Essay Instructions: Questions/Tasks
After identifying the determinants of social status and class in the United States, Identifying the characteristics of the different social classes in the United States, applying the sociological perspectives of structure/functionalism and conflict to stratification and class; state your position and defend your position on
How future business firms will be organized.
Whether it is or it is not inevitable that social structures form.
Whether it is or it is not inevitable that easily observable differences such as gender-differences or racial-differences will be used as the basis of social structure.
The Situation
The literature is replete with examples of how social structures are formed. Is the formation of those social structures inevitable?
Submit your 2-3 page paper to Coursenet.
Expectations
You are expected to use case-related readings and background material to study social stratification with a concentration on how gender is used as a basis for discrimination. There is no special reason why I chose gender as the subject for the case (I could have just as easily chosen Race, Age, or Religion as the basis of stratification and/or discrimination).
In module 1, you encountered several approaches to understanding sociological phenomena. In particular, you learned about a "structure-functionalist" and a "conflict" approaches. This case gives you another opportunity to use these approaches.
In preparing your CASE4; you need to demonstrate your learning of the concepts and frameworks for analysis outlined in the modular learning objectives. In particular, in terms of ‘Social Class’ you are expected to:
Indicate the determinants of social status and class in the United States.
Identify the characteristics of the different social classes in the United States.
Apply the sociological perspectives of structure/functionalism and conflict to stratification and class.
In terms of ‘Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity’ you are expected to:
Differentiate between race and ethnicity.
In terms of ‘Inequalities of Gender’ you are expected to:
Explain the processes involved in gender socialization
Note that this assignment does NOT require you to prepare a detailed essay. Instead use section headings for each of the topics you address in your paper followed by a discussion of that topic.
Case-related articles in the popular press
Zimmerman, Ann (2000, November 10). If Boys Just Want To Have Fun, This May Bring Them Down --- Teenage Girls Go for T-Shirts That Belittle the Fellows; Is Turnabout Fair Play? The Wall Street Journal. (Eastern Edition). A1. Available in Proquest on November 4 at
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=63503534&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Larry Kleinstein, owner of Acme Shirt Co. in New York, claims to be the mastermind behind this latest teen trend. He says the original idea was suggested by a friend who runs a retail store catering to gay men, who quickly began stocking Mr. Kleinstein's creations.
It took time for the idea to catch on in the teen market, where it now is doing even bigger business than at gay-oriented stores, Mr. Kleinstein says. He first introduced a line of junior shirts with the phrase "Boys Lie" at a teen-apparel trade show three years ago, but retailers wouldn't buy them.
He introduced the Boys Lie shirts again a year later and this time Hot Topic, which is based in City of Industry, Calif., decided to place a small test order for its mall stores. The shirts sold so well that the company tripled its order. Soon, Gadzooks and Pacific Sunwear came calling, and so did the junior catalogs, such as Delia's and Alloy, which originally had told Mr. Kleinstein they were afraid mothers wouldn't approve.
Lawson, John K (1994, Oct/Nov). A Vision of Workplace 2000. Executive Speeches. 9(2) 34-40. Available in ProQuest on November 4, 2009 at
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=15525
&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
The only constant now in US manufacturing is change. American business has entered a process of change that is continuous and permanent. Countries all over the world are developing their economies and entering the mainstream of global competition. One crucial ingredient must be foremost: quality. There is no alternative to thinking globally. There is no such thing as isolationism anymore, not for nations, not for companies and not even for individuals. Leadership today is about empowering employees to direct themselves and operate as teams. Team effort made up of individual excellence means flexibility - means constantly preparing for changes ahead that have not even been dreamed of yet. The culture of the successful business today, the business with staying power, has shifted to a culture in which employees are excited about participating in the enterprise, goal-oriented people who care deeply enough to turn on and take a personal sense of ownership of their part of the whole, people who gear themselves up to produce unprecedented results, and then keep doing it, consistently.
Customer is requesting that (writergrrl101) completes this order.
