Chapter 11 - Work and the Workplace

Structural Changes in the US Economy (our book by Macionis View)

- The Industrial Revolution - The Information Revolution - Deindustrialization - Globalization

5. Commuters' Zone

- This area is located beyond the build-up area of the city. - Mostly upper-class residents live in this area. - This area is also known as the suburbs in the United States.

4. Zone of Better Residence

- This zone contains newer and more spacious houses. Mostly families in the middle-class live in this zone. - There are a lot of condominiums in this area and residents are less likely to rent.

2. Zone of Transition

- industry and has poorer-quality housing available. Immigrants, as well as single individuals, tend to live in this area in small dwelling units - frequently created by subdividing larger houses into apartments. - Most people in this area rent.

3. Zone of the Working Class

- modest older houses occupied by stable, working class families. - A large percentage of the people in this area rent.

1. Central Business District (CBD)

- non-residential area businesses are. called downtown in the U.S. and city center in Europe. - This area has a developed transportation system to accommodate commuters coming into the CBD. - Also, due to the high land cost in this area, a lot of sky scrapers are built in order to take full advantage of that land. - Most government institutions, businesses, stadiums, and restaurants chose this area to build on due to its accessibility.

What Were the Working Conditions of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

- so dangerous, it can cost their lives - Modern factory environment (high ceilings, big windows, 8/9 floor). Middle of New York, so when workers left, they see all the wealth around them. - 14-hour work day for $2 at most (that was before Bosses docked their pay for the needles, thread, and electricity they used) - 10th floor = Triangle Owners - No one left after the work day until a bag inspection for shirt waste, thread, or fabric.

Clara Lemlich

22-year-old garment worker stepped up uninvited to the podium. - Few weeks earlier started a strike and was beaten by the owners hired men. - 6 broken ribs.

Capitalist vs. Socialist Countries

- Capitalist Countries: US - Socialists Countries: China, Cuba, Vietnam, they have far less economic inequality but freedom is limited and the typical stands of living is very low

McDonaldization and "McJobs"

- Characterized by George Ritzer - Burger is at the same from Sioux Falls to LA - Relatively simple tasks, little job satisfaction, predictable and repetitive, high turnover, little room for advancements. - Lack of Autonomy

The Changing Nature of Work in the US

- Farming declining since 1850 - Industrial era was in its prime from about 1900s to its peak about 1950 - Service work steadily increasing - About 85% of labor force is in Service Work - About 14% of labor force is in Industrial Work - 2% of labor force is in Farming

Who Should Control Economic Production?

- Government (Political Left): because it promotes economic equality or - The Free Market (Political Right): because it increases economic productivity

Autonomy

- Illness and position related: senior administrators (higher up people) demonstrated lower rates of sickness and abscesses and better health outcomes than people in routine clerical positions. - A sense of control over their work, the range of skills people were allowed to exercise, and the variety of tasks open to them. - People are rational - Social actors - Absent of determinism - Allowed to express their own goals and interests

Labor Unions

- Labor Unions gained strength along with the industrial economy in the twentieth century and, by 1950, claimed one-third of all US nonfarm workers - Union membership has fallen due to deindustrialization and the expansion of service work. Today, just 11% of US workers are union members

Industrial Revolution

- Mechanical innovation contributed to changes in production methods. Concentration of productions ends up in factory's and cities (along the lines of roads/rivers - one place to get things in and out) - Cities - Shifted workers into the Second Economic Sector: turning raw materials into products o Cotton into clothing, metal into tools, lumbar into furniture - Labor becomes highly specialized - Friends were who you worked with

Life/Work Before the Industrial Revolution (Preindustrial)

- People tended to live in rural areas and small towns (population was where work was) - Production: - Primary Economic Sector: producing raw materials o Lumbar from trees, precursors for minerals in iron/steel o late 1700s to early 1800s - Often self employed - Diverse skill set - Relationships/Friendships with family and neighbors (based on geography; best friend lives next door = Propinquity)

Types of Economies (other authors and books)

- Preindustrial - Industrial - Postindustrial

Postindustrial (The Information Revolution)

- Shift from industrial work to the Tertiary Sector: service work - Influenced by the computer - White collar jobs (Office jobs, insurance, sales/consulting) - Social groups based on who held common interests - Occurred around 1950

How Did Technology Influence Productivity in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory?

- Speed mattered more than anything at the Triangle. Volume kept Harris and Blanck ahead of their competition. - The men had invested in the most up to date technology, and it had to pay. - The old pedal pumped sewing machines made 34 stitches a minute With the new electric sewing machines, girls were expected to make 3,000 stitches a minute, and no mistakes. They were assigned assignment to make collars or button holes.

