Sociology A Brief Introduction 6th Canadian Edition By Richard T. Schaefer - Test Bank

Sociology A Brief Introduction 6th Canadian Edition By Richard T. Schaefer – Test Bank

 

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

Chapter 05
Social Interaction, Groups, and Social Structure

 

True / False Questions

1. In Canada, the ascribed statuses of race and gender can function as master statuses that have an important impact on one’s potential to achieve a desired professional and social status.
   TRUE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

2. A primary group member cannot also be an in-group member.
   FALSE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

3. Social behaviour is learned independently of social institutions.
   FALSE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

4. We change reference groups as we take on different statuses during our lives.
   TRUE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses
Topic: 05-05 Groups

5. The mass media is an example of a social institution.
   TRUE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

6. Robert was a skilled mechanic, often asked to help newer employees. This could cause him role conflict.
   FALSE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

7. Émile Durkheim argued that mechanical solidarity is characteristic of the interdependence of people in a complex society.
   FALSE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-10 Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

8. A postmodern society is a technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods and information on a mass scale.
   TRUE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-09 What Does a Global Perspective on Social Structure Look Like?

9. Large formal organizations do not need to be regulated by supervisory organizations.
   FALSE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-14 Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

10. Many unions have become examples of Michels’ “Iron Law of Oligarchy.”
    TRUE

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Topic: 05-17 How Has the Workplace Changed?

 

Multiple Choice Questions

11. Role exit is defined as:
    A.the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s self-identity and the re-establishment of an identity in a new role
    B. a difficulty that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
    C. a difficulty that occurs when incompatible expectations arise within one social position occupied by an individual
    D. a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

12. Which of the following is an achieved status?
    A.a South African
    B. a Black Canadian woman
    C. a major league baseball player
    D. a young girl

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

13. A social network is:
    A.a social structure that derives its existence from the social interactions through which people define and redefine its character
    B. an attempt to reach agreement with others concerning some objective
    C. a series of social relationships that link a person directly to others, and therefore indirectly to still more people
    D. the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

14. Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy includes:
    A.officials who perform their duties without any personal consideration or showing any personal emotions to individuals
    B. employees hired for their qualifications
    C. a strict division of labour in a hierarchical arrangement of positions
    D. all these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

15. Which term is used by sociologists to refer to a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status?
    A.social role
    B. structural role
    C. achieved role
    D. ascribed role

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

16. Which of the following statements about social roles is correct?
    A.the roles that belong to a social status are learned and performed in the same manner as all other holders of that status.
    B. social roles are performed in the same manner by those holding ascribed, but not achieved, statuses.
    C. actual performance of a role varies from individual to individual within the same status.
    D. role expectations and actual role performances always match each other.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

17. Ascribed statuses may be based on an individual’s:
    A.race
    B. gender
    C. age
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

18. The specialized division of labour can work well when highly skilled people are needed for specific tasks but can also reduce workers to an “appendage of a machine,” producing _______, or cause workers to fail to notice problems, termed ___________:
    A.trained incapacity; Inflexibility
    B. written rules and regulations; Trained incapacity
    C. alienation; Trained incapacity
    D. the Communist Manifesto; Impersonality

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

19. Facebook is a social media site that facilitates ________. Emails and blogs were the first stage in the creation of: __________
    A.coalitions; Social networking.
    B. social networking; Alternative forms of social reality.
    C. alternative forms of social reality; Social relationships
    D. social relationships; Coalitions

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-07 Virtual Worlds

20. The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) has worked hard to change the _________ status of older people. Its members could hold _________ statuses such as retired professor or lawyer.
    A.achieved; ascribed
    B. master; ascribed
    C. ascribed; achieved
    D. group; social

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

21. Charles Page used the term ________ in reference to unofficial activities and interactions that are part of daily life in an organization.
    A.iron law of oligarchy
    B. soft bureaucracy
    C. bureaucracy’s other face
    D. unofficial bureaucracy

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-16 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

22. Electronic communications are all of the following except it:
    A.can be convenient and more democratic
    B. can contribute to the fragmentation of work and the need to multi-task
    C. can leave no permanent record of transactions
    D. can make messages easier to send around to all relevant parties in the workplace

