ch15is.html

15: The Economy And Work

John J. Macionis
Kenyon College
&
Drew Hurley
Santa Fe Community College

For Use With:
John J. Macionis. Sociology, 6th ed., Prentice-Hall, 1997.

The Economy And Work

The Economy: Historical Overview

The Agricultural Revolution

The Industrial Revolution

New forms of energy
The spread of factories
Manufacturing and mass production
Labor specialization
Wage labor
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Women in the Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts

The Information Revolution and Postindustrial Society

Service work
High Technology
The Information Revolution

Characteristics of the Information Revolution:
1. From tangible products to ideas.
2. From mechanical skills to literary skills.
3. The decentralization of work away from factories.

Sectors of the Economy

Primary Sector
Secondary Sector
Tertiary Sector

The Global Economy

Comparative Economic Systems
Capitalism:
Private Ownership of property
Pursuit of personal profit
Free competition
Consumer sovreignity
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Socialism:

Collective ownership of property
Pursuit of collective goals
Government control of the economy

Communism:

Social and political equality
Government control of the economy
Government ownership of property

Democratic Socialism:

Government control of the economy
Free elections

State Capitalism:

Companies are privately owned but cooperate closely with government
Pursuit of profit

Relative Advantages of Capitalism:

Economic Productivity
Economic Equality
Civil Liberties

Changes In Socialist Countries:

Unproductive Economies
Unresponsive Bureaucracies
Free Market Reforms
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Work In The Postindustrial Economy

The Decline of Agricultural Work
From Factory to Service Work

The Dual Labor Market

Primary Labor Market -- Jobs that provide extensive benefits
Secondary Labor market -- Jobs that provide minimal benefits

The Changing Pattern of Work in The U.S.
1900-1994

Year ..... Farming ... Blue Collar ... White Collar
1900 ...... 38% ............ 41% .............. 21%
1910 ...... 31% ............ 42% .............. 27%
1920 ...... 28% ............ 42% .............. 30%
1930 ...... 20% ............ 43% .............. 37%
1940 ...... 18% ............ 44% .............. 38%
1950 ...... 10% ............ 43% .............. 47%
1960 ....... 8% ............. 41% ............... 51%
1971 ....... 3% ............. 38% ............... 59%
1980 ....... 3% ............. 31% ............... 66%
1994 ....... 2% ............. 26% ............... 72%

Labor Unions:

Organizations of workers seeking to improve wages, benefits and working conditions

Professionals:

Theoretical Knowledge
Self-regulated training/practice
Authority over clients
Orientation to community rather than to serlf-interest

Self-Employed Lawyers, Physicians, Professionals, Small Business Owners

And Service Trades: Plumbers, Carpenters, Painters, etc.

The Postindustrial Economy

The 'Temping' of the United States

Unemployment

Unemployment Policy

Control of the Unemployment Rate
|
| Employer's Labor Market
|------------------------------------ 6%
| Cross Over Point
|------------------------------------ 5%
|
| Employee's Labor Market
|
|
|----------------------------------- 2%
| Full Employment
|----------------------------------- 0%

U.S. Unemployment Rate, By Category
1994

Category ................... Percentage
All Workers ....................... 6.1%

White Workers ................. 5.3%
Men ................................... 5.4%
Women ............................. 5.2%
Teans 16-19 ..................... 15.1%
College Grads 25+ ............ 2.6%

African Americans .......... 11.5%
Men .................................. 12.0%
Women ............................ 11.0%
Teens 16-19 ..................... 35.2%
College Grads 25+ ........... 4.9%

The Underground Economy
Social Diversity in the Workplace

John M. Keynes:
Control of the 'Boom-Bust Cycle' of Capitalism

GDP = P + I + G

GDP = Gross Domestic Product
P = Personal Consumption
I = Interest & Investment
G = Government Spending & Taxing

.

The 'Boom-Bust Cycle' of Capitalism produces differential results ONLY during Busts. These differences range from between -1% to -5% annually for the poor and working class and up to +2% annually for the Upper Class.
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The Work Force of the Twenty-First Century

Projected Increase in the Number of People in the U.S. Labor Force 1994 - 2005

Category ...................... Percent Increase
Men
White ...................................... 9%
African American ................ 17%
Hispanic .............................. 33%

Women
White .................................... 17%
African American ............... 22%
Hispanic ............................. 46%

Technology and Work
Computers are deskilling labor
Computers make work more abstract
Computers limit work interaction
Computers enhance employer's control of workers

Corporations

Economic Concentration
Conglormerates and Corporate Linkages

McDonalds operates more than 15,000 fast food restaurants around the world.

15 Largest U.S. Corporations
Name .................. Sales . ($Bil) . Assets ..... # Employees
General Motors ...... 132.4 ........... 190.0 .......... 750,000
Exxon ..................... 103.2 ............. 85.0 ............ 98,000
Ford ....................... 100.1 .......... 180.5 ........... 325,300
AT&T ........................ 64.9 ............. 57.2 ........... 314,900
IBM ........................... 64.5 ............ 86.7 ............ 357,300
General Electric ...... 57.1 ............ 192.9 .......... 276,000
Mobil ....................... 56.9 ............. 40.6 ............. 65,600
Wal-Mart ................ 55.5 .............. 20.6 ............ 398,000
Sears ..................... 52.3 .............. 83.5 ............ 403,000
Philip Morris ......... 50.1 .............. 50.0 ............ 163,500
K-Mart .................... 38.0 .............. 18.9 ............ 353,500
Chevron ................ 37.5 .............. 34.0 .............. 52,200
duPont .................. 37.5 .............. 38.9 ............. 129,000
Chrysler ............... 36.9 ............... 40.7 ............. 126,000
Texaco ................. 36.8 ............... 26.0 ............... 38,900

Major Corporations may have a more profound influence on poor societies than they have on rich ones.

Corporations and Competition
Corporations and the Global Economy

Average Hourly Wages for Manufacturing Workers, 1994

Country ............................ Hourly Wage
Germany ............................ 24.72
Japan ................................. 19.31
United States ................... 15.45
France ............................... 15.45
Canada ............................. 14.21
Great Britain ..................... 12.36
Korea .................................. 5.72
Taiwan ................................ 4.94
Mexico ................................. 2.32

Looking Ahead: The Economy of the Twenty-First Century

Does 'The Market' Serve the Public Interest?

Send Your Comments Or Questions To:
drewhurl@sprynet,com

Credits

Produced at Bits & Bytes Farm, 1997

Program designed and created by:
Drew Hurley
Santa Fe Community College
3000 NW 83rd Street
Gainesville, FL 32606

All Clip Art provided by:
Imageline, Inc.
401 East Main Street, Suite 100
Richmond, VA 23219

Photos provided by:
Black Star News Service
2121 Avenue of the Americas
Washington, DC 20111
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