Social Structure of Bartlett and Sabol Law Offices Social structure is a part of every organization, whether formal or informal. A very defined social structure is often evident in the workplace. In my workplace, Bartlett and Sabol Law Offices, the social structure is very concrete. There are many perspectives from which the social structure can be viewed. It can best be discussed in terms of statuses, roles, interactions, formal and informal organization, how members are socialized, norms, and how compliance with the norms is assured.A brief description of the setup of the office is helpful. There are three lawyers in the office. The actual office is owned by Del, the elderly male lawyer. The two female lawyers rent their office space from Del. In addition to the attorneys, there are two employees. The full time employee is Eric, the paralegal. I am the part time employee. My duties include office management and secretarial tasks.A look at the statuses in this workplace is key in understanding the social structure. All three attorneys are similar in the fact that they have the achieved status of having become a lawyer. They all attended additional schooling and training to reach this respected status. Eric has the achieved status of college graduate and is treated with the respect deserving of this achievement. He also has the status of paralegal. However, even though becoming a paralegal requires training, his status is considered equal to mine without my having training. My duties do not require special training, but they do require computer and organizational skills. Del has the additional status of owner and head operator of the firm.The statuses held by the members of this workplace determine the roles in which they are involved. Role performance is fairly easy to determine. Del holds the role of supreme authoritarian on decisions that affect the entire office. He also has the role of paying the employees. ...
