c h a p t er
12
Economy and
Work
Sociology Now
1st Edition (Brief)
Kimmel/Aronson
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A job provides both identity and
financial support, and the degree to
which it provides each is a key to an
understanding of the economy as a
major institution of reproducing
social inequality.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Theories of the Economy
– economy  capital
– Locke and Hobbes
• resources are limited
• people must compete with one
another
– Marx
– Weber
– Durkheim
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Economic Development
– hunters and gatherers
• The Agricultural Economy
– beginnings of division of labor
– markets
• The Industrial Economy
– Industrial Revolution
– Industrial economies
• Power
• Centralization
• Specialization
• Wage labor
• Separation of work and home
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Economic Development
• Consumption and the Modern
Economy
–
–
–
–
production
consumption
conspicuous consumption (Veblen)
three F’s – farming, fishing and forestry
comprise1% of today’s workforce
• The Postindustrial Economy
– 2007 – “services” as biggest source of
employment
– postindustrial economies
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Economic Development
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Economic Development
– Knowledge Work
• knowledge economy
– Rootlessness
– Globalization
• global economies
• outsourcing
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Economic Development
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Economic Systems
– economic system
• production
• distribution
• consumption
• Capitalism
• Private ownership
• Open market
• Profit
– Laissez-Faire Capitalism
– State Capitalism
– Welfare Capitalism
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Economic Systems
• Socialism
– Marx – bourgeoisie and proletariat
– opposite of laissez-faire capitalism
• Collective ownership
• Collective goals
• Central Planning
– Democratic Socialism
• Communism
– collective ownership  w/o political
apparatus
– after years of socialism (Marx)
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The American Economy
• The Impact of Industrialization
– Consolidation
• Minimum wage
• Social Security
• Regulation of stock market (SEC)
• Insurance of bank deposits (FDIC)
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The American Economy
• The Postindustrial Economy:
Technology and Globalization
• Corporations
– Family Corporations
– Managerial Corporations
– Institutional Corporations
• Multinational Corporations
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Work, Identity, and Inequality
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Work, Identity, and Inequality
• How We Work
– The Hawthorne Effect
– Theory X and Theory Y
– Manufacturing Consent
• Piece-rate pay system
• Internal labor market
• Collective bargaining
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Work, Identity, and Inequality
• Types of Jobs
– White-Collar Jobs
• Theoretical knowledge
• Self-regulating practices
• Authority over clients
• Community orientation
– Blue-Collar Jobs
– Pink-Collar Jobs
– Service Work
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Work, Identity, and Inequality
• Alternatives to Wage Labor
– Working off the Books
• informal economy
– “underground economy”
– “gray market”
–
–
–
–
Unpaid Work
Self-Employment
Part-Time Work
Contingent and “On Call” Work
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Work, Identity, and Inequality
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Work, Identity, and Inequality
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Work, Identity, and Inequality
• Unemployment
– Seasonal unemployment
– Cyclical unemployment
– Structural unemployment
• unemployment compensation
• welfare
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Diversity in the Workplace
• Racial Diversity
• Gender Diversity
– pay gap
– Work-Family Dynamics
• Sexual Diversity
• Working Parents
• Work and Economy in the 21st
Century
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Diversity in the Workplace
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Diversity in the Workplace
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Diversity in the Workplace
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009