A formally conducted field study was used to investigate the work of vice-principals of eight large Southern California high schools and the relationship of their work to the school as an organization. Most of the vice-principals studied deal with student discipline, but four have important discipline responsibilities, which they exercise by patrolling their campuses and using personal presence and different images--"father confessor," for instance. Data analysis was based on the idea that schools provide two categories of activities--student transformation (normally teachers' responsibility) and organizational stability (administrators' responsibility). Organizational stability is established in curriculum and extracurriculum areas, the first of which is manifested in the schools' master schedules and the second in their activity calendars--collectively called school rules. Further, organizational stability is maintained by monitoring through direct observation and referral systems, supporting activities that reinforce proper student conduct, and remediating through discipline disrupting situations. Vice-principals generally find sanctions only moderately effective. Consequently, they primarily employ their own personal presence to remedy misconduct--a six-step process involving interaction rituals. The study includes a bibliography. (KS)