Justice Admin CJ 255 Prompts

Justice Admin

CJ 255 Prompts

Consensus and Conflict

The consensus model of criminal justice asserts that the laws and mechanisms of the criminal justice system in a given society arise out of a consensus among the people of that society, and that the system functions as an integrated and consensual part of the entire social system (See, 2004). Conflict theories of criminal justice contrast sharply with this, suggesting that laws are created by a powerful segment of a society's population that is necessarily in conflict with other less powerful segments, and that these segments become criminalized through the perspectives and laws of the powerful group (See, 2004). This extends to the functioning of the system, which contains a series of adversaries in conflict (police v. criminals/general public, defender v, prosecutor, etc.) rather than a group of elements working in tandem (See, 2004). Understanding both hwo the criminal justice system is shaped and how the laws are carried out is definitely important, but a more practical question is, what can be done about it? While this debate is very important from an academic perspective, there should be a greater focus on the effects of each system, whether it is possible to change the way the system works, and what it would be advisable to change it to.

Motivation

Motivating crminal justice employees to be ethical and hardworking without being able to offer strong remuneration for their efforts can be difficult, and must begin with individual and personal assessments of values and motivating factors rather than a general motivation plan or system of rewards (Stojkovic et al., 2007). This can be true in many areas of public service and indeed in all areas of employment, where personal motivations and individual attention to workers is key to truly enhancing productivity and ethicality, but in criminal justice settings this can present some unique opportunities and challenges. Setting very clear and specific goals and/or guidelines and making sure that there are strong reinforcement mechanisms at work that provide feedback to supervisors/managers and to employees themselves is also essential in ensuring commitment to ethical and hard-working principles (Stojkovic et al., 2007). Because of the power relationships that are inherent to many criminal justice employment positions, proper external review and a chance for criminal justice workers to be presented with objective views of their actions and work standards is also essential.

Generation

Managing multiple generations of workers can create many difficulties and complexities in any workplace. Younger works tend to not have organizational loyalty but expect immediate recognition and input, while middle-aged workers that make up the bulk of employees in many settings are themselves often frustrated by a lack of advancement, and are independent minded yet not as expectant of immediate recognition as younger workers (McNulty, 2006). Older works, meanwhile, tend to be very loyal to organizations and feel that all employees should "pay their dues" before there is any reason to really listen to their ideas or advance them in their positions (McNulty, 2006; Wall Street Journal, 2012). Using individual methods of communication and recognition can go a long way towards making a harmonious multigenerational workforce (McNulty, 2006; Wall Street Journal, 2012).

Web Site Summaries

The Wall Street Journal is a well-known business newspaper, and its website addresses many issues of relevance to the management of criminal justice and management generally. This particular article addresses the increasing conflicts ad complexities of a multigenerational workforce, briefly describing different sets of workers and then describing recommendations for addressing these issues at length. Mentoring, management training programs, different working options and accommodations for different learning styles are all recommended as ways to both make the workplace and each individual worker more productive and conflict-free, and also avoiding any ethical or legal problems that might arise as the result of real or perceived mistreatment based on an employee's age.