Ch 6 - Organizational Design

Question 1

Major concerns in organizing (4)

Answer 1

1) what jobs need to be done
2) how to group jobs
3) grades of authority
4) equalizing responsibilty

Question 2

What is crucial to the effectiveness and efficiency in a large organization

Answer 2

Specialization

note that CP says specialization is a bad thing

Question 3

How do police departments try to overcome the problems that come with specialization? (What schemes do they use to attempt to alienation of employees)

Answer 3

1) rotated to different jobs
2) given additional responsibility
3) involved in organizational problem solving intelligence-led policing
4) experiment w/ different organizational structures

Question 4

What are the ADVANTAGES of specialization in large departments? (4)

Answer 4

1) responsibility (placement of)
2) expertise
3) espirit de corp
4) efficiency

Question 5

What appears to be the sure path to operational effectiveness by allowing each employee to acquire expertise in one area

Answer 5

Specialization

Question 6

How does specialization make the organizational environment more complex? (3)

Answer 6

1) complicating communication
2) cooperation - increased # units
3) conflict among different interests

Question 7

Used to describe the number of personnel a supervisor can personally manage effectively

Answer 7

Span of management

Question 8

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

Answer 8

1) ability
2) experience
3) energy level

Question 9

Organization humanists argue that flatter organizations can: (4)

Answer 9

1) better communication
2) sense of fiscal/personal responsibility
3) organizational flexibility
4) increased delegation by supervisors

Question 10

What factors tend to reduce the number of complaints against officers and the number of sustained complaints against them?

Answer 10

full-time professional standards/internal affairs unit
and
IST

Question 11

Factors that help INCREASE the span of management

Answer 11

1) simplicity of work
2) use of information technology
3) skills of subordinates
4) skills of supervisor
5) training program
6) harmony of workforce

Question 12

Factors that NARROW the span of management

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Organizational design focuses on 2 spatial levels of differentiation. This design is based on levels of authorty

Answer 13

Vertical Differentiation

Question 14

Organizational design focuses on 2 spatial levels of differentiation. This design is based on activity.

Answer 14

Horizontal Differentiation

Question 15

Some of the more common ways in which activities of personnel are grouped within an organization (5)

Answer 15

1) clientele (simplest)
2) style of service (uniform, plain clothes)
3) Geography (beats districts)
4) time (day shift, night shift)
5) process (same equipment)

Question 16

This grouping lends itself to expertise involving a single process and makes the most of effective use of costly equipment

Answer 16

Grouping by process

Question 17

What type of function? (line, aux, admin)
Uniformed patrol
investigations
Vice
Traffic enforcement
Juvenile

Answer 17

Line functions

Question 18

What type of function? (line, aux, admin)
Crime lab, records, detention, vehicle maintenance,
communications

Answer 18

Auxillary/Support functions

Question 19

What type of function? (line, aux, admin)

Personnel, Planning, Legal, Media, Training, Fiscal

Answer 19

Administrative Functions

Question 20

3 principles of tall organizations

Answer 20

1) narrow span of control
2) complex, react slowly during crisis
3) develop policies overcome problems by increased complexity

Question 21

3 principles of flat structures

Answer 21

1) pressure of supervisors (supervise more people)
2) need higher caliber supervisors
3) work best where employees held strictly accountable

Question 22

McFarland says flat structures with wider spans of control have numerous advantages

Answer 22

1) shorten lines of communications
2) route of communication simple, direct, clear
3) higher morale/job satisfaction (most important advantage)

Question 23

4 basic structural types of design

Answer 23

1) line
2) line and staff
3) functional
4) matrix (not in spp)

Question 24

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.

Answer 24

Matrix (grid) structure

Question 25

The Intelligence Led police structure necessarily requires the development of this

Answer 25

a strong fusion center

Question 26

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%)

Answer 26

Patrol

Question 27

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?

Answer 27

30 minutes (1/3)

2 hours (1/2)

Question 28

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?

Answer 28

one month

Question 29

What type of crime is one of the least solved crimes in America with less than 10% of the cases being cleared?

Answer 29

burglary

Question 30

According to line operations, one of the basic causes of organizational difficulties between line/staff relationships is

Answer 30

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)

Question 31

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

Answer 31

researchers and writers

Question 32

The problems of line and staff relationships can be corrected by (2)

Answer 32

1) thorough indoctrination & training program

2) clear task definitions

Question 33

If a leader actively opposes the informal organization, what does it do?

Answer 33

strengthens the bond among its members

Question 34

The informal organization has several important characteristics (8) (GLIDESNC)

Answer 34

1) group pressures
2) leadership
3) interactions
4) democratic
5) empathy
6) social distance
7) naturalness
8) cohesiveness/unity