NCJ Number
85428
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 47-68
Date Published
1981
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This discussion of management function in the criminal justice network considers the management functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.
Abstract
In planning, a manager visualizes the problems, forces, trends, and changes likely to confront the organization's operations at some later date, based on available facts, and then designs plans that will cope with the future situation and result in the attainment of stated goals. Organizing establishes the desired relationships among the work to be done, the people who do it, and the equipment and other resources available. Organizing people involves assigning work to individuals, granting them authority to act, creating personal responsibility, and teaching employees how to perform their duties properly. Directing or motivating may be the key to the success of the entire organization, since it involves creating the environment and the cues that will motivate a person to perform the work needed by the organization. Motivating an employee generally requires (1) finding out the employee's perceptions of his/her needs, (2) providing an adequate system of incentives, and (3) explaining to the employee how he/she may satisfy personal needs by working toward organizational goals. The management function of controlling is the process of establishing standards, observing actual performance results, comparing then with established standards, evaluating the significance of any variations, and taking necessary corrective action. Eleven references are listed.