Week 2 ***For Suraya***

Week 2: Readings and Multimedia

1. To successfully complete this week’s assignments, read the following chapters from the text, Contemporary Social Problems and the Workplace :

· Chapter Two – The Evolution of the American Workplace and Workforce

2. To successfully complete this week’s assignments, view the following video from, PBS:

· Women as change agents in America: Part I

Discussions To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.

1. McDonaldization   Analyze your college or workplace using Weber's model of bureaucracy. What elements (efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control) of McDonaldization do you see? Do you wish life were less McDonaldized? Why or why not? Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.  

2. Generational Differences in the Workplace   Analyze the following scenarios:

· Bob Jackson is 44. He is the manager of operations for a mid-sized company. He is always working and many employees at work think that he is a workaholic. His goal is to become the company president before he turns 50. In which generational group would Bob fall? Explain your answer.

· Jerry Thomas is 28 and has just become the new corporate VP at his company. The older VPs with whom he works see him as impulsive, somewhat self-centered and unwilling to play by the rules. In which generational group would Jerry fall? Explain your answer.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.

Assignment To complete the following assignment, go to this week's Assignment link in the left navigation.

Women and Flexibility in the Workplace After viewing Women as change agents in America: Part I , determine why Kathleen Christensen believes that the flexibility of women in the workplace is a social and structural issue. Identify some factors that have affected women’s flexibility in the workplace throughout history.

· Evaluate the factors that have affected women’s pay in the workforce.

· Hypothesize what may change for women in the workplace within the next 10 years.

The paper must be four to five pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least three scholarly resources (which can be found in the Ashford Online Library) other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.