\n| Harry Braverman<\/td>\n | Knowledge-Economy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Question 9.
\nWrite about the social features of industrialization.
\nAnswer:
\nMost of the great sociology texts were written during the industrialization and mechanization era. Thinkers like Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim pointed out many social features of industrialization. Urbanization, loss of face- to- face contacts, division of labor, alienation, etc. are some of them. Urbanization is an important feature of industrialization. With industrialization, villages turn into cities. New cities also come up.<\/p>\n In an industrial society, face-to-face relations cease to exist. In village communities, there were face-to-face relations between farmers and farmers, and farmers with landlords. But all this is lost in industrial societies. Instead, in the modern factories and workshops, unknown professional relations take place.<\/p>\n Another feature of industrialization is division of labor. Laborers make just one small part of something. They don\u2019t even see the complete product. Their job is repetitive and boring. But of course, it is better than no job. Marx calls that situation alienation. Here the workers do not enjoy their work. They look at their job as a means of their livelihood.<\/p>\n Question 10.
\nDescribe the harmony theory.
\nAnswer:
\nThis is a theory presented by the modern thinker Clark Kerr. This theory said that the industrialized India of the 21st century shows more features of America or China. With the coming of the new technology, India\u2019s culture, languages, and traditions are slowly disappearing. Kerr says that India is moving towards new cultures and new products. Industrialization brings equality in some spheres.<\/p>\n For example, now we can enter trains, buses or cyber cafes without thinking to which caste we belong! But, at the same time, new types of discrimination are found in factories and workplaces. Although social inequalities are reduced, economic inequalities are on the increase. For example in professions like medicine and journalism which offer huge salaries, there is dominance by upper-class people. In some cases, for the same work, women are paid less than men.<\/p>\n Early sociologists found industrialization as a process with advantages and disadvantages. By the middle of the 20th century, they started thinking of it as good and inevitable. The change in their attitude came from the theory of modernization. Theory of modernization argues that societies are on the way to modernization. The theory also points out that it is the western world that represents modem society.<\/p>\n Question 11.
\nCompare India\u2019s industrialization with the developed countries.
\nAnswer:
\nIndustrialization in India has similarities and dissimilarities with the industrialization in the western world. Let us first look at the dissimilarities.<\/p>\n \n- In the western countries, most people work in the service sector. The next is industry. Only 10% work in the agricultural sector.<\/li>\n
- But in India, 60% of the people work in the agricultural and mining sector. 17% work in the construction sector. The remaining work in the industry, transport, and finance sector. This is the position according to the 1999-2000 statistics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If we look into the income generated by these sectors we find.that although 60% of the population work in the agricultural sector, its contribution to national economy is very little. This is not at all a good thing. Another difference between developed nations and developing nations like India is the difference in the number of permanent employees. In the developed nations, the majority of people are officially employed. But in India, more than 50% of the people are self- employed. Only 14% are permanent employees. 30% are temporary workers.<\/p>\n Question 12.
\nDiscuss the differences between organized and unorganized sectors.
\nAnswer:
\n8 Sociologists have often differentiated between organized and unorganized sectors. They also define these sectors.<\/p>\n \n- All institutions where 10 or more people work are called organized sector. These institutions must be registered with the government It is done to ensure that the employees there get regular salaries and pensions.<\/li>\n
- Institutions, where less than 10 people work and not registered with the government, come under unorganized labor. There is no job security there. More than 10% of Indians work in the unorganized sector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Question 13.
\nWhat are the social indicators given by the organized sector?
