SOC101--Chp 9 (Structure of Society)

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Bureaucracy
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Terms in this set (33)
Bureaucracy
large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations and having clearly specified work tasks
de-skilling
subdivision of low-level jobs into small, highly specific tasks requiring less skilled employees
division of labor
specialization of different people or groups in different tasks, characteristic of most bureaucracies
free rider problem
tendency for people to refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is available without any personal cost or contribution
hierarchy of authority
ranking of people or tasks in a bureaucracy from those at the top, where there is a great deal of power and authority, to those at the bottom, where there is very little power and authority
McDonaldization (Ritzer)
the process by which the principles of the last food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society, as well as the rest of the world.
Ritzer's McDonaldization
4 components
1) efficiency
2) calculability
3) predictability
4) control
multinational corporation
company that has manufacturing, production, and marketing divisions in multiple countries
Oligarchy
system of authority in which many people are ruled by a privileged few
social dilemma
potential for a society's long-term ruin because of individuals' tendency to pursue their own short-term interests
social structureframework of society- social institutions, organizations, groups, statuses and roles, cultural beliefs, and institutionalized norms- that adds order and predictability to our private livesTragedy of the Commons (Hardin)situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire communityupper echelona top-level team in an organizationmiddle echelon (aka middle ground)different from upper echelon because people hope that they can somehow make it to the upper echelon if they work hard enough; tend to be very devoted to jobs, job is part of their identity, works a lot; also become more controlling and demanding over people below themlower echelonswho are among the majorityorganizationA group of people who work together to achieve some specific purposeinstitutiona long-lasting pattern of organization in a communityGlobalizationgrowth to a global or worldwide scalesocial institutionssystems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals