Ch 6 - Organizational Design Flashcards
Major concerns in organizing (4)
1) what jobs need to be done
2) how to group jobs
3) grades of authority
4) equalizing responsibilty
What is crucial to the effectiveness and efficiency in a large organization
Specialization
note that CP says specialization is a bad thing
How do police departments try to overcome the problems that come with specialization? (What schemes do they use to attempt to alienation of employees)
1) rotated to different jobs
2) given additional responsibility
3) involved in organizational problem solving intelligence-led policing
4) experiment w/ different organizational structures
What are the ADVANTAGES of specialization in large departments? (4)
1) responsibility (placement of)
2) expertise
3) espirit de corp
4) efficiency
What appears to be the sure path to operational effectiveness by allowing each employee to acquire expertise in one area
Specialization
How does specialization make the organizational environment more complex? (3)
1) complicating communication
2) cooperation - increased # units
3) conflict among different interests
Used to describe the number of personnel a supervisor can personally manage effectively
Span of management
The term span of management is broader than span of control and encompasses factors relating to an individual’s ability to oversee activities of others, such as police manager’s
1) ability
2) experience
3) energy level
Organization humanists argue that flatter organizations can: (4)
1) better communication
2) sense of fiscal/personal responsibility
3) organizational flexibility
4) increased delegation by supervisors
What factors tend to reduce the number of complaints against officers and the number of sustained complaints against them?
full-time professional standards/internal affairs unit
and
IST
Factors that help INCREASE the span of management
1) simplicity of work
2) use of information technology
3) skills of subordinates
4) skills of supervisor
5) training program
6) harmony of workforce
Factors that NARROW the span of management
1) change
2) dispersed workforce (time or geography) (often observed in investigation unit - requires more supervision in relation to #of investigators)
3) new/inexperienced
4) administrative
5) extent of coordination
6) employee expectations
Organizational design focuses on 2 spatial levels of differentiation. This design is based on levels of authorty
Vertical Differentiation
Organizational design focuses on 2 spatial levels of differentiation. This design is based on activity.
Horizontal Differentiation
Some of the more common ways in which activities of personnel are grouped within an organization (5)
1) clientele (simplest)
2) style of service (uniform, plain clothes)
3) Geography (beats districts)
4) time (day shift, night shift)
5) process (same equipment)
This grouping lends itself to expertise involving a single process and makes the most of effective use of costly equipment
Grouping by process
What type of function? (line, aux, admin) Uniformed patrol investigations Vice Traffic enforcement Juvenile
Line functions
What type of function? (line, aux, admin)
Crime lab, records, detention, vehicle maintenance,
communications
Auxillary/Support functions
What type of function? (line, aux, admin)
Personnel, Planning, Legal, Media, Training, Fiscal
Administrative Functions
3 principles of tall organizations
1) narrow span of control
2) complex, react slowly during crisis
3) develop policies overcome problems by increased complexity
3 principles of flat structures
1) pressure of supervisors (supervise more people)
2) need higher caliber supervisors
3) work best where employees held strictly accountable
McFarland says flat structures with wider spans of control have numerous advantages
1) shorten lines of communications
2) route of communication simple, direct, clear
3) higher morale/job satisfaction (most important advantage)
4 basic structural types of design
1) line
2) line and staff
3) functional
4) matrix (not in spp)
The essence of this organizational structure is in assignment of members of functional area (patrol, detective, support) to specific projects (task forces). The most typical situation this approach is used when community has had a series of sensationalized crimes and pd announces it has formed a task force to apprehend violator.
Matrix (grid) structure
The Intelligence Led police structure necessarily requires the development of this
a strong fusion center
The President’s Commission examined the investigative practices of the LA police department and found that which unit made up a large portion of the arrests (90%)
Patrol
The President’s Commission examined the investigative practices of the LA police department and found that about 1/3 of all arrests were made within how many minutes of the commission of the offense?
Nearly half were made within how long?
30 minutes (1/3)
2 hours (1/2)
The President’s Commission examined the investigative practices of the LA police department and found that investigation efforts beyond ___ produces only an incremental difference in conviction rate?
one month
What type of crime is one of the least solved crimes in America with less than 10% of the cases being cleared?
burglary
According to line operations, one of the basic causes of organizational difficulties between line/staff relationships is
staff personnel attempts to (assume authority) over line elements instead of (supporting and advising them)
(also claim staff take credit for successful operation but point finger of blame when it fails)
According to staff personnel, line commanders do not know how to use staff, and instead of using their analytic skills, only want to use them as
researchers and writers
The problems of line and staff relationships can be corrected by (2)
1) thorough indoctrination & training program
2) clear task definitions
If a leader actively opposes the informal organization, what does it do?
strengthens the bond among its members
The informal organization has several important characteristics (8) (GLIDESNC)
1) group pressures
2) leadership
3) interactions
4) democratic
5) empathy
6) social distance
7) naturalness
8) cohesiveness/unity