Information Revolution

After 1950, the Informational Revolution again changed the nature of work, this time through a process of deindustrialization as it moved people into service jobs in the tertiary sector of the economy

Race, Ethnicity, and Gender with the Work Place

Although a wider range of jobs is open to women and other minorities, minorities remain concentrated in lower-paying work - Institutional prejudice and discrimination generate workplace segregation and limit the advancement of minorities; informal and often invisible barriers of this kind are called the "glass ceiling"

The Radical Left on the Workplace

Basic Change is Needed - Radicals on the left see the free-market system as a source of problems because capitalism is concerned only with profits, not the welfare of people - Radicals on the left believe that mere reform will not solve this problem; the capitalist system must be replaced with an economic system that operates in the interests of all workers

New Information Technology : The Brace New Workplace

Computers and other new information technology are redefining work in the US - Working from home is becoming more common, especially among more educated workers - Computer technology can isolate workers and give employers greater ability to control worker activity - Computer technology also contributes to the "deskilling" of many jobs, including the work of managers

The Temping of the Workplace

Counting temporary workers, contract employees, and part-timers, 20% of the US labor force lack job security and benefits such as employer-sponsored health insurance.

Structural-Functional Theory and the Workplace

Finding a New Equilibrium. looks at the importance of work for the operation of the economy - Changes (especially those brought on by new technology) can disrupt established patterns of work, causing problems such as unemployment - But other institutions, such as education, retrain workers for new kinds of jobs, helping restore society's balance

Globalization

the expansion of economic activity around the world with little regard for national borders

Concentric Zone Model

Inner to Outer 1. Central Business District 2. Zone of Transition 3. Zone of Independent Workers' Homes 4. Zone of Better Residences 5. Commuters' Zone

Unemployment

Measures the number of people who are able to work, but do not have a job during a period of time. - Some unemployment is normal as people enter the labor force or change jobs. Yet unemployment is also produced by the economy itself - The official US unemployment rate for 2015 was 5.0% of the labor force or about 8.3 million people - The concept of "missing workers" refers to the fact that the actual unemployment rate is considerable higher because at least 5 million people have given up looking for work

Rationalization of Society (Weber)

the historical change from tradition to rationality as the typical way people think about the world

Conservatives on the Workplace

Look at the Market - Conservatives hold that a free-market economy, with minimal government regulation, produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people - Conservatives believe that although new technology and downturns in the economy cause temporary disruptions, the market solves these problems over time, creating a highly productive economy

Liberal and the Workplace

Look to the Government - Liberals point out that a free-market economy, although productive, does not meet the needs of everyone, and causes problems, including dangerous working conditions, unemployment, and low wages - Liberals support government regulation of the economy and the workplace to enhance the well-being of all

Max Blanck and Issac Harris

Shirtwaist Kings - had made Triangle a million dollars a year - After fire, Max Blanck and Issac Harris were brought up on charges for man slotter and people were shattered when they were Acquitted (not charged). No proof that exit door was locked.

McDonaldization and the 4 Principles

THE 4 PRINCIPLES - Efficiency: McDonald's tries to serve food quickly and easily - Predictability: McDonald's uses rigid formulas to prepare all food in exactly the same way each time - Uniformity: McDonald's serves meals that look and taste exactly the same in all of its restaurants (Taste the same from SF and in LA) - Automation: By automating all tasks, McDonald's is able to precisely control the production process, minimizing human decision making

Symbolic-Interaction Theory and the Workplace

The Meaning of Work highlights the meaning people attach to work - In general, people in the primary labor market attach positive meaning to their work; their jobs are an important part of their social identity - People in the secondary labor market find less positive meaning in their work and value a job only for the income it provides

Alienation (Weber)

The rational focus on efficiency leads to depersonalization of society - linked alienation to modern rationality, which makes the workplace impersonal by emphasizing efficiency above all else - the iron cage of rationality - rules that make us less of a human being to each other (admissions, DNV) - people turn into robots for the duration of their shifts. Follow like a script. * Ex. Checking out. The cashier says did you find everything okay, how about signing up for 10% off. With a smile. No rough day.

March 25th, 1911

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - 145 Dead - 1 jumper, Sarah Coopla (16-years-old) survived, but later died on March 30th. - Youngest girl was 14-years-old

Feminist Theory and the Workplace

Work and Gender focuses on how gender shapes social patterns involving work and the workplace - A feminist analysis points out that society links various types of work to people of each sex - In general, women predominate in jobs that involve less power and prestige and provide less pay

Social-Conflict Theory and the Workplace

Work and Inequality focuses on how wealth and power shape the workplace - A Marxist analysis argues that because factories and other productive property are privately owned, most people are powerless and find work alienating. - Max Weber adds that modern rationality makes efficiency an all-important goal; the workplace becomes impersonal, with workers resembling machines

Harris and Blanck were _________ and ________. a. Acquitted of wrongful death : they walked with an insurance settlement b. Charged with negligent homicide : never served time because they disappeared c. Found guilty of negligent homicide : fined heavily d. Convicted of multiple counts of murder in the first degree : sentenced to serve multiple life terms

a.

_________, daughter of a prominent __________ lent support, for a time, to strikers, showing solidarity between classes. a. Anne Morgan : financier b. Lila Dupree : restaurant owner c. Clara Oswald : clock maker d. None of the Above

a.

Corporations

are businesses with a legal existence including rights and liabilities apart from their members. Government can provide an aid, subsidies, bail out. Businesses can influence government with lobbyists. - if a corporation knowingly or unknowing harms a person, traditionally, the corporation was liable and would write a check. Can't put a corporation behind bars.

Transforming raw materials into products like turning lumber into furniture is a(an) _________ economic sector activity. a. Primary b. Secondary c. Tertiary d. Obviate

b.

Which of the following statements is true? a. Service work decreased while industrial work rose in the late 1900s b. Farming declined in the late 1800s as industry increased c. Both farming and industry increased through the late 1800s d. Service work is becoming less prominent

b.

Which zone is at the center most area of the target shaped model discussed in class? a. Independent worker's home b. Business District c. Zone of Transition d. Commuter's Zone

b.

Work and the workplace are rigid concepts that do not change over time and space. a. True b. False

b.

Industrial Revolution

by the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution began changing the nature of work, moving people from primary sector jobs producing raw materials to secondary sector jobs turning raw materials into finished products.

Ann Morgan

daughter of J Per Pong Morgan (most powerful financier in the history of the world, face of American Capitalism) walking picket lines trying to help the girls.

McDonaldization

defining work in terms of the principles of efficiency, predictability, uniformity, and automation

Oligopoly

domination of a market by a few companies - Ex. Cereal (general mills, Kellogg, etc.)

Socialism

economic system; means of producing good/services are collectively owned (government) - Encourages a collective orientation rather than individualistic one. The idea is that we put the common good over our own interest. - Approached forwarded by Carl Marx, the idea being we replace private with social goals. This socialist's way of thinking would resolve in some of the challenges we see in capitalism like wealth inequality. · Pro: less income/wealth inequality · Con: limited individual freedoms (speech/movement/starting a new business)

Conglomerate

giant corporation made up of many smaller corporations - Ex. Kraft, Nestle, Kellogg's, Coca-Cola (sprite, Fanta, mellow yellow, minute maid, etc.) - 37 banks merged into 4 banks. Too big to be allowed to fail and economy would be threatened if they went under.

Alienation

is a common workplace experience

Primary Labor Market

jobs that provide workers with good pay and extensive benefits - refers to highly skilled positions and highly educated - Attorneys, Dentists, Professors

Secondary Labor Market

jobs that provide workers with low pay and little/no benefits - service orientated jobs - retail, restaurants, maintenance (tend to part-time people, so do not have to have benefits)

Alienation (Marx)

powerlessness in the workplace resulting in isolation and misery - powerlessness of workers in a capitalist economy - preindustrial Society: control every step when making pots. Having all different options on what kind/design, what clay, and who to sell too - Postindustrial Society: one repetitive task and sell.

Dual Labor Market

primary labor market & secondary labor market - Most of the new jobs created today's service economy are in the secondary labor market.

Primary Economic Sector

producing raw materials - Lumbar from trees, precursors for minerals in iron/steel - late 1700s to early 1800s

Tertiary Sector

service work

Deindustrialization

the decline of industrial production that occurred in the US after about 1950. - resulted in the closing of many industrial factories. - many former factory workers ended up in service jobs with low pay and few benefits

Monopoly

the domination of an entire market by a single producer - Ex. Verizon, Microsoft, iTunes, Amazon

Capitalism and the Workplace

the means of producing goods/services are privately owned (citizens) - People are rational actors, acting in their own best interests, characterized by market competition and ownership of private property. - Pros: the idea that if everyone acts in their own best interests, the greatest amount of people are served. Generally, a higher level of productivity and higher standard of living, under a capitalist system. - Cons: results in greater class and wealth inequality

Economy

the social institution that organizes the product, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

Alva Vander welt Belmont (millionaire socialite) and Ann Morgan

took over a committee to challenge police brutality and to enlist picketers from the uptown crowd

Second Economic Sector

turning raw materials into products - Cotton into clothing, metal into tools, lumbar into furniture