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

23. Which of the following statements about unions is not true?
    A.labour union power varies from one country to another
    B. unions are still notorious for major and lengthy strikes in Canada
    C. Canadian unions have a much larger increase in female membership than in USA
    D. unions in Canada can have a significant influence on employers and elected officials

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

24. The Canadian union movement is in transition. Which of the following do not account for the changes?
    A.government restrictions on union activities
    B. feminization of the labour union movement
    C. changing scope of union membership
    D. waning influence of unions headquartered outside of Canada

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

25. A temporary or permanent alliance toward a common goal is called a:
    A.negotiation
    B. self-help group
    C. coalition
    D. in-group

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

26. Ebaugh identified stages in a role exit. Which of the following terms for those stages are accurate?
    A.doubt and a search for alternatives
    B. action stage or departure
    C. creation of a new identity
    D. all of these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

27. Jan, Randy, and Terry are science majors, and when they graduate from college, they find jobs as a nurse, a midwife, and a hospital administrator, respectively. These new positions are examples of:
    A.Achieved statuses
    B. Ascribed statuses
    C. Definitions of reality
    D. Social networks

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

28. The “iron law of oligarchy” is a principle of organizational life according to which:
    A.even democratic organizations will become bureaucracies ruled by a few individuals
    B. organizations are established on the basis of common interests
    C. each individual in a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence
    D. an oligarchy inevitably becomes autocratic

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

29. A problem within hierarchical staffing structures has been dubbed “The Peter Principle.” This refers to:
    A.a possible dysfunctional consequence of promotion based on merit
    B. an employee who has been promoted to a position where their competence is no longer adequate
    C. every employee within a hierarchy who tends to rise to their level of incompetence
    D. all of these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

30. The decision of an employer to advertise a job in such a way that it clearly targets white, able-bodied males reflects which theoretical perspective on social institutions such as the economy?
    A.functionalist
    B. interactionist
    C. feminist
    D. conflict

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

31. Michael Harrington, author of “The Other America” is critical of the functionalist perspective on post-industrial and its interest groups working for the common good. Harrington, arguing from the _______ perspective, states that ________________ in post-industrial society that:
    A.functionalist; consensus on major values and norms will continue.
    B. conflict; social class conflicts will continue.
    C. feminist; male dominance will continue to cause conflicts.
    D. interactionist; communications will be stronger and faster.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

32. Which of the following is characteristic of the emergence of industrial societies?
    A.families and communities could not continue to function as self-sufficient units.
    B. individuals, villages, and regions began to exchange goods and services and become interdependent.
    C. formal educational institutions developed.
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

33. The drug Thalidomide, approved by the Canadian Government as safe for pregnant women, caused serious physical abnormalities in babies. As adults they formed an alliance focused on suing the government for financial help with health issues as they got older. This group is called by sociologists an a(n):
    A.in-group
    B. primary group
    C. formal group
    D. coalition

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

34. Ferdinand Tönnies would view hunting-and-gathering societies as examples of a:
    A.Gemeinschaft
    B. Gesellschaft
    C. Gesundheit
    D. Glockenspiel

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-11 Tonnies’s Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

35. Some female workers were being studied in an effort to improve their working conditions, but no matter what changes the experimenters made to their workplace, output increased. This is an example of:
    A.the Hawthorne effect
    B. scientific management
    C. human relations management
    D. interactionism

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-16 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

36. According to Herbert Blumer, the distinctive characteristic of human interaction is that:
    A.the reality of humans is shaped by our perceptions, and evaluations
    B. humans respond to behaviour based on the meaning we attach to the actions of others
    C. humans interpret or define each other’s actions
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

37. According to Lenski’s socio-cultural evolution theory, the Yanomamö, a South American culture, live in a village and spend most of their time searching for food and tending small gardens. Their primary tool is a stone ax, which they use for cutting down trees to expand their gardens. The Yanomamö are an example of a(an):
    A.agrarian society
    B. horticultural society
    C. hunting-and-gathering society
    D. postmodern society

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

38. Philip Zimbardo’s study of a simulated prison environment that used college students as prisoners and prison guards:
    A.indicated that it is impossible to replicate a “real life” situation in a laboratory
    B. demonstrated that a social structure can influence the type of social interactions that occur
    C. indicated that social interactions are not influenced by social structure characteristics
    D. demonstrated how social status is formed

