The Market: Social Institution MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for The Market: Social Institution - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is - Vaishyas

Key Points

• Vaishyas
  • The Vaishya varna is traditionally associated with trade, commerce, and business in the Indian caste system.
  • They were responsible for economic activities such as banking, money lending, and long-distance trade.
  • Historically, merchant communities like Banias, Marwaris, and Nakarattars were classified under this varna.
  • Over time, some other caste groups have also entered trade and have claimed Vaishya status as part of their upward mobility.

Additional Information

• The Varna System
  • The traditional caste system in India consists of four varnas: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (laborers).
  • The varna system was originally based on occupation, but over time, it became more rigid and hereditary.
• Role of Business Communities
  • While Vaishyas were traditionally traders, other communities like Jains, Bohras, Parsis, and Sindhis also became prominent in business.
  • Many business families maintain strong caste and kinship networks to ensure trust in economic transactions.
• Modern Changes
  • With globalization, caste-based restrictions on trade have loosened, allowing people from all backgrounds to enter business.
  • Government policies like reservation and affirmative action have aimed to reduce caste-based economic disparities.

The correct answer is - The sale of bottled water

Key Points

• Commodification
  • It is the process of transforming a good, service, or resource into a commodity that can be bought and sold in the market.
  • Involves assigning a monetary value to something that was previously available for free or outside the market system.
• Bottled Water as a Commodity
  • Drinking water was traditionally a free resource, available through natural sources and public supply systems.
  • With the rise of urbanization and concerns over water quality, companies began packaging and selling water.
  • This led to the creation of multiple bottled water brands in the market.
• Why Other Options Are Incorrect?
  • Free community healthcare services: These remain public welfare services and are not commodified.
  • Use of rainwater for personal consumption: Still a freely available natural resource and not market-based.
  • Government-provided public education: Funded by the state and not sold as a private commodity.

Additional Information

• Other Examples of Commodification
  • Education: Private institutions charge for what was once freely available in government schools.
  • Healthcare: Market-based hospitals and private insurance replace free government healthcare services.
  • Personal Data: Tech companies collect and sell user data for advertising.
• Reversal of Commodification
  • Some commodities can stop being market goods due to social policies.
  • Example: In some places, education has been made free and publicly funded after being a private service.

The correct answer is - 1 and 3 only

Key Points

• Caste-based social relationships
  • The Nakarattars relied on caste-based social structures such as business territory, kinship, and common cult membership for financial transactions.
  • Trust and reputation within the caste network played a key role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the system.
• Role of communal institutions
  • Communal institutions were responsible for accumulating and distributing capital among members.
  • These institutions provided financial stability and facilitated business activities within the community.
• Incorrect statement - Government-controlled banking
  • Unlike modern banking, the Nakarattar system did not rely on a government-controlled central bank.
  • Instead, public confidence was maintained through shared reserves and caste-based trust networks.

Additional Information

• Nakarattar banking system
  • It was a private, caste-based financial network with strong community ties.
  • Major business hubs included Burma, Ceylon, and Malaya, where Nakarattars provided capital to local enterprises.
• Financial practices
  • Their system was decentralized, relying on individual families and regional financial institutions.
  • Loan transactions were conducted based on social reputation rather than legal contracts.
• Decline of the Nakarattar banking system
  • The system declined due to British colonial policies and the rise of modern banking institutions.
  • After India's independence, government regulations restricted caste-based financial practices.

The correct answer is - Corporate Culture

Key Points

• Corporate Culture
  • Corporate culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and practices that shape the behavior and mindset of employees within an organization.
  • This branch of management theory seeks to improve productivity and competitiveness by fostering a unique organizational culture that involves all members of the firm.
  • Corporate culture influences employee engagement, teamwork, and overall effectiveness, leading to better business outcomes and a stronger competitive position in the market.

Additional Information

• Culture of Consumption
  • The culture of consumption refers to societal behaviors and values centered around the acquisition and use of goods and services. It is not a management theory focused on organizational culture.
• Knowledge Economy
  • The knowledge economy is an economic system where growth is primarily driven by the production and management of knowledge. It is not directly related to the creation of an organizational culture within firms.
• Competitive Culture
  • While competitive culture can refer to the competitive environment within a firm, it is not a specific branch of management theory aimed at increasing productivity and competitiveness through organizational culture.

The correct answer is - Small local chains (grocery stores) will be destroyed

Key Points

• Impact on Small Local Chains
  • Retail chains, especially large multi-national and national chains, can pose a significant threat to small local chains such as grocery stores and traditional mom-and-pop shops.
  • These large retail chains often have greater purchasing power, allowing them to offer products at lower prices, which smaller stores may not be able to match, leading to a loss of business for the smaller stores.
  • The competition with large retail chains can lead to the closure of many small local businesses, which have been traditionally serving the neighborhoods and local communities.
  • This can have a broader socio-economic impact on the livelihoods of small business owners and workers who are dependent on these local stores.

