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Law
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Topic:
Knowledge Utilization and Criminal Justice Administration
Essay Instructions:
Complete the Final Essay Examination by responding to the following questions:
1. Explain the importance of knowledge utilization to criminal justice organizations.
2. Describe the various theories of organizational effectiveness. Explain how ethical problems can arise when measuring organizational effectiveness.
3. Identify the effect that organizational culture and politics have on decision making. Explain your answer in detail.
4. Identify the problems related to the socialization process within an organization. Provide an example and discuss it in detail.
5. Compare and contrast process interventions and structural interventions. Give an example where each intervention can be used most effectively.
Keep the following in mind when completing this essay examination:
- When developing your answers remember you must include (cited) facts to support the major points in your response. Your responses should not include continuous citations without your thoughts and analysis, as well. Rather, your responses must reflect a balance between facts and your perspective on the points you make.
- Your responses to each of the quiz questions should be at least 300 words, double-spaced and written in 11-point Arial font or 12-point Times New Roman.
- Include the question you are responding to immediately before each answer.
- Include a title/cover page
- Include cited references and format them in the American Psychological Association (APA) writing style (6th edition).
- Submit your quiz in one MS Word document and place it in the appropriate assignment drop box for grading.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Criminal Justice Administration
Student:
Professor:
Course title:
Date:
Criminal Justice Administration
Question 1: Knowledge utilization in criminal justice organizations
Knowledge utilization basically relates to how criminal justice organizations apply scientific knowledge. This application could be within the stakeholder community or within the organization. Application entails the distillation of main concepts as well as core components, the fit or alignment with the culture and processes of the organization, and probability of addressing identified problem areas (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). It is worth mentioning that the importation and continued utilization of new knowledge, be it a foreign idea/concept or an improvement of existing practice, is a field of study which is evolving gradually. All in all, knowledge utilization in criminal justice relates to using knowledge produced through research for practice and policy decisions. Knowledge utilization comprises scholarly practice, research, as well as strategies that increase the use of knowledge in solving various problems. As a field of research, knowledge utilization in criminal justice is concerned with factors which explain the utilization of technical and scientific knowledge by decision-makers in criminal justice organizations.
Successful knowledge utilization in any criminal justice organization is essential since knowledge that is acquired has to be applied for that organization to be able to effectively close its knowledge gaps and to accomplish its organizational objectives and goals. A noteworthy impact upon knowledge utilization is perhaps in comprehending the two phases of knowledge utilization: reception and cognition (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). In essence, reception is essential in ensuring that people in the criminal justice organization can receive – through diffusion, creation or transfer – knowledge that is crucial in closing the knowledge gap. On the other hand, cognition is essential in ensuring that people in the criminal justice organization can comprehend and use the knowledge, without which innovation would be impossible. In essence, knowledge utilization not only means the use of knowledge, but is also the distribution of information as well as the incorporation of strategies aimed at promoting instrumental or conceptual use of information.
Question 2: Theories of organizational effectiveness
There are a number of theories of organizational effectiveness. First is The Goal Model: this is popular theoretical perspective on effectiveness. According to this theory, effectiveness is the extent to which an organization achieves its organizational goals. This model hypothesizes that an organization could be understood as a rational entity. By employing this point of view, an evaluator assumes that the goals of an organization could be identified, that an organization is motivated to accomplish those goals, and that advancement towards those goals could be assessed (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). In criminal justice, measures such as recidivism, rates of conviction and rates of arrest all reflect the goal model.
The second is System resource model. According to this model, an organization is not presumed to have goals, nor is attainment of goals an important consideration. Instead, organizations are effective to the extent that they are able to acquire the necessary resources from their environment. Basically, an organization’s effectiveness is the capability of exploiting their environment in the acquisition of valued and scarce resources to maintain their functioning (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014). Therefore, while the goal model is concerned with the output, the system resource model gives emphasis to the inputs. It is worth mentioning that this difference in orientation could actually generate helpful insights in areas in which the goal model might result in confusion. For instance, the failure of a probation agency to rehabilitate clients might be considered as ineffectiveness under the goal model. Nonetheless, the system resource model would conclude that the agency was very effective since it managed to alter its mission and attract resources for custody-oriented surveillance programs like electronic home monitoring or intensive supervision.
Ethical problems could arise when measuring organizational effectiveness given that during assessing organizational effectiveness, data and numbers could be made to give the appearance of attaining organizational objectives and goals or adherence to rules. It is notable that in many instances, there is motive among criminal justice practitioners to falsify data if they are distrustful and pessimistic about the value of attempts to assess their work, if they distrust the evaluators or the process of evaluation, or if they fear that they would in some way be harmed or be made to look bad in some manner as a consequence (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014).
Furthermore, many criminal justice practitioners do not think that they would be assessed fairly. As such, in order to protect themselves, they may manipulate the process or the data to their benefit. Perceived or actual competition amongst criminal justice supervisors or practitioners, if encouraged through an assessment process, could also lead to altering reports or fudging of data. In addition, since the practitioners often work out of the direct purview of their superiors, they are free to play out their roles in ways that produce the appearance of good results. For instance, law enforcement officers have unfettered occasions of avoiding making arrests or making arrests when it is unnecessary. Moreover, corrections officers might decide either to report or not to report prisoner’s use of illicit drugs depending on longer-term consequences to them and their warden if formal records show decreasing or increasing occurrences of illicit drug usage by prisoners (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014). As such, all the manipulations of data and/or reports by criminal justice practitioners and supervisors are unethical when measuring organizational effectiveness.
