Life in a Business-Oriented Society: A Sociological Perspective

As a social phenomena, businesses have provided us with a set of guidelines for organizing our relations with each other into recurring social patterns. These patterns simultaneously give meaning and stability to our personal lives and give structure and coherence to the larger social order. For this reason, an understanding of how businesses operate in society is essential if we are to understand ourselves, our families, our religions, our governments, and any other facet of our society. This book explores the nature of life in a business-oriented society by surveying the interconnections between businesses and other sectors of society. This book ties together numerous sociological concepts such as socialization, power relations, deviance, and social institutions through an examination of how business influence all aspects of society. The book highlights social responsibilities of businesses concerning issues such as employee rights, and consumer and environmental protection. An ideal read for business people or sociologists alike.