Leadership Theory and Practice - Term Paper Example

 Abstract The essay is written to proffer challenges of leading groups in a criminal justice organization. Particularly, a description of the challenges currently faced by criminal justice leaders would be included in the discourse; as well as predictions of the challenges that will be faced over the next 5 years. Leading Group Challenges in a Criminal Justice Organization Leadership in any organization, particularly in a criminal justice agency, is of utmost importance since a leader gives the necessary directions to guide his followers into achieving corporate goals. Leadership is the process of influencing people to work or act towards the attainment of specifically defined goals. There have been a significant number of literatures covering the nature, theories and applications of leadership and its effect to job performance and satisfaction. The diverse patterns of behavior and actions that leaders exhibit over a period of time and perceived by followers have been identified as the dominant style of leadership. This style is developed utilizing an interplay of factors which shape leadership development. In this regard, the essay is written to proffer challenges of leading groups in a criminal justice organization. Particularly, a description of the challenges currently faced by criminal justice leaders would be included in the discourse; as well as predictions of the challenges that will be faced over the next 5 years. Definitions of Leadership Leadership is the process of influencing people to work or act towards the attainment of specifically defined goals (Martires & Fule 2000: 569). “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2004). Authors Lussier & Achua (2004) define leadership as “the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through changes”. And Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn (2008, 243) state leadership as “the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives”. All authors share the same conviction who perceived leadership as a process of influencing others. Further, all authors conform to the following factors as relevant components of the leadership process: (1) influencing people; (2) towards the achievement of a goal. There is the component of influence by exerting the ability to develop and communicate that vision to a group of people who would make that vision come true. Leadership in a Criminal Justice Organization According to McKinney (2008, par. 1), “the three theories used by criminal justice administrators are the trait theory, style theory, and situational leadership”. The trait theories emphasize the critical role of a leader’s traits in determining outcomes in organizational situations (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008, 243). The style theory focuses on managerial styles such as the autocratic, democratic and laissez fair styles, thought to affect human behavior in organizations. Finally, the situational leadership theory manifests various scenarios affecting workplace situations which are taken into account by the leaders. As McKinney (2008) averred, “with criminal justice organizations constantly evolving and having to change, it is important to have a leader that is able to work with his subordinates and superiors to make effective decision that take the organization in the best directions” (3). Challenges of Leading in a Criminal Justice Organization In an article written by Kevin Wright (1999) entitled “Leadership is the Key to Ethical Practice in Criminal Justice Agencies”, the critical role that leaders take in honing skills of personnel into achieving organizational goals is highlighted. According to Wright (1999, par. 3), “part of the problem is simply the fallibility of human beings. The same forces that act on individuals elsewhere to lie, steal, and hurt others likewise press upon criminal justice employees to act inappropriately. Furthermore, the nature of criminal justice work may heighten the forces to act inappropriately. Law enforcement officers see us all, law abiding and criminal, at our worst, enraged at being stopped for a traffic offense, hurt, or having just committed a horrendous act of violence… Once formed, they provide fertile ground for individuals to overstep ethical limits, to justify their actions to themselves, and to believe that their victims deserved the actions meted out no matter how inappropriate.” In this regard, leaders in criminal justice offices are challenged by the circumstances they are in. Wright emphasized that “the organizational climate which is directly influenced by the leadership of the agency determines how much unethical behavior will be present in a criminal justice agency or, for that matter, any organization… excessive use of force, brutality, corruption, involvement in criminal activity, graft, employee theft, sexual misconduct, discrimination, racism, sexism, and harassment will vary directly with managerial attention to the promotion of ethical standards of practice among employees. In other words, ethical behavior within a criminal justice agency is up to the chief executive officer and that individual's management team” (1999, par. 5). Analysis Due to the factors, characteristics for susceptibility and the manner and authorized offices involved in investigating challenges faced by leaders in criminal justice offices, the prevalence of violations for crimes has not been restricted nor abated over time. In the study conducted by GAO (1998, 22) the following measures were suggested to prevent problems in leadership and the incidents of corruption: “(1) making a commitment to integrity from the top to the bottom of the department, (2) changing