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

39. A university is an example of an organization known as a(n) __________ because it uses rules of procedure, hierarchical ranking in a division of labour, and employs staff based on their qualifications.
    A.formal organization
    B. bureaucracy
    C. informal organization
    D. post-modern organization

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

40. William Graham Sumner distinguished between groups developing “we” and “they” outlooks toward each other as:
    A.primary and secondary groups
    B. formal and informal groups
    C. in-groups and out-groups
    D. socialization groups

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

41. Which theoretical perspective would argue that the Thomas’s use of “definition of the situation” in social interaction would be determined by the dominant group in that society or culture?
    A.conflict
    B. feminist
    C. interactionist
    D. functionalist

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

42. Thomas and Thomas note that people respond not only to the objective features of a person or situation but also to the meaning that the person or situation has for them. This view represents which sociological perspective?
    A.functionalist perspective
    B. conflict perspective
    C. interactionist perspective
    D. feminist perspective

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

43. Which sociological perspective is especially interested in ascribed statuses, because they often confer privileges or reflect a person’s membership in a subordinate group?
    A.functionalist perspective
    B. conflict perspective
    C. interactionist perspective
    D. global perspective

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

44. Which sociological perspective emphasizes that social roles contribute to a society’s stability by enabling members to anticipate the behaviour of others and to pattern their own actions accordingly?
    A.functionalist perspective
    B. conflict perspective
    C. interactionist perspective
    D. feminist perspective

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

45. Which sociological perspective suggests that a society or a relatively permanent group must accomplish certain major tasks if it is to survive?
    A.functionalist perspective
    B. conflict perspective
    C. interactionist perspective
    D. feminist perspective

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

46. Daniel Bell views post-industrial societies as consensual, because he believes that post-industrial societies are characterized by interest groups concerned with such national issues as health, education, and the environment working for the common good. Bell’s view represents which sociological perspective?
    A.functionalist perspective
    B. conflict perspective
    C. interactionist perspective
    D. feminist perspective

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

47. An individual can acquire an achieved status by:
    A.attending school.
    B. establishing a friendship.
    C. inventing a new product.
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

48. Which of the following statements about a primary group is correct?
    A.It is formal and impersonal
    B. It plays an important role in the socialization process and in the development of roles and statuses
    C. It will always contain at least three members
    D. There is little intimacy involved

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

49. Which statement best describes recent change in the Canadian union movement?
    A.it has evolved into a gender balanced movement
    B. there has been increasing membership from the private sector
    C. its membership has become male dominated
    D. there has been increasing membership from the public sector

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

50. Michels argued that an oligarchy will form even in democratic organizations since:
    A.members of an organization who are general staff expect leadership from those above them
    B. leadership tends to continue when the leaders have relevant skills and knowledge
    C. leaders have charisma
    D. all of these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

51. Minimal hierarchical organizations offer employees which of the following?
    A.fewer issues over misunderstood regulations
    B. a better chance of having their ideas heard
    C. less serious bureaucratic oversights and blind spots
    D. project teams that work more efficiently

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-18 Organizational Restructuring

52. A doctor who is a general practitioner in a small community is seeing patients in his office when his receptionist calls him to say he has a patient in emergency and is needed at the hospital immediately. That doctor is experiencing _______:
    A.role strain
    B. role conflict
    C. master status
    D. cultural norms

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

53. A construct or model that serves as a measuring rod against which specific cases can be evaluated is called a(an):
    A.coalition
    B. ideal type
    C. metaphor
    D. questionnaire

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

54. Among the most crucial aspects of the relationship between dominant and subordinate groups is the ability of the dominant group to:
    A.define a society’s values
    B. define social reality
    C. mould the “definition of the situation.”
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

55. A(an) __________ is any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact regularly and consciously.
    A.group
    B. negotiation team
    C. organic solidarity
    D. aggregate

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

56. A society whose economic system is engaged in the processing and control of information is called a(an):
    A.industrial society
    B. postmodern society
    C. post-industrial society
    D. agrarian society

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

57. In Canada, we listen to music imported from Jamaica, eat sushi and other Japanese foods, and watch movies produced in Italy. These are all features of a(an):
    A.pre-industrial society
    B. industrial society
    C. post-industrial society
    D. postmodern society

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

58. Émile Durkheim suggested that as a society becomes more complex, the nature of solidarity becomes more:
    A.mechanical
    B. organic
    C. preservationist
    D. institutionalized

