Criminal Justice Agency Organization Climate, Essay Example

For the criminal justice system to operate with the required excellence, the responsible agencies need to be able to have all the structures in place that will enable them to effectively implement the vision, mission and the goals of the organization (Cohen, &Michael, 2009). According to the theory of management disorganization and administrative breakdown, the top management has the responsibility of ensuring the organization is functioning or will be blamed for any dysfunctional. For a criminal justice organization agency to achieve the level of performance excellence, it will have to exceed the set target and have all the officers operating in the strategic vision, mission and goals. This involves training and reassessing the staff to ensure that are getting all the required support to fulfill the agencies mandate. This workplace observation paper will review the climate of the criminal justice agency looking at the influence of such organization factors like management leadership in the upper and the middle level, the culture and system of the organization and the law and the various influences of the stakeholders found in the community (Crank, & Caldero, 2000).

Organization behavior is an area of study that conducts investigations into such areas as attitudes, behaviors and performance of people of the people working within an organization. As such, these organization factors are either found to be inherent in the staff values or they are derived from the environmental workplaces through training, mentorship and couching (John & Patricia, 2004).

The starting point for success in any organization like a criminal justice agency is the leadership as provided by the top management. These can be either be having the title of a president or a CEO and has the main role of coming up with strategic direction of the organization, making tough decisions and leading the organization in the direction where it will fulfill its goals and objectives. These leaders further ensure that the company policies are being implemented. The top management is therefore influential because they can not only decide on the state of employee and have control over the money resources but they bear the final responsibility of ensuring effective transformation of the agency to be effective in serving the society and reducing the levels of crime (Cohen, &Michael, 2009). Down the ladder, leadership in the middle and lower level management is provided by the department managers, line supervisors and team leaders. There main role in executing the decisions of the upper level managers and supervising the staff directly.

Culture is very influential element in the criminal justice agency. This is what informs the staff attitudes, believe and how they are expected to fulfill their duties. The norms in the work place are an important carrier of the mission and vision and are important in defining relationships. It is through the culture in the work place that will make staff effective, have a sense of mission and success when undertaking duties (John & Patricia, 2004).

Systems another very influential element in the operation of an agency since it determine if an organization succeed in its objective or not. Commonly referred to as management system, this is the process in which the organizations inputs are transformed into out puts. The system in place will ensure that the agency will be able to deal with crime and ensures peace to the society. System is an influential tool used to provide the link in the strategic planning in the organization and the processes and units of operation. In the agency, the organizations structure and the established line of communication and commands is a system that ensures efficiency in allocation of duties (John & Patricia, 2004). In an agency working in the criminal justice system, understanding and applying the law is very critical for all the staff. The law is the element that guides the staff and the understanding and interpretation of the same will help in the process of enforcement. The staff has to be trained on the law and be confident to enforce it in the line of duty. The law also informs the scope and limitation under which the staff will have to operate in and as such, they should be aware so that not to break the same or operate contrary to it.

The working of a criminal justice agency is very much affected by the activities of the influential group consisting of it employees, the political groups and other community groups and agencies. The political actors lie politicians and political parties support is necessary for an organization to deliver the out puts expected from it. The political entities have to ensure that the agency has enough financial resources to undertake its responsibilities (Crank, & Caldero, 2000). The government has the responsibilities of ensuring that the employees operate without fear. The political class also has a tendency to interfere with the justice system especially when they are involved. The community groups are the beneficiaries of the work of criminal agency organization. Their cooperation in the process of investigation is very critical for success. The employees are the people to carry out the tasks and duties. The employees who are trained and have fully embraced the culture of the organization are not only loyal but can be counted on to deliver on the objectives. Effective workforce does not only work hard but take initiative to ensure crime is dealt with

References

Cohen, H., &Michael G., (2009) Power and Restraint: The Moral Dimension of Police Work. New York: Praeger.

Crank, P., & Caldero, A. (2000). Police Ethics: The Corruption of Noble Cause. Cincinnati, OH: Publishing Co.

John P., & Patricia G.,(2004). Counter-terrorism After 9/11: Justice, Security, and Ethics Reconsidered. Anderson Press: Lexus/Nexus.