Authority and the Hierarchy

Abstract

The discussions of job-roles and of norms, in Chapters 6 and 7, concentrated largely upon the individual as an isolated or as a typical actor, without really taking into account the structural constraints which surround him within the industrial organisation in which he works. The present chapter turns to these structural aspects, looking at the communication of the idea of an organisational hierarchy, and at the transmission to the individual of those parts of the industrial subculture which relate to the behaviour of those with formal authority.

In holy orders, social distinction and the symbols of such distinction become so interwoven that the vestments themselves of the priest inspire awe and wonder. Who knows whether the priest is a holy man? And who knows whether the majestic scholar, wending his way in mortarboard, hood and gown to the chapel on Convocation Day is a wise man? . . . What we do see is a drama of hierarchy wherein rank is infused with a principle of hierarchical order.

(Duncan, 1968, p. 133)