Social Inequality
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Social Inequality explores the structured patterns of disparities in wealth, income, education, and power within societies. The course examines how factors such as race, gender, class, age, and ethnicity influence individuals and groups access to resources and opportunities. Through theoretical frameworks and real-world case studies, students analyze the root causes and consequences of inequality, as well as the social, economic, and political mechanisms that perpetuate or challenge unequal arrangements. The course encourages critical reflection on policy responses and potential pathways toward greater social justice and equity.
Recommended Textbook
Work Industry and Canadian Society 7th Edition by Harvey Krahn
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14 Chapters
375 Verified Questions
375 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Historical Perspectives on Work 1700-1950s
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following was not part of "the great transformation" described by Karl Polanyi?
A) The emergence of socialist forms of government.
B) Growing urbanization.
C) A shift to new technologies and inanimate energy sources.
D) The emergence of widespread wage labour.
Answer: A
Q2) The economy in the African country of Hypothetica is primarily agricultural. Most of the farms are owned by companies in western Europe or the United States. Local residents are hired on a monthly basis to work on the farms, using high-tech farm machinery. Which of the following concepts that Karl Marx introduced would be best for describing this economic system?
A) Mode of production.
B) Means of production.
C) Social relations of production.
D) Industrial agrarian production.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Contemporary Debates on Work 1950s to Present Day
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the best example of "emotional labour?"
A) A live-in caregiver who develops strong personal relationships with the family she or he works for.
B) An Oscar Award-winning dramatic performance.
C) A fast-food worker who is forced to smile when interacting with customers.
D) The performance of emotions in relationships with family members.
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following best characterizes a Keynesian economic principle?
A) The government should have an active role in the economy.
B) The free market should not be regulated.
C) Economic competitiveness requires the shrinking of the welfare state.
D) High unemployment and inequality are normal and unavoidable.
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following is the best example of a "mobile worker"?
A) An insurance salesperson who telecommutes part of the time from home.
B) A customer service representative in an Indian call centre.
C) A professional worker who bicycles to work and back.
D) The chief executive officer (CEO) of a trucking company.
Answer: A
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Canadian Employment Trends
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Sample Questions
Q1) Joshua works part-time serving burgers at a local restaurant while working his way through college. Which of the following best describes the type of occupation Joshua is employed in?
A) White-collar work.
B) Temporary work.
C) Pink-collar work.
D) Upper-tier service-sector work.
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following statements best exemplifies recent immigration trends in Canada?
A) Compared to the 1990s, most immigrants come to Canada from African countries.
B) The majority of immigrants now come from European countries.
C) Immigration from Asian countries is contributing to greater workplace diversity.
D) On average, immigrants are older than the Canadian population.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is correct about part-time employment in Canada?
A) Part-time employment rates have remained stable over the past few decades.
B) There are more men than women working part-time in Canada.
C) The part-time employment rate is higher for workers under the age of 25.
D) Part-time employment for women 25 and over has increased dramatically in the past few decades.
Q2) Which of the following best describes "cyclical unemployment"?
A) The ongoing movement of workers in and out of jobs as they try to find employment that best fits their skills and aspirations.
B) Unemployment rates rising during recessions and declining as the economy recovers.
C) Unemployment rates rising due to increased levels of immigration.
D) Unemployment rates rising because of changing work values.
Q3) Briefly outline how unemployment rates vary by gender, age, and region in Canada.
Q4) Which of the following is not an example of an "additional employment benefit?"
A) Paid vacation.
B) Sick leave.
C) Life insurance.
D) Performance pay.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Labour Markets: Opportunities and Inequality
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a few sentences, outline the dual economies perspective on labour markets. Provide examples of occupations found in the core and periphery sectors.
Q2) Which of the following terms best describes the well-developed training systems and career paths for employees found within major private- and public-sector work organizations?
A) Primary labour market.
B) Bureaucratic job ghetto.
C) Professional enclave.
D) Internal labour market.
Q3) In general, what are the labour market experiences of people with disabilities in Canada, compared to the rest of the population?
Q4) Briefly define cultural capital, with a few examples. How does it relate to socioeconomic status?
