Organizational Behavior in Law Enforcement

Organizational Behavior in Law Enforcement

State the important elements of organizational behavior within law enforcement and how those elements can challenge the effectiveness of the agency.

Organizational behavior is concentrating on the way an entity is interacting with persons, groups and structural conduct. For law enforcement agencies this will have an impact upon their ability to achieve a host of objectives to include: goals / the mission of law enforcement, job satisfaction, managerial style, group dynamics and quality of life. Understanding these factors will have an influence in determining what areas are impacting performance.

Goals / the Mission of Law Enforcement: The goals and mission of law enforcement is when specific objectives will state the most appropriate attitudes and behaviors. This is occurring through establishing polices for everyone to follow. Over the course of time, these areas will influence how everyone is thinking and reacting. The way that this challenges the effectiveness of an agency is to transform the techniques and approaches that are used by law enforcement. (Crotty, 2004) (Wilson, 1979)

Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is when there is focus on the opinions of officers and agents (based upon their happiness with the position). This will have an influence on behavior by creating positive or negative perceptions someone has of their employer. These areas will impact the effectiveness of the agency by influencing the levels of motivation. This will determine how quickly law enforcement officials are able to address a host of challenges. (Crotty, 2004) (Wilson, 1979)

Managerial Style: The managerial style will influence how efficiently officers and staff members perform their jobs. In law enforcement this work in conjunction with job satisfaction to impact the agency's efficiency in achieving a host of objectives. This is when the behavior of the organization will reflect these perceptions. The way that this will impact an agency's effectiveness is to influence individual views about the department, command structures and policies / procedures. (Crotty, 2004) (Wilson, 1979)

Group Dynamics: Group dynamics is focusing on how well various individuals and teams are interacting with each other. This will have an impact on the behavior of police officers by affecting communication. As a result, the ability to work together will modify an agency's capabilities in investigating criminal activity and prosecuting those who are responsible. (Crotty, 2004) (Wilson, 1979)

Quality of Work Life: The quality of work life will affect the levels of job satisfaction inside a law enforcement agency. This will influence everyone's behavior by impacting their ability to perform various tasks. The way that this will control a department's effectiveness is to manipulate opinions and the levels of motivation for addressing different problems. (Crotty, 2004) (Wilson, 1979)