Exam 10: Conflict and Control in the Workplace

Which of the following best describes how sociologists conceptualize "deskilling" and "enskilling?"

Karl Marx argued that, in capitalist society, work had become a commodity. In a few sentences, explain what he meant by this.

Aisha is an office worker in a large insurance company. Her job basically consists of responding to customer enquiries and complaints by telephone. Aisha's manager recently asked her to design a spreadsheet to record the different types of customer enquiries and complaints she and other office workers received. Which of the following would be the best description of what has taken place?

Which of the following best explains why Harry Braverman's 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital was so influential?

Outline the core arguments made by Harry Braverman in his 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital. Why has this book been influential in the sociology of work? Discuss the criticisms that the book has received. Think back to a job that you have held (or perhaps a friend or family member has held) and describe some aspect of what you did in the job, or how you were treated by your boss, in the way Braverman would have described it if he had held that job.

In a sentence or two for each, define technological determinism, economic determinism, and social determinism.