Organizational Behavior in a Criminal Justice Agency

Organizational Behavior in a Criminal Justice Agency

An organization has great influences on individuals’ or groups’ actions, thoughts, and feelings. The vice versa is also true (Arthur & Weiss, 2002, p. 280). The police department being part of the criminal justice agency presents a good example of how the actions and behaviors of individuals and groups can affect the organizational reputation and credibility. Martin (2007) provides a case in his studies whereby the organization of work context of the police officers affects how they handle rape cases. During investigations, the police may sympathize with the victims because they share feelings of empathy and concern with the victim. However, their work demands that they treat these people as rape witnesses and not as victims in their investigations. In this regard, the police and the prosecutors are the key players in the issue. This is because they are said to treat their subjects harshly during the process of investigating criminal offenses. This behavior influences the medical professionals when helping the rape victims. This is mainly because medical practitioners find it hard to deal with rape cases. The result is that it becomes impossible to appear in a court of law because they may fear the questions session. As a result, they perceive rape victims as unusual patients.

Organizational culture contains rules and laws that stipulate the norms in a particular organization. Over the years, communities use to protect themselves through community policing. The advancements in technology have come with new forms of criminal activities such as hacking and password cracking. The situation demands new approaches to community policing and law enforcement. Stephens (2005, p. 52) indicates that there is a need for changing policing mechanisms if the American communities and the police departments are to face the future, which presents numerous and new criminal challenges. In his study, Stephens (2005, p. 53) asserts that the rates of criminal activities have decreased significantly in areas in which communities have embraced new policing approaches blended with the latest technology and high definition surveillance. This is a classic example of how a change in organizational behavior affects individuals, groups, structures, or organizations.

Another example in which the organization and its prevailing conditions affect the behavior of individuals is observable in the role of prosecutors in protecting and defending human rights and the rule of law. The qualities of efficient prosecutors include exercising transparency and accountability while preventing corruption and terrorism. These prosecutors face tricky situations that require them to maintain high standards of integrity besides submitting to the international laws that require prosecutors to exchange information between borders that are beneficial to international criminal justice (Dandurand, 2007, p. 250). Such situations call for both individual and organizational behavioral changes that will enable the accommodation of the new international laws involving the fight against graft and terrorism.

The Elements of Organizational Behavior and their impact on the effectiveness of the criminal justice agency

The incorporation of values, objectives, policies and the mission of an organization form the basis of its prosperity and existence. These elements come in the form of statements by the management and they serve to remind individuals or groups in the organization of the main activities and targets that they should aim at achieving. This creates a form of boundary that limits the behavior of these individuals and groups.

An organization’s values, goals, and mission statements lay the foundation for the development of organizational culture. Organizational culture is composed of a set of rules and laws that should be adhered to by individuals and groups in the organization. This serves to harmonize the different cultural affiliations of an organization’s employees. This is an important element of organizational behavior that allows the organization to operate efficiently as one unit rather than letting individual employees embrace their distinctive cultural practices. In addition, this also acts as a measure of the quality of each individual’s work in addition to being a form of motivation that stimulates individual or group prosperity and growth.

When the above elements are in place, the result is increased individual performance, growth, and development for both individuals and groups in an organization, and their satisfaction. The combination of all these elements forms the structural framework of an organization.

Conclusion

The essay provides a general insight into what Organizational Behavior implies in a criminal justice agency.