In terms of organizational behavior studies, a criminal justice agency is seen as a system organization based on legal, social, and moral values, visions, and social environment. A criminal justice agency is a system based on a unique culture and stipulated norms. In the criminal justice agency, organizational behavior can be explained as a set of beliefs, doctrines, and attitudes held by the members of social movements, institutions, or other large groups. Moreover, ideology is based on external authority. It is social and visionary in its base rather than rational and objective. Simple answers that have universal appeal and seem to make sense are the basis for ideological beliefs.
Goals should be judged against ethical standards. Too often, managers turn to the law and their lawyers to obtain legal opinions on ethical standards. Ethical standards are related to those less well-defined and intangible moral values on which managers must rely. It has been postulated that what is ethical is what you feel good after and what is unethical is what you feel bad after. Ethical standards have more to do with emotions, feelings, and values than with rules, regulations, and the law (More et al. 2005).
Organizational behavior in a criminal justice agency involves such concepts as change, organizational development, corporate culture, and effective decision-making and problem-solving. Organizational values also play an important role in integrating personal values into an organization’s overall culture or the collective interpretation of beliefs that are held by organizational members. A criminal justice agency declares its values, norms, and ideals for the overall corporate structure.
These values, norms, and ideals become the moral compass upon which managers rely. They also underlie an organization’s strategy by bringing meaning to the employees’ work. For the compass to be effective, however, both managers and individual employees must act by these values. High-performing organizations, like a criminal justice agency, do rely on high moral values that transcend both the organization and the individual.
The shared values that underlie a high-performing organization’s strategy and bring meaning to the individual employee’s work are reflected in both the decision-making and the goal-setting processes. Shared values provide the basic assumptions that determine how people in high-performing organizations perceive problems, seek alternative solutions, and set ethical goals. Defining sound institutional values is the first step in the process of building an organization’s reputation for honesty and integrity.
The search for organizational ethical values is a process and does not involve a specific set of facts or a list of rules. The process involves a continuing effort to better define what the organization, as a corporate entity, believes, or thinks it believes. Values underlying those beliefs can then be pinpointed (More et al. 2005).
Goal setting works well in the criminal justice agency because it meets certain “cultural” criteria. Its successful application requires that a certain belief system is in place before it is implemented. That belief system revolves around a clear focus on organizational ends and general agreement on the means to attain them. Not all organizations possess the organizational culture that meets these criteria. Goal setting will work well in organizations that meet certain “cultural” criteria. Its successful application requires that a certain belief system is in place before it is implemented. That belief system revolves around a clear focus on organizational ends and general agreement on the means to attain them. Not all organizations possess the organizational culture that meets these criteria (More et al. 2005).
The most important elements of organizational behavior which have an impact on the effectiveness of a criminal justice agency are specialization, departmentalization, a span of control, and chain of command. The span of control and chain of command are used frequently when the necessity to accomplish goals requires employees to rely on those on whom they depend. It is especially important when they have a different point of view and cannot otherwise be relied on to do what we want them to do In criminal justice agencies, power is used to focus on issues and solve problems.
Departmentalization allows to groups activities and separates different functions. Specialization helps a criminal justice agency to attract and use general and professional knowledge of criminal justice professionals. The concepts mentioned above are highly held values and usually serve as extremely effective managerial tools in a unitary organization. An important point in describing the unitary type of organization is that it not only has a clear purpose or goal, but organizational members also subscribe to that goal and are willing to sacrifice for it. In other words, organizational commitment above personal gain is a common value in unitary-type organizations.
There are degrees of organizational commitment even in the most tightly focused organization. At some point on the organizational spectrum, other characteristics more adequately describe an organization (More et al. 2005).
In sum, organizational behavior in a criminal justice agency is a complex process determined by structure, culture, and organizational philosophy (values, attitudes, visions). Thus, the key elements which determine the effectiveness f a criminal justice agency are specialization, departmentalization, the span of control, and chain of command. That is particularly true in those organizations where power is used not so much for the common good, but as a tool to resolve conflicts or enhance personal gain.
References
More, H. M. et al. (2005). Organizational Behavior and Management in Law Enforcement (2nd Edition). Prentice Hall;.