the police culture, (3) requiring command accountability, (4) raising the age and educational requirements and implementing or improving integrity training in the police academy for recruits, (5) implementing or improving integrity training and accountability measures for career officers, (6) establishing an independent monitor to oversee the police department and its internal affairs unit, and (7) community policing.” These measures would assist in the prevention of corruption but not totally reduce nor eradicate their occurrence. Several other practices need to be assessed, evaluated and changed starting from the leadership to the culture to improved local and national prevention and detection techniques. Serious local and national efforts need to be implemented to continually address this relevant concern. Predictions over the Next 5 Years With the challenges faced by leaders and their critical role in criminal justice offices all over the country, a study by the Asian Development Bank (2006) acknowledged the need to strengthen the criminal justice system through continuous training and development of leaders by “strengthening the judiciary, the public prosecutorial service, the police reform, enhancing access to law and information, and strengthening legal education and training”, among others. Committed workers are the key to increased productivity. Leadership style, especially in criminal justice offices, emphasizes paternalistic patterns where the leader assumes the role of a “father” who seeks consultation with his constituents. Ethical dilemmas are minimized using this style because through consultation, the leader utilized the consensus of the group in decision making process. This style is highly dependent on the organization’s culture which is long embedded and difficult to change. Therefore, being aware of this theory, criminal justice offices are more likely to conform to this style of leadership in the near future. According to Price (2008) the concept of leadership ethics focuses on “what is common to all leaders (which) is the moral psychology of leadership. A central component of the moral psychology of leadership is a belief about justification – namely, that leaders are sometimes justified in doing what others are not allowed to do. As we have seen, even the leaders we hold in the highest esteem sometimes break the rules in the service of group ends. Still, not even heroic leaders have a moral license to break whatever rules they want to break. They must be able to justify their behavior.” Leaders from the U.S. are most susceptible to be exposed to ethical dilemmas in decision making process. Their individualistic approach and directive leadership style could lead to requirements for justification. As Price (2008) averred, “first, the defense of the leader who acts as he does “because he has his own morality” points to the fact that leadership seems to function with its own set of norms. In virtue of this feature of leadership, we might say that leaders have their own code of ethics. In addition, leadership is a relationship of influence between people. Leaders are able to exercise power over others in ways that make it possible for leaders to get away with doing what others cannot do. So, when a leader uses his power to break a rule that applies to the rest of us, there may be some truth to the claim that he did it ‘because he could’.” This could never be allowed to happen in the near future. Conclusion Education paves the way for creating an environment for performance. Leadership deals with human relationships. When a leader is truly effective, the institution where he operates becomes transformed. By learning, competence is improved. Leaders lead by example and the values they hold are exemplified in their actions. This is how one ultimately learns. The role of leaders in criminal justice offices is that of protecting people and assets. The leader accomplishes this responsibility by observing and reporting incidents or situations which present a threat to the people and assets he/she has a duty to protect. Criminal-related activities are a major threat, and the leader represents a critical component in an effort to combat this threat and maintain a criminal-free community. By understanding the scope and nature of this problem, along with the specific crime-related concerns, the leader, together with local and national authorized agencies, will be prepared to recognize and report situations that undermine safety and security and ultimately address crime in this nation. References Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2006). Strengthening the Criminal Justice System. Retrieved 11 July 2010. < http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Strengthening-Criminal-Justice-system/strengthening-criminal-justice-system.pdf> General Accounting Office (GAO). (1998). LAW ENFORCEMENT: Information of Drug- Related Police Corruption. Retrieved on 11 July 2010 from Lussier, R.N.; Achua, C.F. (2004) “Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development” (2nd Ed). South-Western. Martires, C.R. & Fule, G.S. (2000). Management of Human Behavior in Organizations. National Bookstore. Philippines. McKinney, C. (2008). Modern Leadership Theories in Criminal Justice. Retrieved 11 July 2010. Northouse, P.G. (2004) “Leadership Theory and Practice” (3rd Ed). Sage Publications Price, T.L. (2008). Leadership Ethics: An Introduction. University of Richmond. Cambridge University Press. Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt, J.G., & Osborn, R.N. (2008). Organizational Behavior, Tenth Edition Chapter11: Leadership Theories. Leaders move things forward. ISBN: 9780470086964, John Wiley & Sons. Read More