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Managing police organizations
BOOK
police preparedness, especially in metro: politan areas. The recent events in Brixton, Englanc! might be examined in light of Mr. Lorentzen’s statement and this suggested hypothesis. Anders Bratholm. in his excellent essay on “Police Investigations and Personal Integrity,” focuses sharply on the tendencies in the composite called the criminal justice system to support the police in what might constitute extralegal behavior. This is done in the manner of the argument from tradition (police), as Max Weber proposed it. The argument from authority (judicial) goes unheeded until there is a specific challenge to what might be called “the way we handle it in the street” tradition. Bratholm shows how easily these traditions take on a normative quality that can lead to trouble if the traditional behavior is neither curtailed nor made specifically legal. There is room for police discretion, but only up to a point. That point is where the crime control and due process models of justice, as Herbert Parker described them, intersect. In the absorbing historical essay by Per Ole Johansen, “The Police and Social Conflicts,” the story of the 1931 confrontation between strikers at Norsk Hydro, strike breakers, and the Norwegian Police is unfolded in engrossing detail. One literally lives through the decision-making process with the local chief of police. He struggles to do the righ? thing for the people in his community but finds himself unsupported by his own hierarchy. This is not an unfamiliar tragedy. The pleasure of this volume is in finding so many wonderful ideas leaping at the reader from these articles. Statements to challenge, ideas to wrestle with, and issues to refute or to send one scurrying to the sourcebooks abound in this book. The essays are generally well written and full of suggestions, implicitly, for term papers, theses, and comparative scholarly research. Each article is summarized after the conclusion. This makes skipping around easy. One can sample a little here and there, coming back for more as one chooses. The volume is nicely bound, sturdy, and well
REVIEWS
167
designed. The bibliographies at the end of each essay are very comprehensive for the most part and a useful resource in themselves. The American reader may need some time to accommodate to the differences in prose style, as some constructions are awkward. Be patient; these authors are writing in a second language and they do it well. One small quibble is that the volume might have benefitted from an index. This is an entirely worthwhile book.
Edward J. Shaughnessy Department of Sociology John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York. New York 10019
Managing Police Organizations by David A. Tansik and James F. Elliott. Monterey, California: Duxbury Press, 1981, 258 pp., $9.95. Managing Police Organizations is presented as a supplement to existing texts. Through the use of relevant situations in conjunction with the text material the reader is exposed to a dual learning experience. Concepts are presented and then applied in case materials. In addition, the case materials are cross-referenced with contemporary police management texts, e.g., Eastman and Eastman, 1971; Leonard and More, 1971; Lynch, 1978; Munro, 1974; Shanahan, 1978; Souryal, 1977; Unsinger and Kuykendall, 1975; Vangunas and Elliott, 1980; Whiseand and Ferguson, 1978; and Wilson and McLaren, 1977. The authors present the case materials in the context that simply learning concepts is insufficient. To maximize learning and understanding the reader must be able to recognize situations in which the theories and concepts are relevant and be able to formulate and implement decisions based on those perceptions. The authors suggest that the ability to translate knowledge into
168
BOOK REVIEWS
action is a major focus of a manager’s education. The material is organized around a functional approach to management, e.g.. planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The case examples are developed around a single fictional organization. By offering a continued focus on one organization and one set of people, the authors allow the reader to become more familiar and involved with the cases and materials. Also, this approach allows for a perspective to develop throughout the text as material from past cases become discussion material in a present case. One of the most important benefits of the case approach is the development of skills in problem recognition. In actuality, problems rarely, or ever, appear wearing labels that readily classify them according to topics learned from textbooks. For the successful manager the ability to recognize the applicability of various concepts to problem situations is critical. Cases provide practice in sorting through a variety of issues, some important and others little more than “red herrings,” to uncover key problem areas. The ability to sort through complex issues, contradictory data, and misleading factors is a crucial skill too often untaught and underdeveloped. The authors suggest that the cases in the text be treated as the medical student treats the patient: that is, the student should be inquisitive and analytical. Just as medical patients do not wear labels describing their illnesses, the case examples do not always overtly reveal the crucial issues. The text provides an even perspective and suggests that the manager’s functions of planning, organizing, directing, staffing, and controlling are generic in that all managers do them. First the manager plans. Then an organization is created to help achieve the plan. The organization is staffed. The staff is directed. And the resultant performance is controlled. Managers accomplish these functions by acting out roles that are interpersonal, informational, and decisional in nature. While there are technical differences between different
