NOTES FOR EXAM 1
08/28/2025 Organizational Structures
Defining an organization
Organizations are social units or groupings that are constructed and reconstructed to reach a specific goal -Etzioni
Ex: class, fsu, police dep, football team, greek life etc.
Hall's definition (more specific)
More structured, has a boundary that identifies rules and hierarchy of people in charge, and different roles and procedures
Exists in continuous spaces (longevity)
Also comes together for a specific reason
A group of people with procedures, rules, and guidelines getting together for a purpose -Scott and Davis
Main aspects of an organization:
People
Purpose
Structure
Durability
People coming together for the same reason
People coming together coordinate the work
Ex: instructor and student
The instructor’s job is to teach, the students’ job is to learn
The goal is to learn about the criminal justice system
The durability is that there is a whole semester to reach a goal
Challenges with people
Pay for CJ jobs is not super high
There needs to be a reason that retains people to want to work and makes them less concerned with the money
A job comes with stressors
Needs to find ways to take care of their people and keep them happy and healthy
Purpose of the criminal justice system
Public safety
Ensuring justice
Structure of a CJ system
Operates on a hierarchy
Chain of command
Military-like
Ex: district attorney in charge, different attorneys in different areas like homicide, gang crimes, etc.
For correction, there is srgt, Lieutenant, etc.
Durability of a CJ system
The justice system persists despite changes in the system
Never goes away
Why durable?
We need the purpose like justice and public safety
Need a CJ system to meet those goals
Open and closed organizations
Closed system
They operate how they operate, and outside influences don’t really matter
Budget doesn't depend on elections
Don't have people in the public telling them their goals
They are protected
Just exists and does its own thing based on how people in the system want to operate
Open system
Heavily influenced by outside factors
The CJ system is 100% an open system
Different influences examples
Crime rates
There is a spike in crime, and the system has to respond
Changing types of crime
Ex: learning how digital crimes and technology work
Public opinion
What do people think about the CJ system
When the public has a more tough to crime, there is more money allocated towards the CJ system
Voting changes who is in charge and who changes laws
Budgets
The CJ system relies on taxes
For-profit vs non-profit organizations
For-profit organization
Exists to generate profits from products or services
Have a budget, need it, spend it, then ask for a new budget
Non-profit organizations
Exists to fulfill one or more community needs
Don’t make a profit
Even if private companies work with the CJ system
Public and private organizations
Public organizations
Funding is primarily from the government/taxpayers
Private organization
Funding comes from the sale of goods and services
Mutual benefit: advocate for members
CJ system
Business organizations: serve the interests of ownership
Not the CJ system
But the private prisons we contract with are
Service organizations: cater to specific clients
CJ system
Commonwealth organization: benefits the larger society or “public at large”
CJ system mainly falls here
Importance of organizational study
Why should we study organizations?
Orgs are everywhere
They provide critical services to society
They are encountered frequently
Serve as a source of employment for most individuals
The study of the structure, processes, and outcomes of organizations provides us with the ability to understand and explain organizations and their impact
09/02/2025 Organizational Structures
CJ Administrations
Police
Courts
Corrections
Police and corrections get the most focus and budget
Their main goal is to ensure public safety and justice
Different methods to get there
Have the same goal
Different organizations
1800 public offices
2400 prosecutors' offices nationwide
Have their own leader
1500 prisons around the country
3000 jails
2800 juvenile facilities
Each has its own set of processes and challenges, leadership, and goals
Feeds up into a larger organization
Victim services
Fundamental to the operation of the CJ system
Help victims navigate the process
When they have to be in court
Do they have to be in court
Are they getting a plea deal
What type of harm did the victim receive
Is there compensation
Gets some public taxpayer-funded
There are private victim services
Receive donations
Grant funding
How can businesses make a profit?
Does the CJ system need to make sure everyone is satisfied
No
But is helpful
Money usage can be counter to each other
Ex: all money used for victims
09/02/2025 Missions and Goals
Mission: overall purpose of the organization (may be a statement or a list of goals to be accomplished)
Can help describe the organization to those outside of it
Should be clear, concise, and lofty but attainable
Ex: ATF, FBI, FSUPD
Strategic goals
Main priorities (objectives) of the organization have two features: (1) a
description of an intended future and (2) action towards achieving that future..
Smart
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Specific
Writing assignment
Find a cj system
Can be police courts or corrections
Can be private or nonprofit
Miami-Dade County Public defender’s office
What are we looking for?