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-10 Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

59. Organized work teams are increasingly common. The types of such teams include which of the following?
    A.competitive and cooperative teams
    B. worker and management teams
    C. project and task force teams
    D. minimal hierarchy and collective teams

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-18 Organizational Restructuring

60. Which of the following is not a functional prerequisite for a permanent group to survive?
    A.preserving order
    B. replacing personnel
    C. providing and maintaining a sense of purpose
    D. maintaining status and privilege

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

61. Amy belonged to a drama club that was successful at drawing in large audiences for its plays. Edward belonged to another drama club that produced edgy new plays to smaller audiences. Amy and Edward each regard the other as belonging to an inferior group based on audience size for Amy and edginess for Edward. They are each members of a(n):
    A.in-group and out-group
    B. primary group and secondary group
    C. reference group and socialization group
    D. formal group and informal group

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

62. Which term is used to refer to incompatible expectations that arise when the same person holds two or more social positions?
    A.role strain
    B. role conflict
    C. role ambiguity
    D. role exit

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

63. Elaine is a university student who works part-time. On the same weekend, Elaine is planning to study for a mid-term on the following Monday, needs to work on a joint project with a fellow student, is called in to work all-day Saturday, and receives a phone call from her mother who has to come into town and needs to stay for the weekend. Elaine is experiencing:
    A.role strain
    B. role conflict
    C. role exit
    D. both role strain and role conflict

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

64. The difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations is known as:
    A.role conflict
    B. role strain
    C. role exit
    D. resocialization

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

65. Which of the following is an example of social interaction?
    A.Felipe watches television and does needlepoint
    B. Mary takes her dog for a walk
    C. Sally and Veronica, a lesbian couple, argue about a new piece of gay-rights legislation
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

66. The text gives the example of RickHansen’s “Man in Motion” world tour and athletic successes as a challenge to traditional assumptions about disability, illustrating that redefining or reconstructing social reality by a subordinate group is an important aspect of:
    A.social inequality
    B. social reality
    C. social change
    D. dominant and subordinate groups

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

67. Human beings create the elements of social structure through: a(n):
    A.dynamic process involving meaningful interaction
    B. groups and social networks as well as statuses and social roles
    C. social institutions and socialization
    D. all of these answers together are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-02 What Are the Elements of Social Structure?

68. Which of the following terms refer to the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships?
    A.socialization
    B. social structure
    C. social interaction
    D. culture

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

69. Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh created a four-stage model applicable to _______:
    A.role conflict among professionals
    B. role exit
    C. social networking among businesswomen
    D. sociocultural evolution

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

70. Sociological research that maps Internet relationships among Facebook users is an example of research on:
    A.ascribed statuses
    B. role exit
    C. social networks
    D. social institutions

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?

71. Which term is used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society?
    A.status
    B. culture
    C. social structure
    D. Gemeinschaft

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-02 What Are the Elements of Social Structure?

72. Formal organizations may vary in:
    A.size
    B. degree of efficiency
    C. specificity of goals
    D. all of these

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-14 Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

73. When her employer opened up opportunities for telecommuting, Jane realized she could:
    A.save on travel and environmental costs
    B. lose out on the informal social networks of which she was a part – she might lose some workplace friendships too
    C. spend more time with her child by working later in the evening or while her child was in school
    D. all these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

74. A group of businesswomen meet on a monthly basis to assist one another in advancing their careers. They give each other job leads and advice, and they invite business leaders to attend their sessions to provide further assistance. This group is an example of:
    A.role connection
    B. impression management
    C. status assistance
    D. social networking

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-06 Social Networks

75. A master status is a:
    A.term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society
    B. social position attained by a person largely through his or her own efforts
    C. status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s general position within society
    D. series of social relationships linking a person directly to others, and therefore indirectly to still more people

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

76. Jeremy went to work in a large manufacturing organization after university. He noticed a strong division of labour, observing that many workers seemed bored with their work, but also that some of the most skilled even seemed careless at times, making mistakes that no one picked up on. Jeremy thought back to his sociology classes and realized he was seeing:
    A.alienation and the effects of unionization
    B. alienation and trained incapacity
    C. supervisors ensuring uniform performance of tasks
    D. a bureaucracy that resembled Weber’s ideal type

