Organizational Behavior Paper

Managing organizational change in a criminal justice agency is similar to organizing change in the organizational setting but the change will be impacted by other aspects such as the due process rights of the citizen, a strict hierarchy, procedural or substantive laws, and the organizational culture. For example the police culture is strictly hierarchal and focused on investigating crimes within the confines of due process law. Any changes in the police culture will require a bureaucratic process that can be complicated and time consuming. Unlike the regular organization the process for any organizational change would be complex. The criminal justice agency does not only have to answer to other stakeholders in the organization but must also answer to the government and the taxpayer. Social, Political, and Organizational Behavior

The criminal justice agency is influenced by many different factors. Using a law enforcement agency as an example before any changes could be made to the policing organization it would have to travel up the change of command and be approved by political figures in society responsible for funding the police department. A police department might be structured like a regular organization but must answer to many people in society. In order to receive the necessary funding to function properly within their jurisdiction a police department must get funding from the state government. Without this funding the criminal agency, in this case the police department cannot function properly. The taxpayer or members of the community have an influence on the type of behavior displayed by the police organization and the type of changes made.

Members of the community where the police department operates play a powerful role in assisting police in their investigations of crimes. In order to ensure the cooperation of community members and the city’s ability to solve crimes police require the cooperation of community members. Organizational changes impacting the community members can have a negative or positive impact. Organizational behavior influences organizational change because the leadership and the members of the organization must be willing to accept the change and assist in a smooth transition.

If members of the criminal justice agency do not want to cooperate with the change it will have less success. When a criminal justice organization has a culture that does not embrace change the potential for the change to be a success is reduced. A good example of organizational change involves police department across the country converting to the community oriented approach to policing. Without full cooperation of police this approach would fail. Organizational Behavior and Organizational Systems

Organizational behavior consists of the actions and attitudes of the members of the criminal justice organization. The organizations member’s behavior rests on the management’s philosophy, values, vision and goals (Clark, 2011). Organizational systems refer to the structure of an organization. How an organization is structured is stable and will not change. For example a police organization is hierarchal. The hierarchal system consist of a top leader, in the case of the police, the police commander, followed by different functional management groups, police chiefs, police captains, police sergeants, etc. the structure of the police organization ensures any change first travels through a bureaucratic process. Managing Perceptions of Stakeholders

In the criminal justice agency or any other agency it is important to manage the perceptions of stakeholders. If stakeholders are not supportive of the change it will make it more difficult to ensure the change is smooth or that it even occurs. Stakeholders will support organizational changes if it is presented properly and the change creates more benefits than challenges. Perceptions are also closely aligned with expectations (Bourne, 2009). A strategy for managing perception of stakeholders is to provide the stakeholder with factual evidence of the potential success of the organizational change. For example if the organizational change is switching a police department to community oriented policing approach stakeholders should be proved with evidence of the success of other police departments. Observable Aspects of the Organizational Culture

An organizational culture refers to the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and traditions of an organization. Observable aspect includes how they behave in any given situation or how they react. If members of an organization are less willing to cooperate with a new change it will be obvious in their behaviors and attitudes. Using community oriented policing as an example; if police in the organization refuse to cooperate it will show in their behavior. In the community oriented policing approach police must be willing to partner with community members but if police refuse to cooperate they will not partner with community members. Their attitudes, behaviors, reactions, and beliefs will show through in the way they do their job, interact with community, and listen to the leadership. Change Management Strategies

Change management strategies that would benefit the criminal justice agency are power-coercive and environmental adaptive. The power-coercive according to Hans Morgenthauthis strategy advocates “power” in the form of threat sanctions, and believes that people are, in general compliant, and will ultimately bow down to those who possess greater power (Daster, 2011). What this means is the member of the criminal justice must comply or be held accountable. This is essential in the criminal justice agency. The authority structure is especially important in the law enforcement field. The environmental adaptive change management style involves gradually leading the members of the criminal justice agency into the change. This way the members of the organization have time to adapt. Conclusion

Organizational behavior and system have a direct impact on organizational change and how smooth the transition will be. Organizational change in any criminal justice agency will be difficult but though the right change management strategy the organization will have success. Different criminal justice agencies will employ different approaches to ensuring the efficiency of the organizational change. In order for organizational success to be a success the culture must conform to the change and the people must be willing.

References
Bourne, L. (2009). Stakeholder Perceptions Are Paramount. Retrieved from http://pmi.org/voices_on_project_management/2009/11/stakeholder-perceptions Clark, D. (2011). Leadership and Organizational Behavior. Retrieved from
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadob.html

Daster, P. (2011). Chapter Five: Types of Management Strategies In Handling Change. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/percydastur/chapter-05-types-of-management