Q5) Julie is a 30-year-old first-generation Filipina Canadian. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from a well-respected university, yet has recently been forced to take a barista job at a local café. Use the human capital and labour market segmentation theories to analyze Julie's labour market position. Which perspective do you find more convincing? Why?
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Chapter 6: Gender and Paid Employment
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Q1) Leck's study of women's labour market progress as a result of the Employment Equity Act demonstrates which of the following?
A) In general, organizations with equity programs increased the number of women they employed.
B) Managers perceived productivity to increase following the implementation of equity programs.
C) In general, equity programs have had negative effects on human resource practices.
D) Equity programs have decreased "male backlash" in the workplace.
Q2) Which of the following is correct about gender-based differences in earnings in Canada?
A) For full-time/full-year workers, there is no longer a gender wage gap.
B) A narrowing of the gender wage gap can be partially explained by decreasing male wages.
C) In 2011, the gender wage gap was roughly the same as it was in 1976.
D) The gender wage gap is wider in 2011 than it was in 1976.
Q3) Define employment equity and pay equity policies and discuss how they differ. How effective have they been in Canada? How might these policies be improved to help ensure that their goals are met?
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Chapter 7: Household, Family, and Caring Work
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following best characterizes Arlene Kaplan Daniels's explanation for why early sociology of work studies mostly ignored household work and caregiving?
A) Caring and household work are often seen as lacking economic value.
B) Since paid work is more important to society than unpaid work, early sociology of work scholars focused on paid work first.
C) Early sociology of work scholars tended to ignore all work that women performed.
D) Caring and household work are not valid forms of work.
Q2) Which of the following best describes the convergence in weekly hours of housework completed by women and men in Canada in recent decades?
A) Men are putting in more hours; women are working as many hours as before.
B) Men are putting in a bit more time; women have reduced their housework by a larger amount.
C) Men are doing as little as before; women have reduced their housework considerably.
D) More housework is being done by female hired help.
Q3) Briefly discuss recent trends in time spent by women and men on housework and childcare in Canada.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Organizing and Managing Work
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain Gerhard Lenski's theory of social inequality. What role does technology play in this theory?
Q2) Describe a work organization that you are familiar with and address how it utilizes elements of scientific management or human relations theory, or both. In your opinion, do these practices work well in this organization? Why or why not?
Q3) Which of the following is a primary criticism of the human relations approach to management?
A) It assumes that industrial harmony is healthy and that conflict in the workplace is abnormal and destructive.
B) It incorrectly assumes that workers are only motivated by money.
C) It places too much emphasis on the need for strict, authoritarian managers.
D) It allows workers too much input into workplace decision making.
Q4) Workplace inequality and the ability of workers to develop skills and become involved in decision making represent two crucial issues facing Canadian workers and work organizations. How well do the scientific management and human relations approaches address these issues? Support your position with reference to the chapter.
Q5) Briefly describe human relations theory and outline one of its major criticisms.
Q6) In a few sentences, describe the basic principles of scientific management.
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Chapter 9: In Search of New Managerial Paradigms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hiroto, your neighbour who came to Canada from Japan 15 years ago, is telling you about the job he used to hold in a large Japanese manufacturing company. He describes frequent after-work social activities he enjoyed with his workmates, how he and his workmates worked as a team, the many women who worked in the company, and the opportunities for younger workers to get promoted. Which of these things experienced by Hiroto are basic elements of Japanese management approaches?
A) Frequent after-hour social activities involving workmates.
B) Work routines devised around teams rather than individuals.
C) A commitment to hiring women.
D) Opportunities for young workers to get promoted.
Q2) Which of the following is <b><u>not</b></u> one of the characteristics of a "winner" work organization, according to Tom Peters in his book Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a Management Revolution?
A) Obsession with responsiveness to customers.
B) Leadership that loves change.
C) Constant innovation in all areas.
D) Clearly outlined bureaucratic control systems.
Q3) Briefly define and give an example of each: pay flexibility, functional flexibility, and numerical flexibility.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Conflict and Control in the Workplace
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gordon, Edwards, and Reich wrote about the evolution of segmented labour markets in North America. Which of the following did they suggest was an outcome of this process?
A) An increase in global systems of production.
B) A socially fragmented and politically weak working class.
C) A growing gender wage gap.