managerial jobs, e.g.. police chief versus bank president, the similarities that lie in the general nature of the job are overwhelming. Clearly. all managers must be technically competent. But it is also apparent that they must be “functionally” competent. Planning is the function upon which all other management functions are based. Without plans, there is nothing for which to organize, staff, direct, or control. Good plans allow an organization to chart its course and also provide for more rapid responses to situations that arise. Thus. plans result in strategies as well as tactics. Good planning will not just happen. Part of this environment may include the integration of planning into other organizational functions, such as performance evaluation. Also, management by objectives can be integrated into the planning process. The authors also point out that organizations have a structure that is based on an authority system and that is most often represented by an organization chart. While there are a number of basic concepts involved in organizing, the astute organization designer recognizes that the concepts are simple guidelines that require discretion in their application. The basic forms of organization identified are line, line/staff, functional, and matrix. The basic line structure involves all employees’ directly contributing to the organization’s output. Line/staff forms allow for the use of experts to help the line units that actually make decisions that affect their performance. Finally, matrix forms provide for a constant application of functional expertise to a given endeavor under the coordination of a manager. The authors suggest that staffing is too important to be left to the personnel manager. All managers are involved in developing a work-force plan, personnel assessments, and a statement of employee needs. The personnel acquisition process involves recruitment, selection, induction, and training. Finally, no staffing program is complete without sound performance evaluation and compensation systems.
BOOK
The directing function is concerned with inducing organization members to perform in such a way that organizational goals are achieved. To do this, the manager must understand the needs of workers so as to be able to offer incentives that satisfy these needs in return for the work received by the organization from the employees. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the Herzberg twofactor theory as indicators of employees’ needs are discussed as well as expectancy theory and operant conditioning as processes that explain how needs become translated into behavior. Leadership styles are presented from the context of integrating concerns for output and concerns of subordinates in performing the directing function. Using the Hersey and Blanchard maturity concept the authors suggest that leadership styles should change over time with changes in followers’ abilities and motivations. Management controls are used to ensure that actual performance takes place according to organizational plans. The basic control model involves plans, standards of performance, a comparison, and corrective action where necessary. Good control systems prevent mistakes from becoming final outputs. Personnel controls are also important management devices. Performance evaluations are especially important for managers to use properly. Management by objectives can be a valuable strategy both to plan for and to evaluate performance on a quantitative basis. Discipline is also a valuable control device. The authors advocate that discipline not be punishment per se but rather a means to alter future behavior. The rapidity of change in our modern world necessitates that organizations as open systems be adaptive and undergo change themselves. Reactive changes over
REVIEWS
160
time result in significant and often unexpected alterations of an organization. Planned change takes a proactive approach and strives to create a revised, more predictable, and more effective organization. Behavior responses of employees to change attempts must be considered by managers. The need to change and the expected benefits may not be similarly perceived by both managers and employees. Strategies for reducing as well as overcoming resistance to change need to be considered in virtually all cases of change implementation. Organizational development as a change approach focuses on improving organizational effectiveness by improving behavioral processes within the organization. There are many organizational development intervention techniques aimed at individuals, groups, intergroup relationships, and organization-wide systems. Unfortunately, despite the popularity of organizational development, there is great difficulty in assessing the bottom-line benefits of this approach to change. Still, there is face validity for organizational development, and there is virtual certainty that most managers in the near future will be exposed to organizational development interventions. Hence, knowledge of this approach to change should be encouraged. Although the authors advocate this material as a supplement to existing texts, the material has its own merits for police managers who need exposure to problem situations rather than classic textbook theories.
