Of course this is written by an academic. Most of the rewards and penalties of academia are status related. No one besides the football coach is making private sector money, and no one gets fired for anything less than a felony. There are large portions of the ivory tower that do nothing more than burnish the self-importance of other status seekers; armies of Associate Dean of Innovative Circle Jerks attending pointless conferences.
This is largely unavoidable in large organizations. As another article recently posted here described, it's a natural consequence of hierarchical layers never interacting with people doing the work (the bottom) or the people ultimately accountable (the top).
The real danger comes when status seeking culture overwhelms the organization as it has a tendency to be infectious. Status becomes the currency as well method of getting ahead. "Surely I am entitled to this position of importance and compensation. I am not full of shit for if I was, I would not deserve this position of importance and compensation." Actual competence and efficacy are existential threats to these people, so they further reward those below them who excel stroking their ego and bullshitting.
No, not everyone is trying to establish status in every interaction. In polite company we call those people shitheads. Shitheads have a tendency to believe everyone else is also a shithead. Some of us are actually trying to get things done, and play their silly games only because it gets them out of our office.
This is largely unavoidable in large organizations. As another article recently posted here described, it's a natural consequence of hierarchical layers never interacting with people doing the work (the bottom) or the people ultimately accountable (the top).
The real danger comes when status seeking culture overwhelms the organization as it has a tendency to be infectious. Status becomes the currency as well method of getting ahead. "Surely I am entitled to this position of importance and compensation. I am not full of shit for if I was, I would not deserve this position of importance and compensation." Actual competence and efficacy are existential threats to these people, so they further reward those below them who excel stroking their ego and bullshitting.
No, not everyone is trying to establish status in every interaction. In polite company we call those people shitheads. Shitheads have a tendency to believe everyone else is also a shithead. Some of us are actually trying to get things done, and play their silly games only because it gets them out of our office.