Administrative Breakdown

Administrative breakdown and managerial disorganization theory

AS PER Dias and Vaughn (2006):

Management is many times the cause of "experiencing paralysis and collapse" (DiIulio, 1990a, 1990b; Wilson, 1989)" (545) and mismanagement, and it "holds that dysfunctional organizations result from mismanagement" (p. 545).

"Conflict occurs when unclear goals create unity of direction problems, an ambiguous hierarchy of authority, a malfunctioning unity of command, and an inappropriate delegation of authority" (p. 545).

There are "six organizational elements that, when lacking, lead to dysfunction and bureaucratic failure: (1) goals and objectives, (2) division of labor, (3) hierarchy of authority, (4) command and control, (5) accountability, and (6) communication. In dysfunctional agencies, the mismanagement of these six elements generates a lack of task specialization and divisionalization, unclear goals that create unity of direction problems, an ambiguous hierarchy of authority, a malfunctioning unity of command, and an inappropriate delegation of authority that shifts accountability for actions taken to no one" (p. 545).

Further, "Employee selection based on competence, education, and merit is positively related to lack of administrative breakdown and managerial disorganization to the extent that these agencies employ officers who are stable, meritorious, and engage in fewer rule violations (Evans & Rauch,1999). Criminal justice agencies not experiencing administrative breakdown are free from political meddling, allowing independent functioning on the basis of merit, training, specialization, and expertise (Deflem, 2000)" (p. 547).

Alternative work on administrative theories such as the work of Elton Mayo have moved past the work of Fredrick Taylor and Max Weber, but many agencies keep the traditional bureaucratic, hierarchical model which is scientifically proven to be not as efficient as other models (Dias and Vaughn, 2006, p. 544). Taylor and Weber's models "reflects more on the intransigent institutional nature within criminal justice institutions, rather than on the efficaciousness of contingency and situational management." Many times supervisors underestimate their role in the success and more importantly their failure of an agency. Agencies also continuously repeat failures because they stick to carrying out the same policies and procedures that have always been set in place.

References:

Dias, Clarissa Freitas, and Michael S. Vaughn. "Bureaucracy, Managerial Disorganization, and Administrative Breakdown in Criminal Justice Agencies." Journal of Criminal Justice 34.5 (2006): 543-55. Print.