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Institutional Office and the Person
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1937
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EducationAdministrative LawConscious FulfillingAutonomyElementary Collective BehaviorOrganizational BehaviorSocial SciencesBureaucracyManagementCareer ConcernInstitutional EnvironmentSocial IdentitySocial ClassCareer DevelopmentInstitutional HistoryRole TheoryInstitutional OfficeOffices Distinguishes InstitutionsFormal InstitutionSociologyOrganizational CareerInstitutional StudiesProfessional DevelopmentOccupational Science
Conscious fulfilling of formally defined offices distinguishes institutions from elementary collective behavior. In office, personal role and social status meet. In some offices, ritual is dominant; in others, judgment and enterprise are called for. A career is the person's sequence of role and realized status and office. In rigid societies, careers are of standard type; and each person's is somewhat predetermined. In a freer society, they are less so; but nevertheless, types of careers appear. The institutions of a society may not be understood without understanding offices and careers.