A Probation Officer's View of Effectiveness

A Probation Officer's View of Effectiveness - Case Study

Abstract

A case study was presented regarding a probation department in response to recent attacks in the media. Following a newspaper series, tension increased in the department, eventually leading to the resignation of the chief. This case study introduces the new chief and his desire to lead a full evaluation of the department with all participants in mind and the conversation that ensues regarding this evaluation.

This paper discusses the beneficiaries of the original newspaper articles as well as the beneficiaries of the new evaluation system. It further identifies the method of effectiveness being implemented in the evaluation. Finally, it discusses the evaluation of the effectiveness of the goals mentioned and the clarity of any variable contained within.

Introduction

Organizational effectiveness is often determined by meeting specific goals and measuring that accomplishment in statistical units. However, this does not apply to all organizations, and is most muddled within the organization of criminal justice. Goals among the employees are always different than those they are arresting or protecting. Assessing the effectiveness also becomes an issue when determining the successful completion of a goal. A low arrest rate may indicate that the police are not doing an effective job; however, it could also mean that crime is being deterred so no arrests are necessary. Understanding various theories

Questions:

1. The newspaper story was written with a highly slanted view and did not appear to offer any differing information or opinions. I believe the interests most served by the newspaper's evaluation were their own and the reporters. The reporter benefited by having a story that was talked about in the community and likely name recognition. The paper benefited by increased sales and possibly a mistaken view of their paper as an investigative journalism resource. The people did not benefit because they were unreasonably frightened by overstated rates of recidivism and led to believe that criminals were being released upon the streets without any rehabilitation and without any personnel overseeing the probation of these released criminals. Finally, the officers were not served because it increased their case load and stress significantly.

The proposed evaluation will serve the needs of the citizens, the probation officers and the released criminals. The intent of the evaluation is to assess the needs of both the officers and the clients. This will help bring the clients more effective treatment and more personalized service that will assist them in meeting their goals. Furthermore, by organizing the probation officer's style with the appropriate clientele, this will reduce the apparent client load by making the time spent with clients much more efficient. Furthermore, the evaluation has the intent of filling vacancies within the department with appropriately chosen and trained staff. This will further reduce the case load.

2. This evaluation initiated in the probation officer's case study appears to be centered in the theory of Process Approach. The process approach states that the effectiveness is a process and not an end result, unlike the goal model. This theory consists of goal optimization, a systems perspective and an emphasis on behavior within and organization. In this case, the goal optimization consists of numerous smaller goals. For example, the chief mentioned staffing and the hiring of three new members. Other goals would include maximizing the efficiency of time spent with clients and matching client's needs to the abilities of the probation officers. The systems perspective is covered by the chief's desire to see this evaluation improve the actual environment of the department. It is clear by his discussion that he wants to make sure that his officer's are taken care of and that the caseloads are minimized. This should result in an enhancement of the organizational environment. The emphasis on behaviors focuses on the possible contributions of each individual employee to an overall organizational effectiveness. The chief's analysis of the evaluation included identifying the personal style of each of the officers and matching that style to the client. In this case, this will result in each officer being able to use their specialized skills and personality to enhance the lives of their clients. These aspects will increase the overall effectiveness of the organization.

3. Within the statement of the evaluation made by Chief Jones, he states that he wants to look at what officers do, how this is related to successes or failures of the clients they work with and any ways in which this could be improved. He further states that this should be a continuing process that is assessed once a year to ensure a successful transition for clients and the officers relating to them. A survey of job satisfaction is requested to accompany this assessment to ensure that it is a good place to work. The domain of activity of this evaluation is the interaction of the client with the probation officer as well as the interaction of the probation officers among themselves. The variables would be the style of each officer in relation to the needs of their clients contrasted with the recidivism or success of those clients. I would assume that an evaluation of the client's approval of the relationship between them and their case worker would be the most immediate and proactive response to changes. Waiting for variables such as outcome measures in this scenario may take too long and they will lose the window of opportunity available for change. With the change in chiefs and the recent unionization, these employees are at their peak of change readiness. The variables also include the happiness of the officer's in relation to the changes within the department. This would likely be assessed by surveys given through the union steward to ensure that the needs of the employees are being met in regards to improving their currently poor work environment.

Conclusion

Whether a manager should use the goal theory of effectiveness, internal process model, system resource model or process approach model depends largely on the ability to clearly define the goals of an organization. Using an inappropriate theory will result in an inability to measure success, confusing goals for those working to attain them and, likely, a disinterest in achieving those goals. When using the correct effectiveness theory, goals can be designed to meet the needs of all participants and to be measured in quantifiable ways to determine goal achievement. The understanding of this delicate tailoring is necessary to the success of any organization.