Multimedia and Discussion Questions

Chapter 9: The Structure of Society: Organizations, Social Institutions, and Globalization

- Video Links
  - Is Wal-Mart Good For America?
    Wal-Mart is a ubiquitous and controversial presence in American consumer-culture. Though many decry the retail giant for its labor practices and believe it has played a significant role in loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, many of us continue to shop there because we want the low prices and convenience it offers. Through interviews with economists, manufacturers, retail industry experts, and business analysts, this program offers an even-handed consideration of how Wal-Mart has affected and been affected by U.S. consumer-culture.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does “the Wal-Mart way” fit into the discussion of McDonaldization? How is it similar? How is it different? How does it complement the theory?

2. Use what is presented in the program to explain the processes of globalization. Be specific and give examples.

3. Can the impact of Wal-Mart on society be described as a social dilemma such as the tragedy of the commons? How or why not?

- Chase Bank Reportedly Has Man Jailed Over Check They Issued Him
  Ikenna Njoku went to the bank to cash a check but the teller believed that the check was a forgery and called the police. Njoku was taken to jail and remained in jail even after the bank realized its mistake. The errors of judgment made by the bank caused him to lose his vehicle and his job.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does Njoku’s story highlight the power of bureaucracies?

2. Are you surprised that such a “mix up” could occur?

3. The teller made a grievous error and the effects multiplied exponentially with each new person and organization that became involved. Who do you believe is ultimately responsible for the losses Mr. Njoku suffered?

4. What are the difficulties with holding an institution or an individual within an institution accountable for wrong-doing?

- Futurama- Bureaucrat’s Song
  Hermes sings a song about being a bureaucrat.

Discussion Questions:
1. What are the characteristics of a bureaucrat listed in the song?

2. What is the meaning of the song’s final line? (“When push comes to shove you gotta do what you love even if it’s not a good idea.)

3. What is being satirized in the song? Is it the individual bureaucrat? Or the bureaucratic structure? Explain your answer.

- Inside Small Schools
  Adlai E. Stevenson High School in The Bronx was once a dangerous school that had poor performance ratings. In an effort to improve student safety and educational outcomes, the school was divided into 9 “small schools” that would be more flexible and allow more personal interactions between educators, administrators, and students. This New York Times video examines the successes and failures of this “small schools” experiment.

Discussion Questions:
1. What are some of the problems with large public schools?

2. Would you classify this “small schools” project as largely a success or a failure? Explain your answer.

- The Legacy of Tailhook
  This New York Times video revisits 1991’s Tailhook scandal, an incident that drew attention to the little-discussed problem of sexual assault in the U.S. Navy. It provides a look at how the Navy responded to allegations of sexual assault at the time and how things have (and have not) changed since then.

Discussion Questions:
1. What role did the structure of the Navy play in the Tailhook incident and how the allegations were addressed? What role did culture play?

2. How have things changed since 1991?

- Audio Links
  - This American Life 215: Ask An Expert
    Act One of this program reports on the "Recovered Memory" movement. In the early 1990s people across America turned to experts in psychology for help and many people were told that the source of their problems could be traced to traumatic events they could not even remember, to memories that had to be recovered through special techniques. In the last ten years, this whole approach to psychology has fallen out of favor. So what happened that so many experts came to believe in a treatment that turned out to make many of their patients worse, not better and what happened when the patients and therapists figured all this out?

Discussion Questions:
1. Can you explain the recovered memory situation as a social dilemma?

2. What bureaucratic elements are making this situation possible?

3. Use this episode to explain how organizational reality is created?

- This American Life 350: Human Resources
  This episode features a true story of little-known rooms in the New York City Board of Education building. Teachers are told to report there instead of their classrooms. No reason is usually given. When they arrive, they find they've been put on some kind of probationary status, and they must report every day until the matter is cleared up. They call it the Rubber Room. Average length of stay? Months, sometimes years. This program also examines other stories of the uneasy interaction between humans and their institutions.

Discussion Questions:
1. How do individual interests interfere with structural needs in any of these stories?

2. Can evidence be found that the tragedy of commons phenomenon is playing out in any of the acts presented?

3. What do you believe Max Weber would say about these stories?

- Walking Away From The House She Can Afford
  When Heather Baker took out a mortgage to purchase a home valued at $465k house, she figured it would be a good investment. With the collapse of the real estate market, she estimates that it is worth $225k. Though Baker can afford to make the payments, she has decided to stop paying the note and allow the bank to foreclose on the property because she does not want to lose even more money.

Discussion Questions:
1. What is a “strategic default”?

2. Foreclosures bring down the values of surrounding properties and Baker is aware that by allowing her house to go back to the bank that she is harming her neighbors. Yet, she says that if she stays in the house and continues making payments that she will be losing money. What do sociologists call this conflict?

3. Baker says that something (aside from the economic incentive) made it easier for her to decide to let the house go into foreclosure. What was this?

4. According to the report, about 17% of foreclosures in the previous year were strategic foreclosures. What implications does this have for society as a whole?

- Web Resources
  Professional Resources
  - The two major American Sociological Association (ASA) Sections on these issues are:
    Economic Sociology
    Organizations, Occupations, and Work
    Section on Political Sociology
    Environment and Technology
    Economy of the World System
    J ournals include: Administrative Science Quarterly
    Work and Occupations

> Data Resources

- The Bureau of Labor Statistics
  The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
- The National Congregations Study
  The National Congregations Study used the model of the NOS to generate a nationally representative sample of religious congregations. Congregations—the relatively small-scale, local collectivities and organizations in and through which people engage in religious activity—are a basic unit of American religious life.

> Other Resources

- McDonaldization.com
  McDonaldization.com—Exposing the Iron Cage! is a Web site whose purpose is to help spread the word about McDonaldization and explore the wide-ranging impact this process has on our society [self-characterization].
- To gain an appreciation of the scale and scope of major multinational corporations, visit the Web sites of some of the biggest:
  McDonald’s
  Coca-Cola
  Microsoft
  Walmart
- The financial infrastructure of global capitalism is promoted by:
  International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  World Bank
- WTO
  The rules of trade between nations facilitated by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- The Third World Traveler
  For a criticism of the IMF, World Bank, and WTO—the “Three Stooges of Corporate Folly”—and transnational corporations and world trade generally, see The Third World Traveler.
- Catholic Relief Services
  A religious perspective on the need for international debt relief and reform of international financial institutions can be found at the Web site of Catholic Relief Services.
- This Nation
  This Nation: Institutions. If you are in need of a good online overview of basic U.S. governmental institutions, this is the place to go. The site also includes a discussion of the bureaucracy, with emphasis on the challenges of reform. Links to Web resources you can use to access government Web sites are also provided [self-characterization].