Which field
Need to publish their mission statement and strategic goals
Ex: fbi
Purpose of law enforcement
Describe the FBI
09/04/2025 Organization Structure and Systems
Structure
Plays a significant role in its ability to achieve its mission and strategic goals
People, positions, division of labor
They are usually highly formalized
Changes in the complexity of the organization
The biggest drivers to change organizational structure
New crime problems
A new crime that is emerging
Or old crime reemerging
Ex: car theft
Public opinion
What concerns/scares/angers the public
Ex: gang-related crimes
Budgets
Money talks
Organizational complexity
Vertical
Used to be the most common CJ administration structure
Horizontal
A growing number of horizontal organizations
Role specialization
Individuals only handle their specific task
Have lawyers that only handle homicide, gangs, etc.
Easier to train to be a specialist than a generalist
Need to ask ourselves how much of a problem is (insert problem)
Should we spend the money on a whole new unit?
Spatial
Arts and units are dispersed based on geography
Depends on space
Ex: hundreds of FBI offices spread out across the country
Ex: state department of corrections
Both vertical and horizontal structures can be spatially complex
Complexity is a division or differentiation of job tasks among an organization’s parts and workers
The way an organization goes about reaching its goal
bigger= more complex
More roles in an organization
Bosses? Subordinates?
Chain of command, rank, and file
Tall and skinny triangle
When we are interested in assessing the effectiveness of an organization, the first thing we look at is the structure
Also helpful to study the structure of organizations from a crime prevention standpoint
Formalization
Refers to the degree to which an organization and its members are guided by written rules and procedures intended to produce organizationally prescribed behavior
If everyone is doing the same, there will be the same outcomes
Eliminates discretion
The problem is that things aren’t always that clear
An organization is a formal organization
Is a beurcary
People at the top of the chain of command
Have most of the control
Dictate policies
One can get in trouble if one breaks the chain of command
Heavily ruled by polies
The purpose of a rule-bound organization is to ensure uniformity in all aspects of the work
If everyone complies, we will have multiple outcomes and achieve our purposes and mission
Law enforcement is especially rule-bound
Can be good and bad (discretion)
Good
Helps organizations maintain uniformity
We know what to expect in every situation
Bad
The criminal justice system is constantly evolving
Can't have a policy for EVERYTHING
Some policies don’t exist yet
It can be problematic for those who rely on policy
With excessive formalization, there can be the assumption that rules and policies are BETTER than human judgment
By telling someone how they have to operate, common sense and rationale are lost
What we see in the research is that employee satisfaction is LOWER in the more highly formalized organizations
Relevant because
Less satisfied = less likely to work and perform well
09/11/2025 Missions and Goals
Centralization
Refers to the location in the organization where important decisions are made
staffing, personnel divisions, equipment purchases, evaluations, discipline, evaluation of policies\
A highly centralized organization means those important decisions are coming from one person at the organizational chart
A single person making important decisions at the top of the chart
With little input from subordinates
Expected to have a boss who sets a salary, makes sure everything is in order
Sometimes the boss boss hasn’t worked their way up but is moved from somewhere else for a variety of reasons
Without input from subordinates on policy formation
Employee tension rises
Less effective policies
Policies from a bottom-up approach can be more effective
In a decentralized system, there is a delegation of authority
Allows line staff to make decisions on policies that directly affect the accomplishment of the organization’s goals
Cons
Inconsistent decision-making
Span of control
The ratio of supervisors to workers
How many subordinates work under one supervisor
As the number of subordinates increases, the span of control widens
As the number of subordinates decreases, the span of control narrows
A narrow span of control is a necessity for complex jobs and unpredictable jobs
For example, in a high-security complex prison like a supermax, there are a smaller number of inmates per guard.
