Chapter 14 : Work and Economic Life

1. Explain the concepts of "Taylorism" and "Fordism," and show how they contribute to worker alienation. Explain why an assembly line worker is likely to be more alienated from his or her work than a commercial fisherman (not someone working in a fish packaging plant, for example, but a long-line tuna fisherman).

2. Explain why labor unions have arisen in societies that developed into more industrialized economies. Explain why unions are declining as modern economies are evolving into postindustrial societies.

3. What does the rise of the transnational corporation and the development of webs of interconnecting commercial activity mean for you, as a citizen of the United States?

4. Discuss some of the important ways that the nature of work will change for the contemporary worker as companies apply more automation and more flexible production practices to larger-scale production processes. Explain each of these trends and how they affect workers, both now and in the future.

5. On the one hand, we spend a great deal of time planning for the day when we can retire and no longer have to work. On the other hand, the text suggests that work should be viewed as a socially significant activity that we cannot do without. Consider some of the reasons why this is the case and then evaluate whether or not the reasoning is valid.

6. Now that you've read this chapter on work and economic life, reflect on how changes in both are going to impact you. Specifically, will the rise of the knowledge economy and the demand for flexible labor shape the experiences you will have in the labor force? In your answer, consider the development of the portfolio workforce, the contingent workforce, and the trends in layoffs and downsizing.

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