\nAnswer:
\nFirstly, only a few people in India have the experience of working in large organizations. Most of the Indians work in small establishments. Here the conditions of work are decided by the employer. If the employer likes a worker, he may be paid better. Otherwise, he may even lose his job and he won\u2019t get any benefit. But in big establishments things are different. There employment is more transparent. There are provisions for complaints and getting problems solved. Secondly, only very few Indians have the opportunity of getting secure and well-paid jobs. Two-thirds of them are government officials.<\/p>\n That is why there is such a great demand for government jobs here. Government jobs have a social angle. It helps in overcoming the boundaries of caste, creed, and region. There are no communal riots in places like Bhilai because, in the huge public sector steel company there, people from different parts of India work together and live together. This was the opinion of a sociologist. Thirdly, In the unorganized sector, only very few are members of any union. Naturally, such workers don\u2019t have the ability or experience to fight for better wages and job security. Although the government has made laws to inspect the unorganized sector and to make it better, they are not of much use. Things happen as per the wishes of the employer or the contractor. They are not much worried about the welfare of the workers.<\/p>\n Question 14.
\nHow does liberalization bring inequality?
\nAnswer:
\nEmployment opportunities are getting less and less in large scale industries. They are not able to give employment even to the people around them. At.the same time, these industries pollute their surroundings. The effluents from factories pollute even water sources. The plight of the farmers and Adivasis who have been ousted from their homes for establishing the industries is really bad. They were not given deserving compensations. They were forced to take up temporary jobs. Often they had to sleep on the streets or big cities.<\/p>\n Question 15.
\nWhat is the knowledge economy?
\nAnswer:
\nTo explain the growth of IT industry in India, the term \u2018Knowledge Economy\u2019 is used. But the expertise of a farmer in deciding what crops to grow based on his knowledge of the climate, soil and seeds can\u2019t be compared to the expertise of software professional. Both are experts in their own way. A famous sociologist Harry Braverman says that the use of machines actually destroys the expertise of workers. For example, in the past, the plans of buildings and other structures were made by expert architects and engineers. But today plans are made by computers.<\/p>\n Question 16.
\nExplain the changes brought in the sphere of Indian Industry by liberalization and globalization.
\nAnswer:
\nIndia Government starred its liberalization policy in the 1990s. According to this, the government encouraged investment by private companies, especially foreign companies in India. The government allowed investment in areas like Telecom, Civil Aviation, and energy which were up to then reserved for the government. The licensing system was simplified or stopped. With this, it was not necessary to have a license to start many of the industries. Import restrictions were removed. With this, foreign goods were easily available in the local shops.<\/p>\n As part of liberalization, multinationals bought many of the Indian companies. For example, the Indian company \u2018Parle Drinks\u2019 was bought by the American Company Coca Cola. The annual sale of Parle Drinks was Rs. 250 crores. But Coca Cola spends 400 crores only for advertisement. Through attractive advertisements, the sale of coca-cola increased. Many traditional companies making soft drinks crumbled. As part of liberalization, some Indian companies became multinationals. As part of liberalization, the government is selling its shares in the public sector companies. This process is called disinvestment. This resulted in the loss of jobs of thousands of people working there.<\/p>\n The first public sector company to be sold like that was \u2018Modem Foods\u2019 which was formed to give people healthy food at a cheap price. 60% of the workers in this company were forced to retire within 5 years. This tendency to reduce the number of workers is found everywhere in the world. Big companies are reducing the number of their workers and the jobs are outsourced to smaller companies or houses. Multinationals give their jobs to developing countries as they can get the work done for less money.<\/p>\n Since small companies compete to get orders from bigger companies, the situation in small companies is also bad. Employees are paid small salaries and other conditions are not good enough. In mall companies trade union activities are difficult. Today most big companies give their various jobs to smaller companies on a contract basis. This process is called outsourcing. This is seen more in the private sector.<\/p>\n Question 17.
\nExplain the employment procedure followed in India for appointment to public sector companies and private enterprises.