Daniel J. Bell Criminal Justice Studies Kent State University Kent, Ohio 44242
police preparedness, especially in metro: politan areas. The recent events in Brixton, Englanc! might be examined in light of Mr. Lorentzen’s statement and this suggested hypothesis. Anders Bratholm. in his excellent essay on “Police Investigations and Personal Integrity,” focuses sharply on the tendencies in the composite called the criminal justice system to support the police in what might constitute extralegal behavior. This is done in the manner of the argument from tradition (police), as Max Weber proposed it. The argument from authority (judicial) goes unheeded until there is a specific challenge to what might be called “the way we handle it in the street” tradition. Bratholm shows how easily these traditions take on a normative quality that can lead to trouble if the traditional behavior is neither curtailed nor made specifically legal. There is room for police discretion, but only up to a point. That point is where the crime control and due process models of justice, as Herbert Parker described them, intersect. In the absorbing historical essay by Per Ole Johansen, “The Police and Social Conflicts,” the story of the 1931 confrontation between strikers at Norsk Hydro, strike breakers, and the Norwegian Police is unfolded in engrossing detail. One literally lives through the decision-making process with the local chief of police. He struggles to do the righ? thing for the people in his community but finds himself unsupported by his own hierarchy. This is not an unfamiliar tragedy. The pleasure of this volume is in finding so many wonderful ideas leaping at the reader from these articles. Statements to challenge, ideas to wrestle with, and issues to refute or to send one scurrying to the sourcebooks abound in this book. The essays are generally well written and full of suggestions, implicitly, for term papers, theses, and comparative scholarly research. Each article is summarized after the conclusion. This makes skipping around easy. One can sample a little here and there, coming back for more as one chooses. The volume is nicely bound, sturdy, and well
REVIEWS
167
designed. The bibliographies at the end of each essay are very comprehensive for the most part and a useful resource in themselves. The American reader may need some time to accommodate to the differences in prose style, as some constructions are awkward. Be patient; these authors are writing in a second language and they do it well. One small quibble is that the volume might have benefitted from an index. This is an entirely worthwhile book.
Edward J. Shaughnessy Department of Sociology John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York. New York 10019
Managing Police Organizations by David A. Tansik and James F. Elliott. Monterey, California: Duxbury Press, 1981, 258 pp., $9.95. Managing Police Organizations is presented as a supplement to existing texts. Through the use of relevant situations in conjunction with the text material the reader is exposed to a dual learning experience. Concepts are presented and then applied in case materials. In addition, the case materials are cross-referenced with contemporary police management texts, e.g., Eastman and Eastman, 1971; Leonard and More, 1971; Lynch, 1978; Munro, 1974; Shanahan, 1978; Souryal, 1977; Unsinger and Kuykendall, 1975; Vangunas and Elliott, 1980; Whiseand and Ferguson, 1978; and Wilson and McLaren, 1977. The authors present the case materials in the context that simply learning concepts is insufficient. To maximize learning and understanding the reader must be able to recognize situations in which the theories and concepts are relevant and be able to formulate and implement decisions based on those perceptions. The authors suggest that the ability to translate knowledge into
168
BOOK REVIEWS
action is a major focus of a manager’s education. The material is organized around a functional approach to management, e.g.. planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The case examples are developed around a single fictional organization. By offering a continued focus on one organization and one set of people, the authors allow the reader to become more familiar and involved with the cases and materials. Also, this approach allows for a perspective to develop throughout the text as material from past cases become discussion material in a present case. One of the most important benefits of the case approach is the development of skills in problem recognition. In actuality, problems rarely, or ever, appear wearing labels that readily classify them according to topics learned from textbooks. For the successful manager the ability to recognize the applicability of various concepts to problem situations is critical. Cases provide practice in sorting through a variety of issues, some important and others little more than “red herrings,” to uncover key problem areas. The ability to sort through complex issues, contradictory data, and misleading factors is a crucial skill too often untaught and underdeveloped. The authors suggest that the cases in the text be treated as the medical student treats the patient: that is, the student should be inquisitive and analytical. Just as medical patients do not wear labels describing their illnesses, the case examples do not always overtly reveal the crucial issues. The text provides an even perspective and suggests that the manager’s functions of planning, organizing, directing, staffing, and controlling are generic in that all managers do them. First the manager plans. Then an organization is created to help achieve the plan. The organization is staffed. The staff is directed. And the resultant performance is controlled. Managers accomplish these functions by acting out roles that are interpersonal, informational, and decisional in nature. While there are technical differences between different
