PAD 348 Midterm Flashcards
Organizations are defined in terms of their::
o Structure,
o Purpose, and
o Activity.
Weber (1947) distinguished corporate groups from other social organizations by:
o Extent to which they limit admission to the group, and
o Whether they include leaders and staff.
Barnard (1938) Definition of an Organization:
“a system of consciously coordinated activities of forces of two or more persons”.
Organizations do/are:
o Develop cultures, o Are political, o Serve, and sometimes fail to serve, their member’s personal needs, o Actively seek survival, o Compete for resources, o Are internally complex, and o Exist in a complex environment
Carlisle (1976) Definition of Management:
The “process by which the elements of a group are integrated, coordinated, and/or utilized so as to effectively and efficiently achieve organizational objectives”.
Klotter (1990) Definition of Leadership:
“refers to a process that helps direct and mobilize people and their ideas…”
Dupree (1989) Definition of Leadership:
Leadership is tribal in nature and focuses on an organization’s
symbols, rituals and culture.
Leaders focus on:
o Motivating employees,
o Developing organizational culture, and
o Changing the organization.
Managers do:
-Insure compliance with existing processes
-Focus on planning and budgeting to achieve short term goals
-Seek to achieve rationality by enforcing rules
-Concerned about employees doing things right
Leaders Do:
-Question existing processes
-Focus on more long-term strategic planning
-Seek opportunities to change the organization and its culture
-Concerned about employees doing the right thing
Closed System Theory:
o Self-contained, and
o Unresponsive to their environments.
- All elements in a closed-system are connected, but only internally.
-Communication follows the lines of hierarchy.
-Power and authority are a function of office.
Organizations that exist within open-systems influence and are
highly influenced by the environments in which they exist.
Criminal justice Open System examples
o Community policing
o The interaction between the police and prosecutors
o Legislative changes in criminal statutes and sentencing
Simon (1964) first recognized this
organizational complexity.
o The pursuit of all goals impinges on the degree of goal attainment.
o Not possible for all goals to be achieved equally.
goal conflict may actually be
necessary. Examples:
o Due process constraints placed on the police by the courts insures civil liberty
o Plea bargaining by prosecutors reserves important resources for more serious cases.
Police departments are particularly vulnerable to complex environments. Examples
o CrimecontrolversusDueprocessconflict
o Lack of universal agreement among the public on what the police department should do.
Clients may not be legitimizers. (example)
Prisoners (clients) are not viewed as legitimate evaluators of the organization.
Mission, not the marketplace, determines value. (Example)
Law enforcement may be considered more important than corrections.
Constituencies within the organization:
influence the organization’s structure and function.
Organizations are structured along three dimensions:
structure, purpose and activity.
Organizations are managed through
a process but management functions are not limited to a specific office within the organization.
Criminal justice organizations both affect and are affected
by the key elements of their environments.
Unlike closed system theory, which emphasizes key operational components of an organization, open systems theory hypothesizes:
that criminal justice organizations are malleable and influenced differentially by elements of the environment.
Criminal justice organizations have many
Goals and compete with one another for limited resources.
Criminal justice agencies have varied and complex
environments that make criminal justice administration more complex.
Criminal justice organizations are evaluated, in part, by the:
perceptions of what various environments expect of them.
Criminal justice organizations are influenced by many internal groups
such as line personnel, support staff and others who perform the work.
Criminal justice organizations are compared by:
o Their organizational models
• HierarchicalversusOrganic o Their structural dimensions
• Task specialization
• Formalization
• Span of control
• CentralizationversusDecentralization • Complexity
• Allocationoflineandstaffpersonnel
Hierarchical Organizational Structure:
-Structurally rigid-clear chain of command.
- Leadership exists within supervisor/subordinate relationships.
-Function best in stable or predictable environments.
-Communications is vertical and downward.
Organic Organizational Structure:
- Loosely connected- authority is diffused.
- Leadership is more peer- oriented.
- Can function efficiently in unstable or unpredictable environments.
-Communication is horizontal.
Task Specialization
the process of dividing work processes unto smaller tasks.
o Narrowly defined work tasks = high task specialization
o Broadly defined work tasks = low task specialization
Formalization
the establishment of written rules and
regulations that govern the work activities.
o High levels of formalization (many rules) o Low levels of formalization (few rules)
Span of Control
the number of subordinates reporting to a supervisor. o Wide (more subordinates per supervisor) o Narrow (few subordinates per supervisor)
Centralization versus Decentralization
o In centralized organizations important decisions
are made by upper managers.
o In decentralized organizations important decisions are made in the lower levels.
Complexity
defined by the number of units within an organization.
o Verticalcomplexity–number of levels in the chain of
command (tall organizations).
o Horizontalcomplexity–number of units across the
organization (flat organizations).
Line/Staff Allocation
the balance between line and staff personnel.
o Line employees ‘exist’ within the chain of command.
o Staff employees ‘exist’ outside the chain of command.