Additional Information

• Policy of Liberalization
  • While retail chains may benefit from liberalization policies, promoting liberalization itself is not inherently a threat to the Indian market. The threat comes from how large retail chains apply such policies to out-compete small local businesses.
• Providing More Job Opportunities
  • Large retail chains can create more job opportunities, but this benefit may be offset by the loss of employment in small local businesses that can no longer compete.
• Attractiveness of the Retail Sector
  • The attractiveness of the retail sector indicates growth potential and market opportunities, which is not necessarily a threat but a characteristic of a thriving market sector.

The correct answer is Global Village.Key Points

• It was Marshall McLuhan who first spoke about technology and communication have the ability to create a “global village.”
•  Marshall McLuhan saw the spread of electronic communication as binding the world into a coherent single community called Global Village
• As an early educator and pioneer of the study of communication and its evolution over time, McLuhan introduced a lot of observations about the impact of new forms of expression and media.
• The term "global village" means all parts of the world as they are being brought together by the internet and other electronic communication interconnections. Other forms of communication such as Skype allow easier communication and connection with others, especially in other countries.

Additional Information

• A global city is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that globalization has created a hierarchy of strategic geographic locations with varying degrees of influence over finance, trade, and culture worldwide.
• Global networking has immense economic value because it enables international exchange. International trade allows countries to expand their markets to include goods and services from other countries that would not be otherwise available domestically.
• Globalization is the process by which people and goods move easily across borders. Principally, it's an economic concept – the integration of markets, trade, and investments with few barriers to slow the flow of products and services between nations.

Thus, An idea associated with Marshall McLuhan, who saw the spread of electronic communication as binding the world into a coherent single community called Global Village.

Formal Perspective is not a form of Sociological Perspective.Important Points

• Structural-Functional Approach: This method views society as a single interconnected system in which each component has a clear and specific job to play. It is possible to think of the structural-functional method as a branch off of system analysis. These methods put the structures and functions front and centre. This strategy is supported by Gabriel Almond.
• Marxian Perspective: also known as the conflict perspective of sociology. A social science viewpoint that contrasts with structural functionalism and ideological conservatism by highlighting the social, political, or material inequalities of a social group, criticizing the larger socio-political system, or in some other way.
• Evolutionary Perspective: The works of the following social thinkers—Ibne-i-Khaldoon, Herbert Spencer, and Ferdinand Tonnies—form the basis of the evolutionary perspective. Social scientists who believe in evolution were drawn to the study of "origin," "gradual change and expansion," and "development of society." To "find the patterns of development and change in society," evolutionary school of thought theories is centred on this. The classical perspective of evolution does not yet have a significant impact on the discipline's advancement.

Thus we know that Formal Perspective is not a form of Sociological Perspective.

The correct answer is A, C, and D.Key Points

•  The multi-dimensionality of the concept has been framed by Pippa Norris into:
  • Global divide - divergence of Internet access between industrialized and developing countries
  • Social divide - the gap between the information rich and information poor in each nation; and
  • Democratic divide - the difference between those who do and those who do not use the new technologies to further political participation
• The concept of the digital divide grows more complex as the phrase becomes a shorthand for every conceivable disparity relating to online access.
•  The worry internationally is that a widening digital divide between countries could lead to a widening economic divide.

Additional Information

• The digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT), and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers, and internet connectivity.
• The term “economic divide” is commonly used today. It can refer to several aspects of our economy, such as the economic differences between urban and rural areas, the widening income and wealth differences between high and low-income households, and different views on public policy regarding the economy.
• Some of the key factors behind the increase in within-country income inequality noted in the literature include technological progress, globalization, commodity price cycles, and domestic economic policies such as redistributive fiscal policies, labor, and product market policies

Thus, According to Pippa Norris, the concept of the digital divide encompasses the Global divide, Social divide, and Democratic divide.

The correct answer is Informal. The type of control organized through primary social institutions, such as family, education, and peer groups, is typically classified as option 4) Informal control. 

Important Points

Generally, social control is classified under the following two forms:

• Formal social control:
  • This type of social control is exercised by known and deliberate agencies of social control, such as law, punishment, army, Constitution etc.
  • Man is forced to accept these forms of social control.
  • Generally these forms are exercised by secondary groups.
• Informal social control:
  • These agencies of Social Control have grown according to the needs of the society.
  • Folk ways, mores, customs, social norms etc. fall under this category of social control.
  • Generally primary institutions exercise this type of social control.

Additional Information

• According to Cooley there are two forms of social control:
  • Conscious
  • Unconscious
• Through conscious form or social control, society compels an individual to act according to its accepted objectives.
• Law, Propaganda, Education are such forms.
• Through unconscious method, social institutions such as religion, customs, traditions, etc. keep control over the behaviour of the individual.

The correct answer is Radcliffe Brown.

Key Points

• Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown (born 17 January 1881; died 24 October 1955) was an English social anthropologist who pioneered structural functionalism and coadaptation theory.
• He considered institutions as the key to preserving a society's global social order, akin to the organs of a body, and his studies of social function study how conventions contribute in maintaining a society's general stability.
• He was greatly influenced by Émile Durkheim's work and observed that sociology is in its extreme infancy. Hence option 1) is correct.
• He reasoned that this would at the very least necessitate that other practises do not conflict with them excessively; and that in some situations, practises may grow to support one another, a concept he coined as 'coadaptation,' after the biological term.
• The 'purpose' of a practice, insofar as there existed a stable social framework, was simply its part in sustaining it (Radcliffe-Brown 1957).

