I’d heard from classmates how difficult ‘institutions’ were to define so I was really hoping this lecture would clear things up for me. In some ways it did, in others… not so much.

Once Brian went through some examples and explained how they were institutions I was nodding my head and thinking ‘of course!’, but if you asked me now to explain it to someone else I’d be hard pressed. I understand that businesses are institutions, but so is marriage, and gangs. So my difficulty lies in not knowing exactly how far the definition stretches. Heres what I do know:

Institutions:

  • are enduring
  • regulate and structure activities
  • are collectivist
  • develop working practices (can’t be just a theory)
  • employees and people associated are expected to share values
  • public is aware of the status

Perhaps once this project is done I’ll look into institutions further and be able to tell you more, but for now I’m focussing on audiences.