Organizational Theory. Organizational Structure. Communication

Provide two definitions of an organization.

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There are various meanings of the word organization. A coordinated social entity has a relative identifiable boundary is an organization. It functions on a continuous basis to achieve a common goal or some goals.

It is also an entity where two or more people cooperate to achieve an objective. It can be a business, club, or a company.

Discuss the evolution of organizational theory.

a. Discuss scientific management.

Fredrick W. Taylor initiated the theory. The theory illustrates the efficiency and the output of a worker as an individual. He became a chief engineer in one of the steel mills in Pennsylvania where he came up with a new method to make steel. He had an interest in the methods of providing greater productivity from workers. He recommended that workers should have hourly breaks and should work on a piecework system. The proposal increased the workers productivity and some were retrenched. The earnings of the workers also increased while costs of handling large loads of steel reduced. The theory helped administrators know the value of knowing their employees.

b. Human relations management

The theory was from a study of the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric company. The study found out that workers productivity is related to social capacity more than to physical capacity. The study also shows that non-economic rewards play a part in satisfaction and motivation of employees. Employees, however, react to management as a group but not as an individual. Later, police departments started using techniques such as job enrichment and enlargement. A supervisor who was employee oriented was more effective in comparison to the one that was production centered. This theory emphasized on employees placing the role of the organizational structure as a secondary role. With time, employees began delivering less and expecting more attention.

c. Systems management

The features of the scientific management and human relations theory were integrated to be the systems management approach. Its design brought an individual and the organization together. It assisted managers to use their staffs to attain productive goals. The approach argues that the managers have to be independent and the individuals to have the ability to recognize and deal with changes and conflicts to be effective. Team cooperation is important to achieve the organizations goals according to this approach.

d. Bureaucratic management

Max Weber developed the approach to bureaucratic management. He stated that for a bureaucratic structure to be effective, it must have some elements. There has to be rulification and routinization where rules serve as the policies driving the organization. People should not come up with a new solution to every problem they face. There has to be a division of labor for the performance of functions of an organization by the provision of authority to employees to carry out the functions. Each lower office should be under the control of a higher one. Employees should have expertise in their roles, and all acts, decisions and rules should be recorded in writing. Max Weber the idea was to eliminate inefficiency and waste in organizations.

List and explain the primary principles of organizational structure.

An organization should build its organizational structure with some principles in mind. The principle of the objective helps them focus on their purpose of building the structure. There must be a reason for its generation.

The principle of specialization states that each member of the organization should be able to perform at least a single function.

The principle of authority focuses on the line of authority. Every organized structure needs to outline clearly its authority line.

The superior should be responsible for the acts the subordinates make according to the principle of responsibility.

The principle of definition outlines that the job description of each position, the authority and responsibilities and relationships with other positions in the organization need to be written and published for reference to all concerned people within the organization.

There should be a span of control where no person should supervise more than six direct subordinates whose work link.

The principle of correspondence states that for each position, the responsibility and authority to carry out the role should relate.

Discuss span of control and unity of command.

The span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor or general manager can effectively supervise. Factors such as the capacity of the leader, the people supervised the complexity of the work and time needed to perform the tasks influence the span of control. Some authors state that high spans of control lead to slow and ineffective decision-making and actions. There is also more emphasis on controlling bureaucracy and not customer service.

Unity of command, on the other hand, refers to placing only one superior officer in control of all situations and the employees. When an issue arises, only one person is held responsible. There should be a person responsible for decisions in each level but later communicate these decisions to the person in the higher rank and the chain is continuous until the person in the highest rank of authority gets all the information.

Define communication and discuss communication within a criminal justice organization.

Communication is the use of words, signs, sounds, body cues and other activities to convey a given message. People in criminal justice organizations communicate in and through offense reports. They make statements; they encounter policies and regulations on courtrooms and are allowed to witness or have probation hearings in these organizations. The nature of information processed by practitioners also makes communication important in such organizations. For instance, police officers have certain jargons or slang words they use to communicate among themselves. It helps reduce many outsiders understanding the activities within such organizations Communication is, therefore, a foundation of criminal justice organizations.

Compare and contrast oral communication and written communication.

Oral communication is the process by which a person conveys a message to the receiver by the word of mouth. Written communication, on the other hand, is a process of communication by which the sender conveys a message to the receiver in written form. The two types of communication have similarities as well as differences. Both types of communication rely on elements of communication such as the message, channel, receiver and the sender. Written communication is precise because the writer chooses the words used with care while, in oral communication, the speaker chooses the words through non-verbal gestures and tone changes. Written communication is organized and detailed than oral communication because it is done in a logical order. Written communication is permanent and cannot be changed once it is printed, however; oral communication can be changed.

Discuss the three factors that promote the use of written communication in police organizations.

The requirement for the administrative due process in employee disciplinary matters is a factor that promotes the use of written communication in police organizations. It is encouraged by federal court rulings labor contracts and he bill of rights legislation. Civil liability is another factor. Lawsuits against local governments and criminal justice agencies have become central. The written guidelines for the agencies outlaw some acts to provide a border against successful civil litigation. Accreditation movement is the third factor. Agencies that are accredited or are already accredited have to possess written policies and procedures to guide them through their functions.

Define leadership and discuss the trait theory of leadership and the style theory of leadership.

Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or group in the efforts towards goal achievement in a certain situation.

Stogdill and Goode developed the trait theory of leadership. It is based on the contention that good leaders possess certain characters that poor leaders do not have. According to the theory, a leader is identified in a two-step process. First, one should study and compare leaders to non-leaders to determine the traits they possess. Secondly, one should look out for the leaders with leadership traits to promote them to managerial positions. When 468 administrators were studied in 13 companies, the most successful administrators were more intelligent, had a stronger need for power, enjoyed relating with other people and preferred independent activities.

Style theory focuses on what leaders do and argues as they engage in two types of behavior, the ones relating to relationships and those relating to tasks. It is the adoption of a single managerial style by a manager through his or her rank to initiate structure and consideration. There were three leadership styles in this theory: laissez-faire, democratic and autocratic. Autocratic style is leader-centered and it is authoritarian. A leader prefers giving orders rather than inviting people to group participation. The Democratic style focuses on working within the group and strives to attain cooperation from group members by coming up with ideas and supporting each other. Laissez-faire style is where a leader does not have input or control on the organization. The organization runs on itself.

List and explain the three essential skills that leaders should possess, according to Robert Katz

Robert Katz came up with some essential skills, which leaders should possess.

A leader should have technical skills that assist him or her to ensure that specific tasks are performed correctly. He or she should have analytical ability within that field, specialized knowledge, and techniques of that discipline.

One should also have human skills to work with people such as understanding what motivates employees and utilizing group processes. According to Katz, human skills enable people to work as a group and build cooperative efforts. A leader should be tolerant of uncertainty and empathy. The leader can provide the right leadership and direction by ensuring all tasks are accomplished.

A leader should also have conceptual skills the assist one in coordination and integration of all activities and interests of the organization to achieve a common goal. One should be able to translate knowledge into action.