Question 3: Effect of organizational culture and politics on decision making
Organizational culture could be typified by suppositions, prototypes, opinions and shared beliefs which are assumed without questioning and are shared by members in the org...
Student:
Professor:
Course title:
Date:
Criminal Justice Administration
Question 1: Knowledge utilization in criminal justice organizations
Knowledge utilization basically relates to how criminal justice organizations apply scientific knowledge. This application could be within the stakeholder community or within the organization. Application entails the distillation of main concepts as well as core components, the fit or alignment with the culture and processes of the organization, and probability of addressing identified problem areas (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). It is worth mentioning that the importation and continued utilization of new knowledge, be it a foreign idea/concept or an improvement of existing practice, is a field of study which is evolving gradually. All in all, knowledge utilization in criminal justice relates to using knowledge produced through research for practice and policy decisions. Knowledge utilization comprises scholarly practice, research, as well as strategies that increase the use of knowledge in solving various problems. As a field of research, knowledge utilization in criminal justice is concerned with factors which explain the utilization of technical and scientific knowledge by decision-makers in criminal justice organizations.
Successful knowledge utilization in any criminal justice organization is essential since knowledge that is acquired has to be applied for that organization to be able to effectively close its knowledge gaps and to accomplish its organizational objectives and goals. A noteworthy impact upon knowledge utilization is perhaps in comprehending the two phases of knowledge utilization: reception and cognition (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). In essence, reception is essential in ensuring that people in the criminal justice organization can receive – through diffusion, creation or transfer – knowledge that is crucial in closing the knowledge gap. On the other hand, cognition is essential in ensuring that people in the criminal justice organization can comprehend and use the knowledge, without which innovation would be impossible. In essence, knowledge utilization not only means the use of knowledge, but is also the distribution of information as well as the incorporation of strategies aimed at promoting instrumental or conceptual use of information.
Question 2: Theories of organizational effectiveness
There are a number of theories of organizational effectiveness. First is The Goal Model: this is popular theoretical perspective on effectiveness. According to this theory, effectiveness is the extent to which an organization achieves its organizational goals. This model hypothesizes that an organization could be understood as a rational entity. By employing this point of view, an evaluator assumes that the goals of an organization could be identified, that an organization is motivated to accomplish those goals, and that advancement towards those goals could be assessed (Rojek, Alpert & Smith, 2012). In criminal justice, measures such as recidivism, rates of conviction and rates of arrest all reflect the goal model.
The second is System resource model. According to this model, an organization is not presumed to have goals, nor is attainment of goals an important consideration. Instead, organizations are effective to the extent that they are able to acquire the necessary resources from their environment. Basically, an organization’s effectiveness is the capability of exploiting their environment in the acquisition of valued and scarce resources to maintain their functioning (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014). Therefore, while the goal model is concerned with the output, the system resource model gives emphasis to the inputs. It is worth mentioning that this difference in orientation could actually generate helpful insights in areas in which the goal model might result in confusion. For instance, the failure of a probation agency to rehabilitate clients might be considered as ineffectiveness under the goal model. Nonetheless, the system resource model would conclude that the agency was very effective since it managed to alter its mission and attract resources for custody-oriented surveillance programs like electronic home monitoring or intensive supervision.
Ethical problems could arise when measuring organizational effectiveness given that during assessing organizational effectiveness, data and numbers could be made to give the appearance of attaining organizational objectives and goals or adherence to rules. It is notable that in many instances, there is motive among criminal justice practitioners to falsify data if they are distrustful and pessimistic about the value of attempts to assess their work, if they distrust the evaluators or the process of evaluation, or if they fear that they would in some way be harmed or be made to look bad in some manner as a consequence (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014).
Furthermore, many criminal justice practitioners do not think that they would be assessed fairly. As such, in order to protect themselves, they may manipulate the process or the data to their benefit. Perceived or actual competition amongst criminal justice supervisors or practitioners, if encouraged through an assessment process, could also lead to altering reports or fudging of data. In addition, since the practitioners often work out of the direct purview of their superiors, they are free to play out their roles in ways that produce the appearance of good results. For instance, law enforcement officers have unfettered occasions of avoiding making arrests or making arrests when it is unnecessary. Moreover, corrections officers might decide either to report or not to report prisoner’s use of illicit drugs depending on longer-term consequences to them and their warden if formal records show decreasing or increasing occurrences of illicit drug usage by prisoners (Stojkovic, Kalinich & Klofas, 2014). As such, all the manipulations of data and/or reports by criminal justice practitioners and supervisors are unethical when measuring organizational effectiveness.
Question 3: Effect of organizational culture and politics on decision making
Organizational culture could be typified by suppositions, prototypes, opinions and shared beliefs which are assumed without questioning and are shared by members in the org...
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