Organizational Behavior

Behavioral Influences
There are many behaviors that can influence change in criminal justice organizations. Social behavior influences change because the social systems that exist within an organization can help to disseminate change, or build resistance to it (Qian, 2007). Organizational change requires buy-in from the people that comprise the organization, so social behaviors such as the formation of social groups, gossip and other social communication and behavioral norms will all play a role in how quickly buy-in to the change occurs.
Political behaviors also matter, not just in terms of how the leaders leverage the formal political systems within the organization, but how informal systems are leveraged as well. Within any organization, there are key influencers, and they are not always in positions of formal power. The ability of management to leverage both these influencers and the formal political systems to disseminate a change program will have an influence on the success of that program (Duan, Sheeren & Weiss, 2014). Both the political and social factors influence organizational behavior. In turn, some other elements of organizational behavior, such as the prevailing norms and values that exist within the organizational culture, will also have a significant influence over how change works in a criminal justice organization.
Organizational Behavior and Organizational Systems
Organizational behavior and systems have a symbiotic relationship. Flowing from systems to behavior, the systems can influence the behavior of the organization because they govern the means and direction of information flows and influence throughout the organization. Flowing the other way, behavior includes both inertia that challenges changes to the systems, and reinforces existing systems. Behavior also includes facets like the propensity for change. Most criminal justice systems are highly formalized, and generally have a high level of inertia, both of which provide the means for change to be disseminated through formal channels, but also the structures by which change to be resisted at the systemic level.
Stakeholder Perceptions Management
Clear communication is the best means by which the perceptions of stakeholders can be managed. This actually starts with understanding who the different stakeholders are, and what their stakes are. Then, organizational leadership should ensure to communicate as openly and honestly as possible about the change – managing perceptions is often a matter of delivering an accurate take on what stakeholders should expect, so that they can be ready for the change when it comes. There are times when the perception will be negative, but that cannot be helped – it is better that expectations of change align with reality, and that change is framed in realistic circumstances, rather than attempting to present the change as something it is not – people are smart enough to figure it out soon enough.
Organizational Culture at Criminal Justice Agencies
There are many observable aspects of organizational culture at criminal justice agencies. The structure of communication flows is easily observable – both through the formal channels (management, unions, etc.) and the informal. Also quite observable is the language associated with criminal justice. The field of criminal justice has its own language, and jargon, and its own schools and training that reinforce the linguistic aspects of culture. People in the industry are indoctrinated into the specific jargon, and this becomes part of the culture of all criminal justice agencies. The dress also forms part of the culture, for example whether one wears a uniform or not might be an indicator of their position within the agency. Within a police force this can extend to officers' uniforms with the decorations that they have received – the entire system of decorations is part of the observable culture.
Policies are also part of organizational culture, and they are typically formal and therefore observable. The institutions themselves – the shape and structure of the buildings, typically large and often monolithic in nature. The segregated nature of prisons – keeping people who work in criminal justice physically separated from those who are in the system, is another means by which the organizational culture is established and reinforced.
There are many symbols that one can see within criminal justice organizations, formal titles, the technology used, and all of these can influence culture as well. For example, when one considers the "militarization" of police, adding military-grade equipment to a police force will influence its culture, when compared to a police force in another country that lacks such equipment and in some cases might not even carry weapons. So the technology and equipment used can be a very physical demonstration and influencer of organizational culture as well.
Change Management Strategies
Change management strategies work on the same principles in all organizations. They begin with understanding the elements of the organization – its structures, its culture and how information flows. A change management strategy should always be conceived with all of these things in mind. When that is the case, the strategy will have a much better chance of success. If the change management strategy is not adapted for the specific, unique nature of the organization, it is more likely to fail, and a criminal justice agency can be quite different from, say, a corporation. As such, it is imperative when implementing a change management plan that management understands the differences, and how adapts the change management strategy to account for those. But definitely change management strategies, when applied correctly, can be effective for implementing all aspects of organizational change.
References
Duan, L., Sheeren, E. & Weiss, L. (2014) Tapping the power of hidden influencers. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved May 8, 2018 from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/tapping-the-power-of-hidden-influencers

Gupton-Krumweide, R. (2018) Observable aspects of organizational culture. Brainmass. Retrieved May 8, 2018 from https://brainmass.com/business/organizational-culture-and-structure/workplace-observation-organizational-culture-conflict-resolution-126085
Qian, Y. (2007). A communication model of employee cynicism toward organizational change. Scripps College of Communication. Retrieved May 8, 2018 from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=ohiou1195512463&disposition=inline