- <Out of Crisis: Innovations in the 1980s and Beyond
- 3.1.1Video: Week 3 Introduction
- 3.1.2Video: What Changed in the 1980s and Why Should We Care?
- 3.1.3Video: The Purpose of the American Corporation
- 3.1.4Video: The Changing Role of the Corporation
- 3.1.5Video: The Rise and Fall of Saturn
- 3.1.6Video: High Performance Work Systems
- 3.1.7Video: Market Basket Case with Zeynep Ton
- 3.1.8Video: Holding Global Corporations Accountable
- 3.1.9Video: Alternatives to the Traditional Corporation
- 3.1.10Video: High School and College: Necessary but Not Sufficient
- 3.1.11Video: Life Long Learning: Moving from Rhetoric to Reality
- \>Video: The Purpose of the American Corporation
Last time, we saw that the Social Contract served the economy and workforce well from the 1950s through at least part of the 1970s. Many people thought this was the new normal and that things would stay this way forever. But they didn’t. Below, let’s look at what business, labor, and government leaders missed. The 1980s were a critical decade in the history of work – it marks the period when the “social contact,” discussed in earlier videos, began to decline. In the video below, Professor Kochan examines the 1980s and explains its enduring relevance to the issues we face today.
Video: What Changed in the 1980s And Why Should We Care?
Attentiveness Question 1
What important factors happened in the 1980s? For this question, you can select multiple options:
Explanation
The video cites the importance of Ronald Reagan, global competition, and a recession, in driving social contract’s decline.
Exercise 1
Ronald Reagan was elected president.
Global competition
A recession
CheckShow Answer
Attentiveness Question 2
Why are today’s unions less powerful than they were during their best years?
Explanation
Worker strikes and pattern bargaining are no longer powerful tools; thus, unions cannot effectively use them today.
Exercise 2
Strikes and pattern bargaining lost their influence
Unions refused to work with new, high-tech companies
CheckShow Answer