The ideal bureaucracy has:
o A written mission that is logically implemented by, o Policies and procedures,
o Performed by employees who;
• Understand and accept the mission,
• Have a working knowledge of the policies and procedures, and
• Carry out their tasks in accordance with their job descriptions.
A mission is a statement of an organization’s;
o Common purpose,
o Continuing purpose for existing,
o Ideology, and
o Values.
o Provides clear understanding of an agency’s purpose, goals, and objectives.
- Declares an agency’s values and operating philosophy.
-Provides employees with a basis for ethical decision making.
-Helps keep an organization’s daily activities focused.
Policy
a clear statement that defines what action is to be taken and why. Policies include a;
o Statement of purpose,
o Required action, and
o Rationale for that purpose.
Procedure
step-by-step descriptions of the activities that agency members need to follow to achieve the objective or goal put forth by a policy.
Criminal justice organizations acquire resources through a process that is
cyclical, formal, and political.
Informal Structures in Organizations
The goals, activities, or structures that are not officially acknowledged by an organization.
The informal structure may be a product of an organization’s actual culture and includes;
o The informal communications system–the grapevine or rumor mill.
o Informal work groups–loosely knit teams organized on an ad hoc basis.
o Informal leadership–individuals with a great deal of expertise and communication skills.
Organizations can be analyzed effectively when viewed through
four frames or perspectives (Bolman and Deal, 2003).
- Each frame describes distinctive attributes of an organization.
Organizational Frames
- Structural frame
- Human resource frame
- Political frame
- Symbolic frame
Structural frame
The organizational hierarchy, division of labor, job descriptions, mission, policies, procedures, etc.
Human resource frame
assumes organizations exist to serve human rather than organizational needs.
Political frame
views organization as a place in which interest groups compete for scarce resources.
Symbolic frame
views organizations as tribes, theater, or carnivals in which organizational culture is driven by ritual, ceremonies, stories, heroes, and myths rather than be managerial authority.
An organization’s environment
any external phenomenon, event, group, individual, or system.
-Environmental change causes organizational change.
-The relationship between an organization and its environment is interdependent.
o The organization is affected by its environment, and
o The environment is affected by the organization.
The Political Environment
A complex decision-making apparatus containing both formal and informal overlapping subsystems (Fairchild and Webb, 1995).
o Formal
• Legislative bodies, city councils, etc. • Courts
o Informal
• Pressure from political activists and advocates • Informal pressure from the formal system
Environmental States
Organizations are affected by the state of their environment.
o Simple versus Complex
• Simple – homogeneous environments with few elements
• Complex – heterogeneous environments with many elements
o Static versus Dynamic
• Static – predictable environments
• Dynamic – unpredictable environments
Closed systems are
hierarchical, formal, and mechanistic.
Open systems are
informal and organic. They rely on
professionalism.
Hierarchy refers to
an agency’s chain of command.
The term organic describes
loosely structured professional
organizations.
In centralized organizations, authority and decision making is
at the top of the structure.
In decentralized organizations, authority and decision making are
generally founded at the lower levels of the structure.
Mission is a
statement of the organization’s purpose.
Policies explain
what needs to be done to achieve the
mission
Procedures are
step by step directions on how to implement
policies.
Public agencies
request funds to operate from the political
entities they serve.
Budgets need to be
approved, implemented, and audited for compliance.
There is interdependence between
the criminal justice system and its environment.
Changes in the environment require criminal justice agencies to
Adapt
Statutory and civil laws directly alter
mandates and constraints on the system.
Economic conditions affect
agency budgets, scarcity in staff selection, and also may affect crime patterns and rates.
Demographic shifts affect
local budgets and demands for service.
Changes in culture require agencies to adapt to citizens with
new demands for services and justice outcomes.
Changing climate patterns, community size, and economic base have far-ranging effects on
economic and cultural conditions that, in turn, affect agencies.
Political conditions faced by agencies have the most direct impact on
agency mandates and constraints.
The political environment is a complex process of
formal and informal political subsystems.
Changing environmental forces require the criminal justice agency to either
make constant changes or to operate with outdated missions, policies and procedures.
Agency field workers and executives work with different
environmental forces and expectations.
Agency field workers and executives have different understandings of the agency’s
mandate and appropriate activities of its members.
Scanning means
observing the environment for potential change and adapting the organization to respond to it.
Agencies put forward the least costly change to meet the demands from the environment. These are often
symbolic
A decision is a
judgment, a choice between alternatives (Houston, 1999).
Decisions are often made within the context of a
theory or broad framework (paradigm).
Three kinds of information
o An awareness of the alternatives
o An awareness of the possible consequences of each alternative
o The subject of the decision
Decision rules
govern how the elements of the decision are combined.
Decisions are often influenced by the
organizational culture.
o “We’ve always done it that way.”
o “It worked in the past.”
o “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Organizations tend to define problems and
identify solutions to problems based on
deeply rooted values and beliefs.