Inputs
Crime, opinion, budget
Outputs
Crime reduction, safety, tangible results
Activities
Rules and procedures, what's happening
Feedback
Coming from a larger group like society
09/18/2025 Organizational Theory
Why do organizational theories matter
Give us info on what works vs. what doesn’t, and help us explain different patterns across organizations
Offer advice on how to make the organization more efficient
Classical theories
Earliest theories
Focus on maximum efficiency and productivity
Instrumental rationality
These organizations, from the outset when they were first developed, hyper-focused on maximum efficiency
As the organization has existed for a couple of years, looking back to see whether their processes are correct
Rationally oriented towards goal achievement
Three classical theory perspectives:
Scientific management
Think shuvel
Everyone’s job is laid out for them, with no discretion
Have to follow super detailed policy
Modern CJ application
Sentencing guidelines, risk assessments, and bail schedules
We see this a lot in law enforcement hiring processes and arrest policies
Workers were not working as hard as they should have
The organization was not profitable
To increase productivity
Get over bad work habits
Managers/bosses of the organization have to be required to select individuals who are up for the job
A lot of screening during the hiring process for people who are capable of being productive
Were looking at a lot of moving industry stuff
Ex: construction
Law enforcement
Prediction instruments
Asks inmates about their risk level, mental health
Physical agility tests for law enforcement
Ex: standard for running 300 yards
Responses to misdemeanor and domestic violence
Ex: Minneapolis domestic violence experiment
Risk and need assessments
Surveys or questionnaires of a defendant or convicted inmate give us information about someone's risk and needs
Try to figure out why someone committed a crime
Education, poverty, etc
Potential negatives
Need to make sure everyone follows
Workers' judgment might seem inferior to data results
Buracray
Aka red tape
Heavily rule-bound
When it was made, it was thought to be the gold standard
Focus on the bigger picture of the organization and how to streamline it
Rather than one specific employee, a group of employees, or a task
Analyzed why people listened to their bosses
Rational legal principles
The rationale is that people listen to their boss to keep their job
Bosses use that leverage to make sure that the organization is meeting its goals
Principles
Division of labor
People get tasks that become their area of expertise
hierarchy/ vertical complexity
A lot of bosses and superiors within the bureaucracy
Formalization
Highly dependent on policies and procedures
Higher rank/promotion based on merit
Someone who starts at the bottom and works their way up
An organization can just exist as a well-oiled machine regardless of who's on top and who's at the bottom
Through following policies and procedures
Impersonal relations
Not that concerned with workers’ feelings, but on the efficiency
Critics
Leaving things too predictable may hinder
CJ application
Late 19th and early 20th-century policing
Lots of political motivation
It wasn’t a career back then
Negatives
You might end up losing sight of your main goal
Administrative management
Shifts away from lower-level workers and focuses on managers
Management requires formulating plans and getting people to work towards the achievement of the planned objectives
Still have a sense that the people don’t necessarily matter
As in who’s doing the work
Managers have 5 specific functions
Planning
Organzizing
Commanding
Coordinating
Controlling
Across these three perspectives, they all have in common
Focus on policy and procedure
Limited focus on individual workers
09/23/2025 Human Relations Theory and Open Systems
Focus is all about the worker and their needs
Taking a step back from looking at the organization like a machine
Underlying fundamental perspective that people are actually motivated by things more than money
Give a little bit of discretion, and people will work harder
Worker matters, and to motivate someone, there doesn't have to be authoritative policies
Motivation is the task at hand
Professional structure
Professional judgement
Lower-level decision making
Can be as small as the dress code
Less horizontal complexity
Workers should use a wide range of skills
Much less turnover and absentees
Cow theory
A happy cow produces more milk
Criticisms
Too simplistic
Horizontal organizations tend to be structured around independent organizations, where each of those units is highly specialized
A better structure is a vertical one, where people can focus on different areas
We see very horizontal complex organizations in police departments and prosecutors’ offices, especially in big cities (on exam)
Direct opposition to the classical theory of organizations
Open system theory
Some organizations are heavily impacted and affected by external factors
Seek to explain how and why organizations exist in an environment in which they cannot control
Try to guide how those organizations can be effective
3 theories
Contingency theory
Tries to identify the ideal arrangement/ best prescription for the organization's structure
Answer: It depends
Leaders of the organization have to guide staff and employees to accomplish the goals and vision while simultaneously addressing outside factors
If the leader can be steady, the organization can be steady
Critized because there is an endless number of external factors
Many organizations cannot link their structures and actions to performance outcomes
Do police leaders know how to reduce crime?
Do prison leaders know how to rehabilitate offenders
Resource dependence theory
They are not always capable of making decisions solely based on improving organizational performance
What is our goal? How can we get there? But with the resources we have
The external environment drives our CJ system
Has to live in an environment it does not control
Depends on politics or ideology, budget, public opinion, crime rate, and changes in the type of crime that’s prevalent
Main 2 resources: people and money
Institutional theory
What SHOULD they do
What are they EXPECTED to do
Not concerned with efficiency or effectiveness
Isomorphism
Companies and organizations tend to look like each other
Become one
Get pressured by the public and end up looking identical
Even if they have different issues
Removes individualism
Coercive
Mimetic
Normative