Social Problems; Sociology of the Workplace
Full name
SOC-220 Social Problems
October 21, 2011
Instructor name
Sociology of the Workplace We might have been equal around 200B.C. but those days are over. Political control, unequal income and unequal status changed the way American families had to break away for economic independency due to the massive industrialization. Jobs and careers are a core value in American society (Macionis 2008). Two revolutions, Industrial and Information, changed the workplace for most Americans, creating a new status quo for them and their families. With the new modern economy, the quality of life can only be improved. Structural-functional, social conflict, and symbolic interaction are the three major approaches in sociology that guides thinking and research (DeRosso 2002). So, get out your cell phone, text your wife and let her know you are still in that conference call. Technology plays a great part in the social implications of our modern world. Americans can hardly go a day without using the new technology and inventions. Science fiction is a thing of the past. Now we have cell phones, flat-screen T.V.’s, portable computers, video-games, the web, CT scans, antilock brakes, and more. If you compare a 1985 model car to its counterpart of today, you can see the improved and added features such as, power doors and windows, dual airbags, better fuel efficient engines, built in CD and GPS, air conditioner, and fewer defects (Nye, 2002). The modern economy today is knowledge based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven, and innovation-based (Atkinson, 2010). The forever changing forces, such as economic climate, fast paced, and challenging times is what the workplace is now. The office design has become smaller and simpler. The process of workplace technology has grown immensely. The reduction of the computer in size, weight and mobility requires less space and yet it stores more data, reducing the amount of paper being used (London Councils 2006). As more of the work
SOC-220 Social Problems
October 21, 2011
Instructor name
Sociology of the Workplace We might have been equal around 200B.C. but those days are over. Political control, unequal income and unequal status changed the way American families had to break away for economic independency due to the massive industrialization. Jobs and careers are a core value in American society (Macionis 2008). Two revolutions, Industrial and Information, changed the workplace for most Americans, creating a new status quo for them and their families. With the new modern economy, the quality of life can only be improved. Structural-functional, social conflict, and symbolic interaction are the three major approaches in sociology that guides thinking and research (DeRosso 2002). So, get out your cell phone, text your wife and let her know you are still in that conference call. Technology plays a great part in the social implications of our modern world. Americans can hardly go a day without using the new technology and inventions. Science fiction is a thing of the past. Now we have cell phones, flat-screen T.V.’s, portable computers, video-games, the web, CT scans, antilock brakes, and more. If you compare a 1985 model car to its counterpart of today, you can see the improved and added features such as, power doors and windows, dual airbags, better fuel efficient engines, built in CD and GPS, air conditioner, and fewer defects (Nye, 2002). The modern economy today is knowledge based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven, and innovation-based (Atkinson, 2010). The forever changing forces, such as economic climate, fast paced, and challenging times is what the workplace is now. The office design has become smaller and simpler. The process of workplace technology has grown immensely. The reduction of the computer in size, weight and mobility requires less space and yet it stores more data, reducing the amount of paper being used (London Councils 2006). As more of the work
References: Atkinson, R (2010). The 2010 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the states, Retrieved from EBSCO host. GCU Library DeRosso,D (2002). The Structural Functional Theoretical Approach. Wisc-Online London Councils (2006). www.Londoncouncils.gov.uk , London Macionis (2008). Social Problems (3rd Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. NYE, J (2002). “Eonomic Growth and True Inequality” www.econlib.org/library/column/nyegrowth.html