Sociology of work : perspectives, analyses, and issues

Abstract

The purpose of the first chapter is to consider what work is and is not (the nature of work). Chapter 2 deals with the occupational categories of work. The analysis begins with the professions and management and then moves "down" this hierarchy to white - collar work and blue - collar work. "Chapter 3 looks at work from the individual's perspective: how do people create meaning in their work and derive satisfaction from their jobs? Chapter 4 looks at the classic relationship between social status and work, and the various explanations for this relationship. Chapter 5 provides another interesting way to see how society values different forms of work by looking at job content and labor market perspectives. The next three chapters study age, gender, race, ethnicity, and religion and ways in which these socially constructed variables shape the structure of work and how we experience it. The final group of chapters on the organizational dimension of work, power, and work and family issues provide additional lenses at the macroscopic level that examine how work is structured and experienced. A concluding chapter explores the relationship between the book's various perspectives on work and the global, social forces that affect is as well as the workplaces and work issues that students are likely to experience early in our next century." (IAB2) Das Lehrbuch beschäftigt sich zunächst mit dem "Wesen" von Erwerbsarbeit und ihren berufichen Kategorien. Das dritte Kapitel behandelt unter eher individueller Perspektive die Bedeutung von Arbeit und was sie zur Zufriedenheit beiträgt. Das folgende Kapitel versucht Antwort auf die Frage zu geben, wie die Gesellschaft unterschiedliche Arbeitsinhalte bewertet. Eine weitere Gruppe von Kapiteln behandelt die Aspekte Alter, Geschlecht, Rasse und Ethnizität. Bei den abschliessenden Kapiteln steht die Organisation der Arbeit im Mittelpunkt. (IAB)