1. Social Institutions – Work
HSP 3M - Unit 3
Social Institutions – Work
Bain, C.M., & Colyer, J.S. (2001). The Human way. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

2. The Economy The economy is a social institution Production
It organizes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a society
Production
Creation of goods and services
Distribution
How goods and services are delivered to market
Consumption
The use of goods and services

3. The Economy continued Resources Labour Capital equipment
Natural resources
Production System
Goods and Services
Consumers
Markets

4. A Brief History of Work

6. Hunting and Gathering Societies
Nomadic groups of related people
Production, distribution and consumption part of family life
“Work” is what had to be done to ensure survival
Little or no surplus produced
Subsistence economy

8. The Agricultural Revolution
5000 – years ago
breed animals and cultivate plants
food surplus for first time
encouraged permanent settlements
specialized division of labour
handicrafts were created and traded
villages and towns rose
“work” is now more specialized and more often done away from the family

10. Industrial Revolution (beginning 1850s UK)
Mechanization
Steam power increased production 100 times
James Watts (1760s)
Centralization, specialization and mass production
Cottage industry (whole products) to factories (components)
Assembly line production
Workers only perform one specialized task
Wage labour
Workers now sell labour for wage not dependent on land
Often poor working conditions
Led to rise of labour unions

11. Industrial Revolution (beginning 1850s UK)
Unions
Workers unite to fight for the interests of the collective – (all workers)
Minimum wage
Maximum work day
Better working conditions
Better standards of living, quality of life and international trade
Surpluses created
Extensive trade between nations
Citizens now have more rights under industrialization:
Improved labour conditions
Political rights for citizens
Extended public schooling

13. The Post-Industrial Economy of the Information Age
A Prominent Service Sector
Provision of services more important than manufacturing
In 1999, 74% of Canada’s labour force in service work
Clerical, teaching, health care, information processing, banking, commerce, sales and retail
15% employed in manufacturing
less than 5% in natural resources
agriculture, mining, gas, fishing, forestry

14. An Information Revolution
Generated by technology
Automatic machines (robots) reduce the need for labour
Internet has revolutionized the way information is shared: media, communication, banking…
Information has become the product
Most of the cost of a CD is to the artist, the shipping, the retail, not in the production of the CD itself
MP3 files

15. A Global Economy
Goods and information cross national borders with few restrictions
Your shirt was designed in Italy, made in China from cotton grown in Africa, and finished in Canada
Goods can be manufactured for very cheap
Convergence – merging of a variety of communication technologies
Newspaper, radio, television, telephone now in one medium - internet
Marilyn Waring’s book “Who’s Counting?”
Modern global economies don’t count unpaid work, largely done by women
Other criticisms of the global economy
Environmental damage and human rights abuses are also not counted in the global economy
The poor working conditions of the industrial revolution have simply been shifted to other nations