Foundations of the Theory of Organizations
Theories of Social Stratification
The structural-functional approach points to ways social stratification helps society operate.
• The Davis-Moore thesis states that social stratification is universal because of its functional consequences. • In caste systems, people are rewarded for performing the duties of their position at birth.
• In class systems, unequal rewards attract the ablest people to the most important jobs and encourage effort. The social-conflict approach claims that stratification divides societies in classes, benefiting some categories of people at the expense of others and causing social conflict.
• Karl Marx claimed that capitalism places economic production under the ownership of capitalists, who exploit the proletarians who sell their labor for wages.
• Max Weber identified three distinct dimensions of social stratification: economic class, social status or prestige, and power. Conflict exists between people at various positions on a multidimensional hierarchy of socioeconomic status (SES).
The symbolic-interaction approach, a micro-level analysis, explains that we size up people by looking for clues to their social standing. Conspicuous consumption refers to buying and displaying products that make a “statement” about social class. Most people tend to socialize with others whose social standing is similar to their own
Davis-Moore thesis (p. 231) the functional analysis claiming that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society blue-collar occupations (p. 234) lowerprestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor white-collar occupations (p. 234) higherprestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity socioeconomic status (SES) (p. 235) a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality conspicuous consumption (p. 236) buying and using products because of the “statement” they make about social position
Social Stratification and Technology: A Global Perspective
The structural-functional approach points to ways social stratification helps society operate.
• The Davis-Moore thesis states that social stratification is universal because of its functional consequences. • In caste systems, people are rewarded for performing the duties of their position at birth.
• In class systems, unequal rewards attract the ablest people to the most important jobs and encourage effort. The social-conflict approach claims that stratification divides societies in classes, benefiting some categories of people at the expense of others and causing social conflict.
• Karl Marx claimed that capitalism places economic production under the ownership of capitalists, who exploit the proletarians who sell their labor for wages.
• Max Weber identified three distinct dimensions of social stratification: economic class, social status or prestige, and power. Conflict exists between people at various positions on a multidimensional hierarchy of socioeconomic status (SES).
The symbolic-interaction approach, a micro-level analysis, explains that we size up people by looking for clues to their social standing. Conspicuous consumption refers to buying and displaying products that make a “statement” about social class. Most people tend to socialize with others whose social standing is similar to their own
Davis-Moore thesis (p. 231) the functional analysis claiming that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society blue-collar occupations (p. 234) lowerprestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor white-collar occupations (p. 234) higherprestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity socioeconomic status (SES) (p. 235) a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality conspicuous consumption (p. 236) buying and using products because of the “statement” they make about social position
Social Stratification and Technology: A Global Perspective