D) Greater marginalization of immigrants in society.
Q2) Wallace Clement and John Myles (1994) are quoted in the textbook as saying that society is faced by a "postindustrial Nirvana of knowledge where everyone will be a brain surgeon, artist, or philosopher (Bell) or, alternatively, a postindustrial Hades where we shall be doomed to labour mindlessly in the service of capital." Outline the debate framed by Clement and Myles. Which of the two positions is most accurate, in your opinion? Discuss the evidence that leads you to this conclusion.
Q3) Michael Burawoy uses the term hegemonic organization of work in much the same way as which of the following terms used by Richard Edwards?
A) Self-control.
B) Simple control.
C) Technical control.
D) Bureaucratic control.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Unions and Industrial Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Unionization in Canada has been characterized by which of the following trends?
A) Overall, union membership has declined somewhat since the 1980s.
B) Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest rate of unionization.
C) Women are still less likely to be union members than men.
D) The rate of unionization is lower in the public sector than in the private sector.
Q2) Define and briefly discuss the concepts of "business unionism" and "social unionism."
Q3) Which of the following is a unique feature of the labour movement in Quebec?
A) Many contemporary unions were originally organized by the Roman Catholic Church.
B) A much lower degree of centralized bargaining than elsewhere in Canada.
C) Despite a high level of nationalism in Quebec, unions in the province have avoided getting involved in debates about separatism and sovereignty.
D) The willingness of unions to accept provincial legislation allowing strike-breaking by employers.
Q4) C. Wright Mills once described unions in North America as "managers of discontent." In a few sentences, explain what he meant by this term.
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Chapter 12: Alternative Approaches to Economic Organization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Briefly explain the key difference between a "worker buyout" and a "producer co-operative."
Q2) Sweden's approach to industrial democracy goes beyond Germany's approach in which of the following ways?
A) Employees are given positions on boards of directors of companies.
B) Employees have representation in all but the smallest companies.
C) Government as well as private-sector employees are included.
D) Unions must be given complete access to companies' financial records.
Q3) Which of the following statements best describes the social contributions of organizations like the "Living Wage" movement and the "Clean Clothes Campaign?"
A) They have been successful in forcing governments to improve workplace health and safety legislation.
B) They have helped organize unions in China, Africa, and South Asia.
C) They have successfully brought together coalitions of unions and other groups to improve working conditions and raise wages.
D) They have actively fought against allowing children to work in factories.
Q4) Briefly discuss at least three different workers' rights that current Canadian health and safety legislation attempts to protect.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Work Values and Work Orientations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following aspects of Karl Marx's writings about capitalism did he share with Renaissance philosophies about what it means to be human?
A) His emphasis on class conflict as the source of major social change.
B) His description of the alienation experienced by workers in capitalist society.
C) His analysis of surplus labour and how it generates social inequality.
D) His belief that capitalism would eventually be transformed into socialism.
Q2) At a family gathering, your uncle, a lawyer, starts talking about how "crazy" life is becoming. The people he works with brag about their long hours, and burn themselves out trying to make more money to buy expensive cars and clothes. He says he can't believe they are "doing this to themselves," and that we need to think more about improving society and less about working hard to get rich. Which of the following authors would you suggest he read, since they make the same arguments?
A) Andre Gorz.
B) Madeline Bunting.
C) Jeremy Rifkin.
D) Jamie Swift.
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Chapter 14: Job Satisfaction, Alienation, and Work-Related Stress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following factors does the "person-environment fit" model add to our understanding of workplace stress?
A) Work orientations.
B) Job satisfaction.
C) Alienation.
D) Work values.
Q2) Which of the following job characteristics would be called an "extrinsic" work reward?
A) Friendly workmates.
B) The opportunity to join a union.
C) Job security.
D) The opportunity to make decisions about one's job.
Q3) According to Frederick Herzberg's "two-factor theory" of job satisfaction, which of the following work situations would be likely to<u>increase job satisfaction</u>?
A) A more even distribution of female and male employees.
B) Opportunities to develop skills.
C) The presence of a union in the workplace.
D) Higher salaries.
Q4) Briefly outline Frederick Herzberg's "two-factor theory" of job satisfaction.
Page 16
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