NCJ Number
57429
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (FALL 1978) Pages: 1-6
Date Published
1978
Length
6 pages
Annotation
THE ARTICLE DEMONSTRATES HOW THE WORK ENVIRONMENT SCALE (WES) CAN REVEAL THE CLOSED ENVIRONMENTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, PROVIDING DATA FROM WORKERS THAT CAN IMPROVE THE WORKING CONDITIONS WITHIN THE FORCE.
Abstract
SEVERAL STUDIES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS HAVE SHOWN REPEATEDLY HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, OFTEN PAROCHIAL IN NATURE, ARE AFFECTED BY A VARIETY OF SITUATIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND PERSONAL FACTORS. THESE CONSIDERATIONS CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO HOW THE POLICE OFFICER VIEWS HIS JOB AND HIS FELLOW WORKERS. OF GREATER IMPORTANCE, HOWEVER, IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKERS AND THE BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION WITHIN WHICH THEY WORK. THE WORK ENVIRONMENT SCALE (WES) WAS DESIGNED TO MEASURE THE SOCIAL CLIMATE OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS BASED ON DATA SUPPLIED BY THE OFFICERS AND THEIR SUPERVISORS. THE SCALE MEASURES BOTH FACILITATING AND OBSTRUCTIVE ATTITUDES WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. CONSISTING OF 90 TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS, BROKEN DOWN INTO 10 SUBSCALES, THE WES MEASURES DEGREES OF INVOLVEMENT, PEER COHESION, STAFF SUPPORT, AUTONOMY, TASK ORIENTATION, PERSONAL GROWTH, WORK PRESSURE, CLARITY, CONTROL, INNOVATION, AND PHYSICAL COMFORT. BY MONITORING THESE AREAS, PLANNERS ARE ABLE TO ISOLATE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES WITHIN THE BUREAUCRACY AND INSTITUTE CHANGES BASED ON DATA PROVIDED BY INDIVIDUALS IMMEDIATELY AFFECTED BY ANY CHANGE WITHIN THE STRUCTURE. THE WES WAS APPLIED TO A 14-MEMBER POLICE FORCE SERVING A RURAL COMMUNITY OF 13,500 PEOPLE. THE STUDY RESULTS WERE COMPARED TO A PRELIMINARY NORMATIVE SAMPLE OF 44 WORK GROUPS (N=624). ALTHOUGH THE DATA WAS NOT EXTENSIVE, THE TEST SAMPLE DID PROVIDE A BASIS FOR COMPARISON. BY REVIEWING THE STANDARD AND DISCREPANCY SCORES, ORGANIZATIONAL PLANNERS WERE ABLE TO ACCURATELY PINPOINT WORKER SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR POLICE FORCE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CHARTS ARE INCLUDED. (TWM)