\nAnswer:
\nFor getting employed in public sector companies, certain qualifications^are essential. The qualifications will be mentioned in the advertisement calling for applications for jobs. Information regarding salary structure, house rent, promotion possibilities, etc. can be obtained.<\/p>\n But for jobs in private companies qualifications are flexible. Salary is not fixed. Employment may be on contract basis. Each company may have its own work culture. Through employment exchanges and advertisements, only a small percentage of people can get employment. Many find their own jobs. Thus we have many self-employed plumbers, electricians, teachers who give private tuition, architects, free-lance photographers and so on.<\/p>\n Most of them depend on personal relations for their work. Their advertisement is their sincerity, commitment, and expertise in their job. With the coming of the mobile phone, they have been able to establish more contacts and thus get more jobs.<\/p>\n Laborers are recruited into factories in another way. In the past workers were given by contractors or agents. In the cloth mills of Kanpur, these agents were known as \u2018Mistries\u2019. A mistry was also a worker. Mysteries came from the same location and same community. But they could behave like the boss of the workers because of the support they got from the owners of the factory. To keep the laborers under check, they used their hold in the community and. other pressure tactics.<\/p>\n Agents (Dallals) have lost their significance. Now it is the Managements and the Unions that decide on employment matters. Many factories now employ temporary\u2019 workers. These temporary\u2019 workers may continue working in the same factory for years. But they are not made permanent. In the organized labor sector this is known as contract work.<\/p>\n Question 18.
\nExplain the meaning of scientific management.
\nAnswer:
\nThe manner to increase production is to organize labor in a proper way. In the 1890s, an American named ‘ Frederick Winslow Taylordiscovered a new process for this. He called it \u2018scientific management\u2019. It is also known as \u2018Taylorism\u2019 and \u2018industrial engineering\u2019. In this system, the work in an enterprise is divided among the employees. With.the help of a stopwatch, the. working hours of the employees are decided. They are also given specific jobs for each day. To increase productivity, assembly line was also introduced.<\/p>\n This is a process in which workers and machines are set in such a way that with each step there is some progress in the making of a thing. Each worker is standing near a conveyor belt. His job is to add just one thing to the intended product. The conveyor belt then moves to the next worker. He adds another part to the product. This continues until the finished product is ready. The speed of the conveyor belt and the worker are adjusted. Some changes were tried in this system in the 1980s, but they did not succeed. Taylor\u2019s process continues<\/p>\n Question 19.
\nExplain the concept of Time bondage\u2019 or \u2018Slavery to Time\u2019 in relation to IT sector.
\nAnswer:
\nIn the IT sector, there is a kind of bondage to time. The working time for an IT company is usually 10 to 12 hours. If the project is not finished, the worker may have to spend his night in the office to finish it. This is called \u2018night out\u2019. Long hours are part of the work culture in the IT industry. The projects IT companies take are time-bound. Naturally, professionals are required to work for long hours to complete the projects in time.<\/p>\n To make long hours of work legitimate, IT management has introduced a system called \u2018Flex Time\u2019. According to this, workers can choose their own working hours. But the project must be completed in time. This system does not reduce the burden of work for the employees.<\/p>\n Even when there is no pressure of work, workers leave their offices very late. They do it because of the pressure from their colleagues and also to impress their employers about their sincerity in. the job.<\/p>\n Question 20.
\nDescribe the pitiable and risky circumstances of work found in the Indian industrial sector.
