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Conscious fulfilling of formally defined offices distinguishes institutions from elementary collective behavior. In office, personal role and social status meet. In some offices, ritual is dominant; in others, judgment and enterprise are called for. A career is the person's sequence of role and realized status and office. In rigid societies, careers are of standard type; and each person's is somewhat predetermined. In a freer society, they are less so; but nevertheless, types of careers appear. The institutions of a society may not be understood without understanding offices and careers.
Everett C. Hughes (Mon,) studied this question.