In this week’s lectorial session we looked at the concept of ‘institutions’. This involved looking into how we define an institution, as well as how these institutions operate and exist within our society. Every institution has certain values, principles and rules which assist in constructing its personality and public ‘image’. It was interesting to consider institutions as being concerned with the organisation of structures in society, AND how any institution involves many forms of relationships, for instance social, cultural, political and economic relations.
We examined ‘Marriage’ as a social institution, and considered a range of reasons why this tradition may be labelled as an institution. Marriage is governed by expectations, when being married a couple is expected to be faithful, trusting, etc. There are laws and regulations which focus on the area of marriage, for instance; controlling who may become married, what a married couple is entitled to and the processes which must be completed to end the marriage. There is also a strong cultural concept of marriage in many societies, for example – a cultural expectation to find a wife/husband and an expectation to maintain the marriage until death.
Then we moved onto the idea of a ‘media institution’ – using the same ideas that we had practiced in the marriage example to corporations and groups such as the ABC, Community Broadcast, Film, and more. It was helpful to be given a list of characteristics of such institutions, as this made their presence and purpose in society more clear.
Media Institutions:
– are enduring
– regulate and structure activity
– act in a collectivist manner (constraining individuals to achieve a group goal)
– develop working codes and practices
– are public, with actions being transparent
– consist of employees and associates who share common values and aims