Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine a student organization and identify how the
students’ statuses, roles, and behaviors relate to their experiences within that
organization. Rosabeth Kanter’s (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation greatly
influences the analysis of the data providing insight into workplace culture and employee
behavior. The study identifies what roles and statuses the students assume, in what ways
the students are given opportunities for leadership, and how peer acceptance is critical to
their overall success within the group. University administration withholds all
institutional power from student senators resulting in attempts to gain alternative forms of
control through social power. While access to the senate is not limited to any university
students, opportunities for leadership positions within that group are only given to those
senators who have this social power and are validated by their peers. This limiting social
structure causes considerable pressure for social conformity and competition resulting in
closed groups or cliques. These cliques then exercise social power in an effort to gain
control, but instead find the results to be destructive to the group. Because institutional
power continues to be withheld, the internal social hierarchy is maintained. This study
suggests that the students are most limited by the hierarchical structure of their
organization. However, with the support of university administration, the students will
gain tools to create a more positive work environment, reducing need for social
hierarchies, resulting in a more productive student senate.
