A man’s status can be broadly determined by many factors.Caste, creed, sex, position in any institution are some of the factors which determine the status of a man. Status of a man is a temporary thing. It can be changed according to the situation. As the name says achieved, it means a person had worked hard to achieve a status in a society. Position in any institution is an example of Achieved status. If he gets promoted to a new level, his status is changed in the society.
There are two types of status in Sociology in which achieved status is something which a person has earned on the basis of his/her abilities and skills, whereas ascribed status is something which is not earned on the basis of merit. Rather it is assigned to a person beforehand due to circumstances.
For example, a person who has passed his army exam has achieved a designation. But his child comes under ascribed status because if something bad happens with their father, they can directly join the army without passing an exam. Status plays an important role in a society. Sometimes friendship is bounded to happen between people of the same status.
For example, you can see that generally, a doctor is married to a doctor only. People say that it is done in the name of same career choices and understanding, but it’s the status that rules sometimes. Status also follows a set pattern in which a sequence can be seen. For example, an engineer first took PCM in 11th, cleared 12th exams, then gives colleges exams to have a seat of their own and then afterward he finally become an engineer to hold that status in society. Sometimes we confuse status with character. Status is holding a position in the society and behaving according to the given set of rules. It is not his/ her basic nature. But the character is a different phenomenon. He/ She does not bind with rules and regulations, it’s his/her actual behavior in a certain situation with certain people. Suppose in a group meeting, a boss or any employee with sit with manners on a chair. But the same person in home or café may sit with a relaxed posture i.e. altogether different from a formal setup. In the office, that person was abiding by the rules due to his/her status. But in the home, it’s his/ her true character which is witnessed by some of the people only. There also enters a term called as a role which gained popularity back in 1936. The terms status and roles are complementary to each other. Without each other both are meaningless.
For example in an office, a boss role is to assign work to his juniors. If the role is eliminated there would be no status called as Boss. If the role is eliminated then there would be no use of keeping someone superior to junior i.e. Boss.
