Open and Closed Systems • Differentiate between two types of management theories- open-system theories and closed-system theories with regard to criminal justice organizations. Which of the two theories would better suit the operation of the agency you chose?

When it comes to explaining behavior in organizations, "the closed-system models tend to focus on internal events when explaining organizational actions and behavior, while open-system model focus on events occurring external to the organization that influence changes within the organization" (Open vs. closed systems, 28). Closed-systems models tend to focus on the degree to which organizational culture produces certain results: for example, if there were accusations of racial profiling in 'stop and frisks' in a police department, a closed systems model would suggest examining how officers are trained and the ideas and incentives that are communicated to the officers through that training about who appears to be a criminal. The presumption of a closed systems model is that actors are rational and can make decisions based upon the available system of incentives: if officers are not praised and rewarded for maximizing stop and frisks...

The emphasis would be on changing the organizational culture and atmosphere that can give rise to profiling. Open-systems theories are based upon intangibles which can be difficult to measure: "work attitudes and sentiments of the members of a group are important motivating factors that determine their productivity" (Open vs. closed systems, 47). Increasing the overall diversity of the force, disseminating images that were positive about historically-discriminated against groups and community policing initiatives might be examples of open-ended systems approaches for a police unit. Ultimately, this comprehensive change in culture and attitude is likely necessary for there to be an effective change in a behavior which may have a subconscious and subjective basis.
• Analyze at least three specific environmental factors that may affect the criminal justice agency you are considering. Then, explain the type of impact -- beneficial or adverse -- such factors would…