Institution
An Institution is an organized system of conception, administration, and behaviour that structures thinking and behaviour with a view towards meeting various individual and societal needs.
Types
Institution > Administrative Framework, Authentic Institution, Inauthentic Institution
The Three Institutional Frameworks
Institution > Administrative Framework, Behavioural Framework, Conceptual Framework
Related LP Terms
Institution > Institutional Framework, Regime of Accumulation
Non-LP Related Terms
Institution > Human Development, School of Human Development
Notes
Institutions are foundational structures within society that serve to organize and facilitate various aspects of human activity, addressing both individual and societal needs. They can be effectively analyzed through three primary frameworks: the conceptual, administrative, and behavioural frameworks. This analytical approach provides a comprehensive understanding of how institutions function, their underlying principles, and their impact on society.
Institutions may be categorized as an Authentic Institutionor an Inauthentic Institution
Although we are often born into institutions, institutions themselves do not exist without tacit individual approval and acceptance of behavioural patterns. Teachers, for example, recreate the institution of education on a daily basis by their formal and informal participation in the behavioural patterns associated with the institution. It is the same with all institutions. An institution exists only when individuals voluntarily (or involuntarily) participate in the behavioural patterns. In other words, the behavioural patterns of institutions do not exist independently of the institution. We (and by "we" I mean the witting or unwitting participants in institutional behaviours) are taught the "ways" and behaviours of a specific institution. Teachers for example spend many extra years in school not only learning the technical component of teaching, but also the expected behaviours. The same can be said of any institution in society. The behaviours, norms, and values associated with particular institutions are "passed on." This process of learning the institutional ropes is known as Socialization.
For more on institutions, see Institutional Framework
Footnotes
