Institutional Isomorphism
The Constitutive Power of the Law: An Inquiry into Legal Consciousness and LegalizationImplementations of law are subject to discrepancies between intended and actual results (Garth & Sarat, 1998: 1). This discovery has prompted academics to shift the scope of social inquiry beyond mere black letter law into the legal void attempting to ascertain the extent of law's influence on individuals' legal consciousness and organizational legalization. Although the subjects of each inquiry differ, the purpose remains the same: how are the evolutionary processes of both individuals and organizations as social actors aligned, constructed and deconstructed in and under the law? To go about answering this question I will first augment the work of DiMaggio & Powel with Quinn's lecture material to explore bureaucratization, legalization, and the paradoxes of rationality and formality. Second I will delve into the works of Weber, Engel, and Calivita in an attempt to put fourth a generalized notion of legal consciousness and how it if affected by, compares, and contrasts to the process of legalization. To begin, in the article The Protestant Ethic the Spirit of Capitalism Weber supports the bureaucracy as a manifestation of the rational spiri
More specifically, individual actors, such as the clerk of courts, carry out the will of the community by acting as gatekeepers to the legal system reinforcing community values thus shaping individual legal consciousness (Engel, 1993). To addresses the extent to which law is moldable by the individual Engel illustrates the two legal models along the" continuum of perspectives" (Engel, 1993: 134). In such controversial circumstances legal decision assumes a dichotomizing role by splitting legal consciousnesses. t driven by the inherent competitive nature of a capitalist society striving for efficiency (Weber, 1968). While the "normative" intent is to reduce the instances of workplace sexual harassment, the "behavioral" result is often times increased sexual tension. In doing so a reciprocal process is formulated thus shaping, guiding, and orienting individuals, their lives and the organizations we interact with. While the goals and practices of an organization may undergo change, rational decision making orients the social actors to their environment thus inhibiting future change (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Peripherally, legalization is a development exemplified by organizational social actors "involved in a common enterprise"(DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). On the other hand the "communities of meaning" model progresses law as a more malleable structure allowing for dynamic individual and communal participation. BibliographyCalivita, K.
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