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

77. In Gerhard Lenski’s view, societal organization is highly dependent on its level of:
    A.farming
    B. education
    C. technology
    D. banking

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-03 What does a global perspective on social structure look like?
Topic: 05-12 Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach

78. Which term is used by sociologists when speaking of any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behaviour?
    A.primary group
    B. secondary group
    C. tertiary group
    D. reference group

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

79. An ascribed status is a social position:
    A.attained by a person largely through his or her own efforts
    B. “assigned” to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics
    C. that is earned
    D. that is reached as a result of negotiation

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

80. Herbert Blumer found that interaction is based on the meanings attached to the actions of others. Those meanings reflect:
    A.the norms and values of the social culture in which the interaction takes place
    B. how the social reality of the actors was defined
    C. the age of the actors
    D. personalities of those interacting

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

81. Simone works for a company that provides an on-site day care center and fitness club for its employees. Such practices are adopted by businesses in an effort to address what kind(s) of concerns?
    A.the dangers of collective bargaining
    B. the role of people, communication, and participation within small groups
    C. the conflict perspective’s critique of capitalism
    D. workers’ feelings, frustrations, and emotional needs for job satisfaction in bureaucracies

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-16 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

82. Which of the following is an example of a formal organization?
    A.a community college basketball team
    B. the people in a Toronto subway station
    C. the General Motors Corporation
    D. diners in a chain restaurant

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-14 Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

83. Which of the following is most likely to be a primary group?
    A.all of the players in the National Hockey League
    B. the American Civil Liberties Union
    C. the members of a neighbourhood softball team
    D. university students

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

84. Bureaucratization is:
    A.an element or process of society that may disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability
    B. organized patterns of beliefs and behaviour centered on basic social needs
    C. the process by which an organization or group models itself on a large organization, such as McDonalds, using qualified staff, organized in an impersonal and hierarchical division of labour, and following task specific rules and procedures
    D. the process through which an organization identifies an entirely new objective because its traditional goals have been either realized or denied

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

85. Social interaction is:
    A.the process of learning norms, values, beliefs, and other requirements for effective participation in social groups
    B. the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships
    C. the ways in which people respond to one another
    D. a series of relationships linking a person directly to others, and therefore indirectly to still more people

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

86. Which of the following statements about social institutions is correct?
    A.they are built according to British architectural standards
    B. they are organized patterns of beliefs and behaviours
    C. they are concerned with highly abstract and ancient philosophical questions
    D. they form and are disbanded rapidly in all human societies

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

87. Which statement best describes telecommuters?
    A.they are employees who live at least 100 km from their workplace
    B. they are employees who work at home and are linked to work via phone, fax, and Internet
    C. they are employees who are not part of formal organizations
    D. they are employees who only work on Internet projects

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

88. According to William I and Dorothy Thomas, “If men define situations as real ________: this is a (n) ________ perspective.
    A.then they are contributing to society; functionalist
    B. they will usually interact defensively; conflict
    C. they are real in their consequences; interactionist
    D. they are interpreting and defining the situation from a male viewpoint; feminist

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-01 How do we define and reconstruct reality?
Topic: 05-01 How Do We Define and Reconstruct Reality?

89. Which of the following statements about functional prerequisites is correct?
    A.they include the production and distribution of goods and services
    B. they foster the development of meaningful dialogue
    C. they limit consensus concerning their values or commitment to the group
    D. they encourage the need to explore new territories

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

90. The conflict view holds that social institutions:
    A.maintain the privileges of the powerful individuals and groups within a society
    B. preserve order and equality
    C. train personnel equitably
    D. provide and maintain a sense of basic fairness

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-08 Social Institutions

91. Marxists and functionalists agree that:
    A.unions today bear little resemblance to their early appearance
    B. unions are a logical response to impersonal, large, and alienating organizations
    C. unions are increasingly bureaucratized
    D. unions have become oligarchic

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

92. A primary group is a small group that is:
    A.characterized by impersonality, with little intimacy or mutual understanding
    B. characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation
    C. used as a standard for evaluating oneself and one’s behaviour
    D. characterized by impersonality and face-to-face associations