managerial jobs, e.g.. police chief versus bank president, the similarities that lie in the general nature of the job are overwhelming. Clearly. all managers must be technically competent. But it is also apparent that they must be “functionally” competent. Planning is the function upon which all other management functions are based. Without plans, there is nothing for which to organize, staff, direct, or control. Good plans allow an organization to chart its course and also provide for more rapid responses to situations that arise. Thus. plans result in strategies as well as tactics. Good planning will not just happen. Part of this environment may include the integration of planning into other organizational functions, such as performance evaluation. Also, management by objectives can be integrated into the planning process. The authors also point out that organizations have a structure that is based on an authority system and that is most often represented by an organization chart. While there are a number of basic concepts involved in organizing, the astute organization designer recognizes that the concepts are simple guidelines that require discretion in their application. The basic forms of organization identified are line, line/staff, functional, and matrix. The basic line structure involves all employees’ directly contributing to the organization’s output. Line/staff forms allow for the use of experts to help the line units that actually make decisions that affect their performance. Finally, matrix forms provide for a constant application of functional expertise to a given endeavor under the coordination of a manager. The authors suggest that staffing is too important to be left to the personnel manager. All managers are involved in developing a work-force plan, personnel assessments, and a statement of employee needs. The personnel acquisition process involves recruitment, selection, induction, and training. Finally, no staffing program is complete without sound performance evaluation and compensation systems.
BOOK
The directing function is concerned with inducing organization members to perform in such a way that organizational goals are achieved. To do this, the manager must understand the needs of workers so as to be able to offer incentives that satisfy these needs in return for the work received by the organization from the employees. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the Herzberg twofactor theory as indicators of employees’ needs are discussed as well as expectancy theory and operant conditioning as processes that explain how needs become translated into behavior. Leadership styles are presented from the context of integrating concerns for output and concerns of subordinates in performing the directing function. Using the Hersey and Blanchard maturity concept the authors suggest that leadership styles should change over time with changes in followers’ abilities and motivations. Management controls are used to ensure that actual performance takes place according to organizational plans. The basic control model involves plans, standards of performance, a comparison, and corrective action where necessary. Good control systems prevent mistakes from becoming final outputs. Personnel controls are also important management devices. Performance evaluations are especially important for managers to use properly. Management by objectives can be a valuable strategy both to plan for and to evaluate performance on a quantitative basis. Discipline is also a valuable control device. The authors advocate that discipline not be punishment per se but rather a means to alter future behavior. The rapidity of change in our modern world necessitates that organizations as open systems be adaptive and undergo change themselves. Reactive changes over
REVIEWS
160
time result in significant and often unexpected alterations of an organization. Planned change takes a proactive approach and strives to create a revised, more predictable, and more effective organization. Behavior responses of employees to change attempts must be considered by managers. The need to change and the expected benefits may not be similarly perceived by both managers and employees. Strategies for reducing as well as overcoming resistance to change need to be considered in virtually all cases of change implementation. Organizational development as a change approach focuses on improving organizational effectiveness by improving behavioral processes within the organization. There are many organizational development intervention techniques aimed at individuals, groups, intergroup relationships, and organization-wide systems. Unfortunately, despite the popularity of organizational development, there is great difficulty in assessing the bottom-line benefits of this approach to change. Still, there is face validity for organizational development, and there is virtual certainty that most managers in the near future will be exposed to organizational development interventions. Hence, knowledge of this approach to change should be encouraged. Although the authors advocate this material as a supplement to existing texts, the material has its own merits for police managers who need exposure to problem situations rather than classic textbook theories.
Daniel J. Bell Criminal Justice Studies Kent State University Kent, Ohio 44242