PERSPECTIVES
ON ECONOMY
MARICON SOLEDAD
FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE
Functionalist view the economy as a vital social institution
because it is the means by which needed goods and
services are produced and distributed
Economy runs
smoothly
If the system
becomes
unbalanced
Other parts of
the society
function more
effectively
When demand
does not keep up
with the
production, a
maladjustment
occurs
SURPLUS
• Some problems can be easily remedied in the marketplace
(through “free enterprises”) or through government
intervention (such as paying farmers not to plant when there
is an oversupply of crop).
• However, other problems such as periodic peaks (high points)
and troughs (low points) in the business cycle are more
difficult to resolve.
• Business cycle
• The rise and fall of economic activity relative to long-term
growth in the economy (McEachern, 1994 in Kendall, 2003)
CONFLICT
PERSPECTIVE
Business cycles are the result of capitalist greed
In order to maximize profits, capitalist suppress the wages of
workers
As the prices of products go up, workers are not able to buy
them in the quantities that have been produced.
The resulting surpluses cause capitalists to reduce
production, close factories, and lay-off workers, thus
contributing to the growth of unemployment.
The presence of the unemployed helps reduce the wages of
the remaining workers. In some situation, workers are
replaced by machines or non-unionized workers.
KARL MARX
Refereed to the
propensity of
capitalist to
maximize profits by
reducing wages as
the falling rate of
profit, which he
believed to be one of
the inherent
contradictions of
capitalism that
would produce its
eventual downfall
(Kendall, 2003)
SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONIST
PERSPECTIVE
Work is an important source of self-identity for
many people
It can help them feel positive about themselves, or
it can cause them to feel alienated.
Job satisfaction refers to people’s attitude toward
their work based on:
• Their job responsibilities
• Organizational structure in which they work
• Their individual needs and values (Hodson and
Sullivan, 2002 in Kendall, 2003)
• Job Satisfaction is always related to both intrinsic and
extrinsic factors.
• Intrinsic factors pertain to the nature of the work itself
• Extrinsic factors include such things as vacation and holiday
policies, parking privileges, on-site day care centers, and
other amenities that contribute to workers’ overall
perception that their employer cares about them
• Alienation occurs when workers’ needs for self-identity and
meaning are not meant when work is done strictly for
material gain, not a sense of personal satisfaction (Kendall,
2003)