Sociology questions about Walmart?

1. Functionalist questions

a. What are the functions of Wal- Mart for society?

b. Are they the same or different from the functions of Wal- Mart in our individual lives? How do the two types of functions connect?

c. Does Wal- Mart have both manifest and latent functions? What are they?

d. Are there any dysfunctions of Wal- Mart for society? If so, what are they? How might these dysfunctions serve as incentives or catalysts for social change?

2. Conflict questions

a. Does Wal- Mart affect every group in society in the same way?

b. If not, what are the differences?

c. How does Wal- Mart perpetuate the inequalities (of gender, race, class, religion, age, sexual, orientation, etc.) in our society?

d. How does Wal- Mart contribute to conflict between unequal groups in our society?

e. How might Wal- Mart contribute to social change, or the amelioration of inequalities in society?

3. Interactionist questions

a. What kind of symbolic world are you likely to encounter inside a Wal- Mart store, and how does that affect the shopper’s experience?

b. How does Wal-Mart influence our interpersonal interactions?

c. How do interpersonal interactions shape the Wal-Mart experience for shoppers? For workers?

d. How does Wal- Mart contribute to our socially constructed reality?