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

93. Rick Hansen, a wheelchair athlete who is also a CEO of the foundation he founded, a father, an athlete, and has many other accomplishments. His achieved status challenges:
    A.prejudice and discrimination focused on his ascribed rather than his achieved status
    B. the stigma attached to his master status giving rise to prejudicial treatment
    C. views of him that place his disability as more important than his other statuses, including his gender
    D. all of these answers are correct

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

94. Which of the following is a form of organizational restructuring?
    A.collective decision making
    B. minimal hierarchy
    C. work teams
    D. all of these are forms of organizational restructuring

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-18 Organizational Restructuring

95. Which statement best describes the position taken by the classical theorists of formal organizations?
    A.workers are motivated almost entirely by economic rewards
    B. employers manage companies mostly according to Roman tradition
    C. workers are encouraged to respect their superiors
    D. employers foster the development of job satisfaction

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Easy
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-16 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

 

Short Answer Questions

96. Define the differences between ascribed and achieved statuses, and give examples to support your answer.

In Sociology, status refers to a person’s social position. Individuals may occupy many statuses at the same time such as student and friend. An ascribed status is one that is assigned to a person without regard to their abilities or characteristics. The text gives the example of Jeffrey Moore who has a learning disability. He certainly did not ask for that or achieve it, but it has caused him distress because he has experienced discrimination due to his disability. Disability is an ascribed status. Achieved status comes to us mainly through our own efforts and choices. Marriage is an achieved status and more obviously so is being a professor or a post secondary student. Ascribed statuses influence achieve statuses strongly. It will be more difficult for Jeffrey to do well in university, or in his career because he has to work around his learning disability. But he can still achieve in the more general sense of the term, and will have achieved statuses such as employee, friend etc.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: manual
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses

97. Define the concepts of in-groups, out-groups and reference groups, and describe the role of each type of group. Give examples to illustrate your answer.

Most of our interactions take place in a group, from family to school or work. In each group we are influenced by norms and values specific to that group. Sometimes a group can have a more special meaning to its members. For example a church community may unite around its social services such as a food bank. Sometimes that leads members to think of themselves as better than another group, for example a different church or religion, that they think are not offering services to disadvantaged people. They see themselves as “we” or “us” and the other group as “them” or “they.” “They” are inferior, do not behave well like we do, and not one of “us.” “They” are an out-group, and “we” are members of an in-group. Conflict between in-groups and out-groups can be violent, ranging from fights over scarce resources to war and genocide. Members of an in-group may use that group as their guide to norms, values and ways to behave, since they already perceive it as superior, they may model their behaviour on the group’s norms. Those members are using their group as a reference group. It may also be a standard against which others measure their own behaviour and achievement, such as a musician who models their behaviour on a rock band they admire. They are not a member of that group but they admire and want to copy its behaviour and aspire to its success.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: manual
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-05 Groups

98. On a 4-lane street, a new-looking black Toyota truck, driven by a young-looking man, keeps over-taking and then falling behind a mid-sized sedan driven by a middle-aged woman. Outside a grocery store the truck pulls in front of the sedan, which had slowed down a little, knocking an elderly man in front of the sedan off his bicycle. The truck then drives away. When the police arrive, by-standers tell them it was deliberate – the truck driver aimed to knock the man off his bicycle. The sedan driver, however, says it was an accident. She argues the driver was in a hurry and became careless. Discuss this event, using what you have learned about the elements of social structure.

The black truck maybe associated with young men, and the make, a Toyota, is an import, making it a more expensive vehicle. Gender is a master status, and an ascribed status. Most feminist theorists would argue that male is regarded as a superior status. The driver’s behaviour may reflect a feeling of superiority, perhaps derived from an in-group to which the driver belongs, such as members of a social class that regards itself as superior, and that in turn may encourage the handling of the truck in an aggressive manner. Becoming a driver is an achieved status, but the kind of driver one is will be influenced by memberships in other groups such as a peer group or social class. An in-group is one that feels superior to an out-group, such as seniors, regarding their behaviour as unacceptable. While a senior’s behaviour may be unacceptable to young men, it might elicit admiration from a seniors’ group, because the rider is continuing to use a bicycle and stay fit. Membership in a group influences how we define a situation. The meaning attached to the accident could turn it into a deliberate act. The sedan driver, on the other hand, has been witnessing the driving of the truck for several blocks. She may not have interpreted it as aggressive, but rather as someone in a hurry, continually trying to get into the fastest moving lane, maybe driving carelessly but not deliberately hurting the cyclist, and then driving away out of fear of the consequences and/or shame. The definition of the situation by those who saw the event becomes two conflicting accounts. But a definition of the situation can be real in its consequences. Will the police arrest the driver – or will they let him off with a warning due to his membership in a privileged group?