Internalpolitics–
processes by which interested parties
within the organization express their concern and seek
implementation and acceptance of their ideas and practices.
Externalpolitics–
consist of the influence that outside
parties exert on the organization’s definition of mission, the appropriate types of operations the organization exhibits, and the directions it takes.
Autocratic–
boss makes and announces the decision
Laissez-faire–.
totally subordinate centered
Police Chiefs tend to be
o Be autocratic,
o Be directive, and
o Rely on traditional beliefs and assumptions
Accuracy
– most important, but often least attainable because information is;
o Complied from numerous sources,
o From people with a vested interest in the outcome, o Often only summarizes information about groups.
Order of presentation
– affects sequentialist the most, but overall does affect the outcome of a decision.
Availability of alternatives –
often there are only two possible outcomes. Additional alternatives complicate the process.
Discretion
- “a situation in which an official has latitude to make authoritative choices not necessarily specified within the source of authority which governs his decision
making” (Atkins and Pogrebin (1992:1).
- Often essential in criminal justice decision making.
o Complicated nature of job o Incomplete information
- Others argue that discretion is “uncontrolled decision making”.
- Recent attempts have been made to objectify decision making through weighted questionnaires.
Prediction of future influences criminal justice decision making
o The decision to arrest or not arrest
o Criminal sentencing
o Probation conditions
Themes for improving decision making
o Equity – similar decisions for similar situations o Accuracy – making correct decisions
o Consistency with theory – adhering to a
consistent paradigm or framework
o Consistency with resources – pragmatism
o Contribution to future decisions – use prior decisions and their outcomes to influence future decisions
Decisions are often made under:
o Time constraints,
o During conflict, and
o With personal bias.
The consequences of a decision can be
estimated
Decisions are
Clinical in nature
Decisions are influenced by the decision maker’s
education, training, and experience.
The important themes in criminal justice decision making are:
o Equity – similar dispositions across similar cases
o Accuracy – separating the guilty from the innocent
o Consistency – applying the same decision rules over time
What is Job Design?
The “deliberate, purposeful planning of the job including all of its structural and social aspects and their effect on the employee” (Hellriegel, Slocum, and Woodman, 1995).
For most of the 20th Century the objectives of job design were:
o Technological improvements, and
o Efficiency of labor.
Taylor’s influence in criminal justice is
considerable.
o Police officers’ jobs are often fragmented and assigned to non- commissioned employees.
o Increased accountability and bureaucratization may reduce the professional status of police officers.
o The use of standard classification and electronic monitoring systems has removed discretion from probation and parole officers.
Despite attention on client content issues, job satisfaction appears to be more affected by
o Boredom, o Excessive demands, o Role conflict, o Role ambiguity, and o A lack of participation in decision making.
Modern job design theory can be traced to
Hertzberg’s (1966) Motivation-Hygiene Theory.
o Workers are motivated only after hygiene needs are met and sources of intrinsic satisfaction are built into jobs.
o Job design is about motivating employees to meet their higher
order needs
Three approaches to job redesign
o Mass production industries have attempted to reduce or
eliminate assembly lines.
o Continuous process industries have attempted to enrich jobs
through autonomous work groups.
o Service industries have attempted to enrich jobs by combining
work from different parts of the job hierarchy.
- Other innovations
o Flextime
o Job sharing
o Telecommuting
Vertical loading -
increasing the responsibilities of front-line staff
Team policing programs mirror the
autonomous work groups found in the private sector.
Community- and Problem-Oriented Policing programs seem to
increase worker satisfaction because they provide officers with increased
Allowing innovation appears to increase
productivity among community corrections workers.
The “new criminal justice” focuses on the
systematic collection of information and collaboration with other agencies and community groups.
The “new criminal justice will force administrators to consider changes in a number of ways they do business, in particular;
o Recruitment
o Training, and
o On-going development activities for employees.
Power depends on:
o The ability to deal with uncertainties facing the organization,
o Whether an individual or group function can easily be replaced
(substitutability), and
o The importance of an individual or group function to the organization’s overall mission (centrality).
Power –
based on coercion, not compliance. Often used in organizations emphasizing strict obedience.
Authority –
compliance with the directives necessary for achieving a common or shared goal.
Weber’s Three Types of Authority
traditional, charismatic and legal.
Power exists in the interaction between the
o Powerholder–the person who expresses the power, and
o Powerrecipient–the person who receives the power.
Power can also be acquired by individuals or groups within organizations that:
o Control information in the organization (Pfeffer, 1977)
o Acquire resources for the organization (-Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977)
Consequences of Power Relationships
- Power does not exist in a vacuum.
- Power is contextually defined within individual and/or organizational interactions.
-Consequences of power relations within organization are along two dimensions:
o Behavioral conformity, and
o Attitudinal conformity.
Types of power are not equally effective in every situation.
French and Raven identify five types of power
– coercive, reward, legitimate, referent and expert.
