Managing Criminal Justice Organizations

Introduction

Abraham Maslow came up with a theory of levels of needs. He arrived at a conclusion that physiological needs of human beings are the most basic. Security needs comes second followed by social needs. There are also needs associated with ego and the needs of self-actualization. He suggested that for an individual not to get frustrated, catering for the needs should follow the right sequence (Peak, 2010). Douglas McGregor came up with two theories, theory Y and X. According to him, theory X managers have a belief that there is a work dislike among the average individuals who have to be threatened, controlled, or be forced to deliver. Theory Y states that the physical or mental work comes naturally and there is no need for threats or supervision for one to deliver (Peak, 2010). Frederick Herzberg came up with two factors affecting employees in their places of work. The first deals with hygiene or maintenance as a requirement in a job for an employee to evade pain. The other is the motivational factors that provides incentive and intrinsic satisfaction for employees (Robbins & Judge 2009)

Difference between motivation and job satisfaction

The reasons justifying why a person performs a task or a job, is what describes motivation. When an individual is reassured or has pleasure in the job he does, then that is job satisfaction. It is never a guarantee that highly motivated individuals will have a job satisfaction even though it can be a contributor at times (Robbins & Judge, 2009).

Consequences of motivation and satisfaction

Criminal justice managers should be concerned with both motivation and job satisfaction. Low satisfaction could result to undesirable behaviors. The employees may reluctantly perform their duties and instead do personal tasks at the expense of company time. There could also be frequent lateness to work or even resignation by the employee. Lack of motivation caused by job dissatisfaction can lead to poor performance and low productivity by an individual.

Criminal justice managers’ role in motivation

Criminal justice managers are responsible for motivating their employees up to some extent since they deal with employees of different behaviors and wants. Both the employees and the managers should contribute to motivation. The employees should do what is right as per their employment or job contracts. The criminal justice managers have a duty to study their employees’ good and average internal motivation areas and work hard to improve them in order to meet their demands and expectations. They should respect and value the employees’ contributions by regularly communicating with them. There are roles the management has to play in the motivation but the employees also need to get motivation from within themselves (Sharlyn, 2005).

Ways criminal justice managers can motivate their employees

Regular communication to employees is an important way of motivating them. The employees should feel that the managers do listen to them and understand their demands and expectations. The presence of communication also gives the employees an opportunity to give positive and negative feedback to their managers for action. Rewards or appreciations for tasks well performed also contribute greatly towards motivation. The kind of rewards valued by individuals vary and so the managers should find out what really works for different employees and ensure it is given to them (Kania, 2008). The tasks performed by each employee should also be clearly set out. This will help each of them appreciate how their tasks directly contribute to the overall objectives and performance of the organization. There should be on job training opportunities offered to employees. The new skills gained will help in personal, as well as professional development of the employees and this would be of great importance to the company in future. The trainings will make them realize that their employer is involved in supporting their growth professionally (Sharlyn, 2005).

References

Kania, R. (2008). Managing criminal justice organizations: An introduction. Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier.

Peak, K. (2010). Justice administration: Police, courts and corrections management. 6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall.

Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2009). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall.

Sharlyn, J. (2005). Motivating employees. Alexandria, USA: American society for training and development.

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