Key terms used in this course o Anthropology(human) o Sociology(individual and society) o"sociological imagination o Ethnography(writing, interpreting and analyzing"cultures”) ● Culture o Globalization and local transformations
Key terms used in this course ⚫ Anthropology (human) ⚫ Sociology (individual and society) ⚫ “sociological imagination” ⚫ Ethnography (writing, interpreting and analyzing “cultures”) ⚫ Culture ⚫ Globalization and local transformations
The validity of“ Soft data” o Key features of anthropology/sociology for business 1)ethnography and observation as ways of obtaining data 2)cross-cultural expertise 3)focus on cultural diversity Anthropological skills for the corporate world Characteristic observation in natural settings Cross-cultural perspectives allow businesses that seek to know why other nations have higher/lower productivity Better understanding of customer and find new products and markets that engineers might never have imagined Ex Market System vS Marketplace
The Validity of “Soft Data” ⚫ Key features of anthropology/sociology for business: 1) ethnography and observation as ways of obtaining data; 2) cross-cultural expertise; 3) focus on cultural diversity ⚫ Anthropological skills for the corporate world: - Characteristic observation in natural settings - Cross-cultural perspectives allow businesses that seek to know why other nations have higher/lower productivity - Better understanding of customer and find new products and markets that engineers might never have imagined. Ex. Market System vs. Marketplace
Market System vs Marketplace o Market system(as an abstraction) Ideally, a market system is an institution with self- regulating prices that vary according to supply and demand on the part of both producers and consumers Demand is determined by scarcity/abundance, price, and preferences; supply is determined by scarcity/abundance price, and sensitivity to demand o Marketplace specific and real locales where buyers and sellers engage in exchange transactions marketplace/bazaar societies(marketplace as the only medium for transfer of goods services) local/operating on cycles/price negotiation
Market System vs. Marketplace ⚫ Market system (as an abstraction) Ideally, a market system is an institution with selfregulating prices that vary according to supply and demand on the part of both producers and consumers. Demand is determined by scarcity/abundance, price, and preferences; supply is determined by scarcity/abundance, price, and sensitivity to demand. ⚫ Marketplace -specific and real locales where buyers and sellers engage in exchange transactions -marketplace/bazaar societies (marketplace as the only medium for transfer of goods & services) -local / operating on cycles / price negotiation
Seeing the big picture the Promise of the sociological Imagination e How do we develop a sociological perspective cultivate our sociological imagination(Mills 1959)? Requires us to think ourselves away from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them anew; see ourselves as products of socialization, as persons constrained by norms and mores, shaped by history and social events(personal troubles VS societal issues) No matter how private or personal our actions we can understand ourselves much better if we place ourselves within a larger framework How meanings are constructed in contexts Basic sociological insight: human behavior is largely shaped by the groups to which people belong and by the social interactions that takes place within those groups Examples: Sociology of Coffee; Tainted baby formula scare
Seeing the Big Picture: the Promise of the Sociological Imagination ⚫ How do we develop a sociological perspective & cultivate our sociological imagination (Mills 1959)? Requires us to think ourselves away from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them anew; see ourselves as products of socialization, as persons constrained by norms and mores, shaped by history and social events (Personal troubles vs. societal issues) No matter how private or personal our actions we can understand ourselves much better if we place ourselves within a larger framework How meanings are constructed in contexts Basic sociological insight: human behavior is largely shaped by the groups to which people belong and by the social interactions that takes place within those groups Examples: Sociology of Coffee; Tainted baby formula scare
The sociological imagination o allows us to stand apart mentally from our own place in society and to see with a new clarity the link between personal and social events. o Our lives are shaped by historical social forces they have little personal control. o When a society becomes industrialized, rural peasants become urban workers (migratory movement in post- reform China), whether they like it or not. When a nation goes to war, spouses are widowed and children grow up as orphans for reasons that are beyond their personal power to control. When an economy sags, workers are thrown out of their jobs, no matter how efficiently they have performed them
The sociological imagination… ⚫ allows us to stand apart mentally from our own place in society and to see with a new clarity the link between personal and social events. ⚫ Our lives are shaped by historical & social forces they have little personal control. ⚫ When a society becomes industrialized, rural peasants become urban workers (migratory movement in postreform China), whether they like it or not. When a nation goes to war, spouses are widowed and children grow up as orphans for reasons that are beyond their personal power to control. When an economy sags, workers are thrown out of their jobs, no matter how efficiently they have performed them