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: manual
Learning Objective: 05-02 What are the elements of social structure?
Topic: 05-03 Statuses
Topic: 05-04 Social Roles

99. Discuss the status of Canadian labour unions in private and public sector employment today.

Labour unions consist of organized workers who share either the same skill, or the same employer. Originally they were formed to protect workers’ jobs and extract concessions from employers. The power of labour unions varies from one country to another, and Canada differs a good deal from the United States. Canada’s union membership, for example, is much higher than in the United States, and the disparities between male and female workers, and between part-time and full time workers’ union membership are much greater in the States. For example, Canada has experienced a far greater increase in union rates of women, and unions in Canada sometimes have significant influence on governments, although this varies from one province to another. Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia are considered friendlier toward unions than provinces such as Alberta. There is also a difference between private sector union membership and membership in the public sector. In fact, claims are made that unions are in transition. First there has been a feminization of the movement due to the increased number of women in the workforce, including in the heavily unionized public sector, increased unionization of part-time and temporary workers and the expansion of unions into formerly non-unionized employment in the service sectors. Unionization has increased with the growth of the public sector and decreased in the private sector. Labour market trends such as globalization, increases in self-employment, and the rise of non-standard work are blamed for the weakening of the ability to mobilize and have altered people’s relationship to their work. Both Marxists and Functionalists would see unions as a logical response to the growth of large formal, alienating organizations, but as manufacturing has declined, unions have changed their approach. Some have become large bureaucratic organizations themselves, more concerned with maintaining their own power than serving the needs of their workers. Some have even been charged with the discriminatory practices they were set up to combat.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Difficult
Gradable: manual
Learning Objective: 05-05 How has the workplace changed?
Topic: 05-19 The Postmodern Job

100. Describe the various components of a bureaucracy as suggested by Max Weber. How did Weber perceive the efficiency of bureaucracies? Give examples from any chapters in the text read so far, or from your own experience.

Bureaucracies are formal organizations, structured to facilitate the management of large organizations, although they do not have to be large to be considered a bureaucracy. Weber defined bureaucracies by their characteristics, first constructing an ideal type or model of a bureaucratic organization, regardless of their purpose. He identified five basic characteristics: 1) Division of labour; work is divided into specific tasks and performed by people whose skills are refined as they continually perform the task. 2) Hierarchy of authority; each position is supervised by the one above it until the most senior position is reached. 3) Written rules and regulations; This ensures that a task is always performed in the same way. Students are often familiar with this as they work their way through application, registration and graduation from a post-secondary institution. 4) Impersonality; no personal considerations are given, and performance is more or less without emotional display. 5) Employment based on technical qualifications; no longer is employment based on who you know, but rather on what you know, and have proved you know through required assessments. Most students are in university because they have specific qualifications in mind for future employment, and they know that their teachers, the professors at a university, have several years of post-secondary education, several degrees, research projects and publications. Weber was well aware that while this model was more efficient for large organizations than the previous often family-based types, he also saw many weaknesses, such as alienation of workers, in some cases demonstrating trained incapacity – development of blind spots in regard to obvious problems. The text gives the example of responses to the bombing of the World Trade Centre. Another example is the response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Rules and regulations can also be applied for their own sake, in what Merton termed goal displacement – application because they are there may be inappropriate to the circumstances. Laurence Peter identified and named the Peter Principle – promotion of employees continues until they reach the level at which they are no longer competent for the position. Bureaucracy lends itself to scientific management – to an organization that does not pay attention to the needs of its workers. It can discourage ambition and loyalty to a company, and produce a narrow perspective that stifles imagination. The text gives the example of McDonalds, and shows how its bureaucratic principles have both led to its widespread success, and undermined its success in some markets where those principles violate local culture. In the chapter on culture the text notes how Western media, available around the world, can introduce children to cultural values not embraced by their parents or other authorities with whom they interact.

 

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Bloom’s: Analyze
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: manual
Learning Objective: 05-04 How are organizations structured?
Topic: 05-15 Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Topic: 05-16 Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture