become

A) knowledge workers
B) service workers
C) assembly line workers
D) blue collar workers

Question 20

With the development of which economy did the realms of work and home become separate, such that people had to leave home and go to work?

A) Nomadic hunter-gatherer economy
B) The agricultural economy
C) The industrial economy
D) The modern consumer economy

Question 21

Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) worked in entry-level jobs as a cleaning woman, waitress, and Wal-Mart "associate". Ehrenreich found that

A) Working conditions and benefits were pretty good
B) She could not afford rent on an apartment
C) Co-workers were unkind and did not offer to help or share
D) She and her co-workers had a good chance of moving up and achieving the success of "The American Dream."

Question 22

Many of the most dominant pink-collar jobs are in what kinds of work?

A) Management and engineering
B) Clerical and sales
C) Service and construction
D) Renewable energy and sales

Question 23

Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y refer to

A) Theories that men's and women's X and Y chromosomes influence their work aptitudes, preferences, and abilities.
B) How workplace conditions and productivity vary in accordance with the assumption that people naturally like or dislike work
C) Competing strategies used by management to produce values and emotions that bind workers to the company
D) The relationship of workplace productivity to the type of pay: hourly wage, piecework rate, stipend, salary, etc.

Question 24

Jobs in food preparation, hair styling, child care, maintenance, and firefighting are considered

A) White collar
B) Service work
C) Production work
D) Pink collar

Question 25

Which of these is correct concerning a family corporation?

A) The corporation must be non-profit
B) The family owns stock, but non-family members serve as management
C) Family members are the stockholders
D) Family corporations are more stable than managerial corporations

Question 26

As the United States developed through the middle of the 1800's,

A) Most industries were located in the Northeast, while the South remained rural and agricultural.
B) The Northeast lagged behind the South, which had more industries.
C) Industry and agriculture were fairly evenly distributed around the country.
D) The Northeast was more rural and agricultural than the South.

Question 27

In comparison to blue collar work, white collar work tends to be

A) More difficult
B) Female dominated
C) More racially diverse
D) Knowledge based

Question 28

__________ are among the "elite" of white collar jobs

A) Professions
B) Sales
C) Services
D) Production

Question 29

Jobs such as secretary or sales clerk are often held by women and are still stigmatized as "women's work." Most are

A) low paying but high prestige
B) high paying but low prestige
C) high paying and high prestige
D) low paying and low prestige

Question 30

The "race to the bottom" refers to

A) The decline in quality of goods produced by many companies
B) The decline in profits experienced by many companies during the economic crisis of 2008-10
C) The drop of business ethics, correlating with a rise in white collar crime.
D) Manufacturers outsourcing work to the location where they can pay the lowest possible wages

Question 31

Professions, as compared to other types of occupations, are characterized by

A) Piece-rate system, internal labor market, and collective bargaining
B) Internal labor market, sales orientation, and manufacture consent
C) Theoretical understanding, code of ethics, and a duty to the community
D) Union membership, white collars, and equality with clients

Question 32

Outsourcing of jobs practiced by big multinational corporations is characteristic

A) almost exclusively of corporations in the U.S.
B) of corporations in the U.S. as well as Europe
C) almost exclusively of corporations in Europe
D) of very few corporations in either the U.S. or Europe

Question 33

Many of the benefits we take for granted today, such as the 40- hour work week, overtime pay, a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation for on-the-job injuries, child labor laws, and worker safety and health codes, were implemented because

A) Companies wanted them
B) The government opposed them
C) They were voted on as Constitutional Amendments
D) Organized labor fought for them

Question 34

The world's largest employer is

A) General Motors
B) Wal-Mart
C) Google
D) McDonald's

Question 35

The study at the Western Electric Hawthorne factory in Chicago suggests that

A) The Glass Ceiling applies similarly to minorities as well as women
B) Gender discrimination is a significant problem for both management and blue-collar positions
C) Worker productivity increases when workers feel valued
D) Workplace safety is a significant issue for assembly line workers

Question 36

A result of outsourcing practiced by big multinational corporations is

A) Lack of jobs and lower wages in the home country
B) More jobs and higher wages in the home country
C) More jobs but lower wages in the home country
D) Lack of jobs but higher wages in the home country

Question 37

In the U.S., over twenty-five million employed adults who earn no more than a dollar or two an hour above minimum wage are referred to as

A) Blue collar
B) "Living wage" earners
C) the working poor
D) the under class

Question 38

The so-called robber barons were able to accumulate vast fortunes because of ________.

A) Westward expansion
B) Wise investment strategies
C) Industrialization
D) Lack of government regulations

Question 39

In which of these job sectors is there a more even balance between men and women?

A) Sales
B) Construction
C) Blue collar
D) Production

Question 40

President Roosevelt's "New Deal" included

A) Minimum Wage, Social Security, Stock Market Regulation, and Bank Deposit Insurance
B) Food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), WIC (Women with Infants and Children), and Unemployment Compensation
C) Limits on Malpractice Awards, Global Outsourcing, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and Affirmative Action
D) NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), Social Security, EPA, and Food Stamps

Question 41

All societies must deal with three fundamental economic issues, __________, __________, and __________.

Question 42

The U.S.'s unemployment rate of 9.5% as of July 2009 includes

A) All non-working employable people
B) All non-working employable people as well as part-time workers
C) All non-working employable people who are actively looking for jobs
D) All non-working people regardless of whether they are employable or looking for jobs.

Question 43

"Living wages" are

A) equal to the median wage
B) equal to the minimum wage
C) lower than the minimum wage
D) higher than the minimum wage

Question 44

American workers' involvement in the three Fs (farming, fishing, and forestry) __________ in the last three hundred years

Question 45

The privately held firms that have the fastest growth rate in the U.S. are those owned by

A) White men
B) Men of color
C) White women
D) Women of color

Question 46

Regarding employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,

A) There are no federal regulations banning this discrimination
B) The Federal government bans it on the basis of Title IX of the Civil Rights Law
C) The Federal government bans it via Affirmative Action Law
D) Federal regulations ban it in hiring, but not in terms of firing or promotion

Question 47

What is the glass ceiling?

A) The top of the corporate hierarchy which still excludes women.
B) Someone on a fast trip to the economic summit of an industry
C) The top tier of executives in a company
D) A company with a fragile corporate structure

Question 48

In a global economy, work is often outsourced. The "knowledge labor" tends to occur in __________ countries, while unskilled and semiskilled factory work takes place in __________ countries.

Question 49

Regarding those working in the "underground economy," or "under the table":

A) They are typically illegal immigrants
B) Most always they are doing illegal "work" (selling drugs, prostitution)
C) Most often neither the work nor the worker is illegal
D) This work is a major source of income for the middle class, but not for the working poor.

Question 50

What is considered a white-collar job?

A) A job requiring a uniform, such as a waitress
B) A job requiring a white shirt, such as a milkman
C) A job usually dominated by women, such as a secretary
D) A knowledge based job, such as a teacher

Question 51

Worldwide as well as in different regions of the world, both developed and developing, how does the youth (ages 15-24) unemployment rate compare to the overall unemployment rate?

A) The youth unemployment rate is considerably higher than the overall unemployment rate.
B) The youth unemployment rate is only slightly higher than the overall unemployment rate.
C) The youth unemployment rate is slightly lower than the overall unemployment rate.
D) The youth unemployment rate is considerably lower than the overall unemployment rate.

Question 52

The majority of married male-female couples in the U.S.

A) Are single-earner households, supported by the man
B) Are single-earner households, supported by the woman
C) Are dual-earner households with the woman earning more
D) Are dual-earner households with the man earning more

Question 53

Which of the following earn the lowest, on average, in the U.S.?

A) Hispanic men
B) White women
C) Black men
D) Hispanic women

Question 54

Benefits to employers of part-time, contingent, "on-call," or temporary employees include

A) Cost savings in terms of health insurance, retirement, sick leave, etc
B) Less employee turnover
C) Greater employee turnover
D) Increased corporate and institutional loyalty

Question 55

In 1700, before the Industrial Revolution, 60 percent of all workers in the United States were involved in three types of work: __________, __________, and __________. As late as 1900, it was 30 percent. Today, these three occupy less than 1 percent of the American workforce. (Hint - all three start with the same letter!)

Question 56

The proportion of women who are employed is

A) Highest in poor countries
B) Lowest in poor countries
C) Average in poor countries
D) Highest in the wealthiest countries

Question 57

Regarding the gender wage gap,

A) It is illegal in the U.S.
B) It persists only in male-dominated occupations
C) On average, men earn over a dollar for each dollar earned by women
D) it is primarily a U.S. phenomenon

Question 58

_________ are unpaid workers. According to your text, if these workers were paid according to their skill level, they would earn between $110,000 and $150,000 annually.

A) Housewives
B) Organized criminals
C) Dog walkers
D) Farmers

Question 59

What ThorstenVeblen (1899) called "__________ __________" characterized the consumer economy in which prestige was based on accumulating and showing off as many possessions as possible.

Question 60

Considering part-time workers in the U.S.,

A) Women are more than twice as likely as men to work part-time
B) Women and men are equally likely to work part-time
C) Men are somewhat more likely than women to work part-time
D) Men are nearly twice as likely as women to work part-time

Question 61

As the United States became more industrialized, its businesses became more consolidated, often pushing out smaller shops and companies.

Question 62

White collar jobs are __________-based.

Question 63

The job category of __________ is distinguished by other types of jobs by theoretical knowledge, self-regulating practices, authority over clients, and community orientation.

Question 64

Natural resource and construction work as well as production work are classified as __________.

Question 65

The most popular college major in the United States, making up nearly a quarter of Bachelor's degrees awarded in 2005, is ___________.

Question 66

According to sociologist Michael Burawoy's research, management engaged in strategies designed to __________ __________, by which workers came to embrace a system that also exploited them.

Question 67

The corporation is a business that is treated legally as a/an __________.

Question 68

The increase in the number of __________ has been called the "quiet revolution" because its consequences have been gradual but wide-sweeping.

Question 69

Jobs such as secretary or sales clerk, often held by women and still stigmatized as "women's work," are sometimes referred to as __________ collar

Question 70

Of Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, considering men and women, the race and sex with the lowest average pay in the U.S. is __________ __________.

Question 71

Karl Marx argued that the pursuit of rational self-interest was inhumane and oppressive. The __________ (owners) kept all the profits for themselves, while the __________ (workers) had no choice but to work for them at wages barely enough to ensure survival.

Question 72

The largest corporations operate globally, and are called __________ corporations because they are no longer clearly located anywhere.

Question 73

The U.S. system of capitalism is almost entirely laissez-faire.

Question 74

When only a few members of a minority group occupy a job, they often believe (and are treated as if) they were hired as __________, i.e. representatives of their group rather than individuals.

Question 75

Studies of the global production of clothing sold in America show that the majority is produced in peripheral countries where factory workers are paid __________ compared to U.S. wages.

Question 76

__________ refers to the contracting out to another company of work that had once been done internally by your company.

Question 77

One way that an industrial economy differs from an agricultural one is that there is a separation of work and home.

Question 78

In the U.S., as of your text's publication, the minimum amount of income necessary for a single full-time worker to acquire adequate food, clothing, shelter, and transportation (but not health insurance) is equal to the hourly minimum wage

Question 79

"Outsourcing" and "offshoring" are relatively random, with design, marketing, and production occurring fairly equally in countries around the world.

Question 80

Beginning in 2002, for the first time, the majority (51 percent) of married male-female couples in America were __________-income.