Verified Document

Organizational Change In Criminal Justice Essay

Organizational change in any sector implies moving away from the present state and "toward some desired future state" in order to increase the effectiveness of the organization (Lunenburg, 2010, p. 1). Change is typically driven by internal and/or external factors. The impetus for change could be a crisis or, in the case of criminal justice agencies, policy change. Changes to technology or financial resources are other examples of external forces of change that could impact a criminal justice agency. Criminal justice agencies also respond to internal forces of change, including demands to change organizational culture, policy, or procedure. The primary approaches to manage organizational change in criminal justice agencies include recognizing the need for change and the forces instigating it, planning effectively for change, and implementing change strategies that coincide with organizational goals and values. When change has become inevitable in a criminal justice agency, it may also be helpful to understand the social, political, and organizational behavioral variables that influence change. Increased diversity in criminal justice agencies, in terms of not just ethnicity, but also gender, age, and political orientation, may impact the internal forces driving change. These social factors drive shifts in organizational culture and can help the criminal justice agency become more responsive to the needs of the public. Political variables generally refer to external change...

For example, Umbreit (2007) notes that research supporting the efficacy of restorative justice has prompted the introduction of evidence-based practices in restorative justice, and that those practices are forcing organizational change in criminal justice agencies nationwide. Similar shifts in attitude towards crime and towards responses to crime such as alternative sentencing may inspire organizational change, and are also external forces that do cause changes in organizational behavior too.
Organizational behavior refers to the collective human factors that can either welcome or resist change. External factors such as changes to criminal law will affect organizational behavior such as changing the roles of several different parties within the criminal justice agency (Stojkovic, Kalinch & Klofas, n.d.). The organizational systems within a bureaucratic structure like that of a criminal justice agency also need to respond to change accordingly. In many cases, the systems will shift entirely: chains of command and the relevance of various roles and positions in the systems may dramatically alter the ways people behave and the status they hold in the agency. Thus, change can be painful for some members and desirable for others. Stakeholders within the organization -- its employees and ancillary support -- need role clarity during the change process. Effective leadership is…

Sources used in this document:
References

Bodor, T., Thompson, F. & DemirAivi, F. (2004). Criminal justice cultures in the United States. Retrieved online: https://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/journals/hpa_2004_criminal/hpa_2004_criminal.pdf

Lunenburg, F.C. (2010). Forces for and resistance to organizational change. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal 27(4).

Stojkovic, S., Kalinch, D. & Klofas, J. (n.d.). Criminal Justice Organizations. Fifth Edition.

Umbreit, M.S. (2007). Restorative justice: Implications for organizational change. National Institute of Justice. Retrieved online: http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/restorative-justice/organizational-change/pages/implications.aspx
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Criminal Justice Process Considerable Attention
Words: 5190 Length: 14 Document Type: Essay

Does the criminal justice system discriminate? Provide support your position with reference to the various components of the process, and give an explanation for either why the system discriminates, or why it appears to discriminate. Yes, the criminal justice system discriminates. African-American males are overrepresented in every part of the criminal process, though there has been no good evidence to show that they actually engage in criminal behavior at rates

Organizational Theories in Criminal Justice
Words: 819 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Criminal Justice The author of this report has been asked to speak to a number of questions involving criminal justice. The first is the overall trends and merits when it comes to the different manifestations of completing criminal justice tasks including privatization, e-corporations and militarization. The second question would be the historical and traditional organizational behavior theories and the corresponding effect of societal and organizational diversity when it comes to criminal

Ethics for Criminal Justice Professionals
Words: 3047 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Criminal Justice Ethical Dilemmas In Criminal Justice Ethical dilemmas permeate almost all organizations globally. Members of an organization often find themselves in challenging situations that require the adoption of the most effective solution that meet the needs of the conflicting parties or situations. One of the organizations that often face the challenge of ethical dilemmas is the criminal justice organization. The criminal justice organizations have been known to perform activities that ensure

Criminal Justice Trends the Trends of the
Words: 1924 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Criminal Justice Trends The trends of the past, present and future that outline the borders connecting the criminal justice system components and their links adjoining the society is, beyond doubt, an authentic relationship that the law and society have established. Criminal justice has been affected by various trends in the times gone by. This is because trends keep changing with the passage of time. Therefore, it is exceedingly important for the

Criminal Justice System Normally Refers to the
Words: 1488 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Criminal justice system normally refers to the compilation of the prevailing federal; state accompanied by the local public agencies those pacts with the crime problem. These corresponding agencies procedure suspects, defendants accompanied by the convicted offenders and are normally mutually dependent insofar as the prevailing decisions of the single agency influence other supplementary agencies (Cole & Smith, 2009). The fundamental framework of the underlying system is normally granted through the

Criminal Justice Leadership Strategies and Practices
Words: 1547 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Criminal Justice Leadership Strategies and Practices Leadership Strategies and Practice Examples and Analysis of Roles Organizational culture Behavioral Theory Planning The criminal justice leadership strategies are also partly similar to business practices followed in commercial organizations. However, the difference in chain of command, organizational culture and theories applicable for criminology are unique. The criminal justice organizations also develop strategies that are relevant for their organizational culture as well as with respect to the community relations. These

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now