Understanding Organizational Structure: Key Theories & Levels

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 1/8 Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations? Hello everyone! Welcome to week 4 of Criminal Justice Organizations! We begin with Section II of the Giblin text - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations? We'll learn various ways of analyzing the similarities and differences between organizations. One reason I love teaching organizational administration and management is the variety of lenses through which to see an organization! The chapter and PPT will present the literature on organizational complexity and control. Before we get to the chapter and PPT, let's sharpen your analytical lens by breaking down: Three levels of organizational analysis Three major theoretical paradigms for analyzing organizations Six categories of organizational elements* Three Levels of Organizational Analysis Analyses of organizations, both theoretical (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical_definition) and empirical (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_evidence) , operate at different levels (Scott & Davis, 2007). Level of analysis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_analysis) refers to the size or scale of a research target. The three levels of analysis include: 1. Macro - refers to structural and policy analysis; it operates at the ecological level and takes a society or system view; organizations exist within a larger system made up primarily of other organizations upon whom they depend. 2. Meso - refers to organization, community, family, and group analyses; research is focused on sub-units in a single type of organization (e.g., departments, authority ranks), structural components or routine operations across a variety of organizations (e.g., hierarchy, specialization, communication networks), or the behavior of the organization as a whole. 3. Micro - refers to the analyses of individuals; the organization is viewed as "context" or an environment which impacts the attitudes or behavior of individuals.

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 2/8 The level of analysis used by theorists and researchers is heavily influenced by core disciplines, such as psychology and sociology. Sociology - examines how society influences people, and vice versa. CJ researchers grounded in sociology tend to see the environment being problematic and requiring change. Psychology - is the study of human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Those drawing from psychology perceive the individual as needing rehabilitation. Three Major Theoretical Paradigms for Analyzing Organizations In the mid-1950s, social scientists began exploring the general patterns of organizational structures, and adopted a "systems approach" of observation. Generally, a system is a set of connected elements or parts (e.g., data, clients, resources) which form a more complex whole. It is also a set of procedures or organized method of accomplishing a goal or task. In the 1950s, Talcott Parsons (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Talcott-Parsons) explained formal organization within a 'general theory of social systems' which means organizations are part of a larger social system; therefore, organizations must be supported and legitimized by society. Eventually, three paradigms or system-level perspectives of organizations emerged through which to view organizations. Each perspective conceptualizes the same phenomena. They simultaneously overlap, conflict, and complement each other. The three system-level perspectives are 1) rational and normative system, 2) natural systems, and 3) open systems. Rational and Normative Systems

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 3/8 The rational systems perspective is defined by two distinctive features: specific goals and formal structures (Scott & Davis, 2007). Theoretically, organizations coordinate activities to achieve clearly defined and expressed goals and the structure is formal in that rules governing behavior are precisely and explicitly formulated. Roles of personnel depend on formal positions or title, not personal characteristics or informal relationships. The normative systems perspective is similar to rational in that the behavior of organizations can be understood by what it states it does. In CJ, agencies are created to reduce crime and their policies and practices are designed to achieve that goal (Crank, 2003). Therefore, it is assumed that every decision made by officials is rational and based on decreasing crime and increasing public safety. The rational and normative perspectives are limited by their idealistic assumptions. In the early 20th centuries, it was believed all organizations should be organized like manufacturing companies with quantifiable products, repetitive tasks, and maximization of efficiency. It was assumed specialization, departmentalization, and control were best. The reality is that CJ decision-makers do not have complete control and knowledge of factors affecting the consequences of their actions. Decision-makers are subject to bounded rationality and uncertainty - they are unable to obtain perfect knowledge for optimal decision. Instead, they have partial information and make satisfactory decisions based on known alternatives and beliefs. Natural Systems The natural systems perspective was born of scholars of human relations who challenged the rational view of work and workers. They theorized that informal and interpersonal relationships were more important than formal structures. At the micro level, research demonstrated that participants were not motivated solely by formal goals of the organization; they were motivated by their own interests. In other words, managers and employees see the organization as a resource to obtain their personal goals, with little regard as to whether the organization's formal goals were being met. At the macro-level, organizations adapt to their environment; survival of the organization within the system was the true underlying goal. Closed Systems

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2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 4/8 The rational and natural systems take a closed system approach to examining organizations. A closed system assumes that organizations contain a set of stable and easily identified participants - all elements and processes are internal to the organization, sealed off from the environment. However, like humans, organizations are heavily influenced by environmental factors. Enter open system... Open Systems Open system or general systems theory recognizes that organizations are open to and dependent on their environment for information, personnel, and other resources. It assumes a system contains more variables than we can comprehend, measure, or control. Those who have researched organizations have found modern organizations to be highly complex (see text/PPT) due to their numerous interdependent parts and wide variety of reactions. System components or elements tend to be loosely rather than tightly coupled. Organizations are systems of interdependent activities. That is, activities are coordinated between organizations, as well as within them between sub-system. Six Categories of Organizational Elements Pursuant to the open systems approach, organizations are comprised of six major categories (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/category) which allow us to examine interdependencies both between and within organizations. These six basic categories or organizational elements include: 1) the environment, 2) strategy and goals, 3) work and technology, 4) formal ways of organizing, 5) informal ways of organizing, and 6) people (Scott & David, 2007).