The correct answer is Supernatural.

Key Points

• Sacred, the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a transformative effect on their lives and destinies.
• Other terms, such as holy, divine, transcendent, ultimate being (or ultimate reality), mystery, and perfection (or purity) have been used for this domain.
• Scholars attempting to analyze the materials offered by anthropology and the history of religions have employed the term sacred from a range of angles and given it various descriptive and evaluative connotations.
• However, common characteristics of the sacred, as understood by individual participants and groups, were identified such as related to supernatural.
• It is distinct from the common (profane) world; it expresses the ultimate total value and meaning of life; and it is the eternal reality.
• Which is recognized to have existed before it was known and to be known in a manner distinct from that by which common things are known.

The correct answer is Kingsley Davis.

Key Points

• Kingsley Davis defines power as “the determination of the behavior of others in accordance with one’s own ends.” Hence option 4) is correct.
• In groups, some members are more powerful than others and this fact has important consequences for group functioning.
• Further, all forms of social interaction involve differences in the relative power of the participants to influence one another.
• Thus power differences enter into determining the relations between father and child, employer and employee, politician and voter and teacher and student.
• Power refers to the relative importance of each member's behavior inside a group structure.
• Regardless of the foundation upon which this likelihood is based, Weber defined power as "the possibility that one actor (person or group) within a social interaction is in a position to carry out his own will."
• In his book Power, Keith Dowding offers one logical definition of power.
• Human people or groups can be modelled as "actors" in the rational choice theory, selecting from a "choice set" of potential actions in an effort to accomplish desired results.

The correct answer is Global Village.Key Points

• It was Marshall McLuhan who first spoke about technology and communication have the ability to create a “global village.”
•  Marshall McLuhan saw the spread of electronic communication as binding the world into a coherent single community called Global Village
• As an early educator and pioneer of the study of communication and its evolution over time, McLuhan introduced a lot of observations about the impact of new forms of expression and media.
• The term "global village" means all parts of the world as they are being brought together by the internet and other electronic communication interconnections. Other forms of communication such as Skype allow easier communication and connection with others, especially in other countries.

Additional Information

• A global city is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that globalization has created a hierarchy of strategic geographic locations with varying degrees of influence over finance, trade, and culture worldwide.
• Global networking has immense economic value because it enables international exchange. International trade allows countries to expand their markets to include goods and services from other countries that would not be otherwise available domestically.
• Globalization is the process by which people and goods move easily across borders. Principally, it's an economic concept – the integration of markets, trade, and investments with few barriers to slow the flow of products and services between nations.

Thus, An idea associated with Marshall McLuhan, who saw the spread of electronic communication as binding the world into a coherent single community called Global Village.

The correct answer is - Vaishyas

Key Points

• Vaishyas
  • The Vaishya varna is traditionally associated with trade, commerce, and business in the Indian caste system.
  • They were responsible for economic activities such as banking, money lending, and long-distance trade.
  • Historically, merchant communities like Banias, Marwaris, and Nakarattars were classified under this varna.
  • Over time, some other caste groups have also entered trade and have claimed Vaishya status as part of their upward mobility.

Additional Information

• The Varna System
  • The traditional caste system in India consists of four varnas: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (laborers).
  • The varna system was originally based on occupation, but over time, it became more rigid and hereditary.
• Role of Business Communities
  • While Vaishyas were traditionally traders, other communities like Jains, Bohras, Parsis, and Sindhis also became prominent in business.
  • Many business families maintain strong caste and kinship networks to ensure trust in economic transactions.
• Modern Changes
  • With globalization, caste-based restrictions on trade have loosened, allowing people from all backgrounds to enter business.
  • Government policies like reservation and affirmative action have aimed to reduce caste-based economic disparities.

The correct answer is - The sale of bottled water

Key Points

• Commodification
  • It is the process of transforming a good, service, or resource into a commodity that can be bought and sold in the market.
  • Involves assigning a monetary value to something that was previously available for free or outside the market system.
• Bottled Water as a Commodity
  • Drinking water was traditionally a free resource, available through natural sources and public supply systems.
  • With the rise of urbanization and concerns over water quality, companies began packaging and selling water.
  • This led to the creation of multiple bottled water brands in the market.
• Why Other Options Are Incorrect?
  • Free community healthcare services: These remain public welfare services and are not commodified.
  • Use of rainwater for personal consumption: Still a freely available natural resource and not market-based.
  • Government-provided public education: Funded by the state and not sold as a private commodity.

Additional Information

• Other Examples of Commodification
  • Education: Private institutions charge for what was once freely available in government schools.
  • Healthcare: Market-based hospitals and private insurance replace free government healthcare services.
  • Personal Data: Tech companies collect and sell user data for advertising.
• Reversal of Commodification
  • Some commodities can stop being market goods due to social policies.
  • Example: In some places, education has been made free and publicly funded after being a private service.