NCJ Number
174664
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: 1997 Pages: 51-76
Date Published
1997
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article intends to answer two sets of questions: whether the different organizational cultures of the courts and corrections produce similar or different effects in pretrial agencies, and whether the Edgar H. Schein definition of organizational culture could be applied to criminal justice agencies.
Abstract
Although relatively new as a concept in organizational behavior, organizational culture is widely referenced in academic literature, business journals, and popular magazines. Although there are varying definitions of culture, the Edgar H. Schein definition is the theoretical anchor for this article. Basic to Schein's analysis is that culture can be manifested at different levels. At the surface level are artifacts, which are the visible organizational structures and processes. Accordingly, artifacts include the organization's physical environment, its language, and its visible products. The second level at which an organization's values are manifested is what Schein calls espoused values, which include the strategies, goals, and philosophies of the leadership. The third and most important level for Schein is that of basic assumptions, which includes the unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of the organization. The research upon which this article was based was done in two separate phases. The first was a 1993 investigation of the overall effects of organizational culture on pretrial services agencies through a comparative case study of four pretrial agencies, two organizationally located in the courts and two located in corrections departments. The second research phase was done in 1995 and was a follow-up study of one of the four agencies: the Pima County Pretrial Services Agency in Tucson, Ariz. Finding that the different organizational cultures produce different effects, the study concludes that the court is the appropriate organizational home for a pretrial agency, especially if the agency's general purpose is to provide verified information and recommendations to the judicial officer. Also, it is clear that the Schein organizational culture framework has operational applicability to pretrial agencies. 4 tables, 15 references, and appended phase 1 research discussion guide