I. Introduction: Economics and Work Lifea. Social Institution: an interrelated system of social roles and norms organized around the satisfaction of an important social need or function.b. The economic system is the social institution concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.i. Goods: products manufactured, grown, or extracted from the earth,such as food, clothing, housing, automobiles, computers, coal, timber, etc.ii. Services: activities performed for others that result in no tangible product, such as entertainment, transportation, financial advice, counseling, education, etc.II. Social Significance of WorkIII. Social Organization of Worka. Taylorism: A set of ideas, also known as “scientific management,” developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, involving simple, coordinated operations in industry.b. Fordism: The system of assembly-line production introduced by Henry Ford. c. Work and alienationd. Low-trust vs. high-trust systemsIV. Industrial Conflicta. Strikeb. Labor unionsV. Major Economic Systemsa. Capitalismi. Characterized by:1. private property2. competition13. profit seekingb. Socialismi. Characteristics1. collective ownership of production2. state planning3. may employ non-economic criteria in decision-making4. production and prices established by the state in accord with long range plans and priorities.c. Comparison of capitalism and socialismi. Advantages of capitalism1. Flexibility to demand2. Creativity3. Innovation4. Social mobilityii. Disadvantages of capitalism1. artificially created demand2. Profit is the primary motive.3. Wealth threatens democracy.4. wasted human resources5. Inequalities in wealthiii. Advantages of socialism1. rational control2. motivated by the collective interests3. long-range planning4. little waste of human resources5. little inequalityiv. Disadvantages of socialism1. Inflexibility22. Centralization threatens democracy.3. Centralization stifles creativity, innovation, and motivation.4. There is less chance for social mobility.d. There are no pure capitalist or socialist countries. Is socialism dead?e. Democratic Socialismi. A mix of capitalism and socialism.VI. Corporations a. Monopolyb. Oligopolyc. Corporate Capitalismi. Family capitalismii. Managerial capitalismiii. Welfare capitalismiv. Institutional capitalismVII. Transnational/Multinational CorporationsVIII. The Changing Nature Of Worka. Work and technologyb. Post Fordismc. Outsourcingd. Job insecuritye. The knowledge economyf. Portfolio workersg. The contingent workforceIX. UnemploymentX. The Future of