work
carrying out of tasks that require expenditure of mental and physical effort, has objective of production of goods and services that cater to human needs
occupation
work done in exchange for regular wage or salary
economy
institutions that provide for production and distribution of goods and services
technology
harnesses science to machinery in order to produce a variety of goods more cheaply
informal economy
economic transactions outside sphere of regular employment, sometimes involving exhcange of cash for services provided
division of labor
specialization of work tasks
economic interdependence
in division of labor, individuals depend on others to produce many or most of goods they need to sustain their lives
Taylorism
designed to maximize industrial output, "scientific management" pioneered by Winslow Taylor
Fordism
system of mass production pioneered by Henry Ford where assembly line was produced
alienation
feelings of hostility, initially to one's job and eventually to overall framework of capitalist industrial production; sens that our own abilities as human beings are taken over by other entities (machines)
low-trust system
organizational or work setting where ppl are allowed little responsibility for, or control over, the work task
high-trust system
organization or work setting where ppl are permitted lots of control over work task
strike
temporary stoppage of work by group of employees in order to express grievance or enforce demand
union destiny
statistic that represents number of union members as percentage of number of people who could potentially be union members
capitalism
economic system based on private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested to produce profit
corporations
business firms or companies
entrepreneur
owner/founder of a business firm
monopoly
situation in which a single firm dominates in a given industry
oligopoly
domination of small number of firms in a given industry
family capitalism
capitalistic enterprise owned and administered by entrepreneurial families
managerial capitalism
capitalistic enterprises administered by managerial executives rather than by owners
welfare capitalism
practice where large corporations protect employees from vicissitudes of the market
institutional capitalism
capitalistic enterprise organized on basis of institutional shareholding
transnational or multinational corporations
business corporations located in two or more countries
international division of labor
specialization in producing goods for world market that divides regions into zones of industrial or agricultural production, or high or low-skilled labor
automation
production processes monitored and controlled by machines with only minimal supervision from ppl
post-Fordism
describes transition from mass industrial production, characterized by Fordist methods, to more flexible forms of production that favors innovation and aims at meeting market demands for customized products
global outsourcing
sends production of materials to factories around the world, components of one final product often originate from many different countries
flexible production
process where computers design customized products for mass market
knowledge economy
society no longer based primarily on production of material goods, but instead on production of knowledge
portfolio workers
worker who possesses diversity of skills or qualifications and is therefore able to move easily from job to job