Match the Concepts/Sociologists given in List I with their Characteristics given below in List II
| LIST-I (Concepts/Sociologists) | LIST-II (Characteristics) | ||
| A. | Alienation | I. | Work broken into small repetitive elements to increase efficiency |
| B. | Convergence thesis | II. | When workers do not enjoy work and task becomes repetitive and exhausting |
| C. | Scientific Management | III. | All countries follow same path to modernization |
| D. | Harry Braverman | IV. | Machinery actually de skills workers |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A-II, B-III, C-I, D-IV
(A) Alienation — this matches (II) When workers do not enjoy work and task becomes repetitive and exhausting. Marx called this situation alienation: people do not enjoy work and see it only as something they must do to survive, because they produce one small part of a product and the work is repetitive and exhausting.
(B) Convergence thesis — this matches (III) All countries follow same path to modernization. The convergence thesis of the modernisation theorist Clark Kerr holds that industrialised societies grow alike, so an industrialised India of the 21st century shares more features with China or the United States than with 19th-century India.
(C) Scientific Management — this matches (I) Work broken into small repetitive elements to increase efficiency. Under Frederick Winslow Taylor’s ‘Scientific Management’ (Taylorism), all work was broken down into its smallest repetitive elements and divided between workers, who were timed with stopwatches to raise output.
(D) Harry Braverman — this matches (IV) Machinery actually de skills workers. Braverman argues that the use of machinery actually deskills workers, as the computer now does much of the draughtsman’s work.
Note: The paragraph on Frederick Winslow Taylor’s ‘Scientific Management’, in the section ‘How is work carried out?’ of the chapter ‘Change and Development in Industrial Society’, was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, the textbook of 2022. This portion has been deleted from the NCERT book (2025-26), though the chapter is still there and mentions only ‘Taylorist labour processes’.
NCERT (2025-26): “5.1 Images of Industrial Society … Industrialisation involves a detailed division of labour. People often do not see the end result of their work because they are producing only one small part of a product. The work is often repetitive and exhausting. Yet, even this is better than having no work at all, i.e., being unemployed. Marx called this situation alienation, when people do not enjoy work, and see it as something they have to do only in order to survive, and even that survival depends on whether the technology has room for any human labour.” “Activity 5.1 … According to the convergence thesis put forward by modernisation theorist Clark Kerr, an industrialised India of the 21st century shares more features with China or the United States in the 21st century than it shares with 19th century India. Do you think this is true? Do culture, language and tradition disappear with new technology or does culture influence the way people adapt to new products? Write a page of your own reflections on these issues, giving examples.” “5.4 How is work carried out? … The famous sociologist, Harry Braverman, argues that the use of machinery actually deskills workers. For example, whereas earlier architects and engineers had to be skilled draughtsmen, now the computer does a lot of the work for them.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “5.4 How is work carried out? … Another way of increasing output is by organising work. An American called Frederick Winslow Taylor invented a new system in the 1890s, which he called ‘Scientific Management’. It is also known as Taylorism or industrial engineering. Under his system, all work was broken down into its smallest repetitive elements, and divided between workers. Workers were timed with the help of stopwatches and had to fulfil a certain target every day. Production was further speeded up by the introduction of the assembly line. Each worker sat along a conveyor belt and assembled only one part of the final product. The speed of work could be set by adjusting the speed of the conveyor belt.…” |