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 5/8 Figure - Scott & Davis, 2007 Environment The environment includes those "elements outside the organization that influence its ability to survive and achieve its ends" (Scott & Davis, 2007, p. 19). The organization must adapt to its physical, technological, cultural, and social surroundings. External elements are outside the organization and include clients, customers, constituents, or other resources needed for survival. In the CJ literature, the environment has been defined as any external phenomenon, event, organization, group, or individual, which may bring to bear legal, political, economic, technological, or cultural forces which impact an organization (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). CJ organizations need elements such as statutory laws from legislators, resource allocations from politicians, and legitimacy, incident reports, and cases from citizens. Goals & Strategy Goals are the outputs or outcomes an organization is trying to achieve. Strategy refers to the choices an organization makes about the clients or markets it intends to serve, methods by which it plans to rival its competitors, and specific tactics it will employ to reach said goals. For example, prosecutor goals include closing cases and controlling crime which may be achieved strategically through plea bargaining. CJ organizations, such as sheriffs, courts, and jails, are admittedly constrained as to their goals by constitutional directives. Public agencies are also limited in terms of services, clientele, jurisdictions,

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 6/8 and budgets. Unlike CJ agencies, organizations such as for-profits and non-profits are able to choose their outputs, such as innovative products and services, as well as selecting their geographical and customer targets. Work & Technology The four remaining major components of organizations are all internal. Internal elements are contained within the organization; they are linked to each other as well as the external environment of various resources. Work refers to the tasks required for the organization to obtain its goals. Technology is "the extend that the activities thus dictated by man's beliefs are judged to produce the desired outcomes" (Thompson, 2008, p. 14). It is a "mechanism for transforming inputs to outputs" (Scott & Davis, 2007, p. 22). Some organizations process material inputs to produce outputs of goods to be sold, others process people to produce outputs such as educated children. The term "technology" is used broadly to refer to all methods of getting work done, and is NOT limited to current references of advanced electronics. Formal Organization The formal organization is the explicit methods by which work gets done, and includes human resources, practices, job design, and organization structure. Human resources - refers to the practices used to recruit, hire, train, compensate, and promote employees and administrators. For example, public policing agencies typically use civil service processes. Job design - describes the tasks required for a single job. For example, large prosecutors' offices may use "horizontal prosecution" wherein prosecutors are assigned to specific stages of the case process, such as initial appearance, preliminary hearings, grand juries, trials, or appeals; attorneys are promoted to more difficult stages. Organization structure - After dividing functions and assigned work to individuals in the job design, the organization then groups those jobs into larger units, such as departments. The grouped units are coordinated within a hierarchy with formal authorities, patterns of communication, and chains of command. Informal Organization The informal organization category of organizational elements refers to the informal characteristics or ways of organizing. Whereas formal organizing characteristics are made explicit, informal organizing is not. It includes culture and social networks.

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2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 7/8 Culture - refers to a group's general customs, beliefs, or way of life transmitted through human interaction. For example, police culture has been described as one of cynicism, secrecy, and insulation, and is widely known as the "blue curtain." Social network - refers to informal connections and communications between individuals. Members of an organization may seek others outside of the formal "chain of command" for information, advice, or career advancement opportunities. In CJ, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges may form a network. Each is administered independently, but their interactions have been labeled the "courtroom workgroup" due to their cooperative rather than adversarial behaviors (Eisentein & Jacob, 1991). People People in an organization refers to the characteristics participants bring which influence the organization. Examples include knowledge and skills, needs and preferences, broader experiences, and demographics such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Characteristics of leaders have a direct impact, and authorities are often categorized according to Max Weber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber) 's (pronounced Veber) typology of traditional, rational-level, or charismatic leaderships. Learning Objectives for Assigned Reading I hope these theoretical conceptualizations and definitions help you understand more about how organizations are structured and analyzed. According to the course Schedule at the end of the Syllabus (https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/assignments/syllabus) , we are reading Section II of Giblin's text - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations? (https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/files/104307521?wrap=1) (https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/files/104307521/download?download_frd=1) Here are your learning objectives in preparation for this week's game quiz. Students should be able to: 1. Describe and analyze the FBI's structure and its relation to the events on September 11, 2001. 2. Define and describe organizational structure and organizational complexity. 3. Identify, describe, and analyze the three types of organizational complexity (i.e., vertical, horizontal, and spatial). 4. Describe organizational control and its relation to organizational structure. 5. Identify, describe, and analyze the three organizational structures that influence organizational control (i.e., formalization, centralization, and span of control). 6. Discuss the utilization of understanding organizational structure in policing. 7. Identify the organizational variables studied by Lamber, Paoline, and Hogan (2006). 8. Identify the organizational variables studied by Armstrong (2012). 9. Identify the organizational variables studied by Benson and Decker (2010).

2/15/24, 11:09 PM Section II of Giblin PPT - Organizational Structure: How Do We Build Organizations?: CCJ6118-24Spring 0W61 https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1452699/pages/section-ii-of-giblin-ppt-organizational-structure-how-do-we-build-organizations?module_item_id=1… 8/8 10. Define key terms. *While the authors of the text use the term "elements" in this chapter, they are not using the term appropriately. Elements refers to the smallest parts of an organization, such as clients, resources, etc.

Section II of Giblin PPT

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