\nAnswer:
\nWorkers work in very bad, hard and risky circumstances to make various things for us. In many factories, the working conditions are very bad. There are many factories and mines where the health and life of the workers are not safe. They are forced to work hard for long hours with very little pay. The Government has passed many laws for the welfare and protection of the workers.<\/p>\n Let us take the mining sector as an example. Many people work in this sector. In the coal mines alone there are more than 5lakh workers. The 1952 Mines Act fixed the working hours of mine workers. It fixed the number of hours a miner has to work. It also stipulated that if a person is made to work over and above the fixed number of hours, he should be given overtime. It al\u00a70stipulated security measures for workers. The Big companies were required to obey the laws. But in the small mines and quarries, these rules were not followed. The contractors and subcontractors created problems.<\/p>\n Many contractors did not maintain proper records of workers. So whenever there was an accident, they could escape from their responsibilities. They also refused to give deserving compensations to workers. There is a rule that when mining is completed in one place, the dug part should be filled up and the place must be made to look like it was before. But contractors don\u2019t do these things.<\/p>\n The workers in mines work in very risky conditions. Floods, fire outbreak, crumbling ceilings, gas leaks, defects in the oxygen supply systems and so on create very risky conditions. Many laborers are afflicted with breathing problems, tuberculosis and silicosis. Those who work in open mines are forced to work in terrible heat or rain. Many get injured by* the splinters that come flying, during the breaking of rocks by using explosives. The accident rate in India is much higher than in other countries.<\/p>\n In some other industries also, the condition of workers is very miserable. Many workers are migrants. workers. In the fish processing factories of the coastal regions of India workers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, etc. work. Many of the workers, both males, and females, are unmarried. They are given common accommodation. Sometimes, about 12 people stay in the same room. They have no connection with the outside world. Many married people are without their families. They go to faraway places seeking jobs. They get no time even to mingle with others. In short, globalization leads workers to a world of isolation and emotional wounds.<\/p>\n Question 21.
\nDescribe the importance of home-based handicrafts in the modem industrial society.
\nAnswer:
\nHome-based making of things is important in the Indian economic system. Many things like \u2018kasavu\u2019, \u2018chitrapattambaram, carpets, bidi, incense sticks, etc. come in this category. Most of these types of work are done by women and children. The raw material for their production is made available to houses by contractors or their agents. They also buy the finished goods at a fixed rate. Let\u2019s take the bidi industry as an example. The start of this industry was from villages close to forest areas. Villagers collect bidi leaves and give them to the forest department or private contractor.<\/p>\n The contractors who buy them also sell them to the forest department. A person collects up to 100 bundles of leaves a day. Each bundle has 50 leaves. Owners of bidi factories get these bundles from the forest department through auction. These are then again given to contractors. They give these leaves to the houses where they make bidis. Mainly women are engaged in bidi making. The leaves are cut to size. The cut leaf is filled with tobacco and rolled and is tied with a thread. Contractors buy these and give them to the factory owners. The owners pack them and label them and through tobacco outlets they sell bidis. The greatest profit in this business is for the factory owners. The workers get only nominal<\/p>\n Question 22.
\nHow do trade unions and protests bring changes in industrial society?
\nAnswer:
\nThere are trade unions in many establishments. They try to organize the workers to fight for their rights. Trade unions face problems like regionalism and caste problems. The Marathi workers in the Bombay Cloth Mills may behave in a friendly way with the workers from North India. But they will not drink even water from their hands. They never visit them in their homes or share meals with them.<\/p>\n When working conditions get tough .and unbearable, workers strike work. Without going for work, they will be protesting. Managements’ will try to break the strikes. They declare lockouts. They close the gates of factories and prevent workers from entering them. Sometimes they bring workers from outside to keep the production going. So the decision to strike work is a difficult one. The workers will have a tough time living without getting their wages.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s see the Bombay Textile Mill strike of 1982. It was led by the trade union leader Dutta Samant. This strike lasted 2 years. More than 214 lakh workers were involved in it and it adversely affected their families. They struck work demanding better wages and the right to establish their own trade unions. According to the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, only those unions who abandon the idea of strike will be given recognition. The only wages. Since they have to sit down for long hours, they develop problems like back pain.<\/p>\n was Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, led by the Congress. They supported the Manage ent, colluding with it to bring workers from outside. The government was not willing to recognize the demands of the striking worl^rs. Slowly the intensity of the strike got less address. Workers refused to listen to the call of the trade union leaders who wanted the strike to continue. They went back to their work.<\/p>\n More than one lakh workers lost their jobs. Some went back to their villages. Those who were skilled in machine weaving got employment as temporary workers or moved to smaller cities seeking jobs. The owners of the factories did nothing to bring new machines or improve the working conditions. Some of the factory owners even tried to sell the land of the factory to builders to make apartment blocks and thus get huge amounts of money.<\/p>\n |